Main vs Canon

I'll admit I'm not much of an RPer, at least not on this game, so I was curious. What job do you main, and is it the same as your character's canon job, or is it different? How come?

In my case, although canonly I picture Bahamut as a Dark Knight and machine of sorts, I can't bring myself to main the former, because the job feels way too clunky and poorly implemented.

While I do main Machinist, I also main Warrior, though I feel like the lore for both Dark Knight and Machinist fit her, Warrior just feels more 'Bahamut' esque I guess. Anyway!

I don't RP but I see my Character as a master of multiple disciplines. After all even when she is a BRD or a WHM in the MSQ she was still recognised as an Azure Dragoon. Storywise there is nothing saying your character is set to one particular role and in fact the dialog allows for you to have a diverse number of techniques mastered.

Yeah.
Aeon's job is a Bard, and that's my main.

I'm extremely original.

As an RPer with many characters I know the dilemma. Most RPers don't like Mary Sues that will just say they can do anything just because the game lets you, but if you do have exceptional abilities, having character flaws to mitigate them help balance that. Fernehalwes also said that even though there is extreme rarity of some jobs by the Storyline Quests, that isn't the ONLY way you can obtain those jobs, so a lot of RPers spin stories like if the Main White Mage they're actually just Conjurers, or they learned the magic another way (For myself, Terrini learned White magic through Echoes of the past.) or some people say they learned a similar art from Doma/Othard or some other far away place.

There are also RPers that RP unique mixes of character skills of their own creation, like I know someone that role plays a magic machinist with magic bullets and a slightly different take of the machinist aesthetic.

I also have another character that is a Paladin, but thematically, Dark Knight seems to suit her better, but the sword and board aesthetic works best for her style. She's not to Ishgard yet though so she can't even get Dark Knight but I'd like to bring that into things. The main thing is in RP you can do anything your imagination lets you, but since it's a community thing you shouldn't go overboard or people will be annoyed with you for it. Just work in moderation and discuss with the group you play with. ^_^

The only job I enjoy is Ninja, and so my character "story wise" is a Ninja also. Cats are stealthy so it works, I guess (unless we're talking about my cat, in which case he's as quiet as an elephant). I don't really RP so I don't exactly have a story for my character.

Since Alahra was created in the environment of FFXI, it's in her "canon" to be multifaceted to a degree, with her overarching character intended to be a sort of blend of Ninja/Monk, Paladin/Samurai, and Red Mage (two of which we don't have yet—but here's to 4.0!).

Of those, the only one I really play is NIN (though I typically end up gearing both MNK and PLD at some point or another). Right now, my tank main is DRK because I find it to be more fun than PLD. I play both WHM and BLM right now, as well, to sort of cover her magical side (it was SCH in 2.x). DRK and BLM sort of "bother" me in some ways, as she's supposed to be a "Lawful Good" sort, but the HW stories do a decent enough job of setting a foundation that lets me handwave the darker aspects of the two away.

I played BLM in 2.x, as well, for awhile, but couldn't reconcile it and ultimately gave it up—but I was incredibly curious about how Enochian played and couldn't help it anymore.

I roleplay as a cartagrapher and explorer. As such, my Jack Of All Trades combat style (have all jobs unlocked) was obtained to answer any problem in my way. Also fishing is a hobby picked up out in my travels.

Along the way I picked up Alchemy, Cooking, and Blacksmithing out of necessity.

I do not actively RP, but I do find myself giving my characters personalities. With that said, I definitely see my main, Kye, as a Summoner primarily. However, he is also become gifted with astrology since reaching Ishgard. I picture him walking around with both his grimoire and star globe at his side.

Similarly, my alt character is primarily a Warrior. But she has also been trained in martial arts (Monk) and is currently training to use firearms (Machinist). I created her to play the melee classes I didn't think suited my main mage type character.

Alexalea started out as a conjurer in Gridania but ended up in Limsa on her travels and fell in with the Rogue's guild. She was later brought into the world of the ninja which sort of ties back to her conjuring days in it's use of nature and the elements. It's a little weird though in that while I initially dropped Conjurer at level 12 or so (I still only have it at 15 so I could unlock further Jobs) and I don't ever plan to return to it to heal at any point I still consider that as both her origin as a character and my origin in FF14 as a player.

She's currently working as a summoner and Dark Knight but despite enjoying both as a player (particularly DK) I don't know that I tie either of them specifically into her identity. The DK storyline is really cool so far but I'm almost enjoying it as a sort of alternate version of Alex that exists just for that class.. right now anyway. Maybe it will all come together for me later on since I don't see myself dropping the class any time soon.

I'd say both yes and no.

Yes: My character, Helion V. Advensten, is based around the idea of being a western European Knight style character who's skilled at sword fighting and has a very basic understanding of magic to use as a self-support option in battle. As such, both PLD and DRK fit her well.

No: Even if both fit her well, both still have flaws. Helion's weapon of choice is a hand and a half sword, bigger then current one handers but smaller then current two handers. She doesn't really use a shield, but wouldn't stand like DRK's do in their default battle idle pose either. PLD's story has almost nothing to do with knights, and being an edge lord isn't really Helion's style. overall, there is no real class that fits her 100%, but the two "Knights" we have in game now are good enough for me.

As for other roles: She has a hard time using most non-sword type weapons, and even with a basic understanding of magic can't understand the more complex stuff.