Classes vs jobs , are classes near obsolete now?

[Kerwin]

Originally all you had was class rank and an overall level. It was interesting for a while but very confusing at the same time. Just for giggles I might deck out a Gladiator or Muarader with some HQ crafting gear and penta meld some materia in it.

But then again it would be a huge gil sink and I would be gimped in comparison to any job. It really has become a thing of the past and looked down upon. Archers being actual range DPS instead of bard support? I'm growing OLD!

[Duelle]

Originally all you had was class rank and an overall level. It was interesting for a while but very confusing at the same time. Just for giggles I might deck out a Gladiator or Muarader with some HQ crafting gear and penta meld some materia in it.

I've mentioned this before, but I feel the original level and rank system from 1.0 was basically what The Secret World got. "Weapon" level progression separate from base level progression. I sometimes wonder if 1.0 was going to get Jobs the way Decks were implemented in TSW.

What happens if you don't have a NIN available or if the one needing the fight is the PLD?

Then you're SoL because lolPLD pre-Ochain/Aegis. Let's not pretend FFXI encouraged innovation because once the hive mind set its expected curricula, you followed it or were laughed at/ignored.

After all, "Truly viable" is only true until you actually get things done in a different way.

You forget that the context of viable in FFXI was "guaranteed victory so that time spent camping/farming pop items/traveling to the spot is not utterly wasted". That's what pushed people towards specific set ups where the ace jobs reigned and everyone else was worthless.

Of course, that doesn't in any way mean you can't actually enjoy having a more linear experience. But from that to actually try to discredit the advantages of having more choices in a game like this (just to excuse the Devs) is simply wrong.

The more "options" are availab,e the more difficult the game would be to balance, not to mention design of encounters taking a notable hit. FFXI was a clusterfuck on several levels between combat design, possible roles, job balance and things they should have fixed but never did.

Which brings us back to how pointless the Armory system is right now and how it has become just a vehicle to get you to lvl 30, so you can get your "real" Job and never have to look back at your laughable starting class ever again.

As mentioned before, the class is the foundation, the jobs are the branching roles and possibilities of growth for that class. That's more than good enough without making things messy on both players and developers.

[Nahara]

The more "options" are available, the more difficult the game would be to balance, not to mention design of encounters taking a notable hit. FFXI was a clusterfuck on several levels between combat design, possible roles, job balance and things they should have fixed but never did.

Fun case in point: Absolute Virtue. SE created the boss and had an idea of how players should have fought and killed it. Instead, players pulled shenanigans like throwing 18 SCH at it with Modus Veritas or DRKs with Kraken Clubs and Souleater. If you have too many options, it becomes incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to properly balance anything.