Can Blue magic be incorperated in this game?

[Grey_Cain]

There are many ways it can be done:

1.) Blue Mage Classic ignores the current ability list patterns and just learns abilities whenever, and has an unlimited number of possible abilities. It just keeps adding new abilities to the list, and they can all be used at any time.

2.) Blue Mage XI gets a new blank slot instead of an ability that it can fill with one of the monster abilities that it's learned. Abilities are learned permanently, but only a limited number can be set. As a Class, this version can set up to 17 abilities. As a Job, it can only set 5 at a time.

3.) Blue Mage Riot (because this version would cause players to riot) learns abilities temporarily and has a limited window to use the ability before it's lost. Blue Magic would be a counter-attack like Haymaker or Shield Swipe, but using the enemy's own ability back against it.

4.) Blue Mage Suck learns a specific few iconic Blue Mage spells, learns them by levels like anyone else, and can't learn new spells until the level cap is raised. It's passable as a Class. It would be the worst Job.

[Duelle]

3.) Blue Mage Riot (because this version would cause players to riot) learns abilities temporarily and has a limited window to use the ability before it's lost. Blue Magic would be a counter-attack like Haymaker or Shield Swipe, but using the enemy's own ability back against it.

Why would abilities be temporary? I see them getting a bunch of spells per "tier" of blue magic with shared cooldowns. That would open up possibilities for spells while also allowing BLU to be somewhat versatile. Blue Magic is too much to build a class around, so you'd have to have it branch of a melee or mage class with blue magic beings its own thing.

[Amused]

2.) Blue Mage XI gets a new blank slot instead of an ability that it can fill with one of the monster abilities that it's learned. Abilities are learned permanently, but only a limited number can be set. As a Class, this version can set up to 17 abilities. As a Job, it can only set 5 at a time.

This sounds like the best way to do it, in my opinion.

[Limecat]

2.) Blue Mage XI gets a new blank slot instead of an ability that it can fill with one of the monster abilities that it's learned. Abilities are learned permanently, but only a limited number can be set. As a Class, this version can set up to 17 abilities. As a Job, it can only set 5 at a time.

Given the way this game is set up, this seems the most likely. The quested abilities might be something more like unlocking new tiers of spells to learn. Then use a modified version of the cross-class tab, with the icons being for ability tiers instead of other classes.

[Alberel]

Given the way this game is set up, this seems the most likely. The quested abilities might be something more like unlocking new tiers of spells to learn. Then use a modified version of the cross-class tab, with the icons being for ability tiers instead of other classes.

This is pretty much how I see it working as well.

The current cross-class skill system is identical to how BLU worked in FFXI so all they need to do is have a slightly modified skill interface that lets them 'slot' learned skills from a larger pool of monster skills instead of simply learning a fixed number at certain levels or from certain quests.The job quests can just unlock new slots as opposed to actual skills.

To be honest any other implementation would kill the spirit of the job as BLU has always been about going out to track down a wide variety of skills from different sources beyond the usual scope of gameplay. This gives them a great versatility that other jobs lack (kept in check through needing to select a small few to be used at any time). Having them learn monster skills through job quests would make them no different to other casters at the end of the day and there would be no point in them existing.