Ninja vs. Dragoon

[Alahra]

I don't really get that connotation.
Hammer, mace, cudgels are blunt weapons.
I don't think you need to call it bludgeoning to connote an intent to harm.
There's Blunt force Trauma and Injuries which connote that.

Sure, but it has another meaning as well (and it's the primary one):

1. (of a knife, pencil, etc.) having a worn-down edge or point; not sharp.
"a blunt knife"

Bludgeoning is more clear as a result (and it's why most PnP games use that instead). I looked back and FFXI also used Blunt, so naturally they would carry it forward since most of the team has been the same between the two games.

As for Machinist specifically, if they did mention piercing in one of the interviews, that probably seals it. Either type would have made sense, depending on the descriptive elements (a cannonball works on the same principle as a black powder musket bullet, and I don't think anyone would call a cannonball a piercing weapon). It was really a matter of how much synergy they wanted Machinist to have with DRG. If the damage is indeed piercing (and it probably is), it's reasonable to assume they do intend for BRD and Machinist to not really be used together (though I would still imagine one BRD and one Machinist will be more effective than two Bards currently is).