I'll be honest, I would have preferred to just roll the 'learn from monsters' thing into the job quests and lore and gotten a standard job. RDM, SMN, even BLM to a lesser degree etc, all went through changes to be fit into FF XIV's mold, and there's really no reason BLU COULDN'T have gotten the same treatment.

But I will applaud them for going outside the box and going all out with the classic blue mage approach. The game needs more things to do beyond the end game grind, and this could be fun depending on how they execute the concept.

On the other hand, if I was a big fan of blue mage I might be upset like some others knowing that it was in the game but as a side activity rather than a job I can 'main.'