BLU for Duty Finder and Raids! Show your support!

[Skos]

I don't care that much for endgame content or raids either, but Blue Mage should at least be allowed to participate in the main quest. If someone wants to main Blue Mage and do endgame content? The solution is to let them level another job if they want, not force them to use another job when they really want to go through the story as a Blue Mage.

The three main restrictions I really want them to lift are story, squadron command missions and roulettes in a full pre-made party.

[kikix12]

But, realistically, I don't think there is a way for Square to get away from having a rotation.

"Rotation" is the same kind of word as "diet" is. Saying that "I'm on a diet" is incorrect just like saying that "I have a rotation" is. You have a diet, always. The only creatures that don't have a diet are the ones that are dead, and the only people without a rotation (in a game) are the ones that don't do anything at all. So no. It is literally impossible for anyone in any game to avoid any kind of rotation.

There are however different kinds of rotations, like there are different kinds of diets. The set rotations where you follow it to a T from start to finish then rinse and repeat, the priority based rotations where you choose X skill over Y skill if it's available, the random rotations where you spam anything that's on in whatever order whatsoever and so on.

The "bad" rotations are the fixed ones, where there is exactly ONE way to play well, other ways being anywhere between "sub-par" to "tragic".
With priority-based rotation there is some variation that becomes available beyond your control. It's like turns when you are driving. People realized that super-long straight roads are LETHAL, more dangerous than many corners, so they add unnecessary turns to stuff nowadays to alleviate that. That's what the random procs are.
With random rotation...yeah. Let's not get there, it's not going to work in any performance-based game.
With variable rotations...well, they removed some kinds of them, rotations based on targets resistance. There is a limited form of Single Target VS AoE decision. But it IS possible to make several side-to-side rotations that act differently, but can be interchangeable. It's a bit too complicated though so Square Enix will not do it. Even if they could, they won't, cause they dumb this game down every opportunity they get already.


As for the skills datamined, someone said that about half of them comes from dungeons. I checked it and I saw it stating only one enemy or one area for every skill. Though I won't be going through it to check individual ones, I can say from that, that it is an incomplete list. I'd say it only shows the place with the highest chance of obtaining the skill, not the only place to get it. For example it shows 1000 needles for Thanalan, but the trailer did show the Blue Mage learning it in Cutters Cry.
Though yes, monsters in the overworld simply do not use many or unique skills so many of them WILL be only from dungeons. Maybe with Blue Mage out, they'll change that in their design in the future. Maybe even update the old maps seeing as they are not beyond changing them as this patch proved.


I do agree that the Squadrons should be available though. I see no reason for them not to be.

Also, the suicide skills and Mighty Guard show that Blue Mage was made with having parties in some sort of consideration. Neither of them have much of any sense for a solo Blue Mage. So it's not like they completely dismiss party for Blue Mage unlike some people keep claiming.

[BillyKaplan]

So it's not like they completely dismiss party for Blue Mage unlike some people keep claiming.

I mean in our defense, those 'some people' were first and foremost the devs...

[ThirdKeyOfSun]

I mean in our defense, those 'some people' were first and foremost the devs...

Didn't they have a slide in that very same presentation that said part of BLU progression was forming parties and undertaking instance duties?

Found it:

[kikix12]

I mean in our defense, those 'some people' were first and foremost the devs...

I think you need to take more care when reading.

"Not like they completely dismiss" is not the same as "They will focus on party play". It means that the party play will be there, will get something here or there, but will not be the focus.

Unless you want to explain to me why Blue Mages have a skill that REQUIRES a party to even be usable, and it being a skill specifically implemented for this iteration of Blue Mage through secondary means since no monsters use anything remotely similar.

[SDaemon]

I don't care that much for endgame content or raids either, but Blue Mage should at least be allowed to participate in the main quest. If someone wants to main Blue Mage and do endgame content? The solution is to let them level another job if they want, not force them to use another job when they really want to go through the story as a Blue Mage.

At present they would have to play a completely different job through the 2.0 story, play BLU through 2.55 and then have to pick up and play a different job [maybe the one prior to BLU doesnt really matter] to continue past 2.55 and they would have to level that job other than BLU up to 50+ to continue as well. At present using BLU for MSQ would be very lackluster and only put the player in a horrible spot to actually get through the MSQ.

[redcurrant18]

At present they would have to play a completely different job through the 2.0 story, play BLU through 2.55 and then have to pick up and play a different job [maybe the one prior to BLU doesnt really matter] to continue past 2.55 and they would have to level that job other than BLU up to 50+ to continue as well. At present using BLU for MSQ would be very lackluster and only put the player in a horrible spot to actually get through the MSQ.

That may be so for now, but as the level cap continues to increase for Blue Mage then player should have the ability to progress through the story as a Blue Mage. If someone wants to main Blue Mage I don't see why we can't let them - as long as beforehand there's a warning of some sort to say:

"Blue Mage cannot participate in Raid Roulette/Alliance Raid Roulette/PvP/etc unless they are part of a premade party to ensure fairness."

Or

"Blue Mage will not gain experience points from this point on until the level cap is increased. It is recommended to have a side job at a sufficient level to continue progressing onto further quests."

You could even add in lore that says that Blue Mage would be too susceptible to the influence of such powerful monsters, locking them out from Extreme fights and raids. There are many creative ways this can be dealt with and still increase player satisfaction. Alternatively, they could raise the level cap to 80 and add in additional Blue Magic spells later in Shadowbringers. We don't need 50 spells per expansion, and I would be okay if more spells were added over time to encourage me to go play as Blue Mage. If people know what they are signing up for, and we do, I say let us do what we want.

[SDaemon]

That may be so for now, but as the level cap continues to increase for Blue Mage then player should have the ability to progress through the story as a Blue Mage. If someone wants to main Blue Mage I don't see why we can't let them - as long as beforehand there's a warning of some sort to say:

"Blue Mage cannot participate in Raid Roulette/Alliance Raid Roulette/PvP/etc unless they are part of a premade party to ensure fairness."

Or

"Blue Mage will not gain experience points from this point on until the level cap is increased. It is recommended to have a side job at a sufficient level to continue progressing onto further quests."

You could even add in lore that says that Blue Mage would be too susceptible to the influence of such powerful monsters, locking them out from Extreme fights and raids. There are many creative ways this can be dealt with and still increase player satisfaction. Alternatively, they could raise the level cap to 80 and add in additional Blue Magic spells later in Shadowbringers. We don't need 50 spells per expansion, and I would be okay if more spells were added over time to encourage me to go play as Blue Mage. If people know what they are signing up for, and we do, I say let us do what we want.

Even after the level cap increases it would be a disjointed mess. Once it goes up to 60 then any new BLU player would still have to level a job to 50 through the 2.0 MSQ, get to play blue till 60 and the 3.55 MSQ and then have to level a job from whatever the next highest they have is [likely just the previous 50] to 60 so as to continue the MSQ. That trend will continue onward until BLU potentially, maybe reaches the same level cap as current cap in whatever future expansion that may happen in. Until then just to elaborate the trend, when BLU eventually gets to 70 and gets to play through 4.55 MSQ, unless the player kept up leveling an alt job, they would have to level their level 50 from 50 to 70 just to continue onward to Shadowbringers MSQ, that would be compounded again the following expansion, having to level that 50 from 50 to 80 and so on. [For any new BLU]

I honestly feel like if SE went and opened up the rather small segment of MSQ BLU could do that people would be more upset at being needlessly teased than happy they got to play it in the MSQ for a period of time before having to drudge through leveling an alt job just to continue on with the MSQ, especially if they are a new, or any old really, player and only have 1 real job leveled up decently at the time and are now forced to level up a low level job to continue with the MSQ. Seems very off putting to players for very little satisfactional benefit.

[redcurrant18]

Even after the level cap increases it would be a disjointed mess. Once it goes up to 60 then any new BLU player would still have to level a job to 50 through the 2.0 MSQ, get to play blue till 60 and the 3.55 MSQ and then have to level a job from whatever the next highest they have is [likely just the previous 50] to 60 so as to continue the MSQ. That trend will continue onward until BLU potentially, maybe reaches the same level cap as current cap in whatever future expansion that may happen in. Until then just to elaborate the trend, when BLU eventually gets to 70 and gets to play through 4.55 MSQ, unless the player kept up leveling an alt job, they would have to level their level 50 from 50 to 70 just to continue onward to Shadowbringers MSQ, that would be compounded again the following expansion, having to level that 50 from 50 to 80 and so on. [For any new BLU]

I honestly feel like if SE went and opened up the rather small segment of MSQ BLU could do that people would be more upset at being needlessly teased than happy they got to play it in the MSQ for a period of time before having to drudge through leveling an alt job just to continue on with the MSQ, especially if they are a new, or any old really, player and only have 1 real job leveled up decently at the time and are now forced to level up a low level job to continue with the MSQ. Seems very off putting to players for very little satisfactional benefit.

Again, if people want to main Blue Mage, let them do it but warn them beforehand that they'll need to level another job. I'd rather give people the ability to be free and to run wild than restrict in the way the currently are. There IS benefit to being allowed to play through the main quest as a Blue Mage, like seeing our character in their Magus Attire in cutscenes in real time and not the in, being able to use Blue Magic in storyline instanced battles, and roaming the overworld as the job of their dreams. If you won't get satisfaction from this, that doesn't mean that other players like me won't enjoy this. Also, this is FFXIV - most people level multiple jobs anyway so having to level an extra one isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of this game.

[SDaemon]

Again, if people want to main Blue Mage, let them do it but warn them beforehand that they'll need to level another job. I'd rather give people the ability to be free and to run wild than restrict in the way the currently are. There IS benefit to being allowed to play through the main quest as a Blue Mage, like seeing our character in their Magus Attire in cutscenes in real time and not the in, being able to use Blue Magic in storyline instanced battles, and roaming the overworld as the job of their dreams. If you won't get satisfaction from this, that doesn't mean that other players like me won't enjoy this. Also, this is FFXIV - most people level multiple jobs anyway so having to level an extra one isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of this game.

Warn them that they'll be barred from continuing the main story quest unless they go back and level up another job, potentially 30+ levels in the future after they hit the BLU MSQ Wall so as to continue with the story? Again, I see that as very off putting for players, especially new players with very little in the way of alt jobs leveled. I'm not saying I won't be satisfied. I'm saying I can reasonably see a great number of players being upset about the situation.