Blue Mage: Are you kidding me!?

[ReiMakoto]

Blue Mage like a lot of the other crap they add to the game is always an experiment. So let's see how it performs tomorrow yeah? Odds are if people like BLU they'll be open to adding more to it and maybe making it able to do more over time.

It's a rather different beast to all the other cookie cutter jobs in the game.

It's clear they plan to use the install base to test out how Blue Mage performs in ARR content and will judge accordingly if new jobs made in this way could set a new way to add new jobs or classes. Because I'd rather play a class that stays true to it's traditional roots in the Final Fantasy franchise.

Learning all the spells and seeing what works and what doesn't is going to be a lot of fun.

Some of the restrictions are kinda dumb. Like PvP and Deep Dungeons. Maybe it'll change later but eh whatever.

See this is a great mindset, but there really isnt much "experimenting" to be done, theres a core 12 or so moves, then a lot of repeat skills/moves just for status/ some mild support stuff/stuff that wont work on bosses. Id love it if it was a truly crazy experimentation, but it does look like a "cookie cutter" class with some weird support tacked on

[Blueyes]

See, I'm of a similar mindset. I tend to like to play on my own a lot of the time, since it works best, because 1) People suck and 2) My gaming time is sporadic at best.

Which is why I noted in one of (If not actually) my first post on this topic being that BLU seemed to be essentially tailored for me, someone who enjoys solo content.

I would like to add onto this. I've been voicing my dislike for limited jobs, but it isn't because the system doesn't work for me, specifically. What I mean by that is, lately, I've been in something of a break mode. I've stepped back from level 70 content aside from helping friends when asked. I also really appreciate challenging solo content. The only thing that stops me from pursuing the goal of clearing floor 200 of Palace of the Dead on my own is that it gets discouraging when all progress can be lost due to a single disconnect.

This implantation of Blue Mage is perfect for someone like me, and yet, ever since the announcement, I've had a cloud of disappointment hanging over my head that is still present to this day. Blue Mage has been given a wonderful design. I have expressed my appreciation for all of their hard work. But to see such a wonderful job regulated to side content is disappointing to say the least.

As I've said elsewhere, I think Yoshida's heart was in the right place when designing Blue Mage, but I disagree with the execution. If you are happy with this implantation of Blue Mage, that's okay. You aren't wrong for liking it. But when discussing Blue Mage, I would appreciate if everyone could go into it with an open mind.

I've said it many times. This whole issue shouldn't be thought of as an "us versus them" situation. A unified solution that can satisfy both parties is entirely plausible.

[BarretWallace]

Whose ready for Blu burn parties.... This guy is

So. Fucking. Ready.

[Tabbs]

Loving BLU, honestly. The team did a great job with the aesthetics and such. I'm level 20 right now, and I've heard there are even people who are done already. Here's my beef: It needs to be a full job. Otherwise, it'll only have periods of activity for a few weeks every time a new BLU patch releases. One of the primary counters to "BLU can't use duty finder" was that you can use premade parties in party finder. Which you can! ...in theory. In reality, the problem is that people are only going to party with BLUs AS BLUs and ONLY for content that rewards abilities. Very rarely are we going to see PF groups allowing Blue Mages in anything besides ability rewarding content. So content that doesn't award any kind of ability is dead for a Blue Mage. Which is... sad. I'd really rather see it become a full job, whatever that would entail in terms of it's kit.

That being said, I hope everyone is enjoying it for what it is right now! I think it's a really pretty, pleasing thing to play.

[GrenGarm]

OK, people told me I couldn't judge the job until I've tried it. Well, I tried it. Currently level 10 with six abilities. The job is fun, and just as I predicted, this makes me even more angry about the limited job design.

I want this to be a real job. I'm OK with losing some of the crazier abilities (or limiting them to solo play/carnival stuff) in order to play this as a real job.

I would main BLU if it was a real job. I'm sad and frustrated that I can't.

Please, Square, dump this "limited job" nonsense. It's OK if it takes another year or two, but find a way to make BLU a real job.

EDIT: Typo

[Kkun]

OK, people told me I couldn't judge the job until I've tried it. Well, I tried it. Currently level 10 with six abilities. The job is fun, and just as I predicted, this makes me even more angry about the limited job design.

I want this to be a real job. I'm OK with losing some of the crazier abilities (or limiting them to solo play/carnival stuff) in order to play this as a real job.

I would main BLU if it was a real job. I'm sad and frustrated that I can't.

Please, Square, dump this "limited job" nonsense. It's OK if it takes another year or two, but find a way to make BLU a real job.

EDIT: Typo

This. So much this. I don't know why people kept claiming that we should play before we judge since the problem was with the limitations, not how it plays.
The learning aspect and being able to go into some instances with a premade party with the spells you learned were quite fun. However, like I said many times before, to restrict what BLU can do so much is disappointing. I would have liked to main BLU as well but I can't because you can't do the main story with it (not sure if this limitation is because you literally can't or if it's another unnecessary restriction that would be present even if BLU could the MSQ--like if its level cap was raised to the current expansion's level cap for instance) and it was implied that BLU would always be behind (this is more of a concern as we still don't know if they do plan to eventually have BLUs reach the cap).

[Saefinn]

I figure a "why not both?" scenario would solve the two sides. It could be there's a minimum requirement of spells to be able to use a non-limited version of Blue Mage that's balanced but the skills you use are restricted to accommodate that balance.

I am loving it in its state as a job thus far, I am not yet salty about the limited aspect, as long as I can sustain my enjoyment with it - I hope that means SE sustain content that'll be fun with it and not completely rely on old content and I hope they add Limited Job roulettes to the duty finder because I could see an all Blue Mage party for some old content being entertaining. It wouldn't both me if it's not on-content as long as it content remains active and fun to play.

[Karshan]

This. So much this. I don't know why people kept claiming that we should play before we judge since the problem was with the limitations, not how it plays.
The learning aspect and being able to go into some instances with a premade party with the spells you learned were quite fun. However, like I said many times before, to restrict what BLU can do so much is disappointing. I would have liked to main BLU as well but I can't because you can't do the main story with it (not sure if this limitation is because you literally can't or if it's another unnecessary restriction that would be present even if BLU could the MSQ--like if its level cap was raised to the current expansion's level cap for instance) and it was implied that BLU would always be behind (this is more of a concern as we still don't know if they do plan to eventually have BLUs reach the cap).

In an interview Yoshida said not to have our hopes up seeing BLU hitting 80 even during 5.0, so even if they do it'll be late in the expansion. It won't reach cap for at least a year, maybe 2.

As you said, people's grudge was with the limitations (that were known right away) not the gameplay or the content BLU brought or its novelty, which are all fine (didn't try it but apparently so) and were not the target for critique.

It's the limitations. They are understandable. Completely logical, given how BLU is now. Still they make the job unattractive to endgame oriented players who play for that thrill. That's not a problem in itself, that's just a statement, but people turned it into a heated argument as if a side was right and one was not. No. BLU is something different, it will please some people, and others won't feel they are the target for these limited jobs, and that's about it.

Only problem I see is for some of those who are not fond of limited jobs, to see their favorite job(s) enter the game by this kind of backdoor, when they were kinda hoping to main it. They feel robbed (understandable) and that's why it got out of hand on reddit, forums... Once the disappointment goes away maybe it will be better.

My personnal fear is : ok we're getting 1 limited and 2 full fledged (maybe more ?) for 5.0. What if in 6.0 it's 2 Limited and 1 full ? and in 7.0 only 2 Limited ?
After all they're way easier to design, and you know how it goes in business when the choice is between a hard way to content 10% of customers or an easy way to content 90%...The 10% is gonna shove it soon enough

[DBriggs304]

I dont get the whole "limited job" thing. Yeah, I'm very late to the party...

[Saefinn]

I think that is fair. I can understand people who wanted to main it were disappointed, because I too wanted to main it, but the potential of the kind of Blue Mage I hoped for but felt the game's design was too restrictive for I think ended up making me not join all of the disappointed people. But then I like to get enjoyment out of the game from things that aren't just endgame content and would like to see more attention given by SE to alternative things.

Beyond that, I don't think anything was lost, just something different added. There's 15 other jobs that fit the restrictions of FFXIV's job system and more to come, so the thirst for new jobs will be quenched, just not the Blue Mage thirst unless you're among the people who like the idea of Limited Jobs. They won't be able to please everybody, arguably they'll please more if they did a "why not both" solution, but I think there will become a limit to how many jobs they can viably balance and they already have a challenge with the existing 15. It seems on this occassion they've pleased the people who wanted Blue Mage to not be restricted in terms of its abilities and how they work. Which is fair enough, because some Final Fantasy fans have lamented that other jobs have had their identity watered down to fit FFXIV's battle system, such as Summoner or Red Mage (personally I love both as they are my current main DPS jobs, but I recall being disappointed that Summoner was not Summoner).