It's a pity there's no way to reject the advanced jobs

[StriderShinryu]

I would absolutely rather be a straight up damage dealing Archer than a pseudo-support Bard any day.

[Gemina]

I would absolutely rather be a straight up damage dealing Archer than a pseudo-support Bard any day.

Having recently gone through BRD quests 30-45, they thoroughly explain why this is. I wouldn't think of Bards as psuedo archers, but rather archers who have been through and seen some serious shizz. It is one of the best and most sensible transitions from class to job I've encountered thus far in the game. Other jobs such as PLD totally cast away your Gladiator roots, and beat into your head "You're a Paladin now!"

However, I do get your point. If they still did the branching out with jobs like SMN/SCH, they could have easily also let archers choose something like Ranger, which would focus more on pure damage rather than group support. If they really wanted BRD to be a bowmage way back when, that would have been the way to go.

[Ilenya]

Having recently gone through BRD quests 30-45, they thoroughly explain why this is. I wouldn't think of Bards as psuedo archers, but rather archers who have been through and seen some serious shizz. It is one of the best and most sensible transitions from class to job I've encountered thus far in the game. Other jobs such as PLD totally cast away your Gladiator roots, and beat into your head "You're a Paladin now!"

This is why I quite enjoyed the 60-70 Paladin stuff, because it actually drew on our GLA roots for once.