I'm really eager for another bow job.

[Connor]

I think they should release a Ranger job so they can go all in on Bard.

Make it more like a traditional FF Bard that uses a harp as its weapon, it could fit into the caster dps role (I’d say healer but that’d cause balancing chaos because pure/shield healer numbers balance).

Ranger could get all the magic laser beams and thematically-out-of-place attacks where we pierce our enemies with spears of pure darkness aka Sidewinder / Shadowbite (very Bard-like). If they’re that worried it would lack ‘identity’ they could easily throw any number of ‘aetherial deus-ex-machina’ to give Rangers something else to draw people to the job. Magic arrows, animal companions, whatever.

It seems a bit unfair to me that if you want to play a Black Mage or Dragoon you can go all-in on the ‘traditional ff class fantasy’ but if you want to be a Bard or a Ranger you have to accept being a 50/50 job hybrid

[YukikoKurosawa]

Question 1: Archers in FFXIV 1.0 use a bow. In 1.21, they added jobs -- and Bard was the job that enhanced Archers. Game developers don't usually go out and say "Hey kids! Would you like to be a wielder of bows and arrows and sing as well?"

Question 2: Bards use stringed instruments as they allow for voice and music to be played by one person. Bows are strung, and if you pluck them, they produce a note. Kinda hard to do that with a sword or lance.

Comment 1: 'Traditional fantasy bards' in Lord of the Rings Online used musical instruments, and sang, and were, in general, the worst, most embarassing class to play in the game, unless you turned the sound down.

Aside from Final Fantasy XII, there is no Archer-like class in any Final Fantasy game (not counting games outside the Final Fantasy franschise). So, no 'bow class' to play. At all. Japanese developers don't have to stick to European tropes for either archer or bard. At a guess, when they were looking for a base-class for Bards, they decided against melee weapon classes. And so, we have Bards with bows.

Why not just make bard a healer?

[MistyMew]

A ranger type would be great. Bard is cool but I was a bit disappointed I couldn't just... you know, stay an archer.

1000000% Agree!!!
♥

[Equitable_Remedy]

I'm really eager for another bow job.

Thought this thread was about something else.

Thread did not deliver.

[DPZ2]

Why not just make bard a healer?

Oddly enough, the Limit Breaks for Bard in A Realm Reborn were Healer limit breaks. In 1.0, Bard had limited access to White Mage spells as well.

[Shurrikhan]

I see no reason as to why we cannot have a Hunter class that wields a crossbow and functions similar to a "ranged Reaper" in regards to abilities that call forth a smaller amount of higher-quality animals as opposed to a huge swathe of enemy mobs whose model quality has varied wildly over the years.

Hunters/animal tamers/beastmasters are a widely popular archetype and their addition to the game is long overdue as a full-fledged job.

I wouldn't hate this (especially, I'd be fine with a smaller, curated set of pet options in favor of their offering more integral and impactful mechanics), but I'd personally rather our next ranged job be a true ranged job and Beastmaster instead be of hybrid range (with the amount of contiguous ranged GCDs varying with pet choice and its actions doing whatever is necessary to interestingly synergize with their pet(s)).

As such, I'd rather a crossbow-wielding Hunter, for instance, be a more of a 'Bounty Hunter' and/or 'Gambler' in its vibe.

[Hysorn]

A ranger type would be great. Bard is cool but I was a bit disappointed I couldn't just... you know, stay an archer.

Yep, same for me, I leveled a bard but... I don't really play archers to be an arcane archer that plays songs if I am to be honest, I much prefer the Ranger fantasy, which this game sorely lacks.

[Shurrikhan]

Question 1: Archers in FFXIV 1.0 use a bow. In 1.21, they added jobs -- and Bard was the job that enhanced Archers. Game developers don't usually go out and say "Hey kids! Would you like to be a wielder of bows and arrows and sing as well?"

Question 2: Bards use stringed instruments as they allow for voice and music to be played by one person. Bows are strung, and if you pluck them, they produce a note. Kinda hard to do that with a sword or lance.

Comment 1: 'Traditional fantasy bards' in Lord of the Rings Online used musical instruments, and sang, and were, in general, the worst, most embarassing class to play in the game, unless you turned the sound down.

Aside from Final Fantasy XII, there is no Archer-like class in any Final Fantasy game (not counting games outside the Final Fantasy franschise). So, no 'bow class' to play. At all. Japanese developers don't have to stick to European tropes for either archer or bard. At a guess, when they were looking for a base-class for Bards, they decided against melee weapon classes. And so, we have Bards with bows.

The 1.x reasoning for Bards, as knowledgeable, charismatic, well-spoken and well-voiced individuals, being recruited as squad leaders made... plenty of sense, honestly.

Moreover, the Bard being a primarily a user of ranged and/or dexterous weapons, most iconically the shortbow... is straight out of European tropes, both in folk tales and in video game (and DnD) representations. The difference is merely that we can't carry backup weapons in this game, with takes a toll on the impression of a (DnD) Bard normally being both eclectic and well-rounded (much like the difference between a XIV RDM and that of early FF games in opportunities, gear distribution, etc., over the leveling process).

[SeverianLyonesse]

Bard currently has, as a regular part of their arsenal: bows, shortbows, longbows, compound bows. It is *the* bow job, doing about as much with a bow as is feasible for that particular ranged weapon fantasy. We are as likely to get a second bow job as we are to get a job that uses MCH's pistols/revolvers (i.e. practically not at all), and instead of typing that argument out again I am just going to link to my previous post:

Why we aren't getting a second "pistol" job.

Given that we have seen "samurai blades" and "gunblades" split off from PLD/DRK, despite both using "blades", I do see the possibility of a "crossbow" job or any other job that has a more distinct form of bow arsenal that does not include "bows, longbows, shortbows, compound bows". But as far as wanting an actual bow class, that is highly improbable the way that XIV designs its jobs.

[AnnaUK]

I'd love a beast master too.

On another note I'd love a job with dual pistols