The Limitation Dilemma: Why Final Fantasy 14's Limited Job was a Mistake

[Eorzean_username]

"It's not overpowered because it, when synced, is worse than another job at level 90 when doing content unsync"

Oh, alright. This is fun.

In that case, let's imagine that BLU achievements/bribery can be completed without an all-BLU party.

BLU is so powerful, right? So even if you could get your BLU treats without an all-BLU party, you'd still use all BLUs anyway, right? Because they're so powerful?

Except no, actually, Healer and Tank Mimicry would probably go extinct overnight — because you're just kneecapping yourself using a BLU for those roles, since it's underpowered at doing tasks that aren't "burst things down with spell-stacking vomit", even vs. a synced normal Tank / Healer.

You do realize that 'synced' is the intended way to do content, the way its been designed to be done,

Ahh yes "respecting the content" or something?

Which is why PF is filled to the brim with "Synced" parties for farming old content, right?

"Synced" is the forced way to do content, in order to keep it relevant, and create some semblance of an actual game. As soon as the developers give you a switch to turn off scaling limitations, they just created another "intended" way to do content.

This is just semantic footsie.

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BLU is only "overpowered" in content where it's engineered to be, and the targets are deliberately made vulnerable to BLU's toolkit, and you voluntarily choose to Sync down for it because the game told you to and you have a compulsive need to complete checklists.

"White Mage can STUN entire PACKS of trash mobs?! Better cap it at level 70, otherwise it would be too OVERPOWERED in Savage raids!"

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I wasn't talking about whatever "uncapped BLU" hypotheticals you want to throw into the debate — I'm saying that people claiming they love BLU right now because "it's so overpowered!" seem to be living in a different plane of reality, and/or unable to find the "Unsync" setting on their Duty Finder.

and if BLU is Overpowered compared to normal jobs when synced to same level, then it's overpowered and that's the end of story?

Yeah you seem to have gotten snagged on this pretty hard, so sure, let's elaborate on the concept.

Besides pointless gimmicks like deleting a trash pack every 2 minutes (which would have ~zero effect on the wider game outside maybe Expert Roulette, assuming that the developers didn't just make max-level mobs Freeze-immune), the only thing that makes BLU even vaguely "overpowered" in synced content is that its Potencies are utterly and intentionally busted. And even that only really matters when it... lines up a bunch of fiddly moving parts and CDs to set up a proper... 2 minute... burst... oh, this sounds familiar, doesn't it?

BLU then spends the rest of its time drooling on its keyboard mashing Sonic Boom or Sharpened Knife or whatever generic filler you've chosen today, in-between just trying to desperately keep itself alive at all due to how underpowered its ability to handle a lot of mechanics and problems actually is.

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Like, are you getting this? BLU's ridiculous burst damage is the only thing that allows the ridiculously poor rest of its design to be propped-up, because it allows BLU to just sleepwalk through the periods of time in-between chunking huge portions of a target's HP bar. It's like the Primal God of the 2-Minute Meta.

What you're basically trying to say is: "If you give a Job busted potencies at Level 90, then that Job will be busted".

Great point, which supports exactly what I'm saying — because that's not a trait inherent to the concept of Blue Mage. "Blue Mage" is not overpowered — intentionally jacking a Job's burst potency sky-high just to give that Job an arbitrary niche/advantage, is "overpowered".

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Want Paladin to be "overpowered" like BLU when synced to level 60?

No problem, just crank its Potencies sky-high during its burst window, and then create a "Paladin Log" that requires a full party of Paladins, who will alternate casting Clemency on each other in-between bursting big chunks off the target.

Such unique excitement! Now Paladin could never be a level 90 Job, it's too powerful!

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What else makes BLU "overpowered" when Synced?

...Oh yes, things it can do to trash mobs, which are sometimes/often Immune, depending on the "overpowered" action in question.

"I'm incredibly overpowered because FATE bosses say, 'Immune', when I cast Tail Screw on them, and 50%+ of my toolkit is gimmicky padding that I literally never put on my bar, and ~40% of the rest is just bloated DPS burst actions like any other Job!"

"And sometimes the devs arbitrarily throw me a little kitty-treat by marking like 1 or 2 Dungeon bosses 'deathable' each level tier, so I get a little rush from it, while arbitrarily leaving the rest 'Immune' to remind me of my actual place".

Egads! Such design brilliance, such power! It's seeping into my pores like argyria!

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So basically "If you let BLU be level 90... think of what it would do to Expert Roulette!"

Gasp! No! Not Expert Roulette!

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"But like, think of if I could Diamondback through Harrowing Hell in exchange for doing zero DPS for 10 seconds so I'm basically KO'd anyway!"

Haha that's great, we're taking this Summoner and their Radiant Aegis instead of you though — good luck

And if it were a 'normal' job in current state, able to go all the way to level 90, it'd break everything.

Instead of just arbitrarily claiming this, I'm going to ask for some examples.

How? How would BLU "break everything" at level 90?

Can you provide some specific examples that you're imagining?

[ForsakenRoe]

Instead of just arbitrarily claiming this, I'm going to ask for some examples.

How? How would BLU "break everything" at level 90?

Can you provide some specific examples that you're imagining?

I'll provide an example of the opposite direction, I guess? If I look at a video like this O12S clear, I see them clear the fight right after the second Archive All. That's like, when we'd clear the fight with 390 gear on an actual comp, back when SB was current. In fact, because they kill it there, with 400 ilvl, they're 'slower' in some regards compared to 'real jobs', perhaps. Either way, to me, this video tells me that BLU, the 'super OP' job that would destroy current raids if it were able to go in there... is actually really quite balanced vs the 70 raids, DPS output wise?

So while you get nothing for doing it solo, it is 100% possible to solo dungeons while level sync'd as a BLU. Was fun.

Also while Pom Cure is only 500 potency under Healer Mimicry, that's really all you need as a BLU to heal back to 90-100%.

Fun it may be, but that 500 is actually 600, due to healer mimicry's +20%. And then that 600 is actually 1200, because you've got Basic Instinct applied. Clemency is 1000 and doesn't require you be solo, guess we should make PLD a limited job too



edit: just had a thought. Imagine we log in one day before 7.0 releases, maybe some time between 6.4 and 6.5, and everyone has a mail in their mailbox in game. It just says:

'Sorry I couldn't come tell you this in person. I think I've made a big discovery. I have to go back. I'll keep you apprised if I discover more. - M'

Playerbase trying to work out who M is, what they discovered, etc. Turns out it's a little teaser from the devs, that Martyn going back to the New World, as he's found a way to improve BLU capabilities etc. Just a fun little 'mess with the playerbase' thing to stir up hype, and then at fanfest do the big reveal. But the speculation would be pretty fun. Maybe make the letter be from 'A' (as in Azuro) to misdirect