Should there be Limited Classes?

[Carighan]

I see could you enlighten me what does Blue Mage have that would make it too powerful or hard to balance? I just want to understand because I don't like the idea of getting future classes that I can't enjoy unless I play it in specific content.

Just the simple ones:

• Can play as a tank, can also heal significantly, while also having very strong damage options -> You cannot determine which role they would be for DF purposes.
• Some damage options rely on binary effects bosses would have to be immune to. Are they? BLU is now underpowered (or at least lame to play) by-design. Are they not? BLU is now overpowered by-design.
• How do you handle BLUs who don't have all their skills yet? Do you intentionally gimp the groups they get matched into? Or do you prevent BLUs without all skills from queueing at all?
• An important aside: The game has more than enough classes already. In fact, it quite obviously has too many. Adding more into the pool is the worst they could do, they need to stop releasing classes and start releasing gameplay mechanics for the existing classes urgently. So adding BLU to the "main pool" of classes makes an existing wound bleed even more profusely, for no gain and just a ton of headaches like I said. They're a balancing-nightmare with no upside as assuming you can balance them, the current combat design would mean they're forced into the same 4-5 GCDs + 5-10 oGCDs static rotation with no reactive elements as every other damage class, as that what balance originates from in the current state of combat design.

That being said I see no reason not to freely allow them in all content assuming that:

• Only when manually grouping up.
• 1+ limited class in the group means the combats give no loot and no achievements (and hence no mounts or titles etc).

You can still bring them for the lulz and ezpz kill ultimates and stuff, but it's just for the fun, not for any material reward as the balance was never meant to include these classes.

And make no mistake, a better underlying combat design and a far more flexible encounter design could in theory support classes as "weird" as BLU or BSM as full classes. Sure. But FFXIV isn't that game, and assuming they'd want to change that, there'd be multiple expansions worth of class reworks, most from the very ground up (as in, delete absolutely all current skills and traits and start over), to do before getting to the limited jobs. That's assuming all combat classes would even survive such a rework, so we'd probably be more looking at an FF17 here, not a change to FF14.

I'd love a full combat rework, but I am also acutely aware that most players wouldn't accept it, partially because naturally no class would still feel like the class you played before afterwards. So chance are slim~none.