Scholar... SAY WHUT?

[Anonymoose]

Frankly, I'm just glad someone's rebutting my points with something other than "It's a job wheel, case closed."

Xeia's right - the presence of the Vanya does make it just as (if not more) likely that those are extant armor dyed different colors - and I was able to back and make most, not all, but most of those sets with the existing class gear and new colors.

As for the video teaser, if I were someone who believed in SCH and I watched Yoshida's expression there, I'd have been like "CASE CLOSED." and refused to question why the PR guy let him come on with a mortarboard at all.

And, of course, I find it hard to let go of this quote when it was so recent:

With ARR we’ll see Arcanist added with Summoner shortly after the game launches. Are there any other classes or jobs you’d like to see added? And will these be added in patches or expansions?

For the classes and jobs, we will introduce them through patches because all of the Legacy players have level 50 jobs anyway. When we introduce new classes and jobs we will probably increase the level cap at the same time.

About what I want to introduce, it’s more like what I think I have to introduce. Something related to guns because the (musketeer) guild in the game. Something related to that I think I have to introduce. Also I do feel that scouting classes are lacking so I want to bring in Theif, Ninja and those that have to do with stealth. Also more casters like Blue Mage and Red Mage are something I would like to add. Whatever the players want, I want too.

That just sounds like he has much bigger plans than "First thing after Arcanist and Summoner, we release Scholar. That's what we need right now."

Maybe he did, though. Maybe they got SMN ready ahead of schedule, and made something else, and they figured SCH would be totally useful over BLU and RDM. I'd be shocked, though. I'd just not mention anything outside of lore ever again, lol.

(inb4 "GOOD, you shouldn't you dirty casual!")

[Xeia]

That just sounds like he has much bigger plans than "First thing after Arcanist and Summoner, we release Scholar. That's what we need right now."

I don't necessarily think that having bigger plans and releasing Scholar now are incompatible. Raising the level cap as they add more jobs is fine, but we know they're not raising it at launch. So that gives most veteran players only ACN to level -- when will there ever be a time where a second new class is more needed in terms of people not having enough to level?

And yes, I know they've added a lot of end-game stuff, but surely they want us to experience the journey as well as the destination. Not to mention that without a second class at start up, you can bet your boots we'll be seeing full parties of Arcanists toting entire packs of Carbuncles around the cliffs of La Noscea for at least a month. I'm definitely in favor of anything that'll mitigate that and hopefully they are too.

Maybe they got SMN ready ahead of schedule, and made something else, and they figured SCH would be totally useful over BLU and RDM.

Away with your filthy logic! I want this, okay?! No, but I do agree that SCH is not the most logical choice for a ninth job. That's actually a point I made elsewhere when the image first cropped up. But SE doesn't necessarily have a history of releasing things in the order that I, personally, find most logical, so I'm hesitantly willing to overlook that. And if Scholar was already in the early stages of development when Yoshi-P made that comment, I don't find it too much of a stretch that he'd avoid mentioning it by name.

[Anonymoose]

Not to mention that without a second class at start up, you can bet your boots we'll be seeing full parties of Arcanists toting entire packs of Carbuncles around the cliffs of La Noscea for at least a month. I'm definitely in favor of anything that'll mitigate that and hopefully they are too.

Oh, man, if this SCH thing happens, and it's attached to an entirely new class, I sure hope that wasn't their logic. "We're going to have nothing but parties of Arcanists. We better release a second class." "Good thinking, something physical?" "No, no. Something that'll lead to Scholar. I don't think the people want Thief badly enough, yet."

Away with your filthy logic! I want this, okay?! No, but I do agree that SCH is not the most logical choice for a ninth job. That's actually a point I made elsewhere when the image first cropped up.

I actually want it, too. I actually want all of the things I've argued as being unlikely. I want Scholar because I think it's an interesting and fun class, even if it wasn't terribly useful in FFXI and doesn't seem like a high priority need for ARR yet. I want it to be job branching because hell yeah two jobs for one grind, bitches! And if it's not job branching, I want Scholar to come from Musketeer because, seriously, take that people who are way too pushy about this. Still, if they managed to keep all of that secret this long, just WOW. Yoshida's already kind of a legend... he'd be a development demigod.

[Xeia]

Oh, man, if this SCH thing happens, and it's attached to an entirely new class, I sure hope that wasn't their logic. "We're going to have nothing but parties of Arcanists. We better release a second class." "Good thinking, something physical?" "No, no. Something that'll lead to Scholar, I think. I'm not sure the people want Thief badly enough, yet."

I was thinking more along the lines of, "Oh, yeah, Scholar. In for launch, you say? Good idea. Oh, and incidentally it would also make less arcanists running around!" That seems a more logical progression for the hypothetical conversation to have taken. You watch. The big reveal tomorrow will be that Thieves wear mortar boards and carry books. Stolen books.

I actually want it, too. I actually want all of the things I've argued as being unlikely. I want Scholar because I think it's an interesting and fun class, even if it wasn't terribly useful in FFXI and isn't really even necessary in ARR. I want it to be job branching because hell yeah two jobs for one grind, bitches! And if it's not job branching, I want Scholar to come from Musketeer because, seriously, take that people who are way too pushy about this. Still, if they managed to keep all of that secret this long, just WOW. Yoshida's already kind of a legend... he'd be a development demigod.

MSK -> SCH. The sound of all my Corsair dreams dying would be audible. As for two jobs/one grind, that's sort of my main objection. I don't want a level 50 job I haven't touched.

Besides, with ACN/SMN being confirmed as primarily a DoT job, that still leaves a niche for the more traditional enfeebles (though that might be stepping on the toes of a potential RDM a little). Not to mention the interesting non-combat abilities SCH (/secretary) has had in the past. I'd love to know the actual HP on some of these mobs. Libra me up.

I don't think any other job is really "necessary" at the moment. All core party functions are covered. But I'd love to see more, as would pretty much the entire player base, so why not start with scholar if a forth full mage was the way they wanted to go?

Edit: (I seem to be typing very slowly today)

Scholar is a good fit. In February Yoshi-P said in the Massively interview (when discussing Arcanist) that the game was most lacking "a buff and debuffing role with added crowd control". "Role" could be a big keyword for "job", and maybe one job wasn't big enough to do all that. Scholar has been mostly a debuffer (detecting enemy weakness, removing buffs and even adding weaknesses to enemies). Maybe Summoner will be mostly buffer and crowd control? We'll see.

In... I think the anniversary presentation? In some announcement, I'll hunt the source for you in a minute, Arcanist was confirmed as specializing in DoTs, with Carby having a "casting" and a "tanking" stance. That's all we know about that. But that does appear to still leave buffing, crowd control, and the non-DoT enfeebles up for grabs.

Editedit:
Mm, looks like I was wrong and Arcanist is mentioned as having regular debuffs as well. Which still definitely leaves buffing and possibly leaves crowd control free:



The top part says it's a pet class, below that is listed the types of magic it is proficient with (HP reduction through DoT and weakening enemies through debuffs), then the bottom part mentions Carbuncle and you can obviously read the English for what it has to say about him.

[Xeia]

Still, if they managed to keep all of that secret this long, just WOW. Yoshida's already kind of a legend... he'd be a development demigod.

Fellow fangirls and boys, let the deification begin!