Blue Mage idea

[Dohati]

I was just thinking that if SE doesn't see blue mage as an implementable class in 14 due to the nature of learning enemy skills, they could easily just make them all learnable from quests like the special abilities for jobs. each quest would basically be "go fight this special event monster or X number of regular monsters of a certain type", and then you report back for a new skill learned from the monster you defeated. as for blue mage not fitting into the holy trinity, due to it's wide array of different types of abilities, it could maybe lock into a certain spot of it's choosing, which would lock certain abilities, giving them a specific role (unchangeable at any time gear cannot be changed, i.e. mid-battle and in dungeons, etc.) if it equipped spells like in ffxi, it could be classified as healer, tank, or dps depending on what kind of spells it has the majority of, and take that spot in the duty finder. for example, if you equip more than 1/2 healing spells, you queue as healer.

[Dohati]

... or maybe just have it queue as a dps with just a few abilities like a weak curing spell, and a buffing spell or two. similar to how summoners are caster DPS, but they have a cure spell anyway. I just REALLY liked the idea of using quests to learn the monster abilities.

[Jandor]

Could have monster abilities appear on a tab under the cross-class abilities menu, you can only slot them when you have the blue mage job stone equiped.

[Mcshiggs]

Unless they get off of their, every class and job has to have the same amount of abilities, I could see them introducing blue mage and beastmaster off of the same class, the beastmaster's 5 extra skills being two or three summons, then something like spur and a pet heal, and then blue mage getting 5 monster skills learned from quests. I also think they plan at least for the first set of jobs, to make the two jobs have different main stats, so not sure how they would work these two, unless they classify the blue mage monster skills as int based or something. It's just with the way they choose to go about balancing stuff in this game, and the kindergarten stat system, it's going to be difficult for them to work in more complex jobs like blue mage, red mage, and things like that.

[Dohati]

Unless they get off of their, every class and job has to have the same amount of abilities, I could see them introducing blue mage and beastmaster off of the same class, the beastmaster's 5 extra skills being two or three summons, then something like spur and a pet heal, and then blue mage getting 5 monster skills learned from quests.

yeah this is why I was suggesting mostly DD spells with one or 2 utility cure/buff spells. get sword abilities by leveling up, blue magic from questing. can't really be TOO versatile without having more abilities than other classes (or just having less native abilities from it's class and extra quests for each job that branches out from it).

[Fadnog]

I think that if SE adds BLU they should have it so that the BLU unlocks slots, that function like the cross class system, every 5 levels from the job quests, ending up with 5 slots at 50. Like the cross class skills, you would be able to set your spells and you would still technically have the same amount of skills as all the other jobs. This would allow for the BLU to still feel like a BLU while still limiting the job to keep game balance.

As for learning the spells a few ideas that come to me would be to either:

1. Have the spells linked to the hunting log in some way or even give BLU a seperate kind of HL that is for learning spells.

2. Have guildleve-esque quests that you can undertake that would reward with a spell.

3. Have a combination of 1 and 2 where you complete a HL entry then you would able to initiate a fight with a boss mob, and when defeated it would reward you with a spell.

Again these are just ideas that utilize the current systems in the game.

[verislie]

I would very much like the BLU job have a very in depth hunting log that focused more on bosses or fate monsters.
Or if we go on that idea of increased slots to cross classmore skills, maybe they unlock enhanced versions of other classes each job quest and increase tiers to allow more skills to choose from. But this sounds more like a mimic job. Perhaps if the jobs BLU and MMC? (mimic) branched from the same copycat class one delves into the complexities of other jobs/classes while the other experiments with the absurdities of monster skills. Both have the copycat skill but when the soul crystals are equipped, have different effects. BLU have copycat work like cleric stance and have reduced stats and must be attacked by the learn able skill and survive using mitigating or regenerative skills. Maybe learn a confusion or charm effect skill for a job quest to learn beneficial abilities.

[Alphras]

Blue mage should have an extra menu for equpping monster skills and with each job quest they can choose one more.

[Asheilin]

Maybe something along the lines of a class that has more traits unlocked lower level with fewer abilities until they get their Job which unlocks Blue Magic.
Then get 3 ability spots at 30, 2 at 35, 2 at 40, a specific ability and 1 slot at 45, and the "XI like their 2 hour" (I played most when it was a 2h cd)
Then they can learn 1 ability per level but at 50 only can select 8 Blue Magic Spells. The Hunger's log idea sounds like a great idea to go along with this.

[KikoriL]

I've suggested it a few times in other topics, but couldn't hurt to say again.
I kinda predict Blue Mages in FFXIV would take the FFX-2 sort of route and have specializations against specific styles of enemies. Buffs to rotate a defensive stack against the damage's type (blunt/slash/pierce) and elemental aspect, and a buff to do the same offensively. Due to how stacking resistances does indeed substantially reduce aspected types of damage damage, it does make me think that's be the best way for Blue Mages to be able to tank the blows as needed to learn them in whatever way is used to learn / use enemy spells.
(Gotta say, I really like the idea of temporary storage on hotbars like pets have..)