New Classes and Bard, the need for a second job.

[Nalien]

I think the only major concern here is whether the two jobs can feel distinct when varied only by 5 abilities and will most likely sharing the same role.

Honestly, the only one I can realistically see working, is Marauder => Dark Knight (Thaumaturge sub with access to Fire/Blizzard). First ability just needs to be "Increases damage taken X%, magic damage proportional to enmity level, magic attacks shed enmity.", then it works perfectly well with Marauders enmity related abilities and creates a viable system to cast nukes (something lacking in XI). Build up enmity, nuke. Use Storm's Path combo, Foresight, ToB, pull hate and do an absolutely devastating magic attack (presumably with its version of Flare/Holy).

Pugilist => Counter based tank could work I guess, since unlike Lancer its combos aren't dependent on direction, but everything else just wouldn't work. Bard doesn't have enough of a focus on Songs to make a Ranger type Job seem different since they'd both ultimately be DPS. Gladiator has far too many defensive abilities for anything but a tank to really work, likewise Conjurer has far too much healing spells. Thaumaturge basically is Black Mage, there isn't really anything else Thaumaturge can do, at best it could enfeeble, but that would work as well as Bard does.

Given how secondary Jobs is actually something the developers have mentioned so much, I'd really love to hear from them as to how they'd actually go about it. If they plan anything like what I suggested earlier, that could make for an amazing Jobs adjustment patch. It could even make for Classes becoming more useful, strip Bard of Strait Shot, Raging Strikes, Misery's End, and Barrage (MP combo, Song, Song, same effect but for Songs instead of auto-attack) and you're not going to solo anything on that, not that you would on Bard already...

You know, maybe they could make Classes more useful by just nerfing Jobs base stats... We get a stats bonus when we're in a party, why not just nerf Jobs stats and buff that bonus substantially? On a non-tank Job without a tank in party? Enjoy getting two shotted. Would certainly do the job, but I don't think that would be a popular adjustment...