Don't misslead people about what their job does, please

[Warlyx]

I don't understand. FF has had the trinity since FF3?

FF1 :P , u start with a party of 4 and choose from 6 jobs? warrior , whm , blm , rogue , monk , rdm

[KisaiTenshi]

I don't understand. FF has had the trinity since FF3?

Actually it hasn't.

You need to follow the chain of "RPG" custody:
D&D Pen and Paper RPG's-> Wizardy/Ultima CRPG's ->(FF1 incorporated elements from both Ultima III and Wizardy)
Each subsquent FF game deviated on the class/job structure until FF5 when the "Job" system came back as something flexible. FF6 brought back the ability to piecemeal select skills from anything learned a la Wizardy. But then FF7 and later went in a new direction.
FFXIV brought back the FFI class/job structure, but with the flexibility of FF5's jobs, and FF6's gear.

But at no point in any FF game has it been anything other than DD/Healer. You could change a few of the roles around, but there has never been a defined "tank" class in any FF game except FFXIV. Basically every class that wasn't a healer just had a "gimmick" skill in addition to "attack"

FFI had, by default, Warrior (DPS), Black Mage (DPS), Thief (DPS), and White Mage (Healer)

[SpecialKK]

I am trying to take this into account as a brand new player but it's very difficult. Who doesn't at least look up a description of the game before you buy?

Yeah I don't understand this either. FFXI was my first MMO, and I knew what race and class I was going to play before I even got my hands on the game.

Same when I played wow, iro, gw2. I do it even for offline rpg.

[Vrankyl]

Many people keep bringing up class quests. It is VERY easy for a first time player to miss class quests entirely and end up in Satasha after only a couple hours of leveling. There a lots of quests, and while you are shown your guild through MSQ, there isn't much indication that it is where you NEED to be every 5 levels, at least at first. I did my quests, guildmasters quest icon went red, and I wandered off.

Uh I took the text that appears saying "The next Gladiator quest will become available at level X." As a bit of a clue that I should come back at level X.

[Atoli]

Wow, I'm a bit shocked by the huge response this got :x

Okay, I'll try to clarify some things:
Yes, there are hints to the roles in skill descriptions and class quests, but like many others said already, those are easy to miss. You have to protect NPCs in dps class quests too, it's not something only tanks and healers have to do.
And honestly, even if you notice it at lvl 15, if it's a role you didn't want to play (which is true for many people who wanted to become a dps but accidently chose a tank class) it means you have to pick another class and level up those whole 15 levels again, this time without any, or at least with less quests. And for a beginner, that takes a while. It's frustrating and needlessly kills the joy of playing at a time when there aren't many cool things yet to keep you playing. Even worse, if you got up to Brayflox without knowing your role, even more levels you'll have to grind on a different class.
(and yes, that's different from leveling up additional classes when you have already reached endgame with your first, because to many people, neither combat is a lot of fun in the beginning with only pressing 1, 1, 2, 1, 1 nor has the story progressed a lot yet).

I just don't understand why there is so much opposition to this
Many newbies are really overwhelmed by the huge amount of things they can do and should know about in this game, they don't even know where to start reading up, even if they are willing to do it, which is not a given either.
I don't see how it is "catering to stupid" to just tell people what to expect of their class when they pick it instead of several levels later.
As Terribad already pointed out:

they should read about what they're getting into. When smart people find something new, they read up on it. SE has information on the website about which jobs are which and what they should to in a party.

It's not like the information isn't existing in any official place. How would it hurt anyone if that information was in the one place every player goes through, instead of hidden away on the homepage somewhere?
All I'm asking for is that SE makes this information available at the class selection screen during the character creation. It doesn't hurt anyone but can help those who get confused by unclear descriptions.

Several people have wondered about the Arcanist.
The answer is actually pretty easy: SE can just write in the class description that Arcanist can either become a even stronger dps or a healer, depending on what the player wants to focus on.
Same with BRD: Call the archer dps, but make it obvious that, as it grows, it gains more and more support abilities too.
If the misleading descriptions for other classes become clearer, Arcanist will be the only class that has information about different job options later. If SE ever decides to add additional jobs to other classes, they can just adapt the class description to that.

In general, FFXIV is a very beginnerfriendly game, especially to those who haven't played MMORPGs before. So why purposely confuse new players with information that is not true, only to expect them to NOT believe what the game just told them in the character creation (like GLA dropping the shield for a sword) and expect them to purposely ignore that official information to wander off to wiki or guide sites that are NOT an official source and read up on their class there? It just doesn't make any sense :/

[SpecialKK]

I didn\\\\'t play 7 and don\\\\'t remember 6. I do remember 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13. While some games don\\\\'t hit you in the head with tank/heal/dps...the roles always exist in some fashion.

There\\\\'s always a guy that takes punishments the best. There\\\\'s always a guy that does tons of dmg (sometimes it\\\\'s split to magical vs physical). And then I need someone to heal. In almost every ff game I recall, my party composition always included characters that fills those roles.

So if you have experience in FF like the poster I quoted claimed, then the concept of the trinity should already exist in your head. ..even if you may not realize what the community calls it, the role should be clear

[SpecialKK]

Wow, I'm a bit shocked by the huge response this got :x

I don't necessarily disagree that this can be a QOL change that can be helpful. But I also dont have this problem. Perhaps because I'm a long time rpg fan. ROLE playing.

As such, I do my research before I choose my class. It only makes sense to me that I know my ROLE in a ROLE playing game before I create my character

[IzzyData]

I got tricked into playing a support role when I chose hunter originally. I quit the game soon after it forced me to become a bard a couple years back. That's kind of a separate issue though that you are forced to take on the pre-determine advanced class.

I'd really rather not even be a ninja, but I can live with that one at least. If only I could be a rogue and not be gimped to hell.

[Raikki]

This sounds like a job for Clippy.

[Omskahn]

I don't necessarily disagree that this can be a QOL change that can be helpful. But I also dont have this problem. Perhaps because I'm a long time rpg fan. ROLE playing.

As such, I do my research before I choose my class. It only makes sense to me that I know my ROLE in a ROLE playing game before I create my character

Not every role playing game is class or party based.

Fallout 3 is a role playing game.
The witcher series are role playing games.
Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets the video game is a role playing game.

Mmo or group based conventions are not synonymous or consistent through huge variety of games that fall into the roleplaying genre
Edit: Besides are you really suggesting that people need to do research outside of the game just to figure out the General purpose of a class? Something that could be cleared up in one sentence?