Isn't this class trinity a bit dated now?

[Darkstride]

Hybrids are incredibly hard to balance. Not only do they need to be balanced in and of themselves so that one aspect isn't completely overbearing making every other aspect useless, but they also need to be balanced with every other class.

I think the best example of I have seen of hybrid classes functioning well is in The Secret World. However, there are no classes......you can equip any combination of 2 weapons and the abilities are linked to your weapon type.

For example:
Blades: DPS and survival (defense)
Hammer: DPS and survival (block)
Chaos Magic: DPS and survival (evade)
Blood Magic: DPS and healing (shields)
Fist: DPS and healing (HoTs)
Rifle: DPS and healing (Leech/Drain healing)
Elemental: DPS and support (buffs)
Shotgun: DPS and support (buffs)
Pistol: DPS and support (buffs and debuffs)

Each weapon has it's strengths and weaknesses, but you can combine any 2 of them to create whatever you want. You can also mix and match any passive abilities (traits) that you have learned. Rifle and Blood is a popular healer setup because you heal by dealing damage and then Blood allows you to mitigate with shields. Every combination brings the ability to perform multiple functions.

The tank - DPS - healer roles still exist, but they are based more on how you have alloctaed your stats on your gear. Each role is capable of (and expected to) do more than the basic function.

FFXIV's structure isn't really ideal for something like this, but I have seen hybrid classes work very well. Versatility isn't something XIV is especially good at ...gameplay is too homogenized. Cross-class skills seem like an attempt at customization but the result is extremely limited and ends up just giving a false impression of versatility. I seem to recall in 1.0 that cross-class was far more open but not necessarily any more useful. I think SE had gone too far with trying to make everyone feel "equal" by making everything too restricted.