Yep, that's why magikolith (skills assigned with stones) from FFIX is one perfect solution for this.
For exemple, we could have this :
Imagine at level 60 we have 30 Magikolith points to put in passives skills only.
Here a list of examples what we could have for passives skills shared among all job :
- immunized against blindness (5 points)
- immunized against poison (5 points)
- immunized against mute (5 points)
- immunized against petrification (5 points)
- immunized against madness (5 points)
- immunized against frost (5 points)
- etc. (or it could be atleast a protection which depend on chance to avoid status effect or reduce it time like materias pvp)
- resistance fire + 25% (3 points)
- resistance water + 25% (3 points)
- resistance storm + 25% (3 points)
- resistance earth + 25% (3 points)
- resistance wind + 25% (3 points)
- resistance ice + 25% (3 points)
- critical hit + 3% (3 points)
- determination + 3% (3 points)
- spell speed + 3% (3 points)
- parry+ 3% (3 points)
- piety + 3% (3 points)
- accuracy + 3% (3 points)
- regain HP + 1% (4 points)
- regain MP + 1% (4 points)
- sprint cost half of PT (5 points)
....
For the passive skills for each job, I think everybody know what we could have and some have already written examples of it.
I will just do it for the Scholar :
- Broil potency become 200 (4 points)
- Ruin II potency become 120 (3 points)
- Adlo potency become 320 (3 points)
- Dissipate add at the original effect : invoke the other pet instantly and reset his cooldown (5 points)
- Emergency Tactic reduce the cost of mana of next Adlo or Succor by 50% (2 points)
- Resurrection cost mana and cast time is reduce by 25% (3 points)
- Energy Drain don't cost aetherflow stack but in return his cooldown become 40 sec. (2 points)
- Shadow Flare slow become 10% (1 point)
- Virus give additionally Poison to the target, potency 50 (2 points)
- Eye for an Eye, the barrier effect has now 40% to be activated (1 point)
- Sacred Soil give additional effect : HoT potency 30. (3 points)
- Bio II have 20% chance to refresh DoT from Bio (2 points)
- Miasma II have 40% chance to refresh DoT from Miasma (2 points)
- Sustain cast become 0 sec and cost mana become 0 (1 point)
- Deployment Tactics work on you (1 point)
- Indomitability potency become 600, but in return cost 2 aetheflow stacks (4 points)
- Under Rouse, the pet cast an additionnal Auto-Heal on the member of the team with lower HP (3 points)
- Bane can now spread Miasma II and Virus (2 point)
- Leeches cast become 0 sec (1 point)
- Summon and Summon II cast time is reduce by 25% (1 point)
- Lustrate have 20% chance to apply an shield Adlo on the target (2 points)
Ok, I listed some examples, and I will not pretend it's perfectly balanced but it's an idea what we could have in the futur if SE decide to follow this path.