Tanking the Blue (Another Blue Mage Idea)

[kuroshimodo]

So what if instead of learning monster abilities, this Blue Mage is able to shapeshift but not into animals or monsters but long forgotten primals whose worshippers are few or no more. In order for them to transform into these beings without the need of prayers is that they make contracts with these beings while the Blue Mage's body acts as a siphon gathering aether around them especially from living creatures to allow them to give these primals shape. They are called Blue Mages for the blue aura that surrounds them when they siphon aether. I got this idea from playing Palace of the Dead where you can transform into succubus and the manticore. Here is the Blue Mage. Could this be a possibility?

[Shougun]

Sort of Terra Branford and that sounds awesome haha. I would suggest that you jump ship on the primal bit, just to avoid summoner's toes and choose perhaps something very similar but fundamentally different (just need to get that one bullet point that means the world lol). Also it would help to define a strict list in comparison to the nebulous term primal, so rather than "transforms into awesome primals" its like "transforms into this very specific group of things that is limited to these items until I say otherwise".

Even if it still relates to primals which is fine I think it just needs to have some sort of special qualifier that narrows the list down to something unique as to why it is restricted - as it will have to be (start out the gate with something compelling but with just large enough opening for SE to add more an expansion later without retcon).

It will help a lot with expectations I think, and help drive a clearer story - so we don't get "why can't I have Garuda wings, Ifrit claws, Titan legs, and a Bahamut Nose!? lol".

I personally like seeing jobs that can transform, entirely or bits and bobs - I also think its a fun way to have that high adaptability in jobs like Summoner but within yourself rather than within pet reliance (not to be "better" than summoner, but different - that adaptability is a pretty nice feature I wouldn't mind seeing else where).

Also read the document, I always like dark / costly magic ideas - loved in FFXI and of course I liked reading it here (aether poisoning). (In real life my opinion shifts, be smart yo! lol but games are not real.. I think? :3). Btw what is a Brynhildr? Looked up on google, got a bunch of anime girls lol.

I don't think it has to be a Blue Mage either - I mean to say that I like the idea of transforming pieces of yourself or the entirety of yourself and /would/ like to see a job based on this but I also don't think it has to be called Blue Mage. Also it might be interesting to add that I believe there is already in game lore on a group of people who fuse monster parts on themselves.. could start from there too for an in game jump start.

Partly want to save the Blue Mage just because Raubahn - who at least at the moment has shown no transformation skills (but did rip from Ifrit a bit). For those who didn't know his decent Blue Mage allusions he has the same name for FFXI's Blue Mage job teacher, uses the same Blue Mage exclusive weapon (Tizona, exclusive to FFXI Blu Mages), uses abilities from Ifrit (and a few animal attacks), is referenced to an animal (bull), fairly impressive yell/beast rage (though you could call that "warrior" too), created an organization with the same name with similar purposes (protect the queen) where the blue mages in FFXI are known as the Immortal Lions and FFXIV's the Immortal Flames, and has said in different ways on multiple occasions that battle is the best teacher (not a unique idea to Blue Mage but screams Blue Mage mechanics).. I really want to see Raubahn become a part of the Blue Mage storyline lol.

People's concern is that you get a Blue Mage who didn't get X Y Z abilities because they haven't gone there yet. Or w.e, and it is a real concern. My suggestion is to completly change how Blue Mage levels to make it work without real concern:

For example you have a bracket that is formed around the dungeon requirements, SE looks and sees they have a dungeon open up at level 25 and they have these skills they'd like tanks to know, so they look into the Blue Mage ability list and place the abilities before level 25 and then in order to level you basically learn abilities. Your experience is your abilities, you go throughout the world, far and wide, to catch them all. . and as you learn the abilities you gain EXP. You cannot level without having the specific ability, therefore you will never see a Blue Mage in that level 25 dungeon that doesn't have "x defense skill". Do the same for end game content, in order to reach level 70 you need this list of abilities. To add SE can have more control and do things such as perhaps you /can/ level past that point but you don't unlock "30 and below duty finder" until you get that list of abilities. So you have a bit of control on how it works, but the important thing being is SE can make sure the issue everyone is worried about never happens - ever. However, Blue Mage still learns abilities as one may think they would.

I imagine Blue Mage getting an ability list that looks a bit like the Monster Kill Log that we have (kill X of these, at this place get Y EXP), except imo the bar shouldn't be kills but Blue Aether or something like it. Where witnessing an ability will give you experience to that skill and after filling up that skill's bar you learn it (less random now), and since I envision the Eye as one of the stance mechanics for Blue Mage I think it would be cool if you use this Eye ability and it increasing your Blue Aether receptibility (empowers blue magic/increases blue experience). That way you actually get a bit more interplay than "HIT ME, COME ON AND HIT ME" lol, its more like did you see it? Here is some EXP, did you pay attention to it (via timing Azure Eye) then here is even more EXP (also it wont be a useless skill at cap since it would enhance your abilities too), Immortal Lion stance (for tanking) could be for enhancing the exp learning on single target non-dodgeable spells but I'd rather not encourage players to sit inside an AoE to learn things haha.

[kuroshimodo]

Hmm very good points, I didn't consider stepping on the summoners feet and also the expectations Blue Mage brings to the table. Hmmm how about Green Mage (placeholder) since in Tactics Advance 2 and FF 12 all that green magic is is debuff and hasn't really gotten its own identity like Blue Magic has. The arcanist jobs have debuff already covered so to give Green Magic its own unique flavor could go with these transformations. And instead of primals could do paragons. Paragons being the evolved state of certain monsters. Where Lich is the paragon of the bat monsters. When i get some more time I will do a revision document. Though thank you all for replying.

[Shougun]

Hmm very good points, I didn't consider stepping on the summoners feet and also the expectations Blue Mage brings to the table. Hmmm how about Green Mage (placeholder) since in Tactics Advance 2 and FF 12 all that green magic is is debuff and hasn't really gotten its own identity like Blue Magic has. The arcanist jobs have debuff already covered so to give Green Magic its own unique flavor could go with these transformations. And instead of primals could do paragons. Paragons being the evolved state of certain monsters. Where Lich is the paragon of the bat monsters. When i get some more time I will do a revision document. Though thank you all for replying.

I'll be honest and say Green magic is super vague to me (in my FF memory ), I recall seeing it for like some support skills in FF12 but.. yeah I can't recall what else it was under lol. So I couldn't say much about it :P haha. I would add though, that Yoshida mentioned they're interested in making a new to FF job, so you could be homing into that slot too - not even a name that we need to reference but something entirely unique~

I'm not suggesting it can't be Blue Mage haha, I just personally want more time with my bro Raubahn so I'm digging for reasons to put him into a more player to player level.

Mostly avoiding Summoner's feet because summoner already has problems. Like people wanted to be able to Summon Ramuh Egi/etc, but haven't been able to for a long time (even though they told there were going to be, a very long time ago lol). And while I don't like their current reasoning as to why we can't do more (seemed forced) they finally added one (personally want to see them complete the element "primal" element wheel, as that feels like a full circle to me- but I understand that adding 3 new egi is not like "lul easy, git gud SE").

Anyway, you don't want the Summoner's issues where people are like "why can't I summon this yet? It's a primal and I'm a summoner! this is 1+1, and I'm 2!". So if you could add in a clause on why its not every primal under the sun, something that gives a good reason why I think it would really help the back story and expectation of the job- they could still be primals but there should be something I think .

Don't need to take it but just a thought on maybe how you could block people into a set of primals and help control expectation, but also give SE freedom to grow:

Like your ancient civilization, perhaps as you said they were able to stave off the tempering for long periods of time and they were able to keep the chaos under control but when the fracturing of peace happened (in the document you mentioned) some of the people spent too much of themselves trying to protect their brothers and sisters and began to take on primal forms (the method of temper protection perhaps doesn't remove the poison from themselves but rather just allows them larger and larger poison thresholds, so long as they're within control). In order to slay these ferocious mages leaking out the vast dam of uniquely tempered aether they held (not just a primal's energy but one that had been bottled within a vessel, like fine wine ) the remaining mages had to take this new type of primal tainted energy within themselves, uniquely and forever tainting their own aether. Therefore from this event this group of people that are basically sealed within your veins are the primals you can become, this weird avatar of your own people (who were containing the avatars of other culture's, so these primal like forms you take are unique meldings not like any regular primal). This would give SE freedom to add new ones if they wanted (add a new important person to the civilization, perhaps you can imbibe this unique type of primal essence by finding relics of the civilization - but again it's unique type of aether and you can't just walk up to Ifrit and be like "yo, I want some of your juice bae" lol). Entirely blocking off other primals from being in the equation, no one can go "why can't I go Ifrit mode, he's a primal!!!" because Ifrit wasn't part of the group.

Admittedly this is slightly similar to what Summoner is facing in terms of restriction but imo SE took too long to get that lore in and had already shifted expectations around too much (people expected Ramuh not because of an ass/u/me, but because that was mentioned to happen, and not as a glamour), and the point of half a primal wheel really bothers me on an OCD level lol.. so at some point i'd like them to finish it because.. yeah. The image of the 8 crystals, elements and light/dark (light/dark could be the Elder Primal magics, Bahamut and Odin) feels neatly packaged to me.