How a Shapeshifter Could Work in FFXIV

[kikix12]

Mages are not always known for being brittle. Quite the opposite. There are many stories where they leave typical "tanks" in the dust. It's just that for some reason, most games ignore those stories.

Who makes use of barriers, knights or mages?! What's stronger, a very much destructible metal armor or a potentially indestructible magical barrier?!

Look at the prime RPG game, Dungeons and Dragons. Are mages squishy there themselves?! Yes. Except clerics which are almost as tanky as warriors, and even tankier than them when you factor in their healing. But what about mages?! They are squishy, but as levels go, they gain access to force kind of spells that are virtually indestructible (only other mages with only limited few spells can destroy force). Only a caster can stop a dragons breath from turning the party into a fried chicken substitute. That's why mages had to be held back by limited casts of their spells in 3.X and lower.

Look at Magi manga, where mages are surrounded by "Borg", a kind of forcefield, just because they are mages, making an adept tougher than your veteran warrior. The titular Magi are outright impossible to defeat for normal warriors.
Look at Harry Potter, a very liked story, where the casters throw barriers to stop attacks that should have killed any normal human.
And Gandalf fighting against Balrog (or Balrok?! well, one of these)? Could Gimli or Aragorn stop him even for a second? Fighting in a war on the front lines? Saruman and Sauron both were magical entities as well, and Sauron could not be defeated without destroying the one ring, which itself was completely indestructible outside of a very specific, single volcano right at the very middle of Saurons territory.


If you look at fiction, there are PLENTY examples of tough mages. Mages that cover their bodies with earth forming a tough, regenerating armor. Mages in bubbles of hardened water (and fun fact, at high enough pressure water is harder than any concrete, metal or even diamond). Mages in spheres of forcefields.

In non-game fiction, mages are most often shown as being able to withstand a lot more beating than non-mages. So your statement is entirely incorrect. There is absolutely zero conflict of themes.