Add Blue Mages Already

[Rayo]

Edit: Also gunblades like squals aren't really ranged weapons, they are melee weapons that have an explosive edge when the trigger is pulled. While lightining weapon transforms into either a gun or a blade.

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Just gonna point out FF14's version of the Gunblade is the Hybrid weapon type, being both a Sword and working Firearm at the same time. This doesn't really change it from being capable of being a Vibro-weapon but FF14's Gunblade already has an identity outside of referencing FF8 and 13

[Shurrikhan]

If Blue Magic and its associated quests are tied to learning from the beasts and creatures of the natural world, I'd be surprised if it was based on magitek. I'd expect more of a tie in to the Beast Tribes (or perhaps even Thavnarian alchemy) in place of Garlemald. I also think that heavy armor and bladed weapons are over-represented with tanks at the moment. You need an aesthetic that feels different from the present tanks.

I'm personally hoping that Blue Magic incorporates shape-shifting, perhaps in the same vein as Vincent Valentine's beast forms.

Either way, here's hoping for a tank which doesn't use slashing damage. At the very least, let it be an excuse to put an end to that awful slashing debuff for good.

This. I would expect that Magitek be saved for a job whose name smacks of technology, or at least something vaguely Imperial. Blue Mage connotes an image almost pure opposite to that. It's the stuff of for-better-or-worse, eclectic traditional that, while emulatable, requires a natural-born connection to the land to understand. There are few things Garleans would feel more, albeit subtly, provoked by. If there was a culture putting out Blue Mages generation after generation, you could safely bet they'd have suppressed it wholly.

To me it seemed like it ought to be a blend of Sharlayan Aether-tapping and Bestiary learning, the Gridanian elemental-infused/-sapped Wildlings, Thavnarian psychosomatic and essential alchemy, and maybe some sort Myrcidian beast essence arts or Dalamascan skin-shifter techniques, etc. Essentially, all those old cultural centers that for the most part (obviously not the Dalmascans) have managed to keep their distance, but know what's at stake and respect that even while having troubles of their own.

[Lubu_Mykono]

Wouldn't be surprised if they did a proper Magitek Knight but actually called it "Blue Mage" as the power drawn from the source is ceruleum which is an energy source, but also it's blue like the dye. The magic isn't actually "proper magic", but attacks using artificial magic drawn or based on enemy design in the next expansion. There has been hints that stuff has been in the lore already, as a "Mage Tank" at least the breadcrumbs of it are workable.

I know it's a stretch as a concept but

1. gives a job the community wants,
2. fits into the marketing hype,
3. sits as a good reflection of both the established and new lore of the upcoming expansion
4. leaves a lot of variety for both abilities and may-be weapon design.
5. It would fit Garlemald, particularly as a technology focus but also as a reason to help the player characters etc if jobs are indeed to physical locations as the other ones are.

Then again, Rune Fencer or some other tank could fit this either, but who knows.

[Rayo]

Honestly I'm very much on the fence about Blue Mage for the next expansion, in any shape or form. While I did want Blue mage and/or Caster Tank, Having the very much non-Caster/non-magic Race of Garleans being the poster race for the Classic Mage Job seems a bit off to me. I'm all for a Blue mage though but I don't think it should be of Garlean origin. Allegan , beast tribe, or Sharlayan Origin maybe, but not Garlean. Most Garleans already dislike all the races that aren't Garlean Born (if not all races that aren't Pure blood) and having to interact with them, you think they would want to personally use the power of actual animals/beast men.

Afterall, what self respecting Garlean would want to use the power of an animal

[Lyth]

Ilsabard is a pretty big place. It looks to be roughly double the landmass of the area explored in Stormblood. If you look at the map so far, we still are yet to explore the eastern reaches of Othard, Radz-at-Han and Thavnair just to the south of Ilsabard, as well as the region just to the west of Ala Mhigo before we even get to Garlemald proper. Most of this represents territory that the Garleans conquered during their rapid expansion and empire-building, which, prior to that, would have been autonomous nation states. So even if Garlemald is sitting at the end of the next expansion (which it may not necessarily be, given the amount of unexplored map that lies in the way), there are probably a number of other nations/cultures that we will probably encounter along the way, first.

So could magitek play a big part in the next job(s)? Possibly. But it's not the only thing that they can draw on. Everyone is expecting us to head straight into Ilsabard towards Garlemald. But remember how Doma (and Samurai) made a surprise introduction as the second half of the reveals for the last expansion. We're probably missing an important part of the picture. If Dancer or Blue Mage get introduced, I wouldn't be surprised to see either tied into Thavnair.

[Brightshadow]

Ilsabard is a pretty big place. It looks to be roughly double the landmass of the area explored in Stormblood. If you look at the map so far, we still are yet to explore the eastern reaches of Othard, Radz-at-Han and Thavnair just to the south of Ilsabard, as well as the region just to the west of Ala Mhigo before we even get to Garlemald proper. Most of this represents territory that the Garleans conquered during their rapid expansion and empire-building, which, prior to that, would have been autonomous nation states. So even if Garlemald is sitting at the end of the next expansion (which it may not necessarily be, given the amount of unexplored map that lies in the way), there are probably a number of other nations/cultures that we will probably encounter along the way, first.

So could magitek play a big part in the next job(s)? Possibly. But it's not the only thing that they can draw on. Everyone is expecting us to head straight into Ilsabard towards Garlemald. But remember how Doma (and Samurai) made a surprise introduction as the second half of the reveals for the last expansion. We're probably missing an important part of the picture. If Dancer or Blue Mage get introduced, I wouldn't be surprised to see either tied into Thavnair.

I honestly hope this war theme ends in 5.0 i'm so tired of it. We had enough of a war theme expansion in 4.0 I want to explore untamed lands like jungles. (Basically the Seeker of Adoulin Expansion of FF11 but with less copy and paste.)

[Claire_Pendragon]

As it has been said in many threads, and including this one, there's tons fo ways to make BLU work. (And as any role, from tank, healer, phsyical melee, physical ranged, and caster)
So arguments of "It cant be done" are always silly. (And not just towards BLU, but a lot of ideas/themes, including melee healers, pet tanks, etc)

I honestly hope this war theme ends in 5.0 i'm so tired of it. We had enough of a war theme expansion in 4.0 I want to explore untamed lands like jungles. (Basically the Seeker of Adoulin Expansion of FF11 but with less copy and paste.)

Im not "tired" of it, but I do want to see some different styled zones, such as those that dont have aetherytes for teleports (like how you had to go through a cave to get the to canyon zone in XI)
Or how about a massive cavern zone, which has no sky?

Eureka comes close, but still a bit off in how it does things.
(Small annoyances such as mobs every single 5feet, every single animal is aggresive, cant find some nook/crany to AFk because someones at the front door, etc)

[Claire_Pendragon]

most melee DPS have positionals to make it harder to move around freely.
casters have cast bars to make it harder to move around freely.

melee have combos, and casters usually dont.

physical ranged are a weird tank like style, with more stuff to keep track of.

So if they make BLU a tank, they should pick a different style, and positionals would be a bit of an issues, unless they are OT, and with the "no tank stance" style of tanking, it would be unique, but a hindrance to groups/meta.
This leaves the caster style, limited by cast bars.

The "rotation" would be simplified, like how tanks are a simplified version of phsyical ranged atm. (Or a lack of rotation, in order to not mimic current styled tanks)

[Tint]

most melee DPS have positionals to make it harder to move around freely.

Tanks have kind of positionals too: in front of the enemy. There are many AoE's directed at the tank, so he has to move and try and to rotate the enemy while he does.

However, in the OT position a tank can move freely, yes.

[LeoLupinos]

Maybe the Man with the gunblade and the masks in the last MSQ is the Blue Mage.
He can copy the powers from the ascians, and the bunch of masks he carries is a reference that he has a collections of ascians powers.

In any case, that NPC is very mysterious.