How BLU CAN be implemented in Content

[Vunak]

Honestly having a BLU that could queue as a tank or dps or healer would be a good thing for the game.

"Damn we have been in queue for ages"
"Hold on i'll spec my BLU tank and we can just get another DPS."

It would certainly cut down on queue times.

SE is worried that people won't know how to spec. Which is really a slap in the face to think their player base is so stupid they can't figure stuff out. This level of hand holding is just atrocious. Its no different than a Ninja not knowing their Mudras before they queue and rabbiting all the time. That person learns really quickly how useless they were/are and learns or chooses a different job that isn't so difficult for them.

[BubblyBoar]

BLU has already been billed as a caster DPS with caster gear and caster role actions. No matter your skills, you won't be a tank BLU or healer BLU or melee BLU.

[Vunak]

BLU has already been billed as a caster DPS with caster gear and caster role actions. No matter your skills, you won't be a tank BLU or healer BLU or melee BLU.

I think most understand that. Mine was just an off the wall comment. More of a what could of been with the scope that BLU could have brought.

But it possibly could. Just because it uses Caster DPS gear doesn't necessarily mean those stats cant be valued for different things. Spec Tank and all of a sudden that INT turns into Armor Bonus etc.

[Bernhardt]

BLU has already been billed as a caster DPS with caster gear and caster role actions. No matter your skills, you won't be a tank BLU or healer BLU or melee BLU.

Oh no it's not like none of the 49 "too unbalanced to implement" abilities could be a mob version of provoke and defensive cooldowns...oh no . . .

[PatronasCharm]

BLU has already been billed as a caster DPS with caster gear and caster role actions. No matter your skills, you won't be a tank BLU or healer BLU or melee BLU.

So maybe during "Limited" Play, right?

What if BLUs sort of create a party for a DNG and they talk amongst themselves and sort of "Role" themselves:

Player 1: "Hey guys I'll tank," NP

Player 2: "Okay cool, I'll focus on Heals"

etc. Other players DPS lol

But of course, they wouldn't be "Branded" that specific role on the DNG, they'd just have a set spells that will help with either:

• Healing
  
• Tanking

The BLUs can just sync up and zerg enemies but has designated players helping with those following tasks. Especially during a boss or something along those lines.

It would bring such a fun dynamic! But regardless of whatever way you slice it; all my talk is general hype for the job itself (and that SE is FINALLY adding BLU) and what it could do in the future!

But I have a strong feeling from the get go, it'll work that way, especially since we can run DNGs, but not through duty finder, so a pre-formed party of BLUs can go to town on those DNGs. [Correct me if I'm wrong though]

[BubblyBoar]

JUst do an unsynced party and everyone can do that, or even do it solo.

[Aluja89]

Not sure why they went with DPS, it was always a support and utility type of class, anyway...

It's simple really, should've been a normal tank class with a learn skill:

-10 categories of monsters each category has one learn-able spell.
-A learn/study skill gets replaced by whichever category monster you studied.
-The spell persists as either usage or timer, the stronger the spell the fewer or shorter, then the skill turns back into Learn/Study.

[Sylve]

I dunno... I mean you can technically queue up as a class without your soul stone, or queue up without doing your jobs quests... but you rarely see it happen, most people just have the common sense of knowing "oh i guess shouldnt do that, huh?" So why not a blue mage? But I'm talking about dungeons and such, cake walks, its pretty damn hard to fail that stuff... I would have to agree to lock blue mage out of high end stuff like savage or ex, mostly because it would be hard work on devs to balance things out. >.<

Because a level 70 Archer is still a functioning class. It has a rotation that is missing end skills and its damage would subpar as a result, but *functional*.

A Blue Mage at 70 who just leeched off FATEs or some other method of levelling that never exposed them to learning a new skill would have exactly zero skills. Or whatever basic attack BLUs will start off with.

Basically, take a Monk and just spam Bootshine on a level 70 mob.
That is the concern the Devs have, and I believe it to be a valid one. If you took 4 base classes into a 4 man dungeon that were geared appropriately, the run CAN succeed. It would be hard and a bit of a slog, but doable since those classes have the basic core skills of their Role. But try the same with those same classes using only the very first skill usable at level 1 and its mechanically impossible.
That's the comparison. A base class at 70 retains the core of the Jobs role rotations. A Blue Mage has no built in core and relies on learning and setting skills on its own.

Also, The way they described this Limited Job system makes it sounds far more like a beta test than an actual 'mechanic'.
Which makes a great degree of sense to me. Having the ability to create a custom skillset is indeed a nightmare to balance. That's a lot of different skill combinations to thoroughly test inhouse. I feel more like they've opted to essentially outsource the testing of Blue Mages to us.
They can easily collect live data of skill usages and adjust them in a way that allows for any and all combinations to achieve a similar result.
If one particular set of skills ended up as the one that had the highest DPS by a noticeable margin, that would be the only accepted skillset for Blue Mages. Prospective new Blue Mages would then simply look up a guide, get only the required skills for this 'cookie-cutter' skillset and ignore all the rest.

They know that Players can be extremely creative in ways they never considered. So why not let us, the Players, provide the data in a way that doesn't just explode the raiding scene?

Nothing is stopping them from deciding to move Blue Mages out of the Limited category and into the wider world of content once they feel they've achieved balance.
Further additions to such a Limited category could well be a true Summoner, though with a different name to differentiate it from the DoT version.

It allows the Developers to get truly creative with Jobs without needing to fear for endgame balance. Once they have the live data to make it competitive in endgame content, they can lift the Limited tag and let us go nuts. That can only be good for the game.

[whiskeybravo]

How can BLU be implemented in party content?

Just pay an extra $29.99 to unlock the full job on Mogstation

Please look forward to it!

[JBee]

Because a level 70 Archer is still a functioning class. It has a rotation that is missing end skills and its damage would subpar as a result, but *functional*.

A Blue Mage at 70 who just leeched off FATEs or some other method of levelling that never exposed them to learning a new skill would have exactly zero skills. Or whatever basic attack BLUs will start off with.

Basically, take a Monk and just spam Bootshine on a level 70 mob.

That is the concern the Devs have, and I believe it to be a valid one.

This is a very good point, and I agree with the Devs in it being a valid one.

1 - 70 ARC would have no songs, no dots, and more. I would 100% kick without a shred of guilt if they were unable or unwilling to equip their job stone.
2 - 70 BLU with no abilities, same thing - I would absolutely kick if they are not able to do their job in the content, as above.
3 - 70 MNK with bootshine only. This would be harder; for me, I don't think I would know they were only doing that one skill over and over, or if I did, I wouldn't realize it for a pretty far pace along. If I did and someone refused to fully participate - I don't care if they are good or bad, but if they straight up don't even try - then I would kick, yes.

I don't like freeloaders - as long as you participate and try, I couldn't care less if you were great or terrible. That goes for any job at any level - and Blue Mage is no exception.

If the developers really, REALLY wanted to make sure that didn't happen - they could easily put in restrictions for the queues. Minimum ilvl for all dungeons (be very liberal and inclusive, but don't let people show up in level 10 gear to a level 47 dungeon); Minimum quest fulfillments (maybe halfway through the level 70 dungeon list, require level 70 job quest complete); require job stones to be equipped for dungeons higher than level 30, unless in a preformed party (if you choose to make the game a challenge - then you should absolutely have that option - but not at the expense of others who are uninterested in your self-imposed restrictions); minimum/required abilities learned/equipped for Blue Mage (either they have the core stuff to do their job, or they need to go get it and not be a drain to the group).