Opinion: FFXIVs Blue Mage is Fantastic, but not in FFXIV

[Mibgestalt]

As a long time blue mage fan, from back in FFV even to the more obscure version like gun mage in X2, I truly do love this iteration of blue mage. The team did a faithful job of creating an experience that pulls from the jobs varied skillset and unique qualities. I mean it's the aesthetic of V and Tactics Advanced, combined with the customization of XI, learning by seeing like Strago in VI. I would be ecstatic to see this in any Final Fantasy game. And therein lies the problem.

Announcing the newest DLC for the latest entry in Square-Enix's prolific RPG series, FFXV: The Masked Carnival! Join Prince Noctis as he follows the path of the mysterious Blue King, a forgotten ruler who used not royal weaponry, but the skills of fiends themselves to fell his enemies. Discover, hunt, and master dozens of unique classic Final Fantasy monster abilities and use them to sow destruction on the battlefield. Combine them in countless combinations and utilize your cunning and creativity to overcome challenges not seen before. Finally, use your newfound powers to overcome the trials of the mysterious Masked Carnival, where your skills with the Blue will be tested to their utmost in challenges specifically designed for them.

That sounds just as good, right? Like hell yeah, I'll jump right back into FFXV for that.

But it's not in FFXV, it's in FFXIV. We all love the game. Enough to be here talking about it at least. FFXIV, which offers an experience unique to the rest of the series, primarily through its genre. A game whose high point and most developed content are dungeon diving with 4 other intrepid adventurers, facing down primal with 7 other brave heroes in battles of spectacle that are unmatched in anything else in the genre, where you and 23 other adventurers engage in challenges that should be impossible alone. It has a wonderful story that is punctuated and capstoned by these experiences. For me, the adrenaline when barely clearing A3S seconds from the final cascade was a great memory. But that won't be possible as Blue Mage. And that sucks. We finally got Blue Mage in Final Fantasy XIV, but we didn't get Blue Mage IN Final Fantasy XIV. We got it attached.

People will argue it couldn't be implemented in this game, but that's not really true. Summoner barely resembles its classic incarnation, and Samurais central moon, blizzard, flower mechanics have more in common with Romancing Saga than the classic heavily armored gil tossing shogun of Final Fantasy. They're still, in my eyes, fun and faithful renditions of the the class. Blue mage could have been the same.

At the end of the day I'll still play Blue mage, and I'm sure it will be fun. Really fun. But when raid time comes around and I have to change to a different job I feel less of a connection with, when I stand in front of the next larger than life raid boss and wonder what awaits me, when we finally do that final assault on the citadel of Garlemald and the story comes to a climax, it'll be bittersweet. I think I'll be thinking the same thing I am now. It wasn't worth the cost of losing the experience of FFXIV as a Blue Mage. Because we can't get that opportunity anywhere else.

[Vunak]

Really well worded and resonates my thoughts perfectly. I am someone that has been around for a very long time and that whole time have been waiting for that moment that BLU gets added. I knew it may never come, but in that slim hope that it did I held out. I don't post a lot. In the 7 or 8 years i've been here in XIV I have only 14 posts, 90% of those are about BLU.

[Elladie]

My counter opinion: I'm really excited about this and very much looking forward to see where it goes. So glad to have some content I can enjoy without feeling like I'm on a hamster wheel. Loving the cojones SE is showing here by trying something so different.

My favourite job in FF has always been RDM: I can see that the job in XIV is engaging but it's not an Red Mage (this again is my opinion, I am sure there are plenty of people who think differently) I have only recently levelled RDM at all and I've mostly done it solo - sick of dungeons - so BLU is a real breath of fresh air. Maybe I'll hate it. If I do, I won't defend it. But at the moment I'm looking forward to it. A lot. Can't wait, even

[BillyKaplan]

My counter opinion:

No one is telling them to take away what they already built for BLU. That content is fresh and exciting and likely will be a world of fun.
But it's the equivalent of saying it's ok for BRD to not be in group content because we have Perform. Which, depending on who you'll ask, you'll be told is a much more loyal rendition of the job than what we actually get to play.

[Mibgestalt]

My counter opinion: I'm really excited about this and very much looking forward to see where it goes. So glad to have some content I can enjoy without feeling like I'm on a hamster wheel. Loving the cojones SE is showing here by trying something so different.

My favourite job in FF has always been RDM: I can see that the job in XIV is engaging but it's not an Red Mage (this again is my opinion, I am sure there are plenty of people who think differently) I have only recently levelled RDM at all and I've mostly done it solo - sick of dungeons - so BLU is a real breath of fresh air. Maybe I'll hate it. If I do, I won't defend it. But at the moment I'm looking forward to it. A lot. Can't wait, even

We agree on this, I don't think the BLU content is bad. I actually love it. I'll enjoy it, too. I just don't like that it's playing basically a trial version of FFXIV. Because... I kind of play FFXIV to get the full FFXIV experience. I don't see why we can't have both this cool ability learning system in lieu of traditional job quests, and have the job be a full class.

[Berteaux_Braumegain]

BLU is my favorite job. On other websites, my username is usually Blue Mage Danny, in fact. So while I am eager to try it in this game, I am bummed that I am pretty much going to be continuing to main RDM for any new content.

Or maybe I'll get around to learning BRD.

[Belhi]

We agree on this, I don't think the BLU content is bad. I actually love it. I'll enjoy it, too. I just don't like that it's playing basically a trial version of FFXIV. Because... I kind of play FFXIV to get the full FFXIV experience. I don't see why we can't have both this cool ability learning system in lieu of traditional job quests, and have the job be a full class.

I am honestly surprised more people don't see the obvious issues of trying to fit a Job like BLU into the pre existing Job system without seriously dumbing down what BLU is. FF14 uses a trinity structure that by its nature has to require a level of specialisation and limitation to what the strengths of a Job are which is pretty much the opposite of what a BLU is.

[Mibgestalt]

I am honestly surprised more people don't see the obvious issues of trying to fit a Job like BLU into the pre existing Job system without seriously dumbing down what BLU is. FF14 uses a trinity structure that by its nature has to require a level of specialisation and limitation to what the strengths of a Job are which is pretty much the opposite of what a BLU is.

I can't agree with this argument. You could have said the same of Red Mage. You could have said the same of Bard if you wanted to stick to what Bard has been in every other iteration. Literally every job has had major sweeping changes to its core identity and kit to be able to fit into FFXIV. By this logic, FFXIV should never have another full class, because there's no way they could be true enough to their identity in other games while being added effectively to FFXIV. Seriously, FFXIV is the game. That is the core that design is based around. The jobs SHOULD be designed to fit into it and its core gameplay and content, even at the expense of the job's identity, as has been done with every job before it.

[Enla]

The thing that bothers me the most about their examples as to why BLU won't fit in the game, namely the death spell, is that it didn't always work in the singleplayer games either. A lot of monsters were immune to death magic, bosses specifically, and it wouldn't be the first time monsters in FFXIV have shrugged off status effects. Hell, the further into this game you get, the less monsters are affected by status spells at all. Making a lot of the spells useless past a certain point and just taking up room.

Frankly I think BLU could have worked in this game and that eventually they might find that sweet spot for it. However I'll wait to pass my final judgment.

[Mibgestalt]

The thing that bothers me the most about their examples as to why BLU won't fit in the game, namely the death spell, is that it didn't always work in the singleplayer games either. A lot of monsters were immune to death magic, bosses specifically, and it wouldn't be the first time monsters in FFXIV have shrugged off status effects. Hell, the further into this game you get, the less monsters are affected by status spells at all. Making a lot of the spells useless past a certain point and just taking up room.

Frankly I think BLU could have worked in this game and that eventually they might find that sweet spot for it. However I'll wait to pass my final judgment.

Honestly having Level 5 Death be a spell that had a 10 minute CD and worked on everything up to regular dungeon mobs (not any bosses or raid/Hunt content) would have been fun enough for me, and a blast to push while still enjoying the full game. I think people are drastically overestimating how fun killing something instantly is in an MMORPG. I can't imagine there's a lot of people running around Eureka spamming Death L in their free time.