How is BLU New and Innovative?

[Burningskull]

I keep seeing the argument that people wanted something new and innovative or something and now that FFXIV is getting it people are not happy that they are changing things? How is Blue Mage new and innovative?

The job is intended for solo play in the open world. Some every job can do. Not only that, it's the world of ARR. Not even the new areas from Shadowbrings. You're also just killing mobs. Something we've been doing since the games release.

Is the fact that you learn your abilities from mobs new? I guess. But it's just random loot drops like Atma or Pony whistle drops tho hopefully not at rare. I see no difference in a mob giving me my ability from a random trainer giving me my abilities.

The Masked Carnival? It's just an instanced area where you fight monsters solo to "test your Blue Mage knowledge."

The only thing I see new is that it's limited by what content it can do or limited by how it accesses some content.

If I'm wrong please explain. I'm genuinely curious. How is Blue Mage new?

[Derio]

Because its moves are apparently game breaking to where moves like bad breath will work on open world enemies.

However we cant be too judgmental as the content hasnt been released yet. Its the first limited job so I guess that makes it new

[Fredco191]

Because its moves are apparently game breaking to where moves like bad breath will work on open world enemies.

However we cant be too judgmental as the content hasnt been released yet. Its the first limited job so I guess that makes it new

I was so excited to use Bad Breath on dungeon enemies. Now I’m just sad...

[Acidblood]

I was so excited to use Bad Breath on dungeon enemies. Now I’m just sad...

... So how exactly is it that you can't do that? Or did you mean to say enemies in dungeons above level 50 (initially) and / or via duty finder?
... Also, if you were excited to use Bad Breath then why aren't you happy that Blue Mages are getting the real Bad Breath and not just some (maybe cone AoE) DoT called 'Bad Breath'?


As for the thread, IMO Fyce has sufficiently answered the question, so if you will allow me the indulgence, I would like to flip the question and ask:
If Blue Mage had been implemented as a standard job in FFXIV, given the current limitations of the role and combat system (because, you know, reality), what new and innovative things could it have brought to the table?

[BubblyBoar]

... So how exactly is it that you can't do that? Or did you mean to say enemies in dungeons above level 50 (initially) and / or via duty finder?
... Also, if you were excited to use Bad Breath then why aren't you happy that Blue Mages are getting the real Bad Breath and not just some (maybe cone AoE) DoT called 'Bad Breath'?


As for the thread, IMO Fyce has sufficiently answered the question, so if you will allow me the indulgence, I would like to flip the question and ask:
If Blue Mage had been implemented as a standard job in FFXIV, given the current limitations of the role and combat system (because, you know, reality), what new and innovative things could it have brought to the table?

Being able to use monster skills in capped content. They don't even need to be OP, but the flavor that is BLU is what we want and we want to use it in endgame. I'm perfectly fine with Bad Breath putting a dot on a boss since most bosses are immune to most status. And guess what! Poison is a dot.

[EusisLandale]

Being able to use monster skills in capped content. They don't even need to be OP, but the flavor that is BLU is what we want and we want to use it in endgame. I'm perfectly fine with Bad Breath putting a dot on a boss since most bosses are immune to most status. And guess what! Poison is a dot.

Bad Breath is a pretty bad example of how you could utterly neuter a skill and still say it has the same flavor. Getting hit with that is devastating and will pretty quickly lead to death without a lot of luck and/or some backup. Just a basic poison dot doesn't even begin to feel like Bad Breath.

[Acidblood]

Being able to use monster skills in capped content. They don't even need to be OP, but the flavor that is BLU is what we want and we want to use it in endgame. I'm perfectly fine with Bad Breath putting a dot on a boss since most bosses are immune to most status. And guess what! Poison is a dot.

Define 'monster skills'; i.e. outside of the name, and potentially how you learn them, how do they differ from regular job abilities? For example, what would 'Bad Breath' (balanced for a standard version of Blue Mage) do that regular old Poison (i.e. Bio / Miasma) doesn't?

Define 'the flavor that is BLU'; i.e. what could a standardised Blue Mage do that other jobs can't? What experience would a standardised Blue Mage provide that other jobs don't?

Or do you mean that you don't care if Blue Mage is OP / broken and potentially turns 'capped content' into a complete joke? (As a true version of Bad Breath, Lv5 Death, etc. would)

[Fredco191]

...

Oh yeah. I forgot that we can probably go into dungeons as Blue Mage. I guess I’m more sad for the people who were excited to main Blue Mage and play it like it was a normal class. Rather than it being what it seems to be now.

[Kikoten]

How the Blue Mage is new:

-It's being released in 4.5, as opposed to 2.0
-We have yet to play a job (or class, they said BLU was a class) that has the ability to learn abilities from the enemies they face, in FFXIV
-We have not yet experienced BLU gameplay in FFXIV

Hopefully that makes sense.

[Shougun]

Hmm innovative is a bit of a tough word imo so I'm just going to say I think a lot of it is definitely new for FFXIV lol. I think there is too much content in the world to often expect anything is actually innovative- just more like making something wonderfully transformative or well iterated.

So for me, certainly learning all the skills, and many more than 24, from monsters is new for ffxiv. Although I'm not sold that having that and being a part of group content is mutually exclusive. FFXI had exactly that, of course with some issues - but I feel they could have been addressed to be less problematic if not the problem removed entirely in some peoples eyes (like outline/highlight some of the skills in the blue mage book, those are skills you can use in duty finder - you can't join that level of content without the skill first).

New and novel I suppose is the concept of being able to cast "the spell" the monster uses, like level 5 death (I keep wondering if that was an off hand "example" or real lol, crazy if real). Although I believe there could have been some system in place to let them work like that and in duty finder (as in the duty finder spells are more reasonable, and outside of duty finder you can replace a set of the core with exceptional non-core op spells).

I can sort of understand the comparison to a trainer but I feel like that's a bit too simplified for the purposes of "see its the same" lol. Having to go out and learn the skill vs doing a quest that doesn't really show you / teach you the skill is a bit different imo. As an aside, I wish at least some of the job quests taught the player their skill they were learning by temporarily granting it to you in advance (revoking if you fail the quest, and granting permanently as expect if you win).

Masked Carnival is new, I think, in that they're trying to make challenging solo content. I welcome that concept, just not excited to welcome it at the cost of a whole job's future in the end game stuff. Rather- I'd super excited if they announced they were making job arenas starting with the blue mage (and blue mage can be in duty finder content).

I think we need to wait till we can really talk about if it's very innovative, transformative, new, iterative, or whatever (or if that content will be fun or not) - but I don't think people need to wait to say they're sad it wont work in end game content. :3