Blue Mage Concept Art vs Render

[Beckett]

XI's set was pretty decent, they could have re-imagined that set like with the other jobs.

Man I wish they had gone with the aesthetic FFXI had. Would have been awesome to rock some scimitars.

I very much appreciate that they didn't just copy XI's look. Blue shouldn't be tied down by one style. I also appreciate that they went with a seemingly totally new weapon type, something that can only really be done with the open ended Blue Mage.

[Tyla_Esmeraude]

I feel the concept art has more contrast and it pops out more. The ingame one just blends in with the rest of the gear we have. I don't know why they would make those changes, the hat doesn't stand out like in the concept art, nor the hanging chest pieces. Not even the shoulder pads stand out in the 3D one.

[dinnertime]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed. The in-game version of the gear is just flat-looking in general. I don't think other job AFs had this situation before but I might be wrong.
The pants could've been less blander than just a strap thing on the left leg but oh well.

[Iscah]

At very least, the pants could do with a stripe down the outside of the leg. Or maybe some swirling decorations like on the waistcoat.

And the male version might look better (or at least more consistent with the female design) with knee-high boots instead of shoes.


As for the female version... looks like it's time to get out the Ramie Skirt and the glamour prisms again. :/

[Berteaux_Braumegain]

I was going to assume one was the starting gear and the other is the Artifact Gear.

But we're starting at Level 1, so I have no clue.

[Iscah]

I was going to assume one was the starting gear and the other is the Artifact Gear.

But we're starting at Level 1, so I have no clue.

They're definitely the same costume, just male and female variants (on top of the concept art to in-game process). Same patterned waistcoat and hat.

Still, it's a good question whether they'd be nice enough to give us the costume straight away, or whether it's artifact gear.

For Heavensward Lv30 jobs, we just got handed generic ARR leveling gear to begin with, better generic gear at Lv50, and didn't get a job-specific costume until Lv60.

For Stormblood Lv60 jobs, we got our job costume straight away.

So what's the logic, and which way will it go this time? Low-level start means generic gear? Or changed policy on giving out unique gear means we all join the masquerade at level 1?

For visible promoting of the class, they might go with the second option. But it does look like relic gear. Hmm.

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On the original post mentioning the unicorn design on the hat changing from a 3D piece to flat embroidery - that would be to with the amount of modeling that has to go into it. The unicorn as drawn is quite a complex shape - that's 'free' and no extra work when it's all just lines on paper, but would make the hat a lot more complicated as a 3D shape.

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Something else I noticed, though it took me a little while to work out what was going on, is that the design has both a coat (with blue lining) and a cape (with red lining). Because they're the same width, I first thought it was just a long coat with two different colours of lining, and it looks quite odd. But then I realised you can see the upper part of the cape in the gap between his arm and waist.

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Anyway, I think I'll figure out my own costume even if that's going to be starter gear. It's nice, but there's going to be such a horde of people wearing it all at once.

[Nariel]

The IG one look like a cheap cosplay of the art one.

[Hyperia]

Many of the starter outfits were designed with cosplayers in mind. Its a bit of a challenge to get some men to cosplay and this is a nice simple outfit that even the most conservative of men would probably feel comfortable wearing. As to the ladies outfit, it looks like a lot of fun! I cant wait to see if any show up at EU or JP Fanfests.

[Destati]

Man I wish they had gone with the aesthetic FFXI had. Would have been awesome to rock some scimitars.

[Kurando]

I'm kinda wondering whether the BLU weapon will be classed as being 1h or 2h (handed). If it's 1h, perhaps this could allow the older WHM and BLM weapons to find new life as glamour with BLU.