New Player Explain like I'm 5: What is the Lore behind Blue Mage!

[wereotter]

In FFVI it's implied lore that Strago, and to a lesser degree Relm, can use monster abilities as a result of the latent magical abilities in their genes.

Both characters are descendants of the original humans spliced with esper genes in order to give them the power of magic that ultimately destroyed the world in the War of the Magi. Their abilities weakened over the generations, but it would seem that all the people of the town know some form of spell like Aqua Rake as Strago and the rest of the townsfolk use the same spell to try to save Relm from the burning house, yet when you acquire him, that's the only blue magic Strago knows that would have been effective in fighting a fire.

Relm might be considered to have weaker blue magic than Strago since she can only use monster skills when the monster is there and alive for her to paint where Strago can learn the magic permanently. But this makes sense considering she's only half Thamasian.

[Niwashi]

There are a lot of iconic things that persist across multiple games in the Final Fantasy franchise. Jobs can have an iconic look, and they have iconic skills, and sometimes common strengths and weaknesses across different games. But when it comes to lore, that's dependent on the individual game. Each main series game is set in a different world, with a different history, different cultures, different races, different technology, different types of magic, and so on. And lore is based on the world that it's in, so that, too, is different in each game (even if there might be some common underlying similarities).

We won't know the lore of this game's blue mages until the job is released and we get a chance to play through the job quests. But I'm looking forward to finding out.

[Aylis]

What is the lore behind Blue Mage? I'm really anticipating Blue Mage but I never played Final Fantasy 11, so I don't know what the Blue Mage has historically been about. I'm sure Final Fantasy had a particular Lore for the Blue Mage, so can more advanced players share and discuss the Lore!

As far as I can recall, Blue Magic really never had a set lore behind it. Blue Mages have always been a kind of secondary class much like the Gambler class. In such that the lore behind them is based on more so the character rather then the class itself and changes from game to game to game with no real set pattern aside from the bare bones of what the class does. Learns abilities from monsters.

FFXI had the thing with the shattering.
FFVI had Relm who was a gifted artist that made her paintings come alive.
FFIX had Quina who was a gourmet who was in search of the best eats of the monster world.
FFVII had a materia crystal that anyone could equip and learn monster abilities.

[Hercub]

Thanks for all the replies. I realize from everyone's comments this is a dark character. I'm looking forward to FF14's interpretation of this class/job.

Thanks.

[Iscah]

You guys are explaining this wrong. OP requested to explain BLU like he was 5.

"BLU DO MONSTER MAGIC. BLU DO MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO AFTER MONSTER BONK BLU ON HEAD. THEN BLU USE MONSTER MAGIC TO MAKE BAD GUYS A GO GO!".

You're supposed to be talking to a young child, not a cartoon caveman.

I would be quite concerned if someone actually talked to five-year-olds with this sort of grammar. Board books for toddlers have more comprehensible sentences.

[SannaR]

In FF V where the look comes from came from a job crystal. I'd assume it works like it does in most of the other games where you had to see/get hit by A thousand needles, magic hammer ect and win the fight then see if you learned it afterwards. Until next month we really won't know the lore behind XIV's version in that besides a "joke" during an anniversary event it's never been mentioned in game that I'm aware of. Hmm, does a limited job that starts at level one have a soul crystal? If it does then I wonder if it'll be like mch or the other jobs.

[Berteaux_Braumegain]

What is the lore behind Blue Mage? I'm really anticipating Blue Mage but I never played Final Fantasy 11, so I don't know what the Blue Mage has historically been about. I'm sure Final Fantasy had a particular Lore for the Blue Mage, so can more advanced players share and discuss the Lore!

I'm sure other people have answered, but Blue Mage is my favorite job, so I'm going to respond anyway.

Blue Mage was introduced in Final Fantasy V as one of the starting jobs you get from the Wind Crystal. It didn't really have any lore there beyond being a power given by the Crystals. Its whole deal was getting hit by specific enemy skills, allowing it to Learn them as permanent parts of its repertoire. There's a boss later on in the game that works for Exdeath who is a Blue Mage, and you can actually use this to your advantage by teaching him Self Destruct and getting him to kill himself. V Advance also added Necromancer, which was kinda sorta like Blue Mage, only you got specific abilities by killing different enemies. Also, you unlocked it by killing the last of four superbosses, so it came really late to be usable.

Anyway, ever since then Blue Mage has been something of a staple. The way a character learns Blue Magic also tends to change based on the game. To my recollection:

- V, VII, X-2: Get hit and survive.
- VI and XIV: See the ability and you learn it. (RNG chance in XIV).
- VIII: Use an item dropped from a monster to learn their skills.
- IX: Eat/Cook the monster at low HP.
- X: Use Lancet on the monster with Blue Magic (Kimahri only).

I don't know much about BLU in XI save that ones who succumb to their inner monster become Mindflayers. Also, Raubahn in that game was evil or something.

Blue Mage has also gone by different names at times like Gun Mage, Vampire, Catmancer, etc.

Thanks for all the replies. I realize from everyone's comments this is a dark character. I'm looking forward to FF14's interpretation of this class/job.

Thanks.

It's only really dark in XI. In every other game, the Blue Mage is either just a human character that can use monster skills or a member of a non-human race able to mimic monsters.

I guess it is dark in both Bravely games, though.

[Krokov]

Learning Blue Magic in XI is also RNG. I still haven't learned Winds of Promyvion XD

[CaptainLagbeard]

There generally hasn't been lore for Blue Mage, except for 11 I guess (which I haven't really played).

It's just been a job, or a character's special ability. And in 7 it was the Enemy Skill materia...


The Job generally has been to get hit by an enemy's skill, and then you learn it and can use it yourself.

[SenorPatty]

You're supposed to be talking to a young child, not a cartoon caveman.

I would be quite concerned if someone actually talked to five-year-olds with this sort of grammar. Board books for toddlers have more comprehensible sentences.

Iscah

It was a joke.