JUST FOR DISCUSSION: How would YOU make BLU a normal job with rotation

[Alleo]

Learn all the necessary skills for the rotation with job quests and to stop people from going into duty without them you can only queue for a certain level if you have done the job quest. (Should be done for every job imo) And as soon as you are inside this content you will get a fixed hot bar with all those skills on it. (Kinda like PVP and RP instances)

And for the skills themselves, just choose something that is flashy but not overpowered (even though most of its skills right now are bad anyway).

On top of that for those that want to collect more skills you will have that still as a side content and you can use all these skills on the over world and the carneval. They are learned through mostly solo content too but at least if you have a few that can only be learned with group content you now wont just be carried by others, you are a full team member.

[KageTokage]

A lot of people neglect to use several skills in their class/job's kit so they may as well not even have them in the first place.

I really don't like the double standard they're enforcing where BLU isn't allowed in duty finder because it *might* not have certain skills when it's perfectly okay for normal jobs to queue without finishing their quests for skills or while not even having their soul stone equipped.

[RitsukoSonoda]

A lot of people neglect to use several skills in their class/job's kit so they may as well not even have them in the first place.

I really don't like the double standard they're enforcing where BLU isn't allowed in duty finder because it *might* not have certain skills when it's perfectly okay for normal jobs to queue without finishing their quests for skills or while not even having their soul stone equipped.

Well part of the issue I feel is that few of the spells are needed for job quest progression. They'd need to put more checks in to keep people learning spells so that we don't have people going into high end duties with all of 3 spells that hit like a lasgun on a spacemarine terminator.

[Nalien]

You know, the problem is they went for a classic Final Fantasy V route with Blue Mage, when they could easily have adapted something like how Kimahri functioned as a Blue Mage to pigeonhole the Job into XIVs rigid role system. Just make Blue Magic something you learn on the fly, make Lancet a "Learn enemy skills" spell, so you use it on an enemy, and learn 2~3 skills from that enemy that you can then presumably spend the Jobs gauge on; Direct damage skills, AoE skill, utility skill perhaps. Doesn't even need to be a balance issue that way, you can literally have it so the learning aspect is purely cosmetic, learning Chocobo Kick from a Chocobo, or Goblin Punch from a Goblin? Same potency and effect. It's just the name and animation that changes.

That keeps to the spirit of Blue Mage, IMO, while making it a functional and simple enough to balance Job for regular gameplay. Could even keep the Blue Mage we have now as essentially a mini-game off the main Job, ultimately no different from say Bards Performance functionality. Just like Bard can't actually use Performance to customize its songs in combat (or even use Performance in instances), Blue Mage wouldn't be able to use Final Sting in regular content, at least not the version we currently have. It could learn it for the Spell Book almost exactly as it does now, and Masked Carnival could function exactly as it does now (same way PvP gives you a different hotbar, Masked Carnival could give Blue Mage a separate hotbar). Essentially we'd have the best of both worlds... People who want a functional Blue Mage get it, people who want a spell-collect-a-thon get that too. Everyone wins.

Would actually be really smart if, once Blue Mage reaches the level cap (I know they said it'll always be behind, but humor me) we unlock Blue Magus, which is a functional Blue Mage. Just another way they could work it. You'd need to fully level Blue Mage, presumably clear some of the quests with whats-his-face and thus have unlocked some spells to clear Masked Carnivals. That alone justifies the "How did we learn these spells?" portion for a real Blue Mage Job. And if you like the current Blue Mage and want to keep playing it for various content, maybe fill out some spells in the book you missed? Equip that Blue Mage Job crystal instead of the Blue Magus one. Bam. Both the Limited Job and "real" Job exist side by side.

[Brightshadow]

The way I would imagine BLU becoming a normal job is quite simple.

1.) Take off limitations of queuing into content when you obtain certain essential spells determined by square enix.
2.) Keep it's role as a Caster DPS
3.) Nerf a handful of skills like doom, missile, and white wind to not work on bosses.

Done.

Oh and increase it's level cap to 80 and add skills overtime till 6.0

[Thmas]

Add Guage for powering the big spells, and skill level progression. Yes you can do thousand needles, but it might feel more like thousand tiny pins.

[BiddyBatnana]

Monsters's spells would be acquired during Job quests (go find such monster kill it, get your job crystal infused with its power and then the quest giver turns it into a spell you learn within a cutscene).
You'd learn only specific spells ~hopefully enough to make it fully playable.

Its gauge could be a cane that fills up.
Once filled you could use a mega spell that would be picked randomly (on a wheel) among few.
Depending on what spell you used to trigger it, it would be a mega heal or a mega dps spell.

Basic idea.

[TThibi]

I wouldn't, blu is fine as limited, which is to say unlimited as it does not use a limit breaker. If SE had not installed a false limiter on it at lvl 45 bluemage would have been the most powerful lvl 50 job ever added alas in order to create the need for primals to be "challenging" SE severely limited the jobs more dps heavy spells added at 50. I would instead take the classes and at level 80 upon completing all 4 class quest series have players take on a series of quests from each class trainer to unlock a limited form of the class which more completely maintains the spirit of each unique class before jobs made them confusing at the same time completely replacing the original class to change into these jobs simply unequip your soul stone and go nuts. And in some cases add twists that completely change the very spirit and purpose of the classes. The point of this? Currently players are discouraged from continuing to play as classes by both community and Dev team, this in part is due to a very real gimping that occurs at level 30 once jobs become active and specialized skills come into play, this breaking of the classes I believe would breathe new life into them at the same time opening the door to new broken unbalanced harder difficulty content in PVP, raids, even dungeons that balanced jobs cannot participate in but limited jobs like bluemage would excell at. That said here are the broken classes...

Gladiator >>> Paladin(tank) "so gladiator left the arena and found religion?"
>>> Champion(dps) with bare minimum tank skills champion instead focuses on physical attacks with dual swords
Marauder >>> Warrior(tank) "ok savage pirate becomes a warrior not so far fetched"
>>> Freebooter(dps) Again less focus on tanking more on dps with a scattering of support
Cleric >>> Whitemage(healer) "ok shirking the admonishments against overhealing, and ressurection magic we hear spirits and become pseudo Padjal"
>>> Excorcist(dps) Less focus on healing magic instead using neutral, prismatic, and white magic to inflict damage, does not use raise.
Arcanist >>>Scholar/Smn(healer/dps) This duality kinda makes sense but kinda doesn't
>>>Medic(healer/dps) summons onyx and pearl carbuncles at the same time while focusing mana into damaging opponents
>>>Sorcerer(dps/tank) summons greater egi Leviathan, Ramuh, Shiva, Sephirot, Sophia, and Zurvan up to 3 at once.
Pugilist >>>Monk(dps) "we were scrappers then we found religion now we follow a man wearing a tiara"
>>>Boxer(tank) using blocks and taunts as well as his/her fists holds the front line against opponents
Lancer >>>Dragoon(dps) "it makes sense, what doesn't make sense is the role we take from guard to freelance mercenary"
>>>Judge(tank) forsaking the air, and the freedom of the skies wears heavy armor and wields his/her heavy poleaxe on the earth below bringing judgement
Rogue >>>Ninja(dps) "made absolutely no sense whatsoever but we wanted ninja..."
>>>Thief(dps) made sense and promised as early as 1.5
Archer >>>Bard(dps/support) "again absolutely no sense whatsoever enforcer of the forests to twittering battlesinger"
>>>Sniper(dps) Focuses on the skills neccessary to master archery with terrifying results
Thaumaturge>>>Blackmage(dps) "master of 2 and a half elements... just 2 and 1 half"
>>>Gravedigger(healer) uses lightning, earth and prismatic elements to bring comfort to the dead and living can use raise.

Then I would go further for the jobs that are just that jobs, yet could use some love as well... They are
Dark Knight >>> Dark Priest(healer) "a dark energy using healer!!!!!!?"
Astrologian >>> Time Mage(Magic dps)
Samurai >>> Ronin(tank) "Because the definition of samurai is a feudal lord under the authority of a liege lord, we are mercenaries"
Machinist >>> Corsair(rdps/healer) and very good at both >>>
Redmage >>> Fencer(Physical dps) focuses all the elements into his rapier to devestating affect
Dancer >>> Too New buff please
Gunbreaker >>> Too New Buff please

[purgatori]

I'd look to SMN. It has a weird rotation, and levelling it up also levels up a healer (or, the other way around, depending on your perspective). The BLU base 'class' could have healer, tank, and DPS job variants, but the story would only be tied to the base/DPS variant. But it doesn't matter anyway: they're doubling down on all the reasons we don't play BLU currently, and I don't anticipate they will ever give as the BLU we want instead. I think they'd let the job die before they revoked its limited status.

[Kaiserdrache]

Would redesign it as DPS Class like Redmage, just with more support options from its 28-32 Base Skills id give it and a more Spellblade oriented gameplay that Redmage originally has but is focused more on spells to copy BLM n WHM, than actually a true Spellblade as Combat Mage.
I'd change the Weapon from a Rod to a Dual Blade Staff, literally Zidanes Weapon Type from FF9 late game weapons, when he changes from Daggers to that.

Base Skills would be

- Enfire, Enwater, Enfrost, Enstone, Enwind, Enthunder - Elemental Blade Spells to change the effects of your Basic Attack Skills > Azure Slash, Azure Slicer and Azure Flash/Bomb

- Exfire, Exwater, Exfrost, Exstone, Exwind, Exthunder - Elemental Armor Spells, that change your Combat/Movement Behavior based on which element you use and chang effects of your self heal/defense skills.

That alone makes already 16 Skills for the Base Set with a very high versatility in combat based on how you combine the 6 elements for offense n defense.

Other Base Skills would be:

- Analyze > Weakens Target Defense for a while and increases the chance for you to deal critical hits
- Quadra > The next Base Skill is performed 4x in a row but costs all your MP, potency is increased for each skill performance by 100.
- Azure Blast > An AoE Burst with Ground Target to place.
- Ether Control > Regain back some MP for the cost of some of your Beast Spirit Bar, that you use to perform Beast Spirit Skills from slayed monsters, starts with 50.
- Ether Refresh > Self Heal/ Condition Cleanser based on how much Beast Spirit Progress you victimize. Charge Skill, Effect on Button Release.
- Spiritual Ritual > kind of like Brotherhood, ally actions grant you Spirit Energy, but instead of Attack, Defense is boosted by 5 percent for all types of damage.
- Spiritual Bond > A support skill towards allies, which changes temporarely Single Target Skills to AoE Skills and lets Magic Spells that are already AoEs instead cost lesser MP, for a very munimal cost of your Spirit Energy for each skill performance.
- Azure Sphere > A ranged AoE DoT Shot of condensed magic that explodes in a sphere, dealing DoT to everything standing in the sphere.
- Blade Stream - A gap closer LoS Attack.
- Ether Wall > Create a defensive Barrier Wall that reduces frontal damage by the amount of Health the created Wall has, when you stand behind. Allies can attack/shoot through it without problems.
- Eruption/Quake > An Earth AoE Spell, performable while under Enstone, without it's the weaker Eruption.
- Whirlwind/ Tornado > A Wind Spell, performable while under Enwind, without it's the weaker Whirlwind.
- Geysir/Aqualung > A Water Spell, performable while under Enwater, without its the weaker Geysir.
- Heatwave/ Inferno > A Fire Spell, performable while under Enfire, without its the weaker Heatwave.
- Deepfreeze/ Shockfrost > An Ice Spell, performable while under Enfrost, without its the weaker Deepfreeze.
- Lightning Ball/ Chain Lightning > A Lightning Spell, performable while under Enthunder, without its the weaker Lightning Ball
- Spirit Unleashing > Activate Beast Spirit of Choice and perform a Monsters Signature Skill, due to them not anymore spammable, they can be designed to be more impactful.

Thats together alreader 33 skills quickly, took me not alot of time to come up with them.