Gunblade models don't need to be so extra...

[Valic]

I'm not too mad about the most recent ones added thanks to the EX but looking at all of them now... I'm getting tired of how it seems like every single model needs an extra pipe, a 2nd blade, a flashlight, extendable, rotates, spiky, just.... stop....

IMO, to make a gunblade, you only need a minimum of the following things.

A blade... no kidding.
A gun looking mechanism
Some form of revolving chamber or "cylinder" (and considering Titania's weapon actually looks nice without one, I would even say this is optional)
A trigger
Hand Guard, which... Again, optional but it does help differentiate.
A hammer, ya know that thing the /vpose supposedly yanks back to "fire".

Some of those I can see as optional easily but when I look at some of the designs.... it seems like they make a model then go "too boring, plop an extendo pipe on top of it or a tube here".

Just a couple of examples... The Ruby gunblade has an unnecessary flashlight looking piece on it with a jagged blade... Jagged blade part is "okay" but still, why? The flashlight part, I feel like they could've just easily made the ruby be on both sides of the hilt instead. It just makes it super chunky looking underneath because of this.

Our most recent raid tier gunblade basically looks like a broadsword with it being so wide and square looking.

Hades EX gunblade also just looks... idk, why is it so thick? Fine its crystal, fine its purple, fine the curves to represent Zodiark I guess but it looks so.... blunted (like the sound effects frankly).

Shinryu's gunblade.... I'm not sure where to begin on this one. Jagged teeth curving weirdly with a REALLY weird tip at the end of it... the cylinder is sideways (which arguably is neat but good god the blade ruins this).

A lot of models add some weird ball to the butt of the grip, a pipe on top of the blade, becomes extendable, folding, or just some weird "add-on" as if its not special enough being a part gun part blade hybrid...Imo, they don't need all these gizmos like machinist weapons or for it to look blunt like its a hammer... If I had my choice, I'd say Titania's and one of the early stormblood model gunblades are perfect examples of how to make a decent looking gunblade without overdoing it. Titania's is perfect as it provides the list above and maintains looking unique/separate from other blades, while also providing Titania's flair to it. The stormblood model (I can't think of the name of it) has a large cylinder, straight blade with a sharp curved tip, it's perfect in size and still gives off the hint of being eastern-like.

On that note... So help me god if they don't give us Lionheart for our shadowbringers relic and instead give us some curved nonsense I am going to riot....


TL;DR: There's nothing wrong with simplicity in design.

[Jandor]

I'm the same with most weapons, I like my weapons to look functional. The only jobs where I might go in for a bit of ostentatiousness and glow are the casters.

While we are a bit limited there are still some nice simple designs for gunblades. I like the starter blade High Steel Gunblade, the level 62 weapon High Steel Bayonet is also nice, and as a bonus also has the trigger in a sensible location.

For stuff that's a bit fancier but still IMHO relatively simple looking, there is the Yaita Kai at 70, the Deepgold Gunblade, also at 70, and the Crystarium Manatrigger at 80.

The Manatrigger is what I currently use and is my absolute favourite. The gun mechanism is relatively simple looking (no barrel or anything,) and the whole thing is huge compared to most gunblades, feels more like a musket-greatsword than a gunblade.
Very 'savage' in feel, low-tech compared to its peers but makes up the difference by going all in on size. Such a straightforward solution seems fitting for Eorzea's champion.

[Kuroka]

Hades EX gunblade also just looks... idk, why is it so thick? Fine its crystal, fine its purple, fine the curves to represent Zodiark I guess but it looks so.... blunted (like the sound effects frankly).

Thats actually the one i prefer atm xD

But you got a point... considering you could basically mesh pala/dk/nin blades with a mch gun and make gnb models its even more frustrating that we didnt get any for the new crafted primal weapons... they dont need to be super complicated, just differences in colors/elements would've been already great...

[Quor]

I'm the same with most weapons, I like my weapons to look functional. The only jobs where I might go in for a bit of ostentatiousness and glow are the casters.

While we are a bit limited there are still some nice simple designs for gunblades. I like the starter blade High Steel Gunblade, the level 62 weapon High Steel Bayonet is also nice, and as a bonus also has the trigger in a sensible location.

For stuff that's a bit fancier but still IMHO relatively simple looking, there is the Yaita Kai at 70, the Deepgold Gunblade, also at 70, and the Crystarium Manatrigger at 80.

The Manatrigger is what I currently use and is my absolute favourite. The gun mechanism is relatively simple looking (no barrel or anything,) and the whole thing is huge compared to most gunblades, feels more like a musket-greatsword than a gunblade.
Very 'savage' in feel, low-tech compared to its peers but makes up the difference by going all in on size. Such a straightforward solution seems fitting for Eorzea's champion.

I dig the Crownsblade personally. The scale of the weapon shifts based on your character size, so on my max-height FemRoe, the chambers in the revolver look like they hold 40mm grenades.

[Valic]

Thats actually the one i prefer atm xD

But you got a point... considering you could basically mesh pala/dk/nin blades with a mch gun and make gnb models its even more frustrating that we didnt get any for the new crafted primal weapons... they dont need to be super complicated, just differences in colors/elements would've been already great...

Tbh I think we will get crafted variants like how the Shinryu one was delayed.

I dig the Crownsblade personally. The scale of the weapon shifts based on your character size, so on my max-height FemRoe, the chambers in the revolver look like they hold 40mm grenades.

Crownsblade is a gunblade done right for the most part. It's still a bit too broad but honestly, it fits the criteria.The handle doesn't have some oblong shape and resembles the Lionheart handle pretty well which gives me hope. The chamber looks fine and there's even what looks like an exhaust chamber. While it wasn't needed, it looks nice in positioning and doesn't detract from the main features of the gunblade. Arguably it helps with its shape and curvature so that the hilt feels hefty and sturdy while the blade looks sleek.

[Lyth]

Right now, you have a short sword dps, a thin sword dps, a standard sword tank, a biggest sword tank, and a curved big sword dps. When you add a gun-sword tank to the mix and are expected to design weapons that are thematically part of the same set yet visually distinct, I'm afraid that subtlety has to go out the window. Look! This is indeed a GNB sword and not the PLD (vanilla), RDM (thin), DRK (big), SAM (curve) or NIN (smol) version. It has lots of technology! It is very very gun! (but not too gun, because that would be MCH)

Wait until someone gets Zidane's double-bladed sword as a job weapon. Then all bets are off.

[Barachim]

I dig the Crownsblade personally. The scale of the weapon shifts based on your character size, so on my max-height FemRoe, the chambers in the revolver look like they hold 40mm grenades.

Love that one. It basically looks like a Gunblade made in the XV style. I wish we had more weapons like that for all the other Jobs.

[Valic]

Right now, you have a short sword dps, a thin sword dps, a standard sword tank, a biggest sword tank, and a curved big sword dps. When you add a gun-sword tank to the mix and are expected to design weapons that are thematically part of the same set yet visually distinct, I'm afraid that subtlety has to go out the window. Look! This is indeed a GNB sword and not the PLD (vanilla), RDM (thin), DRK (big), SAM (curve) or NIN (smol) version. It has lots of technology! It is very very gun! (but not too gun, because that would be MCH)

Wait until someone gets Zidane's double-bladed sword as a job weapon. Then all bets are off.

I feel like the issue is looking at them as a whole instead of as the job itself. We have a broad gunblade that looks like it could be a DRK weapon though... Katanas, great swords, short swords, rapiers, and daggers all have distinct enough features by themselves as is.... Noneof them share the common trope of having a gun mechanism to it. Then of course MCH is just straight up a gun.... aside from the 2 models that are literally gunblades obtained from Stone Vigil and pvp.... Really it shouldn't matter if it has a similar look blade-wise since the appeal is in that it isn't just a blade. The whole package from the trigger to the tip of the sword is the seller. Idk... they should consider stopping while they're ahead once they have the basics of the designs worked out instead of adding more parts imo.

[Lyth]

I don't think that overlap in styles is a problem (we do have the Odenta on DRK, which is functionally a giant SAM weapon, and let's not forget PLD's Zantetsuken), but there is some need to make the weapons from the same instance or set look distinct. That's where the problem lies. As an example, if you were designing an ice-themed Gunblade, do you just copy over the PLD weapon and add a trigger to it? It's a bit harder to make visually distinct than say for DRK, where you can just take the PLD weapon and double its size.

[Jirah]

Speak for yourself majority of them are plainly swords, Crystarium, Neo ishgard, Shadow, Eden4, even the freaking Ultimate Anarchy is a freaking sword.