So...About Blue Mage

[MicahZerrshia]

Even better I think BLU and DNC for that matter should have been jobs that fit all 3 roles, which would solve a ton of issues and make Tanks, Healers and DD all happy.

Blu could do it through spell sets and dancer through stances, which would all be locked in duties. They are both the perfect job for a system like this since they are so incredibly versatile. No gear or stats would need to change, with dnc abilities could be shared and have different attributes depending on stance, so icons, animations and what not wouldn't need to be changed or made new. It would be like bringing 6 jobs out at once.

[Palslow]

I want Beast Master!! I want to catch them all!!!

[Jin-]

Well think about it this way. Raid blu already has a "bore for the sake of balance" rotation. 50% of their skills are repeats with different targeting and a whole bunch just dont work in raids/trials, so you basically get locked into THE blu rotation (yes there is one, its not as free form as people would have you think).

So the question is if its rotation already exists and is somewhat balanced (which it is, 70 blu does comparable dps to level 70 jobs if you turn off dps mimicry), why cant you just be locked into that already existing skillset for current content.

You aren't wrong there. My personal gripe is the primal skills which you have to have and they take so much room already.

[BubblyBoar]

I simply don't think that Blue Mage ever meshed well with MMO ideas. The core issue is that they don't scale since every single one of their skills is considered level 1 when selected from their spellbook. That means that even with sync Blue Mage kit doesn't change everything from which spells you have as well as their base numbers are the same. Second of all their open ended nature means you have guarantee that specific Blue Mage will have specific spell available. The "Unlimited Mode" for Blue would basically need to be a separate class on its own to solve the Syncing issues as you'd need to assign the predetermined levels as well as sync the potencies across the board. Also what would happen when you reach new expansion? Does Blue Mage suddenly lose their unlimited privilege and cannot participate inn quests MSW etc till they learn a new predetermined set of skills?

That's a problem they created themselves. They made it that way and thus, it won't work the same way other jobs work. It is completely within their power to just not do that. In every other game they have a predetermined set of skills. They aren't known for having 100+ skills to pick from in games, so saying that having so many is BLU's identity is wrong. They are and always have been "mage that casts monster spells" FULL. STOP.

[Raikai]

I don't care what they do with the job.
But they clearly NEED to do something.

Updating it to level 80 and making new spells is not enough, as it would, again, just be a temporary thing that people will play for a couple weeks and then not touch until the next update.

If they want to keep it limited, they should at least give it some long term goals.
Give it its own currency for example...I don't know...Maybe even with a weekly cap.
A BLU roulette etc.

If there is no plan for such long term goals, then they should at least change the concept a little bit.
It can stay limited, but not as limited as it currently is.

Right!

1) Leveling and completing the quest line
2) Completing the spellbook
3) Carnivale
4) Weekly Logs
5) Morbol Mount

These are the current main big activities with the Job. #1 and #2 are entertaining enough, but with a very limited shelf life, as you only do that once... #3 Is fun as well, but again, only once. Puzzle fights (at least for my tastes) are not exciting at all for re-clears. #5 Morbol mount is a huge carrot on a stick but depends on a very organized static, as it's pretty challenging - it can be a goal, but I imagine not everyone's cup of tea.

This leaves with #4 as the most accessible fun thing to do with the job on a daily basis... And playing BLU actually is! It's healer version is much more engaging than the regular healers, the dpsers have some level of customization to how they can play and tanks... well a bit clunky but can do the job. HOWEVER... this depends on securing a party, which can be quite daunting when the potential enjoyers of BLU already completed everything.

Pre-release, they advertised BLU as being a solo-friendly job, so they should follow through with that! Let solo players enter instances to complete the Weekly Logs with Basic Instinct! Nowadays, you can go alone with Unrestricted Party + level sync, but it does NOT count for the weekly/daily log completion.

[Moomba33]

I still dream of an unlimited Blue Mage that I can play as to progress the MSQ and do regular dailies/weeklies instead of a minigame that gets updated every couple of years.

[Atelier-Bagur]

I want Beast Master!! I want to catch them all!!!

Same here, its the next logical step for another Limited Job. The content blueprint is already there thanks to Blue Mage and it also would give a very good bonus to expand on the lonely companion system we have with just our chocobo.

Other good picks for Limited Jobs that would be interesting to see being implemented are Arithmetician from FF Tactics, Onion Knight from FFIII and possibly Mime from FFV? (although that one I have a hard time to see how they could work it for FFXIV's case)

[Chawan]

Personally I am surprised that BLU can't run dungeons with the trust/squadron system.. I can understand not allowing with real people.. but why not with trusts/squadrons?

[Jaquan]

That's a problem they created themselves. They made it that way and thus, it won't work the same way other jobs work. It is completely within their power to just not do that. In every other game they have a predetermined set of skills. They aren't known for having 100+ skills to pick from in games, so saying that having so many is BLU's identity is wrong. They are and always have been "mage that casts monster spells" FULL. STOP.

Yes and no. Saying that Blue Mage is just "Mage using monster Spells" is half truth at best since it omits the way they acquire those skills. Regardless of the game and Blue Mage incarnation it's always removed from mechanics that govern other jobs. In V where you either found/bought skills and spells, or learned them via Job Level ups the Blue Mage required you to seek out enemies with unique skills and get hit by them in order to expand your arsenal. Same deal in 6 with Strago. Even 8 has you seeking out enemies to feed their drops to Quistis. And it's always only up to the player too seek out those enemies and obtain their power. And that's what they aimed to capture. A non linear progression that leaves it up to the player. Something so incompatible with MMO ideas that it's kept in it's own bubble, seen only as a novelty. Yes it's lifespan is finite, yes they are locked from any major content but I like them when I eventually get tired of regular jobs

[Hasrat]

And? What's stopping the devs from making Blue Mage learn its kit from instanced job quests like all the other jobs do for their abilities and spells pre-level 70.

Just a guess, but... time and money? "Just remake the job from the ground up" is a bad argument. "Just remake the job and also keep it as is, doubling the work load" is a bad argument.