Companions: Solution to PUP/BST Limited Jobs?

[Quintalian]

Hey folks. If you're something like me, you were excited to hear about old favorite jobs like Beastmaster and Puppetmaster potentially making their way to FFXIV via addition as Limited Jobs. You may have thought, "hey, better Limited than not at all!"

But I got to thinking: why bother adding these jobs? I like the pets that set them apart from other jobs. Having a loyal little friend helping you is fun. Puppetmaster is all about the customizable mammet companion, right? And Beastmaster is about having a variety of beasts to command. Kind of like the Company Chocobo you earn that can be trained to fight alongside you...

The answer became obvious. Full pet jobs are unlikely, but Limited jobs don't have to be the only way. If the pets are the main focus, why not just expand on the existing Companion system, and add the mammet and the beasts to it as new options? No need for entire new jobs, just give us new companions, each with its own skill set and stats. And, if we're not relying on the jobs themselves, we can add options for companions that don't necessarily fit into the usual image of those jobs.

For example, there was a type of "companion" that existed before our Chocobos took over the term: the Path Companion. Back in 1.0, they were essentially NPCs that we got to customize who were part of the story, up until the last major story quest, after which they disappeared. In an old thread, there was talk about how the Path Companions were forever lost or simply died out, but I joked that such fatalism was nonsense & I had hired mine on as my first retainer. Perhaps allow battle-trained retainers to function as companions!

But I digress. What people want first is the pets. I propose a few for starters: a Mammet Custom, a Dragonet, and a Moogle. The Mammet is of course there for Puppetmaster enthusiasts. The Dragonet is there to emulate the FFXI Dragoon pet, for those who have been hoping to see it return in FFXIV. And the Moogle is an attempt at doing something that traditionally wouldn't have been done with a BST job.

If we consider the Chocobo an all-rounder, then each of the new companions is more specialized for a certain role: Mammet is best at being a tank, Dragonet is a nimble attacker, and Moogle is naturally skilled with magic and healing, with their stats reflecting this. However, just like the Chocobo can change roles and learn skills for each, so too can all the others.

And, as each ranks up and reaches skill tiers, achievements reward you with new appearance options. This would cover the head and body parts for Mammet, but probably just a head piece for Dragonet and Moogle. I would like to see chocobo bardings repurposed and used for more variety on other companions, but it's just a thought. As for body/pom coloring... if the Chocobo Stable gets reworked into a more general Companion Shelter, perhaps dye fruits could work, although honestly that system is also due for an overhaul. Maybe just regular dye pots would be good enough. Then we could also use the newer dyes, pastels and metallics that aren't in the chocobo colors (yet)!

And how to call upon your new friend? I doubt a mammet would care about a fresh bunch of gysahl greens. But perhaps a mini-tank of ceruleum? Some new recipes and/or garden crops for calling each and applying buffs would be in order.

Well. I think I've made my case and covered a good amount of the details. The one major omission -- and thing I'm not terribly certain about -- is what beasts would a Beastmaster want most? I know Courier Carrie, a snipper crab, was a well-known option in FFXI, but would it be sufficient? Are there others that would really seal the deal? And Moogle need not be the only beast tribe for potential companions; why not a Goblin or Tonberry? The point is, almost anything could be a companion: the strength of this is they don't require the same restrictions as a Limited job would bring. And while the Companion system has restrictions of its own, expanding our options at least seems like a decent alternative that anyone could enjoy.

(Crossposted to r/ffxiv)