My “Next job” predictions: “Scouting” and “Fending”

[Omedon]

I’m bored at work and revisiting a point of prediction that I often come back to: The next jobs, if any, to come to FFXIV. I say “if any” because I have a very strong feeling that either 7.0 or 8.0 are going to try to adjust expectations of expansion format, but that’s another thread for another day.

In case it needed to be said, this post is 1000% speculation and opinion.

Assuming we get two jobs for 7.0, here are my early, highly speculative soft predictions and how I’ve settled upon them:

First, I believe we’re finally getting a second scouting job. Its weapon will be a double ended spear like Zidane, a Jian-type single sword or pair of upward-held swords. The theme will place it either in the “holy family” of jobs with white mage and Paladin, or the “performer family” with dancer and bard. There’s a lot of wiggle room in the concept but I mean, we’re well past due for a second “scouting” job, and If we don’t get it this time I predict non-artifact ninja gear may get merged into either aiming, striking or maiming somehow. Don’t ask me how, I just feel scouting is this weird, incongruous outlier and if we’re changing expansion expectations and thus potentially capping ourselves on new jobs it shouldn’t be allowed stay that way.

Secondly, and this is my “way out of left field” choice, but I think the teases we’ve received throughout the years of the forbidden art(s) of transformation (don’t want to get too spoilery there) are going to bring us a tank that will fit into a very loosely related family of “forbidden arts jobs” that I’ve observed as being shared by dragoon and summoner. I’m not going to call it “FFXIV’s answer to the WoW Druid” because it won’t be multi-role, but I do imagine it’s going to have an egi-glam-like functionality that will allow for a degree of personal taste. Weapon-wise it could be anything, but I wouldn’t be surprised by something staff-like or hammer-like, perhaps something like the long warhammer we’ve seen held by everyone’s favorite sapphic goth of the first.

So, why a tank? We’ve got four of them, why would we need more? If you look at the state of the adventurer in need, FFXIV still has a vested interest in lowering queue times for players by tempting more people to try tanking for roulettes. Particularly in a game where the sheer interdependence of queueing to level in dungeons with live players has been *blissfully* diminished by duty support, the more people we can tempt to try tanking roulettes, the better. Furthermore, let’s be real here: for single player, “on my own time” undertakings, the tank is hands down the default, best and most efficient, approachable role, particularly in the open world, and there is absolutely no harm in it potentially being the only “armor type” to have five jobs.

So that’s my prediction/speculation, and how I’ve come to them! I’m excited to see what happens next, and what perhaps more experienced players come up with. If you look at the cadence of jobs that have been added starting in Stormblood, they’ve covered pretty much every base once, so almost anything is possible really, and the only jobs easily ruled out might be of the armor types we just touched with reaper and sage.

What do you think? Am I crazy? What are your predictions?

[NekoMataMata]

I don't think anyone doubts that one of the jobs is going to be something that uses the scouting gear. Not sure about the spear bit though, because even if it's double ended it's still a bit too close to Dragoon's weapon, isn't it? Also the new jobs are supposed to be unique, and not quite comparable to anything in the FF series at all, I think?

Not much to say about the tank, but I believe you misunderstand adventurer in need and how it sometimes lags. As someone that has queued both tank and healer(at max level with the vast majority of duties unlocked) frequently on the NA DCs, usually even when tanks are AiN they still don't insta-queue. Usually takes a couple seconds, while when I go in as a healer it's an insta-queue.

Often times when the AiN is healer my tanks will actually insta-queue instead, but that's something that I only see a few times a day.

[dspguy]

Heavensward introduced a new tank, healer and ranged DPS
Stormblood introduced melee DPS and caster
Shadowbringers introduced a new tank and ranged DPS
Endwalker introduced a new melee DPS and healer

In some ways, SE developers are a bit formulaic with their patches and while we don't have many data points for new jobs, I contend they are also a bit formulaic with introducing new jobs.

Every expansion has seen a new DPS, so that's almost a given. I agree with the OP - likely Scouting as it is the only remaining job with a "unique" gearset. Probably a pirate or corsair type job. They already have a "gun-type" DPS. So, maybe pirate? I don't know how pre-90 pirate would look given the style of scouting gear though.

Second job, if they add one, will be another tank. If they borrow from other FF games, possibly a Rune Fencer. Sort of off the beaten path a bit, but so was Gunbreaker.

Personally, I'm not sold they will add two jobs. There is plenty of variety. Maybe the effort on creating a new job can be spent on making the jobs we currently have feel more unique. As an example, as far as tanks go, it isn't too much of a chore to use a hotbar "template" to drop their buffs, rotations, gauge builders, gauge spenders, to be nearly identical across all tank jobs. You can essentially "tank roulette" and go in blind and still probably perform at about 95% without even thinking.

[Allegor]

They also mentioned Krile getting the spotlight so my gil is on scouting and caster

[DayHealer]

I bet one will be a new Magic Ranged dps. If you check in the course of the expansions, we had 2 new tanks, 2 new healers, 2 new melee dps, 2 new physical ranged dps and only 1 new magic ranged dps.

Then overall job chart is:
- 4 tanks
- 4 healers
- 5 melee dps
- 3 physical ranged dps
- 3 magical ranged dps

Easy to see who got the less love.

[Vandso]

I would bet in a whip-wielding job for the next expansion (probably Beastmaster/Trainer), though I wouldn't be surprised if we see a Corsair/Canoneer using a sword and a gun for the new scouting job. I can also imagine a Mystic Knight/Rune Fencer being one, maybe using two swords.

I do agree that we need another tank job, but I can only imagine what kind of weapons it would use. Maybe a second shield user? What if it wields an one-handed bludgeon (anything like axes, hammers, maces, flails) and a tower shield? Or what if it wields a single dual-handed shield, or maybe two shields? I wouldn't mind seeing a job using a weird, Bloodborne-like weapon.

I don't know about transformation jobs, I feel like Reaper is like this already. The only character in FF that has a similar ability is Vincent and he uses a gun, we already have guns. Maybe I can see this happening with Chemist, but I can't imagine it being a tank (unless you give him a meat cleaver and call him Mad Doctor or something).

I would like to see Geomancer coming back at some point. Probably not in this expansion though, unless they give us three jobs, which I find very unlikely (but not impossible). Also, it's about time we have another limited job.

[4clubbedace]

they just released a melee why release another back to back?

it sprob fending and caster tho

[Erinellza]

Hell no, we haven't had a caster since SB (BLU doesn't count because it's limited), so we either get a caster or I riot.

[CaptainLagbeard]

With AST getting yet another rework in 7.0 apparently...

I hope one of the new classes is a healer than can take AST's current place as a second Regen healer while the figure out what the heck they exactly want to do with AST.

[Rehayem]

Well, following the pattern of the "lack of jobs that share gear", I'm voting for caster and some scouting on this one. We really have 2 casters, and as someone mentioned above, BLU doesn't count.