Future Job Predictions by Gear

[ty_taurus]

Been thinking more about what possible jobs we might get in the relatively near future, whether that be 7.0 or a little beyond and wanted to share some thoughts on where my head space is at and see how others feel.

Casting - Onmyoji
The Onmyoji as a job has been referenced a number of times in FFXIV. We can encounter Summoner clones in Yanxia under the name "Onmyoji," Onmyodo has been referenced during Heavensturn, and we recently see it resurface in the new variant dungeon. Casting seems to be the most likely candidate for a new job as the entire magical DPS sub-role has not seen any new editions since Stormblood, and while there's nothing that states any new job needs established roots in the world lore or anything, it certainly doesn't hurt. I think it's really important that new jobs also try and feature very ownable weapon types--something that really establishes the character and style that a job is trying to capture, and paper talismans are a potential weapon that could work for the Onmyoji that I feel would do that very well.

Scouting - "Executioner"
I put the name in quotes because I have no idea what name they might go for with this concept, but the idea is a melee job that uses a sword-whip like Seven from Final Fantasy Type-0, or a more well-known example would be Ivy from Soul Calibur. At first, I felt like maiming would work better for this concept, but when I think about it more, the level of control needed to use a bladed whip would feel well-represented by the use of Dexterity over Strength. Whips are also a very commonly discussed weapon type to consider, and while this is a little different, it would capture that identity in a more ownable way. There's more inspiration to pull from than just wielding an ordinary whip, but I will say, especially given some of the likely candidates for 7.0's setting, perhaps "Explorer" could also hold the whip with a sort of Indiana Jones inspired job direction, though I really can't say I feel that's a likely outcome.

Fending - "Templar"
Again, I really don't know what name they would use for this, but the idea would be to use a grand mace or war hammer as the weapon of choice, inspired by Gaia from the Eden story as well as Cinque from Type-0. The story seems very close to bridging the gap between the Source and other Reflections, so I feel like Ryne may end up reappearing as a major character, if not in 7.0, than in 8.0 perhaps, and I could see Gaia upgrading into a main character as well, similarly to how G'raha was added to the main cast. If this is true, I feel like her receiving her own job rather than just being a Warrior makes more sense. While it's true that there are Warrior weapons that are warhammers (the Asphodelos weapon comes to mind), we also have Chakrams available to the Monk that were in the game before Dancer was introduced, so that doesn't discredit the potential for hammers and/or maces to be given their own job.

Aiming - Blitz Ace
We're getting new Gold Saucer content in a few months, and while there's no confirmation if it's Blitzball, that is the predominant rumor. Blitz Ace (or whatever other name they could go for) might seem silly in one aspect, but it never actually feels that way outside of first meeting Wakka in FFX. Personally, I don't feel like Aiming is a very likely candidate for a new job in this coming expansion, but I wouldn't rule it out entirely, and I think it's somewhat likely for the expansion after. So we'll have to see.

[Raikai]

After thinking a lot about the TMNT shirt, there are so many possible references that, much like RDM with the Scarlet Witch t-shirt, I'll go with the most straightfoward one:

It's a reference to Soroban, which is pretty much a 'Ninja Turtle' and the job he would fall into mostly would be Geomancer.

Now, something else caught my attention... Maybe I'm wrong, but they didn't show "Blue Mage Update" during the Endwalker Fanfest (which even made people think they abandoned the job altogether), but did mention it this time at the top of a content feature list... Which makes me wonder if they are planning something else for the job, given that we'll even visit BLU's founding place.

[ForsakenRoe]

Someone I know jokingly messaged me about 'BLU copium' because both the job and the turtles are wearing eyemasks. And as stupid as the theory sounds, and how 'clearly it's for the meme' the guy was, it ironically can't be discounted.

'There is a nonzero chance that it's something to do with BLU' is an accurate statement, as hilarious as it sounds

As for me, my first thought was 'Ninja, new job is Scouting', bam done. Of the actual job names named in theories, the Artist/Pictomancer is the most interesting/has the most potential to me. I've long imagined an idea for a ranged DPS spec for Monks in WOW, that uses Okami style inkbrush swipes for it's moves, along with summoning ink animals to assist it for burst CDs (like that one Byakko painting that comes to life in the new Variant). Out of all the things that would make me go 'uuuuuugh' and get up to go get a drink though, hearing the word Geomancer would be top of the list. I'm WHM, so if I'm getting told I had to lose my elemental skills in favor of twinkly christmas light blasts, just so some Othardian bozo can use them instead (after being mentioned in lore as 'oh Astromancy and Geomancy are actually pretty similar', no less), I'm not gonna be super thrilled about it

[ty_taurus]

Someone I know jokingly messaged me about 'BLU copium' because both the job and the turtles are wearing eyemasks. And as stupid as the theory sounds, and how 'clearly it's for the meme' the guy was, it ironically can't be discounted.

'There is a nonzero chance that it's something to do with BLU' is an accurate statement, as hilarious as it sounds

As for me, my first thought was 'Ninja, new job is Scouting', bam done. Of the actual job names named in theories, the Artist/Pictomancer is the most interesting/has the most potential to me. I've long imagined an idea for a ranged DPS spec for Monks in WOW, that uses Okami style inkbrush swipes for it's moves, along with summoning ink animals to assist it for burst CDs (like that one Byakko painting that comes to life in the new Variant). Out of all the things that would make me go 'uuuuuugh' and get up to go get a drink though, hearing the word Geomancer would be top of the list. I'm WHM, so if I'm getting told I had to lose my elemental skills in favor of twinkly christmas light blasts, just so some Othardian bozo can use them instead (after being mentioned in lore as 'oh Astromancy and Geomancy are actually pretty similar', no less), I'm not gonna be super thrilled about it

The Artist angle also applies the the Onmyoji idea. The example you have of the Byakko painting is from an Onmyoji character from the lore. We also saw the same concept during one of the Heavensturn events that featured Onmyoji NPCs.

[Raikai]

Someone I know jokingly messaged me about 'BLU copium' because both the job and the turtles are wearing eyemasks. And as stupid as the theory sounds, and how 'clearly it's for the meme' the guy was, it ironically can't be discounted.

'There is a nonzero chance that it's something to do with BLU' is an accurate statement, as hilarious as it sounds

Oh, my statement about Blue mage is separated from shirts thoughts. I just found it curious that they actively mentioned it this time as an expansion feature.

The Artist angle also applies the the Onmyoji idea. The example you have of the Byakko painting is from an Onmyoji character from the lore. We also saw the same concept during one of the Heavensturn events that featured Onmyoji NPCs.

I like that idea. I wonder if they'd use the japanese branding 'Onmyoji' or something like 'Mystic' that is easier to spell and identify (I personally always have to check Onmyoji's spelling).

There's one point that I see against that idea, and it's Krile. If she ends up being the poster-girl for the new caster job, it would be weird to have her taking up the Far Eastern mantle for that without any sort of additional context. Unless there's a segment of the 6.55 storyline that sets her up on that, and it's just because the Far Eastern culture is quite out of the way to whatever she could find in the New World.

[ty_taurus]

I like that idea. I wonder if they'd use the japanese branding 'Onmyoji' or something like 'Mystic' that is easier to spell and identify (I personally always have to check Onmyoji's spelling).

There's one point that I see against that idea, and it's Krile. If she ends up being the poster-girl for the new caster job, it would be weird to have her taking up the Far Eastern mantle for that without any sort of additional context. Unless there's a segment of the 6.55 storyline that sets her up on that, and it's just because the Far Eastern culture is quite out of the way to whatever she could find in the New World.

I don't think they'd do that in FFXIV especially since the title of "Onmyoji" appears in multiple places already and has been directly referenced. But that is what happened in Final Fantasy Tactics. The Mystic job was "Onmyoji" in Japanese, so it's possible that the spells Mystic knew in Tactics could reappear in some fashion if the job were added, though I'm more inclined to believe that won't be the case since Mystic was almost exclusively a debuff job, and debuffs don't work in FFXIV very well.

As for Krile, there are a lot of 'if's involved in that. There's no telling at this time if she will be dawning a new job, and even if she does it doesn't have to be the new caster. We know that Erenville will be a prominent character, and the teaser also featured a woman speaking to us near the end telling us that this is her home. I presume she's a Hrothgar we'll meet in 6.5, 6.55, or at the very start of 7.0 who is the catalyst for us going to the New World, and may be a prominent character as well. If either of them are featured as trust characters, both are great candidates for new jobs as well. And even if Krile does adopt the new job, there are plenty of ways to get her narratively shifting to a Far Eastern job. She already has talked about feeling less useful to the group before, which seems like a good opportunity for her to go on a 'training arc' of sorts.