Study: What do you consider every job's "Identity" in XIV?

[Connor]

For the jobs I play I’d say…

WHM: Direct power healer with an answer to every heal mechanic. High dps 0 support (ew). Lilies are intended to afford it more mobility than other healers and Afflatus Misery gives it a ‘healing into damage’ refund, reducing the need to balance between basic attack spamming and healing.

SCH: Support healer with focus on utility/buffs rather than direct heals. It should be able to debuff too but apparently that’s just too much for healers. Fairy support sets them apart from other healers. Is frequently misunderstood because of how poorly the devs initially implemented it. Abilities and spells tend to be weaker or more convoluted than those of other healers. not a DoT DPS healer with summoner skills lol

SGE: An offensive healer that heals through damage. A fairly straightforward and generally simplistic identity, but somehow they still failed to implement it properly.

AST: Support healer focused on rDPS / party damage as opposed to Scholar’s more defensive support/utility. Time-related heals are integral to the identity, as are the card mechanics.

BRD: Party support oriented DPS that buffs the party rather than being purely focused on its own dps. Heavily proc based; the current version is a patchwork of every mechanic it’s had in every expansion, bar Heavensward’s casting. Fails spectacularly at delivering on its identity.

DNC: Party support oriented DPS that buffs the party rather than being focused on its own dps (lol this seems familiar). Has an incredibly slight leaning towards direct healing as opposed to Bard’s ability to buff healing, but it’s only expressed in two abilities (one of which is literally unusable for its intended function because it’s a channel on a goddamn dps). Heavily proc based. One of the few jobs that actually delivers on its identity overall.

SMN: Harder to say since it’s changed so much. Overall I’d say the identity of Summoner is as a high-potency ‘nuker’ type that utilises summoned beasts to deliver its attacks. I still predict the poisonous not-poisonous (it’s corrupted aether not literal toxins lol) DoT thrower identity will likely be relegated to the new caster job. Leaving Summoner with its overall - albeit highly simplistic - identity of ‘deals big damage with summons’.

RDM: More of a straightforward one as the devs have been fairly consistent with its identity through its lifespan. Red Mage is the ‘Jack of all trades’ DPS that’s capable of supporting with various roles whilst maintaining their role as a dps. Throwing out support heals, buffing the party’s damage, debuffing the enemy, support raises. Maintaining the balance of magic and swordsmanship also gives it the unique identity of requiring rapid repositioning / planning, which no other job really has right now besides melee and positionals.


Lastly: DISCLAIMER - these opinions are ones held by me based on the developers previous actions, changes, and things said in interviews and the like. These are the theoretical or ‘intended’ identities as perceived by me and do not reflect how those identities are expressed in practice