The Return of Sub-Jobs

[LilimoLimomo]

Would you like to see sub-jobs return? Why or why not? If they returned, would you adjust the way they function in any way? Curious to hear folks' thoughts.

[Oizen]

Personally I would, the big issue they used to have is job design was a lot less cohesive back then, a lot of standard tools that felt mandatory were arbitrarily locked onto other jobs and just sorta forced you to level them as well to really have a max level character.
I think that jobs now are a lot more functional than they were in ARR and Heavensward, so as long as you kept damaging moves/damage buffs out of the equation, it probably could work pretty well now, and give some level of agency to how you play/build your character.

Its preferable to role actions at the very least.

[Nebelheim]

If they made the subjob system similar to ff11 instead of what they did during arr/hw.

[Rithy255]

I mean it's Possible that when 8.0 rolls around (because we're at cap) you would get a system like this, highly doubt it but one can dream.

Depends if it's any good I guess.

[mallleable]

I think the "simplest" sub job system they could do is allowing each job to be other roles. Like there could be DPS BRD, Tank BRD, and Healer BRD.

[Rithy255]

I think the "simplest" sub job system they could do is allowing each job to be other roles. Like there could be DPS BRD, Tank BRD, and Healer BRD.

Think this would be unfitting for some jobs like tank bard lol that's a bit silly but healer bard makes sense.
I think maybe having a "spec system" where jobs can go down 1 or 2 different paths some examples.

Paladin - Tank (Normal) Paladin - Healer (Path 1) Paladin - DPS, faster with more combo paths (Path 2)
Black Mage - DPS (Normal) - Black mage (Ice Build) possibly much more mobile and supportive with debuffs - Black Mage - (Thunder) Focused on DOT's a lot more.
Dragoon - DPS (Normal) - Dragoon - Tank, more of a in your face protective gains mitigation skills Dragoon - Dps, More faster gcd's but less ogcds ect.

I think theirs a millon examples i could make here but I don't really think we need every job to tank or heal, I could see all tank/healers get a DPS build though.

[Gokki]

Nah, just expand Classes to max level, so Gladiators are DPS while leaving Paladin as Tank.

Would be fun to explore what a Dark Knight class would be... Harrier?

I, for one, would LOVE to play Archer or Rogue, i don't like Bard or Ninja.

[Jeeqbit]

Sub-jobs just wouldn't work because people will pick what is most optimal. This already happened with classes vs jobs in ARR, where both could reach level 50 and classes could be better due to cross-class in certain cases.

Then if you do a sub-job system like SMN and SCH, they are virtually different jobs anyway... so are they really a sub-job anymore? Regardless, SE obviously does not want to do this again.

I would support different role specs for the jobs though. For example, Paladin would make a good healer. There was a time when I would have said Warrior wouldn't make sense as a healer, but look at it now. Gunbreaker could probably do it too using regens. All the tanks could be made to DPS. Samurai felt like the DPS version of a tank when it released, so it could tank. MNK used to have a defense stance so it could work as a tank! Probably all the melee DPS could work as a tank tbh, I did it as a Ninja occasionally as it is, with Shade Shift and Bloodbath. Red Mage would make sense having a healer spec.

[SieyaM]

The players would optimize the fun out of it. There would be an optimal sub job or every job and if you didn't choose that sub job then you will be removed from groups.

[VentVanitas]

"but muh minmaxing" is such a surface level take. I urge people who actually think this to develop a more nuanced opinion.

sub-jobs in XIV don't work not because of optimization, but because the gameplay/encounter design does not accommodate or need such a feature. in other MMOs, subclassing/specializations work so they can make classes more versatile across a wide variety of content, because believe it or not, raiding is not the only thing you do in an MMO. however in XIV, the content does not possess such variety- and when it does, it is likely to have its own equivalent counterpart of a spec system such as essences/lost actions in Bozja.

unless they suddenly shift content design to be wildly different, subs/specs would be pretty worthless.