Announcement Day And 6.0 Job Speculation

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With “Announcement Day” fast approaching, speculation for what 6.0 holds for us is ramping up fast. Unfortunately, due to covid-19, SE had to push back patch 5.3 and cancel all of the scheduled Fan Festivals. This means that the announcement we were expecting to get in November 2020 is probably all we can expect to get on February 6. This means we’ll probably get confirmation about new jobs, and the number, which will probably be two, if they follow the pattern they’ve set. What we probably won’t get, is confirmation of what those jobs will be beyond the usual hints from Yoshi-P’s shirt, which have been pretty spot-on historically (so maybe half-confirmation of one job?).

What those jobs will be now, that’s up for grabs.

Possibility 1 – Hammer User (Judge?)

This is less of pre-existing job in FF games, and more a combination of two concepts that players have been asking for – a hammer user and the Garlean-style armors (which are similar in design to the armor worn by Judges in FF Tactics Advance). Following this concept, a judge would be either a tank (unlikely at this time) or a melee DPS wearing Maiming gear. If it follows this concept, the job would likely utilize a variety of blunt and spiked two-handed weapons, as well as some magitech devices.

Why it’s likely – A hammer-user has been long requested by fans, whose fervor only rose when Gaia was introduced. There has also been a long-standing desire by some to have access to Garlean-styled armors.

Why it’s unlikely – Judges are not a well established job in Final Fantasy. Pretty much everything would have to be designed from scratch (which, admittedly, may appeal to the designers). Also, blunt weapons are not widely used in FFXIV, so all of the weapon designs would need to be done from scratch. – One of the biggest complaints about Shadowbringers was how few options Gunbreakers and Dancers had for weapons in the beginning, with no access to any Trial/Primal weapons (not even the level 60/70 weapons, a fact that has not changed to date).

Possibility 2 – Dual-Wielder (Rune Fencer / Spell Blade?)

This is another one where two desired concepts are meshed. First, a dual-wielder (probably swords, maybe axes as well?), a long-standing, well-loved concept common in fantasy, with many examples all over the place, but surprisingly few in FF games. Second, an inverted Red Mage – a job that uses some magic, but is primarily melee DPS. This job would likely wear Scouting (but possibly Maiming) gear, and would use en- spells to enhance weapon damage and effects.

Why it’s likely – A dual-wielding job (other than Ninja) has been long-requested by players (including my spouse – loudly and repeatedly). More than a few people were hoping for a job similar to BLU from FFXI making it into the game. Also, FF games have a long history of jobs using magic to enhance weapons, (Red Mage, Rune Fencer, Rune Knight, Mystic Knight, etc). Further, assuming the job used swords, SE would be able to use or modify pre-existing weapon models from PLD, DRK, NIN, SAM and RDM, or at least draw on them for inspiration, dramatically reducing development time, and freeing up precious design resources.

Why it’s unlikely – I honestly think this, or something like it, is the most likely new Job for 6.0. I can’t think of a good reason for them not to add this.

Possibility 3 – The Gun (& sword?) user (Corsair\Gunner?)

This is a pre-existing FF Job that has seen a resurgence in popularity after the MSQ events in 5.4. In favor for this job is the heavy change in design direction for MCH seen in 5.0, with an increasing emphasis put on tools and gadgets. With a wealth of pirate-themed gear already in game, there are a lot of fans of this job making it in.

Possibility 4 – The Healer (Chemist? / Geomancer?)

The reason I list a healer as a possibility, rather than list a few different options separately, is because healing isn’t “fixed” yet, in a lot of player’s eyes. Yes, the healers are more balanced than they have ever been, but many players are extremely dissatisfied with how the healer role in FFXIV work. I, as well as many others, have posted about this before, and a lot of people have suggested a wide variety of options that could be implemented to make playing healers (support?) more enjoyable.

But it isn’t there just yet, and now might not be the right time to add a new healing job to the game.

I could be wrong though. After all, tanks are in the best place they’ve ever been, and we saw Gunbreaker added in 5.0, to much praise (excepting the limited weapon options).

If we do see a healer in 6.0, the two front-runners are the dualling fan-requested favorites of Chemist and Geomancer.

Chemist would likely be a non-magic healer that would use a variety of concoctions (and tech?) to heal allies. SE has looked at implementing this job in the past though, and has passed on it. In terms of weapons and visual design, I have no idea how they would work – I just feel the passion of those who’ve been asking for this job since before 3.0.

Geomancer would use elemental magic virtually identical to Conjurer, without the divergence to spells like Holy, Glare or Dia. I’m genuinely uncertain as to how well this would work. Would CNJ/WHM be retooled to use fewer nature-based spells from the get-go, so that spells like Stone and Aero could be co-opted? In terms of visual design, Geomancers exist throughout the history of FF games, as well as in FFXIV already, with NPCs appearing in quests and dungeons. The weapon of choice appears to be bells.

I have seen Necromancer suggested by some as a possibility, but like many others, I feel like this is highly unlikely.

Possibility 5 – Square goes rogue!

It has been stated in the past that the designers are interested in creating new Jobs for FFXIV, that do not exist in any previous FF game in any form. If they choose to go that route, it’s possible that none of the above options will make it in game, and instead we’ll see something completely different. My personal favorite idea is a tech-based healer using Allagan technologies to heal. Maybe things like nanites, or healing energy projected from nodes, using a control node to direct others, as well as for attacking (just an idea)

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