I did not enjoy BLU in patch 4.5, so I've been avoiding it for a long time now. But I've finally gotten around to leveling it to 60 and testing out the 5.15 changes, and I feel that the job has vastly improved and is much more fun to play. I enjoy the fact that there's a more distinct rotation now, that there's new incentives for partying with other BLUs and keeping content synced, and also the ability to take on distinct and proper Party Roles via Mimicry and the new L60 spells.
But that's the problem — I'm having a lot of fun with BLU... until I hit a brick wall and can't do anything else with it because of all the restrictions on content participation. This is frustrating and disappointing. I've now put as much or more effort into BLU as I have any other War/Magic Job: completing job quests, acquiring actions, setting up HUD/keybinds, learning how to do my role properly (or in this case, all three), practicing my rotation(s), setting up a proper gearset... etc... Except unlike every other War/Magic Job, the payoff just suddenly stops after I clear out the niche content that I'm allowed into.
To be clear, it's not that things like Blue Log or Mightier Than... Achievements aren't engaging. It's that none of it makes up for the fact that, despite all this effort setting up and learning BLU, I can't just go with my friends into whatever content we feel like doing for the night. It's frustrating. It feels like a partial waste of energy with no real payoff beyond novelties like (one) mount, or ruining the lives of Yo-Kai farmers (PSA: don't actually do this, please BLU responsibly).
I enjoy this job a lot — the aesthetic, the design, the systems, the characters, etc. I've used a BLU, or Blue Magic, in my party in every previous Final Fantasy game that I played, because I just like the job that much. I would like to main BLU. But, I can't, because it has all these bizarre gimmicky restrictions on it that other Final Fantasy mainstay jobs like RDM or DRK do not.
Here's the thing: it is true that BLU is "overpowered" in certain content, and it is true that BLU has its own distinct side content. But I just don't see any of this as actually being worth the downsides of having all these content locks on the job:
Basically, the point of this big wall of feedback is to try to express two big points:
Again, I can only speak for myself personally, but I would happily give up as much of BLU's "overpoweredness" as necessary in exchange for being allowed to actually level up, do the MSQ, and do relevant max-level content as Blue Mage. The selling point for me is just BLU's particular style, aesthetic, and systems — mostly the same reasons someone else likes being a Red Mage or a Dragoon or a White Mage or whatever. These are iconic Final Fantasy jobs, and having one carved out and locked into a bizarre little cage just feels really awful to me in the end.
So, to conclude, let me stress that this frustration and disappointment is not with BLU itself — which I'm enjoying a lot, even if it still has some rough edges — but instead with the restrictions on BLU that force me to choose between either being BLU, or being able to participate in all the content in the game.
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But that's the problem — I'm having a lot of fun with BLU... until I hit a brick wall and can't do anything else with it because of all the restrictions on content participation. This is frustrating and disappointing. I've now put as much or more effort into BLU as I have any other War/Magic Job: completing job quests, acquiring actions, setting up HUD/keybinds, learning how to do my role properly (or in this case, all three), practicing my rotation(s), setting up a proper gearset... etc... Except unlike every other War/Magic Job, the payoff just suddenly stops after I clear out the niche content that I'm allowed into.
To be clear, it's not that things like Blue Log or Mightier Than... Achievements aren't engaging. It's that none of it makes up for the fact that, despite all this effort setting up and learning BLU, I can't just go with my friends into whatever content we feel like doing for the night. It's frustrating. It feels like a partial waste of energy with no real payoff beyond novelties like (one) mount, or ruining the lives of Yo-Kai farmers (PSA: don't actually do this, please BLU responsibly).
I enjoy this job a lot — the aesthetic, the design, the systems, the characters, etc. I've used a BLU, or Blue Magic, in my party in every previous Final Fantasy game that I played, because I just like the job that much. I would like to main BLU. But, I can't, because it has all these bizarre gimmicky restrictions on it that other Final Fantasy mainstay jobs like RDM or DRK do not.
Here's the thing: it is true that BLU is "overpowered" in certain content, and it is true that BLU has its own distinct side content. But I just don't see any of this as actually being worth the downsides of having all these content locks on the job:
BLU is overpowered in low-level content
Okay, that's neat. But I don't honestly care that much, because I could just undersize the content with any level 80 job and accomplish the same thing, except even faster and easier. So BLU is only overpowered at doing premade synced content. But that's a pointless niche outside of specific gimmick achievements/systems designed to bribe you into doing it as BLU. And these are fun... once... but after that, there's not much reason to keep doing it.
BLU has special systems like Blue Log and Masked Carnivale
Okay, but... I don't care. I apologize if this comes across too harshly, because I can see that some developer(s) clearly put a lot of time into this, but for me, Masked Carnivale is an obnoxious gimmick that doesn't really reflect actual XIV battle gameplay, instead being about bringing some gimmicky trick loadout to "solve" each encounter and then never touch it again, because it's boring and annoying. I log in to explore a world and challenge fights with other players, not to lock myself into a single room for a weirdo solo dodging minigame.
Completing the Blue Log is, again, kind of fun... once... but the content is also so easy that it barely feels like I'm doing much, and once it's done and the achievements are gained, there's just not much reason to bother doing it again. Also, Poetics and Allied Seals are just not very interesting or appealing rewards.
Mightier Than... achievements are definitely a trip and something challenging to work on over time, but once again — it's a one-and-done thing. There's just not much incentive to keep doing this, which makes BLU effectively die off after a short novelty period. It's also something that requires so much preparation and coordination that it's not viable to just hop into with friends for an hour before bed, in the way that I could do a level 80 Roulette or Extreme Trial or something.
The big problem here is that I would value any or all of the following things more than I currently do any of the "advantages" that BLU supposedly has right now:Okay, that's neat. But I don't honestly care that much, because I could just undersize the content with any level 80 job and accomplish the same thing, except even faster and easier. So BLU is only overpowered at doing premade synced content. But that's a pointless niche outside of specific gimmick achievements/systems designed to bribe you into doing it as BLU. And these are fun... once... but after that, there's not much reason to keep doing it.
BLU has special systems like Blue Log and Masked Carnivale
Okay, but... I don't care. I apologize if this comes across too harshly, because I can see that some developer(s) clearly put a lot of time into this, but for me, Masked Carnivale is an obnoxious gimmick that doesn't really reflect actual XIV battle gameplay, instead being about bringing some gimmicky trick loadout to "solve" each encounter and then never touch it again, because it's boring and annoying. I log in to explore a world and challenge fights with other players, not to lock myself into a single room for a weirdo solo dodging minigame.
Completing the Blue Log is, again, kind of fun... once... but the content is also so easy that it barely feels like I'm doing much, and once it's done and the achievements are gained, there's just not much reason to bother doing it again. Also, Poetics and Allied Seals are just not very interesting or appealing rewards.
Mightier Than... achievements are definitely a trip and something challenging to work on over time, but once again — it's a one-and-done thing. There's just not much incentive to keep doing this, which makes BLU effectively die off after a short novelty period. It's also something that requires so much preparation and coordination that it's not viable to just hop into with friends for an hour before bed, in the way that I could do a level 80 Roulette or Extreme Trial or something.
- The ability to do storyline, MSQ, side quests, etc, so that my character gets to actually be a Blue Mage, rather than a (not blue mage) who sometimes becomes a BLU in ancient ARR/HW content.
- The ability to jump into Roulettes, Dungeons, Trials, Raids, Maps, etc with pugs or friends... like I can do on every other iconic Final Fantasy Job in XIV.
- The ability to challenge myself in actual current, relevant content with current, relevant rewards, like Extreme and Savage, with BLU... rather than having to hope that 7 other people want to downsync into mostly-pointless old content for some reason.
Basically, the point of this big wall of feedback is to try to express two big points:
- I really like the way BLU is growing and evolving. It's starting to feel like a "real" Blue Mage to me, and I'm enjoying playing it. The job itself is becoming a lot of fun for me.
- I really don't like all of the awkward, artificial restrictions on BLU. I want to level it to 80, I want to play it in level 80 content, I want to be able to join whatever my friends are running like I can on any other level 80 War/Magic job.
Again, I can only speak for myself personally, but I would happily give up as much of BLU's "overpoweredness" as necessary in exchange for being allowed to actually level up, do the MSQ, and do relevant max-level content as Blue Mage. The selling point for me is just BLU's particular style, aesthetic, and systems — mostly the same reasons someone else likes being a Red Mage or a Dragoon or a White Mage or whatever. These are iconic Final Fantasy jobs, and having one carved out and locked into a bizarre little cage just feels really awful to me in the end.
So, to conclude, let me stress that this frustration and disappointment is not with BLU itself — which I'm enjoying a lot, even if it still has some rough edges — but instead with the restrictions on BLU that force me to choose between either being BLU, or being able to participate in all the content in the game.
Continue reading...