Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: Blue Mage, FFXIV, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Square Enix

Final Fantasy XIV's Blue Mage Job is Completely Ridiculous

Blue Mage is the first Limited Job available in Final Fantasy XIV, which means there are some odd restrictions on what players can and cannot do with it. While players can enter instanced dungeons, they can only do so through pre-formed or undersized parties. Because of the way Blue Mage works, dropping BLU players in with a randomly matched party would be absolute chaos. Granted, even with pre-formed parties, it is still absolute chaos. But at least everyone in those instances knew what they were signing up for.

There's also that wee problem where most Blue Mage abilities are level 1 skills because you can learn them at any time from any monster. The rest are level 50 because they can only be picked up from A Realm Reborn's endgame content. So, it makes level-syncing for instances a little bit impossible.

The job is also level-capped at a max of 50, rather than 70 like every other job in the game. Additionally, you can't use Blue Mage to complete quests in the Main Scenario line, you can't teach your retainers to be Blue Mages, and you can't enter any of the Deep Dungeons, or specific instances like Diadem or Eureka.

What you can do, however, is use "Sticky Tongue" to play hot potato with a bunch of enemies 20 levels above you while trying to level grind with a group of other blue clad idiots wearing silly masks.

And it is glorious.

The character animations for skills mirror those used by the enemies you pull the skills from, so yeah, you basically puke "bad breath" onto enemy mobs, and you conjure then throw fish at targets while using "flying sardine." The fact that your weapon is a "focus" which is basically a cane doesn't help. Since you smack enemies with it like you're whipping them. Add in the incredibly ornate costumes, masks, and ridiculous hats and… the jokes just write themselves at that point.

And as restricted as Blue Mage is, the job still manages to bring out the absolute best and worst in the Final Fantasy XIV community. Because pretty much everyone is playing it if they meet the requirements.

So there are always groups camping the mobs which drop BLU skills, and some of them will help you get the skills. Some of them have created online guides for other Blue Mages to follow. And some will just sit there and kill the mob before you can learn the skill, because griefing is fun I guess?

That said, I haven't laughed this hard since my company's early Eureka runs. And we couldn't swiftcast a thousand needles then, but damn, if we could have – we would have.

Instead, we can hop in the Masked Carnivale and act like a bunch of idiots spamming the exact same three skills while cackling maniacally about it. Which is exactly what I want with new MMO content.

The only complaint I have is this: Blue Mages ought to get triplecast once the level cap increases to 70. It'd be absolutely glorious.

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