New Jobs Invigorate FFXIV

The specialized, party-friendly job system of Patch 1.21 has infused Eorzea with progression, lore, tradition and fun.

Nearly two years ago, just after the release date for Final Fantasy XIV was announced, I knew right away that I wanted to be a paladin in Eorzea. When the game’s starting classes were finally unveiled, the gladiator job seemed like the natural choice for playing a paladin-style role.

So imagine my disappointment when axe-wielding marauders were more highly regarded for tanking than sword-and-shield gladiators. You can also imagine all the confused mages who couldn’t discern between thaumaturges and conjurers, or the various damage dealers who shared from the same pool of marginally effective abilities. After years of playing specialized, meaningful roles in Final Fantasy XI, we arrived in Eorzea to find the various classes mired in mediocrity.

That’s all changing with the implementation of the game’s new job system introduced by Patch 1.21. With one fell swoop, the job system -- which is in addition to the original class system -- has infused the game with lore, purpose and progression.

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Unlike the game’s original classes, each of the new jobs represents a specific role in combat made to help players excel when battling in parties. Jobs are unlocked after reaching certain milestones in related classes; for example, a player with gladiator at rank 30 and conjurer at rank 15 can unlock the paladin job quest. Then, more quests allow players to access new job abilities and the long-awaited release of job-specific artifact armor.


Seeing traditionally geared black mages, dragoons and other classic Final Fantasy jobs bustling about Ul'dah has done more to affect the mood of the game than the growing orb of Dalamund hanging ominously in the sky.

Some people on the forums – both here and on the Lodestone – have criticized the new job quests for being too short. However, the only way to get through the quests quickly is to blow through them with the help of seven other people who are all level 50. These job quests are meant to start at level 30, the point at which the new jobs become available to be unlocked. A new job quest becomes available every five levels, providing much-needed progression for newer players who are coming up through the ranks. The easier quests involve traveling to chests hidden in common areas of the map. The more difficult quests require infiltrating rank 45 dungeons and fighting powerful bosses.

Overall, the difficulty level of these quests is just right. Finding a party can be difficult, and this could become more of a problem as the rush to complete job quests winds down. I feel Square Enix erred by requiring players to finish the quest “Into the Dark” before gaining access to some of the areas where job-specific gear is found. My biggest concern prior to the launch of Patch 1.21 was that the limited size of Eorzea would make the quests seem trivial. However, the development team did a great job of spreading these quests throughout every nook and cranny of Eorzea. The slow rate of anima regeneration is currently a much bigger problem than the lack of zones.

By the way, I am pleased to announce that I’ve finally fulfilled my goal of becoming a paladin. I started my job quests Friday, and through a 10-ish-hour play session Saturday, I managed to complete "Into the Dark" as well as obtain four of my five gallant armor pieces. On Sunday, I shouted in Ul’dah and quickly built a party for the last two paladin quests. We won our last two battles on the first tries. Soon after, several of us were celebrating in Ul'dah equipped in our new, shiny armor.

Early in the paladin quests, there was some NPC dialogue that would have been better shown through a cut scene. Overall, the cut scenes in the quest were fantastic. Although many gamers these days love voice acting, I’m much more partial to reading my dialogue along with great music and stunning visuals. These cut scenes deliver on both of those fronts, leaving me eager for more as I eventually level other jobs. While I can’t speak to the specifics of the other quest lines, the paladin quests introduced interesting characters while leaving room for more chapters to the story. I could see Square Enix building on these quest lines to add more abilities, items and lore to each job.

There are many things to like about Patch 1.21. The changes to crafting and gathering highlight the need for producing quality items and materials. The new instanced dungeons bring more depth to the endgame experience, with the Aurum Vale adding some new elements of danger to help adventurers stay frosty. The ability to buy chocobo armor is nice, as is the ability to teleport around town using small aetheryte crystals. Building up rested experience in your private Inn room will be an asset when raising lower-level classes.

All of that pales in comparison to the jobs system. I can’t think of another change that’s been so vital to the game, other than the patch that significantly reduced server lag. This job system allows players to be more effective in parties while leaving the original battle classes superior for soloing and duoing. Doesn’t this relationship between jobs and classes remind you of Final Fantasy V? Rather than scrap the class system and remake jobs from the ground-up, the development team found a way to introduce a new job system in a way that actually redefined the existing class system – a gutsy move that will be helpful for new players. There are still many features of this game that really need to be fixed, such as the lack of a delivery system and linkshell management tools. As of Thursday, though, the job system can be scratched from that list.

On the topic of new players, I don’t expect Patch 1.21 to bring droves of people back to the game. In fact, I don’t anticipate Eorzea’s population to rise much before Version 2.0. Although FFXIV producer Naoki Yoshida is planning a couple more large updates this year, he has indicated Patch 1.21 might be the last of the major system improvements we’ll see before Version 2.0 goes live. For players who had every job at max level and blew through the job quests on the first weekend, the long-term impact of the job system may seem small. For new players starting from scratch -- or for veterans who don't normally play for hours on end -- the job system could provide months of goals, gear and stories to strive for.

Comments

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My issues with XIV...
# Nov 06 2012 at 1:19 AM Rating: Decent
Are mostly about how the gameplay looks and sounds. Mage gesture animations seem underwhelming compared to some of the spells cast like Flare, whereas in XI you had a dramatic charge-up and the hands spread wide on release... The sound effects are still appalling in XIV. Everything sounds like it's underwater. Physical combat effects sound like magic effects to me. I hope 2.0 brings a more visceral experience because combat didn't feel like anything. I really don't like the trend of games that have 'in your face' frantic combat. I much prefer XI's traditional party camp style. Not to mention that even in XI things could get pretty frantic and out of control if you weren't careful. Slow leveling was also great, as it meant players tended to stay together more so and you could experience your current equipment longer and get more use of it before you needed to worry about selling and re-gearing. The cities and countryside of XIV had nowhere near the charm and sense of adventure that XI's did, either.
alittle confused
# Jun 19 2012 at 2:47 PM Rating: Decent
I was a long time player of FFXI and I finally decided to give XIV a go, and to my surprise, nobody TALKS.. I've been playing for about a week now, and, haven't heard a soul, Ive even tried talking to people and I get nothing. I'm not sure if it's the server I'm on or not, but I Haven't seen a single player chatting in the chat box. Ive been looking for a LS to join and haven't had a single player respond to my shouts.. I'm just confused, anyone else have the same issues?? I can say I do understand the game somewhat and really enjoy it, it's just I would love to have a linkshell that I could turn to if I have questions. I miss the communal based game I love to play. Any advice would be great!!
CONJURER, LVL 10, NADEDIAS, AMARAM- SERVER, EXCALIBUR
Red Mages
# May 19 2012 at 6:24 PM Rating: Decent
Kuwoobie wrote:
Where's the Red Mage? Smiley: frown

Exactly! I was a red mage in ffxi and i loved it! apparently, you have to have gladiator as your main class and the thaumaturge/conjurer sub class actions & traits... also, where is the summoner?!

Edited, May 19th 2012 8:29pm by ninjamaster616
Why No Red Mage?
# May 11 2012 at 3:37 PM Rating: Good
Avatar
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6,543 posts
Where's the Red Mage? Smiley: frown
____________________________
Galkaman wrote:
Kuwoobie will die crushed under the burden of his mediocrity.

New job changes.
# Apr 05 2012 at 1:33 AM Rating: Decent
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751 posts
I recently returned to the game after an 18 month layoff and am delighted by the additions over the last few months.

I know people have been criticising the job quest lines for being too short but as my old LS's have no people in them anymore finding a group to do the intermediate quests has been a nightmare. Sure, if you are on the final lvl 50 quest there are plenty of people shouting for groups in Uldah but if you are stuck on the lvl 45 quests, and dont have an active shell, you are in trouble.

Overall though. I am enjoying levelling my characters and hope to have all jobs to 50 in time for the release of 2.0 when this game should really get going. I hope SE re-release the game in marketing blitz because even now, it is infinetely better than it was on release.

I am hopefull for a long future in the game.
AF & New Jobs
# Mar 12 2012 at 2:30 PM Rating: Decent
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212 posts
Artifact armors, new classes and some of the new abilities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OA6i0RuBAY&hd=1
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