I just thought I'd post what they actually said they were thinking about from the Bluegatr recap thread:
Anyway you nervous WHM may want to note that "Besides being an expert healer, White Mage may receive some tweaks to allow it some bonuses for fulfilling this purpose" and us poor RDM they have no clue how to not let you guys outshine us just yet. Like I said I'm far more nervous about the fuure of my favorite job than what I've read about the others. I do have some hope for RDM though because later in the post its quoted Specifically, Red Mages were mentioned, and promised that while Jobs could sub Refresh, an extra potent Refresh would become available at a higher level.
Anyway you nervous WHM may want to note that "Besides being an expert healer, White Mage may receive some tweaks to allow it some bonuses for fulfilling this purpose" and us poor RDM they have no clue how to not let you guys outshine us just yet. Like I said I'm far more nervous about the fuure of my favorite job than what I've read about the others. I do have some hope for RDM though because later in the post its quoted Specifically, Red Mages were mentioned, and promised that while Jobs could sub Refresh, an extra potent Refresh would become available at a higher level.
Quote:Warrior was designed as the orthodox attacker-type Job. They can equip the widest variety of weapons and armor, and have both offensive and defensive Abilities. Going forward, the developers want to enhance a Warrior's role as the point-man, leading the attack and maintaining party cohesiveness. To that end, they may receive a new Ability that aids them in tanking.
Monk has a number of Abilities that focus on the character itself, but the developers want to add more outwardly focused Abilities based on timing. These techniques would be most effective based of the condition of the monster or the party. One example was an Abilitiy that, with the right timing, could hinder the enemy's movement.
White Mage is a Job that has received several adjustments over the past year and now has many technical aspects in its role as a healer. Besides being an expert healer, White Mage may receive some tweaks to allow it some bonuses for fulfilling this purpose. For example, there could be an Ability that lets the White Mage fire off one attack spell at no MP cost after healing a certain total amount.
Black Mage was jokingly said to be the Job that keeps blasting away like crazy till it's swatted down and killed. Still, the developers realized this is the way people enjoy playing the Job, so they won't fight it. Black Mages itching to deal out the damage can look forward to learning Meteor as the Level Cap is rasied.
Red Mage came up on the screen, and the first thing Matsui said was, "Red Mage... is pretty strong..." which got some chuckles from the crowd. Still, they don't want to do anything to discourage people from leveling it to 99. As other Mage Jobs catch up to Red Mage with access to Convert and Refresh, Red Mage will continue to be balanced against them on the road ahead. Some ideas include giving Red Mages more free time during parties and improving their Enhancing prowess, but Matsui apologized saying they would have to play it by ear.
Thief employs a unique set of Abilities, but also relies on the party to bring out its full potential. This is the form Thief will retain, but expect new variations where instead of matching the pace of the party, the Thief will instead be able to direct the flow party through the use of its techniques. This will include new ways to manage Enmity, allowing the player to more freely raise and lower Enmity and avoid dangerous situations. For endgame content, the Thief may also be improved to deal out more damage. The Community Team Twitter also indicated an enhancement to Treasure Hunter and a new Steal Ability could be in the works.
Paladin has received a number of upgrades to enhance its role as a tank, and the developers are looking to secure that position as Paladin makes the climb to level 99. As enemies get stronger and stronger, they need to be careful about balancing the defensive power of the Paladin as well. This Job is meant to lead the party, and so will receive other Abilities to protect its members, including ways to give the Cover Ability more usage (a Paladin trademark they feel doesn't see enough action).
Dark Knight has become a little too much of a self-destructing Job, in that it simply tears through enemies while destroying itself in the process. The feeling is the magical side is under-utilized, so expect some improvements to Absorb-type spells as well as a method of recovering MP.
Bard is a powerful Job that raises the base strength of the entire party, but there are still some issues present. First and foremost is the inability of a Bard to cast songs on themselves. Either you get what you cast on your party members, or you quickly overwrite anything song you had active on yourself before. A way to make songs on oneself immune to being overwritten is being discussed. Also, now that Bard pulling is common practice, they are looking for a way to increase a Bard's survivability during a long or tricky pull. To help manage instruments, the Magian system may allow for a single instrument to support bonuses on multiple song types.
Beastmaster will have the benefit of getting more to do with Call Beast. In the next Version Update, they want to soften the rarity and price of Call Beast items so Beastmasters can use them more freely. In future updates, pets from Call Beast could gain new traits like Subtle Blow, the ability to grow and improve like Wyverns and maybe even some unique attacks.
Ranger is set to focus around the theme of dealing damage while constantly assessing one's Enmity and distance from the enemy. In addition to its role as an attacker, the Ranger will gain more control over its own Enmity level. There were two examples of possible future Abilities: one was an Ability that, while active, would consume either 2 arrows or 2 bullets at the same time for double damage, and another Ability was one that when used at the proper distance, reduces damage slightly while decreasing Enmity.
Samurai , compared to most other jobs, is the most versatile and useful across a wide variety of situations. The plan is to maintain its position as a strong attacker, and let other Jobs play catch up on the way to level 99. Also, Samurai may be made more enticing as a Support Job by, for example, lowering the level of Sekkanoki to where it can be subbed.
Ninja has secured its spot as a tank, but the developers are considering the need for an Ability that allows them to sharply increase Enmity, akin to Provoke. However, rather than a simple spike of hate, they want it to entail more collaboration with the party itself, so there is still more discussion to be had before the Ability takes shape. Another consideration is Ninjutsu one can employ as backup when suddenly stripped of their Utsusemi shadows. Regarding Utsusemi, they are considering having the icon display your remaining shadows.
Dragoon has a style all its own, but the developers would like to remove the limitation that Healing Breath has in regards to being linked to only certain Support Jobs. However, they first have to consider how strong Healing Breath with each Support Job might be, and in the meantime may consider new breath attack as well. Matsui also commented a new Jump Ability might be in the works.
Summoner surely took home the gold in Tokyo, getting two brand new Avatars as part of its Job Adjustment package! Alexander and Odin, featured in the Treasures of Aht Urghan expansion, will arrive along with the March Version Update. These special Avatars can only be used with Astral Flow active, but contain some powerful abilities. Alexander uses "Perfect Defense," which gives all party members damage reduction and protection against status ailments. Odin has his trademark Zantestuken, which can instantly kill monsters within range. The accuracy of this attack is affected by the Summoner's MP and the amount of enemies in range. Against NMs, Zantetsuken will simply deal damage. As Summoner climbs towards the new Level Cap, all Avatars will be receiving new Blood Pacts.
Blue Mage gets, as the MC put it, "What else, but new Blue Magic!" The Job is expected to receive more spells and more Traits from the combination of said spells being equipped. There's also the possibility that Blue Mages could receive Dual Wield as a natural Trait.
Corsair is based on playing the odds and trying to get that lucky number 11. To that end, some extra bonuses could added to make reaching that 11 even more beneficial for the Roll's effect. Also, they are considering making the Corsair a stronger damage source for parties.
Puppetmaster will get some love in the March update, with the master's Hand-to-Hand skill being raised from C to A. While their offense goes up, the Automaton's defense is set to be boosted as well in an effort to increase their survivability in a fight. In case the Automaton still manages to fall, a reduction to the recast time for Activate is also being considered for farther in the future. Other possible future tweaks include making it easier to heal the Automaton and making the Valoredge more of a match when tanking enemies.
Dancer is being looked at for some detailed changes, such as being able to cast Waltz on players outside the party. This will help in particular with NPCs fighting alongside you in Campaign for instance. After testing out that change, the developers want to re-examine how Dancers become too ineffective without TP and find a solution. Another idea is to increase the effect time of Sambas and Steps to allow a Dancer more freedom in a party.
Scholar uses its array of Abilities to manipulate magic with skill and finesse. The developers are happy with this role, but want to be careful not to add too many Abilities and over-complicate the Job. To avoid this, they want to focus on adding new spells rather than Abilities after the Level Cap is raised. These spells will still be designed to keep with the "strategist" theme of a Scholar.