While in recent years the addition of new classes have been limited to the introduction of new expansions, at the beginning of this year in the final half-year of Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood’s lifecycle, Square Enix broke tradition introduced the Blue Mage class to all players Level 50 or higher.
This was not a regular class you could reasonably expect to see tackling Extreme-Ultimate challenges with, but rather a Limited Class which essentially had its own set of systems for players to work towards. Based on the Blue Mage class of other games, this had few spells available out-of-the-box, requiring players to battle enemies and “learn” their skills for future use. With a mixture of physical and magical skills encompassing different elements, it was a real hoot learning iconic enemy abilities such as 1,000 Needles or the legendary Flying Sardine – and the associated Masked Carnivale offered many a challenge.
However, with a level cap of 50, one could reasonably complete levelling in a few hours due to a particular levelling trick. Due to the grindiness of learning abilities from some enemies, limited practicality outside of its own systems and very little gear to collect – no more than every couple of months would I even load up the class.
Patch 5.15 (the latest update in Patch 5.1) for Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers went live last night, bringing with it an update to the Blue Mage system. While its longevity this time around is questionable given I have seen more than a few people running around as Level 60 less than one day after launch, this does introduce a level cap increase, new spells from enemies and dungeons, and the introduction of an improved Blue Mage log to encourage Blue Mages to team up and tackle dungeons and some rather challenging sync’d trials together.
In addition to the Blue Mage updates, Patch 5.15 introduces a new frontline map and ruleset titled Onsal Hakair (Danshig Naadam). Each of the three Grand Companies must team up with a tribe of Azim Steppe, as they fight for control of territory in this grand demonstration of martial prowess. Each team will work to capture ‘Oovo,’ bases which earn a team points while under their control—the first team to accumulate the required points will be declared the winner. While technically similar to other PvP modes in the game, this mode was much faster paced and drew players into much more frequent combat.
This update also includes a wealth of new housing items, mounts, minions, crafting recipes and more. For those who held a mentor status but did not meet the new requirements laid out in Patch 5.1, you will now lose access to your crown and the Mentor Roulette.
If you are interested in reading the full patch notes, you can check them out on the Final Fantasy XIV Lodestone.
