FFXIV News March Update Part 2: Archer, Thaumaturge, Conjurer

Tags : ffxiv news, final fantasy xiv, ff14 news, ff14 update

Welcome back Blog-goers and FFXIVcore members! I wanna take this time to State my thanks for the comments to the First part of my own personal views on the update thus far, and thanks for coming back. I'm here today, a week before I turn 21, to give you the (highly?) Anticipated part two! Before I was somewhat straightforward.. Today, I have a lot of things to throw at you to think about. Get ready... part two's coming at you hard!

As with before, enough nonsense, more information! And bare with me.. This is going to be long.

Archer: Fire and Forget... Or not...:
Archer archer archer. Where to begin. First of all just to get it off my chest right now... NO CROWSBOWS? Either a really big mistake... or a really smart idea for making a whole other and yet revealed class for them.

This is a complete twist on the way people think of Archers and i bet a lot of people will be complaining. Archers are hands down still going to be powerhouses. AoE powerhouses, though. Single target will still be good, but I am guessing they will go into battle (depending on skill/gear, in that order) as a must have class in most AoE raids/battles. Imagine Using quick nock/replenish and firing 10 Arrows at one enemy. Hello Barrage, hello hate! Maybe even hello floor, you taste nice. Archers are going to be battle changers. Waiting for the right time to unleash their wrath of arrows is going to be a particular skill this time around, for archers who unleash to early will eat the ground. Guaranteed. SE has mentioned they have to wait for the right time to strike, and that is my take on what they say. Also.. Archers will be farthest from the party, quote on quote "alone" and that just seals the deal. I think SE is going to punish The elitist Archers of FFXI by saying, "Yeah, go ahead and pull... if you don't kill it.. you're dead. /evilpanda." Somethings to think about... Seems as though from the Cutscene description I read.. Elemental arrows can be placed on arrows by The other mage classes.. So will archers always team up best with a mage? And what will the price be to both classes if this indeed is the case? And can we get arrows that are enchanted by normality if we can't team up with a mage? And with the Different type of Arrows listed in the update... will archers have to micromanage arrows to maximize their DPS potential? Nice questions to ask yourself.

Notable Moves:
Wide volley: Make it rain arrows (Rain arrows upon one enemy and all the enemies within a certain distance of him)
Quick nock: Fire a number of arrows in quick succession (Fire a number of arrows at all enemies in a cone-shaped area ahead of you)
Replenish: Nock as many arrows as you can hold (Fire many arrows at once)

On to My Favorite parts of the Update, the mage classes. (AKA RAGING CLUE)

Thaumaturge: Working Wonders by Means of Magic:
For those of you who don't know what thaumaturge means or haven't looked it up, the title of this section explains it all. It's a Greek word oft translated in English to "Wonderworker". What does that leave you to think about this class now?

Exactly what it says. This Class is your Black Mage. If you like powerful, destructive magic, this is your calling. Thaumaturges will boast the highest Magical Attack. But they have a lot of conal attacks? My mind was almost puzzled. Until I came up with this. Thaumaturges Are going to be a mage class to define mage classes we've seen in any MMO. The ability to pull in is what will set them apart. No more running from your enemies... casting gravity.. I PITY the foo! This time, our new and revamped BLM is bloodthirsty. I assume we will see Thaumaturges pull in mobs, then charge up a supremely efficient Conal AOE and obliterate things. The Ability to share your own buffs with another party member is enticing, especially since aside from having the best magical attack, I am also going to guess that they will have class specific buffs (maybe En-spells, Bar-spells, etc) that will be useful to share with a tank or healer. With an option to heal other party members at a drop in thier own health seems almost like a last resort, or a form of Drain Healing. AKA Cast Sacrifice, Drain HP back, rinse, repeat. The Thaumaturge seems like your Super power red mage currently, Having the best magical attack from BLM and getting what I think will be the best buff/debuff spells around in Red Mage. It will take skill and timing to know what to cast when to maximize the DPS they will do, and it will be interesting to see how aggro is manage against these fearsome casters. It seems it will be even more prevalent in 14 to Debuff enemies upon them buffing themselves or pay a high toll for disregarding it. I know we're all excited about the thought of Blowing things to smithereens but, In this case, the end doesn't justify the means. Yes, I am hinting at MP.

MP does not regenerate by resting. So what then, will helping the now nomadic party healers and casters save and restore MP? I have Multiple Theories.

1: The Use of item, such as drinks, food, to replenish mana between battles. Only seems logical, right?
2: Aetherytes(SP), Which will have an option to replenish MP and HP Completely upon usage.
3: You may get a percentage of MP Back based on what you used during a set fight back upon killing the mob/mobs involved.
4: Some form of Camping/tenting, going back to older FF's and using tents on the field?
5: Each Class will get a Special ability, or lastly..
6: Be able to enchant MP/TP/HP Drain on weapons.

As long as thaumaturges can manage their MP, however SE allows them to, expect to be a high damage class, at a very high risk to your own personal safety.

Notable Moves:
Drain: Absorb HP from enemies in range
Sacrifice: Heal others at the cost of your own HP
Syphomage: Take MP from defeated enemies
Absorb-accuracy: Take your enemy’s accuracy and make it your own

Last but not least, My most anticipated part of the update(for me)(Another SUPER RAGING CLUE)

Conjurer: When one is not enough!
This class just emanates one word to me, and one word only: Scholar. I'm sure you can see the excitement on my face in your mind as you read this, for I am, after all, SCHOLARSERA.

Eight time out of ten, Conjurer is going to be your "main" healer. The have Final Fantasy Staple cure spells, and Protect.. it'd be stupid to say otherwise. But Scho... sorry, Conjurer's, can put out the Damage too. Conjurer is going to be The brand new scholar, with less focus of Grimoire and more on accessibility. After laying down the cures and protects on people, expect them to be able to light up the sky, and keep up with even the meanest Thaumaturge. They will also be the master of beneficial buffs for the party, including protect, shell, haste, veil and maybe even erase and esuna. What else they could possibly do for a party in terms of buffs is only speculation.. But I imagine we will see old FF series buffs come back into play.

In terms of the Magical attack portion of Conjurer, Expect it to be a bit like SCH. The abilities they have are already reminiscent of the Grimoire abilities of their older counterpart, one to increase magical attack, one to decrease casting time, one to make a spell AoE.. and this doesn't just go for the Damage spells, but for all of them. How Exciting is that? The most exciting abilities to me right now are the ability to cast spells and move, and the ability to Equalize enemies Elemental attribute. Of the former, an awesome Ability for a critical moment where your party is moving on to the next camp with a mob or group of mobs almost dead, and your tank is still taking hits. pop this ability to move with him, and heal him as you go! No worries. The latter, a much more interesting Idea... It has been noted that conjurers need to keep in mind the elemental properties of everything around them. This is why. By Aligning enemies and allies alike to the same element, A party can exploit a weakness in the enemies with en-spells and black magic alike, and also make an enemies elemental attacks less damaging. Conjurers are an essential ally for fight dealing with strong elementally outfitted baddies just because of this particular spell. Enemies base elemental property and allies too will all play a role in Conjurer and how to be most efficient in casting the best buffs, heals, and offense magic. No more sitting back and hitting Alt+5 Healers! Plus, the most unspoken of issues: The ability to heal specific parts of the body by aiming the cure? What role will that play in all of this? Only time will tell.

Notable Moves:
Trance chant: Chant spells with fervor (Nothing can interrupt casting)
Purge: Can see all elements infinitely and clearly (Equalize the elements of enemies and allies)
Roaming soul: Cast spells by humming (Can cast spells while walking)

The possibilities are endless. This blog, despite your belief and probably sore eyes, isn't. This wraps up Part 2. Stick around for Part 3, Pugilist, Miner, Blacksmith, and Part 4, Beta Screenshot and my person opinions! Thanks again for reading! Comment as you see fit.

This is just my speculation.. From a Scholar's Eyes. Till next time!