[Synnre]

I've been hearing a lot how crafters will be more important in 14. I hear they'll be around all the time and that's good because everything degenerate. So will we see a party of tank Mage, DD and crafter? Will having a crafter in your party give party wide buffs like a brd. For example a blacksmith in your party would reduce wear on weapons, cook will make food last longer? Hunter would give TH etc. Seems like they would offer much help in damage or healing but still probably want to be invited to adventure with friends.

[Someonher]

I doubt crafters will be used in a party setting. Those buffs you mentioned would have to be pretty powerful to outweigh another damage dealer or healer in the party. Fighting multiple enemies would be even harder.

[Venidar]

I'm not so sure if they will be used in a party setting either. I do however believe that crafters will be even more dominant in FFXIV than they were in FFXI. Having to repair an item and requiring a Blacksmith to do so only makes crafters that much more valuable and controlling of the economy. I'm REALLY hoping that you can go to vendors (ala WoW) and repair and that Blacksmiths only allow you the ability to do so without having to travel back into town. Even so, I can already imagine Blacksmiths hanging around zones offering repairs for a set price, probably even gouging a bit just because it's more convienant then travelling back into town. But hey who knows! With so little being released about the game at this point, the speculation will likely drive you mad.

[Sir Lucious Leftfoot]

Well if you think about it... The crafter could help fight just fine, but when something needs to be fixed, he could just change armory, and kneel down fix whatever needs be fixing then switch back to his sword and attack again. That's why i'm starting to understand the power of the armory.

[Jynx13]

Switching to the weapon would just turn the crafter into the melee class and he won't be a crafter at that moment.

[Matheau]

I think the idea of crafters being more important might more likely mean that crafted equipment will overall be more viable in comparison to dropped gear. There also is a reasonable expectation there might be quests or missions or something similar for crafters to do.

I get the impression based on what I've read so far the developers are shying away from support classes. It sounds like they want to make it viable to create a group without needing a handful of specific classes to have a viable chance. On top of that, a purely support class would be difficult to balance for solo content, which there is supposed to be a good amount in the game. I don't think there is going to be something completely equivalent to the FFXI Bard in FFXIV.

I would suspect there is going to be at least one support oriented class, but I think Red Mage and Dancer or maybe Blue Mage or Corsair (never really played either of those) are going to be more what should be expected. I really doubt it will be a Hand class, it seems far more likely it will be one of the unannounced Magic classes.

This is all speculation since the information just hasn't been released yet. However, think about how much of a stretch it will be for Weavers to have a real combat role.

[Akioremora]

Matheau, on 19 October 2009 - 09:29 AM, said:

This is all speculation since the information just hasn't been released yet. However, think about how much of a stretch it will be for Weavers to have a real combat role.

Weavers could be enfeebling, and entangle things with their threads...so perhaps a class that uses ammo (string?) for spells like slow, gravity, bind.?

[WhiteMageUla]

They are probably going to be our sub jobs.. when you aren't out pew pew, shanking, spearing mobs.. your in town making stuff.

[Dex]

The dev team has revealed in interviews that the weapons, no matter how epic, will all degrade. As they degrade their effectiveness also declines. We also know that by switching weapons we can change classes.

Thus, just take along somebody who has leveled up their smithing for example and who can also be your healer. When somebody's weapon is worn down during a battle, wait until the fight is over, have the healer swap his staff for their hammer and with the use of a crystal sharpen the sword so it is back to full strength. Then the smith swaps the hammer for a staff and you go back to fighting. Same applies for running out of food or equipment degradation. There is not necessarily a need for somebody to be standing around with a pair of knitting needles just leeching.

I think the job of a Bard, when it is confirmed that one exists, will be a casting class like the mages whose spells are songs just like ffxi. But I don't think that Disciplines of the Hand will have anything to do with the job of being a bard.

[Synnre]

Pwnd.