The recent Patch 6.1 brought significant changes and adjustments to PvP in Final Fantasy XIV. The latest 5v5 mode, Crystalline Conflict, also celebrated its release and was well received by players. However, the road to get there was long and tedious.
The planning phase for the PvP minigame alone took an entire year, where the development team brainstormed and scrapped a multitude of ideas on how to revolutionize PvP. We all know that Director Naoki Yoshida is the chatty type when talking about the internal development processes within FFXIV. This time, he was willing to share the inside info on what went down.
According to Yoshida, the development team has some… unusual ideas during the planning phase on how the new PvP will come to life. The unique one was the idea of a battle royale mode where only Blue Mages were allowed to participate. The plan was that they would set the battle royale-style mode in a vast arena, where the arena would continue to shrink. And instead of picking up weapons or buying them with FFXIV Gil, players would have to use the Blue Mage’s learn ability to fight with whatever spells they’ve learned.
Besides that, other proposals came to mind, such as reducing the number of jobs allowed to PvP from 19 to 8 for “balance reasons”. Thankfully, the PvP team opposed it, and it never came to fruition as it’d restrict players from choosing their favorite jobs.
A Sign That Blue Mages Need More Love
Among several “limited jobs” in Final Fantasy XIV, the Blue Mage occupies a unique position. It cannot reach level 90 like some other vocations; it can only reach level 70. Additionally, they cannot level up; they can only acquire charms and talents from foes.
The mages play a small role within the game relative to other classes because they are a restricted profession in the MMO. They cannot engage in main story missions or Obligations with other professions (unless a group of Blue Mages works on Duties collectively). Additionally, they are limited to degree 70 dungeons and raids and are unable to participate in PvP.
Visitors of Blue Mage have had difficulty with the job’s infrequently updated information. Without release or job-related improvements in a year, the skill cap rise and new abilities are beginning to feel stale. As a consequence, Blue Mages are hardly seen in the gameplay. The subclass would have had a bigger presence in the gameplay if the Blue Mage-only battle royale mode had been included.
Would A Battle Royale Mode In FFXIV Be A Hit?
Battle royale features have become a common feature to brands and games ever since (PUBG) popularised the type. The free-to-play royal rumble mode of Epic, a videogame that once had a solitary storyline, is now its most popular feature. There’s Call of Duty: Warzone, which since its release in 2020 has grown to become one of franchise’s most well-known games. Indeed the Final Fantasy series, in Final Fantasy VII: The First Warrior, dabbled with the battle royale genre. A battle royale prologue to the Final Fantasy VII remake called Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier is only available on mobile devices.
We’ll never get the answer to whether a battle royale mode in FFXIV will be a hit or not, but if we consider how the development team puts out a lot of quality content for the game, it’s safe to say that there’d be an overall positive reception to it. Throughout the decades, Final Fantasy XIV has experienced enormous achievement. The MMO had to be removed from their site’s FFXIV store in December 2021 in order to allow Square Enix the opportunity to address the overwhelmingly high level of interest in the sport. Endwalker, arguably the most important content additions for FF14 where users can easily harvest FFXIV Gil, was released at the same time as the closure.
