What New Jobs Will Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Add?
Another new Final Fantasy XIV expansion, Shadowbringers, is coming up, and you know what that means. We’re going to take a stab at predicting what the new jobs will be added to FFXIV when it releases this summer.
I have to pat myself on the back a little bit. Each of the last two times we’ve done this, I have gotten at least a few right. Although I’ll admit some of them were obvious.
I accurately guessed that Samurai and Red Mage would be added, and I’m going to count Blue Mage too since that technically came out during the Stormblood era. For Heavensward I whiffed on most, but I did nail that Dark Knight would be added as a tank.
We don’t have nearly as many clues to go off of as we did in Stormblood, so it’s a little trickier this time. However, a key piece of information we do have is that the expansion is likely going to take to us to the homeland of the Garleans.
If there was an expansion that would feature non-magic using classes, this would be it.
So starting with the DPS classes, let’s take a stab at what jobs Shadowbringers will add into the mix. We’ll give you three of our best guesses for each role, starting with what’s most likely and then moving onto the longshots.
One final note: arguably the most likely option for every single role would be something completely new. This is especially true with this expansion since once the development team got Red Mage, Samurai, and now Blue Mage out of the way, they covered the three most requested jobs by far.
However, since we can’t get into the mind of the development team and pull out the exact name of a brand new class they may or may not be considering, we’ll stick to guessing old jobs they could bring into FFXIV.
Most Likely DPS: Gunblade
I’m almost 100% positive that a Gunblade class is going to be added in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers. It was hinted at during the reveal of Shadowbringers, and Gunblade users are already firmly established as a thing that already exists in the game.
The big question is whether it will be a DPS or a Tank job (I don’t think anyone seriously thinks it will be a healer).
The DPS argument is the easiest for us to wrap our heads around based on what we know of the job both in FFXIV, and also Final Fantasy VIII.
When you think of a Gunblade, you’re picturing a bad ass weapon that can be used to not only slice, but pierce too with its bullets/explosions. It could fill a role of being a DPS effective at multiple ranges, and damage attack styles as well. It would be a natural and unique fit.
We’ll also consider it as a tank class, but Gunblade being added as a new DPS job feels like the more obvious pick.
Plausible DPS: Oracle/Mystic
The Oracle’s chance might have passed with the release of Stormblood. When we spoke to Yoshida-san before the release of the most recent expansion, he told Twinfinite that they considered an Oracle-like job for Stormblood, but they ultimately landed on Red Mage.
The two are historically a bit similar, though not exactly. While it’s more likely the development team will search for non-magic based jobs, it certainly would be silly to completely rule them out.
Since some thought went into Oracle already, it’s very plausible that the development team would choose to revisit the idea, and give it another go for Shadowbringers.
The Oracle could focus on being a debuff/buff class similar to Final Fantasy XI’s take on Red Mage, and boost overall DPS that way.
It would certainly be more creative than just another job that whacks things. Although they tend to carry sticks around. So maybe still some whacking.
Longshot DPS: Necromancer
Necromancy has never had a huge place in Final Fantasy lore (although it does exist of course), and this is especially true in the MMORPG games.
However, it’s an extremely common class in other games, and considering we’re going to be getting more in touch with our dark side in Shadowbringers, it’s possible that this is the opportunity for the FFXIV dev team to experiment with a job fits into that theme.
It may not be a Necromancer exactly in the way that we’re imagining it; a pet job like what is seen in Diablo. But something along the lines of using traditionally “evil” magic has its best chance of emerging in this expansion.
Most Likely Healer: Chemist
Okay I’ve floated Chemist out now for each one of these articles and each time I’m left disappointed. If a Chemist doesn’t appear as a new playable job in Shadowbringers, I’m done trying to make it a thing forever, I promise.
It just makes so much sense this time around. Garleans can’t use magic. Other than relying on non-Garleans, they need to use non-magical means to heal their wounds. They are the experts in all things non-magical.
What job can you think of from Final Fantasy’s past that uses no magic to heal their teammates? Why, it’s the Chemist from Final Fantasy Tactics of course, which is a fountain of potential jobs that the dev team has drawn from before.
I so badly want to see a job that uses “mix” to put together salves in the heat of the battle to then sling over to a teammate. And during down time? Whipping out that big gun of course to put a hurting on an enemy gives it a clear way to DPS too without needing magic.
Plausible Healer: Dancer
Now that the “most requested jobs” are out of the way, the next new most requested job is probably the Dancer. It’s at least among the most brought up ever since Lyse showed up looking very much like a Dancer in the original Stormblood trailers.
Of course we learned that she was just wearing some Ala’Mihgo red, and was still very much just a Monk, but it didn’t quiet the rumors.
The best bet is still using Final Fantasy XIV’s more rigid paradigm to fully realize the excellent idea that Final Fantasy XI for Dancer as a frontline healer class. In FFXI, attacking generates TP (MP for FFXIV) which can then be used to heal.
It just might be a little too outside the box though for the FFXIV dev team which has so far preferred to keep healers far away from the action.
Longshot Healer: Time Mage
There’s extremely little to go off of to support a claim that Time Mage could be added as the next healer job for Final Fantasy XIV. There’s just not a lot of other past jobs that could fit the bill, and Time Mage is arguably among the most recognizable class that’s not in the game yet.
It would be neat to see time magic used as a way to “restore” players back to their previously un-damaged state by going back in time.
Plus, we’re going to be dealing with the Ascians plenty in this expansion, and while they don’t explicitly use time magic, they do like to dip in and out of planes of reality. That’s something… I guess?
It’s listed here as a longshot for a reason though. We’d guess that the next healer job would be one of the other two above, or a brand new job before we’d put American money on Time Mage.
Most Likely Tank: Gunblade
Okay we’re back to the Gunblade. Now, I made the case earlier that it’s more likely that the Gunblade will be a DPS job, and I stand by that.
However, if the dev team is planning on adding a new tank job with Shadowbringers, and I do believe they are, there isn’t a ton of unused tank jobs to draw from that will fit in this expansion.
Gunblades have often been depicted as users of heavy Garlean-style armor, so it’s certainly possible that they would just add some enmity generating abilities into the mix of attacks I theorized earlier and call it a day.
Most people assumed that Dark Knight would be a DPS job until it wasn’t, so it’s very possible that we’re looking at a similar scenario with Gunblade as well.
Plausible Tank: Runefencer/Mystic Knight/Rune Knight
Whatever they want to call it, a job that infuses spells and elements, with sword attacks, and also possibly to create runes to deflect and defend, is certainly plausible.
Now if we’re sticking the Garlean theme, these effects could be created artificially, rather than through magic, but either way it’s one of the few major jobs, not yet seen in FFXIV, that could work as a tank.
If it seems outlandish, keep in mind that a version of the Mystic Knight, known as a Runefencer, appeared in Final Fantasy XI as a tank that focused on magic defense. It doesn’t need to be exactly like that for FFXIV, but it could be somewhat like that for sure.
Longshot Tank: Geomancer
Now when I talk about the Geomancer in this last spot, I don’t mean the bell-toting ones with a poofball hat from Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy V. I know that they can’t hold up in a fight all that well.
I’m talking about axe-wielding ones from Final Fantasy Tactics that are just as likely to chop you up as they are to cast a spell.
Geomancers, in a way, have been seen in Final Fantasy XIV through the Stormblood-era quests, which gives them a little bit of a better chance of being added.
However, it’s harder now that we’re moving beyond Stormblood. Like the Oracle/Mystic, the best chance to have included it in FFXIV is now passing.
However, Yoshida and the development do like to surprise fans. If everyone is thinking that they will zig, they’ll zag instead. Conventional wisdom would imply that if Geomancers ever see the light of day, they would be some kind of healer or DPS class.
So if Geomancers were added as a tank instead, they could use axes, medium armor, and “earth” based spells to defend from attacks and provide DPS support as well.
Usually though, the most obvious answer is the correct answer. It will probably be Gunblade, or something completely new.
Those are our picks, what are yours? Let us know in the comments below.
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