Ever since its introduction into Final Fantasy XIV, the Blue Mage class has proved divisive among the community as a “limited” class. The thought is that if you give players wildly unbalanced and overpowered magic, then you have to restrict their content to carefully corralled areas in your MMO.
Some folks are cool with this, while others (including me) see limited classes as an unlimited waste of time. Why am I going to invest effort and gaming time to build up a class that I can’t use in 95% of your MMO? It would have to be for alternative rewards or for the fun of the experience, I suppose.
Today, let’s chew over the concept of limited classes. Do they have a purpose and an appeal? Have we seen similar cases in other MMORPGs? And how can they be done better in the future?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
