One of the main appeals for playing just about any MMORPG is their wide selection of classes. Players can choose what best fits their personality or play style, from a valiant knight to a scheming necromancer.Final Fantasy 14has a huge variety of classes to play with after years of iteration by Square Enix.
Final Fantasy 14’s classes have exemplary traits that give them an advantage over other MMORPGs. How the game handles classes is unlike others of its kind, soFinal Fantasy 14’s classes should become a source of inspiration for any new or ongoing MMORPGs looking to hit the market.
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What Makes the Classes of Final Fantasy 14 Stand Out
Final Fantasy 14’s classesfit into a specific role, including damage dealer, healer, and tank, but they also have specific abilities that aid in their particular role. While fans who like using different builds and abilities may not like this focus, it has helped the developer create a very balanced class system. Each of them bring unique team buffs and enemy debuffs to the table, allowing for a variety of compositions that stave off the kind of strict metas found in other MMORPGs, where some classes might be considered not good enough to participate in activities.
Each class also makes use of different resources. While a general mana bar exists, there are also resource bars specific to a class. For example, the Dragoon has access to the dragon gauge that opens up a mode called “Life of the Dragon,” which allows them to use stronger abilities. This concept allows for Square Enix to tweak the difficulty of classes based on how much attention must be given to their respective mechanics. These classes are also expanded upon with the release of everyFinal Fantasy 14expansion, given more abilities to work with as well as occasional new resources.
Each class has their own unique aesthetic as well, which is especially important for MMOs likeFinal Fantasy 14that feature fashion as a big part of the endgame. In MMORPGs likeThe Elder Scrolls Online, healers and tanks often feel the same because they use many of the same abilities. But inFinal Fantasy 14, despite there being multiple healer classes, they all vary aesthetically.
For example, the White Mage is a generic healer who uses a staff and casts light-themed spells. Then there is theAstrologian, who uses constellations and tarot card-themed abilitiesto heal and buff. For melee users, Samurai plays like it sounds with sword slashes and katana techniques being implemented, whereas Dragoon fights by jumping high into the air and landing on their enemies spear-first. Every class boasts a unique aesthetic of some kind, so even if they are the same role, they will always feel different.
Final Fantasy 14’s Classes Have Changed with Time
BecauseFinal Fantasy 14is part of a long-running franchise, there is already a great amount of self-referential history in its classes. Going back to Dragoon, the class first featured in 1988’sFinal Fantasy 2, so much of its gear and abilities are reminiscent of the past - including that infamous “Jump” attack.Final Fantasy 14’s Dragoonis just one example that act as a love letter to classes of the franchise.
One of the simple but influential features inFinal Fantasy 14is how it handles alternate characters. In most MMORPGs, players must create a new character to try a new class, but inFinal Fantasy 14this can be swapped on the same character almost anywhere - except instanced locations such as dungeons or raids. As long as the player already has the class unlocked through its class quest, they are able to play it. The classes don’t share levels, so it will essentially be like playing the game all over again, but this allows players the leisure of not having to create multiple characters and play throughFinal Fantasy 14’s main questsall over again.
Final Fantasy 14’s Community Bonds with The Game’s Classes
Final Fantasy 14’s classes also stand out because of community memes formed over the years. For example, the Dragoon has long held the title of “floor tank” since they were once known for frequently dying in encounters. TheFinal Fantasy 14communityhas kept this joke running for a while, long after the Dragoon class became more versatile, and this shows how highly fans feel about class individuality.
As newer classes inFinal Fantasy 14such as sageand reaper have shown, Square Enix still knows what makes classes special. Sage and Reaper brought new ways to play with fresh aesthetics. When creating new classes, MMORPGs should be usingFinal Fantasy 14as a staple of strong design.
Final Fantasy 14is currently available on PC, PS4, and PS5.
