Once the MSQ is done and dusted in Final Fantasy XIV, and all of your Jobs are at maximum level, it’s time to experience the MMO’s true endgame — glamour. The importance of piecing together new glam and expressing your personality through in-game appearances is a sentiment a large portion of the community holds dear, myself included. However, as beloved as that system is, Job-locked gear can sometimes throw a spanner in the works.
Here’s the thing: I’m not throwing shade at the FFXIV development team; I get it’s impossible to accommodate all of our asks. They do a fantastic job of balancing fan expectations with what is feasibly possible. Like most folks, I’ve got a long list of wants when it comes to new outfits, hairstyles, weapons, etc. etc. But the Glamour system itself — like how the thing actually works — needs some help. Of course I always want more options, but managing what I have now is already a mess.
There are 22 battle Jobs (including the limited Job Blue Mage), three gathering classes, and eight crafting classes in FFXIV. That’s a total of 33 Jobs which, in an ideal world, would all be able to have their own specific glamours to differentiate them every step of the way. It’s a design philosophy mostly upheld by Square Enix, giving players unique items of some fashion to every Job, such as Artifact Gear for battle classes.
There is, however, one glaring problem here — we only have 20 Glamour Plates.
Look, 20 may sound like a lot, but it’s not even enough for each battle Job to have its own Plate, let alone trying to throw crafters and gatherers into the mix. This is why, for the most part, players will have a shared glamour for all Jobs of the same role – one for healers, one for tanks, one for all crafters, and so on.
Back in 2019, prior to the release of Shadowbringers, producer and director Naoki Yoshida sat down with Kotaku and was asked if Job-locking gear would ever become a thing of the past. Ultimately, Yoshida doesn’t seem too fond of sharing mismatched weapons between Jobs, and it’s a point he’s mostly stood by in interviews and streams since. While I completely understand the point he was trying to make in his reply, I have to admit that the rationale grows flimsy when extended to clothing options.
“…to answer about removing the job restrictions, unfortunately, we don’t intend to remove them. The reason is simple. For players who have played other Final Fantasy titles, they’ll easily recognize these gear designs as a way to identify a particular job…You wouldn’t want to see someone carrying an axe casting black magic. You’d wonder: What the hell kind of game is this?”
Naoki Yoshida in 2019 interview with Kotaku
I don’t think the playerbase wants weapons to be glamourable outside of their Job or Class, either. I know I can tank a mob of Goblins in a bikini, but that’s beside the point. Nobody wants to see a Dark Knight wielding a Sage’s Nouliths, or a Botanist bonking a tree with a Gunblade. That’s not the issue. The real pain comes when singular pieces locked to a Job or Class, instead of opting to at least go by Role. Take, for instance, the level 100 Blacksmith chest piece.
This is simply a chest wrap, which admittedly does suit the Blacksmith aesthetic, but it could also other crafters, like maybe your Armorer. Factor this in with a limit of 20 Glamour Plates, and you’ve got some tough choices to make about your FFXIV closet. Players just can’t afford to give up a precious Glamour Plate for a singular crafting class, and it’s a crime we’ve got to part with some of the game’s incredible looks based on Job exclusivity.
I understand what Yoshida was getting at when he spoke about preserving the aesthetic of each Job, but that idea somewhat goes out of the window when we have level 1 glamour sets of all styles that can be applied to any role. There are Paladins in swimsuits, Astrologians running around in a full chipmunk costume, and Gatherers in the fully armored Metian set. Players will always have their own aesthetic they strive for, and these level 1 glamour pieces allow for that to an extent.
I’m not saying that all gear sets should be removed from this Job-locked nightmare. I’ll concede that Artifact Gear should remain as it is, with each Job getting their own outfit when a certain level is reached. It gives players something of a goal when leveling similar Jobs, especially when said armor sets are as nice as those introduced in Dawntrail.
Trying to preserve a Job’s general design and in-universe purpose is all fine and dandy. I know that Summoners have always had their ‘dong’ (the horn that sits proudly on their forehead), while Black Mages have always gone for the more goth side of fashion. White Mages have, invariably, received white and red gowns, while Dragoons always look like walking thorn bushes.
But what of those who already don’t follow that half-implemented dress code or simply don’t want to? You could argue that they have plenty of glamour items available to them already, and you would be correct, but that doesn’t solve the issue of storage space and Glamour Plates available. This is especially true early into a new expansion when all Jobs require leveling, and juggling glamours with a constantly overflowing Armoury Chest becomes little more than a headache.
