Jerry
@kungfumonkey.bsky.social
Sculptor, potter, game designer, former martial arts teacher, weirdo. Kinda fit, kinda fat. Cat dad. Reasonably good husband. Utter gamer. He/Him. Denver-ish. 🌈
Interesting. Okay, thanks for the leads!
November 16, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Interesting. Okay, thanks for the leads!
As one of the players that don't like to use walkthroughs, I know I'm making it harder than it necessarily has to be, but I hate plot spoilers with a passion.
The coliseum solution would be really similar to Gau's Veldt or the Coliseum in FF3/6, which isolates and alienates the learning mechanic.
The coliseum solution would be really similar to Gau's Veldt or the Coliseum in FF3/6, which isolates and alienates the learning mechanic.
November 16, 2025 at 6:15 PM
As one of the players that don't like to use walkthroughs, I know I'm making it harder than it necessarily has to be, but I hate plot spoilers with a passion.
The coliseum solution would be really similar to Gau's Veldt or the Coliseum in FF3/6, which isolates and alienates the learning mechanic.
The coliseum solution would be really similar to Gau's Veldt or the Coliseum in FF3/6, which isolates and alienates the learning mechanic.
I've played FFXIV (DRG & GUN main, here), and the book is a nice reference and guide that ameliorates my concerns. OTOH, I also feel that it made it a bit too easy, but that's my old-school upbringing complaining.
November 16, 2025 at 6:11 PM
I've played FFXIV (DRG & GUN main, here), and the book is a nice reference and guide that ameliorates my concerns. OTOH, I also feel that it made it a bit too easy, but that's my old-school upbringing complaining.
Okay, cool! Can you give me a few examples to reference? I'd like to follow up on them.
November 16, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Okay, cool! Can you give me a few examples to reference? I'd like to follow up on them.
Thoughts:
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Fuck you, Verso. All of this should have been handled differently. Also, you've been carrying *that* the whole time? There aren't enough cliffs for me to throw you off of.
Ass.
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Fuck you, Verso. All of this should have been handled differently. Also, you've been carrying *that* the whole time? There aren't enough cliffs for me to throw you off of.
Ass.
November 16, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Thoughts:
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Fuck you, Verso. All of this should have been handled differently. Also, you've been carrying *that* the whole time? There aren't enough cliffs for me to throw you off of.
Ass.
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Fuck you, Verso. All of this should have been handled differently. Also, you've been carrying *that* the whole time? There aren't enough cliffs for me to throw you off of.
Ass.
So, aside from having every RPG from now on featuring a Blue Mage equivalent as the protagonist, can we do to update the monster skill acquisition system?
I've got two suggestions in the thread, but maybe someone has others? Help a fellow Blue Mage out with ideas!
I've got two suggestions in the thread, but maybe someone has others? Help a fellow Blue Mage out with ideas!
November 16, 2025 at 12:46 AM
So, aside from having every RPG from now on featuring a Blue Mage equivalent as the protagonist, can we do to update the monster skill acquisition system?
I've got two suggestions in the thread, but maybe someone has others? Help a fellow Blue Mage out with ideas!
I've got two suggestions in the thread, but maybe someone has others? Help a fellow Blue Mage out with ideas!
Amazo. Thanks, Autocorrect. I ducking hate you.
November 16, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Amazo. Thanks, Autocorrect. I ducking hate you.
The problem with those, though, is that it defies the in-game logic of "survive the attack and you'll learn it," which is as old as pixels.
Yes, I so LOVED surviving the Bombs' ability, Self Destruct. Getting punched in the face to learn Face Punch isn't great, Blue Mage. Ask any Monk.
>
Yes, I so LOVED surviving the Bombs' ability, Self Destruct. Getting punched in the face to learn Face Punch isn't great, Blue Mage. Ask any Monk.
>
November 16, 2025 at 12:39 AM
The problem with those, though, is that it defies the in-game logic of "survive the attack and you'll learn it," which is as old as pixels.
Yes, I so LOVED surviving the Bombs' ability, Self Destruct. Getting punched in the face to learn Face Punch isn't great, Blue Mage. Ask any Monk.
>
Yes, I so LOVED surviving the Bombs' ability, Self Destruct. Getting punched in the face to learn Face Punch isn't great, Blue Mage. Ask any Monk.
>
Maybe we could have a system which hints at how many skills are in the area, excluding the specifics of which ones?
Maybe we could have an item drop when Blue Mage isn't in the party, similar to FF2/FF4's rare Summon drop for little Rydia? Perhaps a set of items with less rarity?
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Maybe we could have an item drop when Blue Mage isn't in the party, similar to FF2/FF4's rare Summon drop for little Rydia? Perhaps a set of items with less rarity?
>
November 16, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Maybe we could have a system which hints at how many skills are in the area, excluding the specifics of which ones?
Maybe we could have an item drop when Blue Mage isn't in the party, similar to FF2/FF4's rare Summon drop for little Rydia? Perhaps a set of items with less rarity?
>
Maybe we could have an item drop when Blue Mage isn't in the party, similar to FF2/FF4's rare Summon drop for little Rydia? Perhaps a set of items with less rarity?
>
So, what do we do about this? With gaming accessibility being a concern on modern developers, what can we do to address the issue?
Should we just tough it out and say "it sucks to suck", continuing the hard line design of earlier games?
No, we shouldn't. Who has time for that?
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Should we just tough it out and say "it sucks to suck", continuing the hard line design of earlier games?
No, we shouldn't. Who has time for that?
>
November 16, 2025 at 12:27 AM
So, what do we do about this? With gaming accessibility being a concern on modern developers, what can we do to address the issue?
Should we just tough it out and say "it sucks to suck", continuing the hard line design of earlier games?
No, we shouldn't. Who has time for that?
>
Should we just tough it out and say "it sucks to suck", continuing the hard line design of earlier games?
No, we shouldn't. Who has time for that?
>
The only time I'd remove him is when I'm re-exploring an area for missed content, but that's after I'm done with the game.
Unless you know beforehand where you need to have a Blue Mage, it's just easier to keep one in the group, and I don't like to look things up in advance.
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Unless you know beforehand where you need to have a Blue Mage, it's just easier to keep one in the group, and I don't like to look things up in advance.
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November 16, 2025 at 12:24 AM
The only time I'd remove him is when I'm re-exploring an area for missed content, but that's after I'm done with the game.
Unless you know beforehand where you need to have a Blue Mage, it's just easier to keep one in the group, and I don't like to look things up in advance.
>
Unless you know beforehand where you need to have a Blue Mage, it's just easier to keep one in the group, and I don't like to look things up in advance.
>
I'm now "maining" a higher levelled Monoco, swapping out the other characters in a futile attempt for party balance, but Monoco's never leaving my party.
While it's true that he only has a fixed amount of skills he can learn, those go all the way up to the endgame monsters.
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While it's true that he only has a fixed amount of skills he can learn, those go all the way up to the endgame monsters.
>
November 16, 2025 at 12:21 AM
I'm now "maining" a higher levelled Monoco, swapping out the other characters in a futile attempt for party balance, but Monoco's never leaving my party.
While it's true that he only has a fixed amount of skills he can learn, those go all the way up to the endgame monsters.
>
While it's true that he only has a fixed amount of skills he can learn, those go all the way up to the endgame monsters.
>
Now you've got the Blue Mage protagonist, always in the group no matter what's going on, end of the world or not, just so you get Traveller and White Wind.
(Yes, Gau has the Veldt, which makes his ability acquisition a dedicated experience, and he's now excluded from this topic.)
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(Yes, Gau has the Veldt, which makes his ability acquisition a dedicated experience, and he's now excluded from this topic.)
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November 16, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Now you've got the Blue Mage protagonist, always in the group no matter what's going on, end of the world or not, just so you get Traveller and White Wind.
(Yes, Gau has the Veldt, which makes his ability acquisition a dedicated experience, and he's now excluded from this topic.)
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(Yes, Gau has the Veldt, which makes his ability acquisition a dedicated experience, and he's now excluded from this topic.)
>
Sure, you can reload your save in some cases, but there's always a huge chance that it's just gone until your next playthrough. This sucks.
Thus, you're left with one recourse: always have that character in your party, other characters be damned.
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Thus, you're left with one recourse: always have that character in your party, other characters be damned.
>
November 16, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Sure, you can reload your save in some cases, but there's always a huge chance that it's just gone until your next playthrough. This sucks.
Thus, you're left with one recourse: always have that character in your party, other characters be damned.
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Thus, you're left with one recourse: always have that character in your party, other characters be damned.
>
What if Monoco isn't in the party when you fight a baddie? Usually, enemies respawn and you can get to it later, but not always. With unique monsters, bosses, or super rare critters, you might get only one shot to get that power, and there's no way of knowing ahead of time.
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November 16, 2025 at 12:10 AM
What if Monoco isn't in the party when you fight a baddie? Usually, enemies respawn and you can get to it later, but not always. With unique monsters, bosses, or super rare critters, you might get only one shot to get that power, and there's no way of knowing ahead of time.
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Here, though, I'm going to talk about Expedition 33's version, Monoco. He beats up the monsters and learns their iconic skills (no spoilers, okay?)
However, like all the other Blue Mages, he needs to be in the party when a monster with a skill is fought, and that's the crux of my issue.
>
However, like all the other Blue Mages, he needs to be in the party when a monster with a skill is fought, and that's the crux of my issue.
>
November 16, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Here, though, I'm going to talk about Expedition 33's version, Monoco. He beats up the monsters and learns their iconic skills (no spoilers, okay?)
However, like all the other Blue Mages, he needs to be in the party when a monster with a skill is fought, and that's the crux of my issue.
>
However, like all the other Blue Mages, he needs to be in the party when a monster with a skill is fought, and that's the crux of my issue.
>
RPG fans know the wild Gau, the dedicated Strago, and the Blue Mage class from the Final Fantasy series, but it can also expand to other characters.
Mega Man is arguably a Blue Mage (he learns the abilities of enemies, and he happens to be blue), Amazon from DC Comics would count, too.
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Mega Man is arguably a Blue Mage (he learns the abilities of enemies, and he happens to be blue), Amazon from DC Comics would count, too.
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November 15, 2025 at 11:58 PM
RPG fans know the wild Gau, the dedicated Strago, and the Blue Mage class from the Final Fantasy series, but it can also expand to other characters.
Mega Man is arguably a Blue Mage (he learns the abilities of enemies, and he happens to be blue), Amazon from DC Comics would count, too.
>
Mega Man is arguably a Blue Mage (he learns the abilities of enemies, and he happens to be blue), Amazon from DC Comics would count, too.
>
That person seems to have mispronounced "whimsical and talented," but I suspect they don't have those words in their lexicon, anyway.
November 6, 2025 at 7:30 PM
That person seems to have mispronounced "whimsical and talented," but I suspect they don't have those words in their lexicon, anyway.
Man, what do I gotta do to look that good when I reach my 70s?
November 6, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Man, what do I gotta do to look that good when I reach my 70s?
Thoughts:
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I've just been told that I found all the playable characters, but I'm not at all sure of that. Given the cyclical nature of the game, the world, the theme, and the swap at the end of chapter 1, I suspect I've unlocked character slots and not the characters themselves.
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I've just been told that I found all the playable characters, but I'm not at all sure of that. Given the cyclical nature of the game, the world, the theme, and the swap at the end of chapter 1, I suspect I've unlocked character slots and not the characters themselves.
November 6, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Thoughts:
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I've just been told that I found all the playable characters, but I'm not at all sure of that. Given the cyclical nature of the game, the world, the theme, and the swap at the end of chapter 1, I suspect I've unlocked character slots and not the characters themselves.
.
.
.
.
I've just been told that I found all the playable characters, but I'm not at all sure of that. Given the cyclical nature of the game, the world, the theme, and the swap at the end of chapter 1, I suspect I've unlocked character slots and not the characters themselves.
Thoughts:
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That battlefield and the boss are just hell incarnate. It also suggests that there have been way more expeditions than we know, given the amount of bodies piled up everywhere.
I found the boss frustrating because of the lighting; too dark to see clearly with these modern TVs.
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That battlefield and the boss are just hell incarnate. It also suggests that there have been way more expeditions than we know, given the amount of bodies piled up everywhere.
I found the boss frustrating because of the lighting; too dark to see clearly with these modern TVs.
November 6, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Thoughts:
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.
.
That battlefield and the boss are just hell incarnate. It also suggests that there have been way more expeditions than we know, given the amount of bodies piled up everywhere.
I found the boss frustrating because of the lighting; too dark to see clearly with these modern TVs.
.
.
.
.
.
That battlefield and the boss are just hell incarnate. It also suggests that there have been way more expeditions than we know, given the amount of bodies piled up everywhere.
I found the boss frustrating because of the lighting; too dark to see clearly with these modern TVs.