FOR the first time in six years, a new healer class is coming to Final Fantasy XIV Online. The latest expansion, Endwalker, was announced during the Final Fantasy XIV Announcement Showcase earlier today as well as a plethora of in-game deets. This also included news of multiple new classes. While they weren’t all revealed during the livestream, Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida revealed the new healer class “Sage”. This is the same class we see Alphinaud rolling as in the new trailer for Endwalker. However, Yoshida tells us that the reason behind this change will be explained in the next expansion.
Bringing the total number of healing classes to four, Sage is a barrier healer class similiar to its Scholar brethren and Astrologian step-brethren. However, it was also announced that the Astrologian class will be getting some re-tooling as of the next expansion to be more of a pure healer ala White Mage instead of both.
“Starting in 6.0 (Endwalker) we’re planning on making a clear distinction between pure healers and barrier healers,” Yoshida explains through his translator. “We want to have two pure healers and two barrier healers. And this will extend to our matching in the raid finders, to make a distinction between.”
Also revealed are the Sage’s unique looking weapon, Nouliths, which have never been seen in Final Fantasy XIV. But according to comments made in the livestream chat, they’re giving many fans Gundam vibes. This four-piece levitating weapon are controlled by the players aether. With said aether, players will be able to use their Nouliths for either healing and protecting or attacking. Yoshida also touched on the Sage’s unique ability to temporarily augment their own abilities to make them more powerful. What that exactly entails we’ll just have to wait and see, as Yoshida famously quotes “Please look forward to it.”
Sage healers will be able to start their new job in Limsa Lominsa from level 70 and require both the Endwalker expansion and another class at level 70 or above.