As anyone who's ever deliberately dropped a tank buster on a party member can tell you, any instance in Final Fantasy XIV is a player versus player (PvP) zone if you try hard enough. That’s certainly the spirit that tonight’s unique Blue Mage PvP is embodying as two of FFXIV’s more niche communities team up for a special event.
From 6pm PT on the Crystal Data Centre, Zalera, Wolves Den Pier, Blue Mages are taking over The Puppets' Bunker Alliance Raid to turn it into a PvP instance in an event called Blue Tier Nier. A collaboration between the PvP Revival discord, a community committed to creating regular PvP events, and Blue Academy, a centralized resource for Blue Mage, Blue Tier Nier will see Blue Mages attempt to kill each other (and themselves) while (potentially) clearing the Alliance Raid.
With three Alliances in each raid, this will be classic three-way combat, just like Frontline. The event is described on the PvP Revival discord as “alliance-versus-alliance shenanigans in the 24-man Puppets' Bunker alliance raid.” The Blue Academy event is more candid: “We're gonna do Puppets' Bunker and kill each other.”
Blue Mage is uniquely set up for this kind of PvP for a number of reasons, but primarily due to the skill/spell “Malediction of Water” which pushes allied players in the direction of the cast. This means clever Blue Mages will be able to push opposing Alliance’s players into AoEs and other hazards. Beyond this, Blue Mage also has a half dozen spells which push, pull, and otherwise manipulate enemies. We expect to see trash mobs heavily weaponized by more creative Blue Mages.
As mentioned, the event is scheduled for 6pm PT on Nov. 17, Zalera, Crystal Data Centre. While the Raid is set up for 24 players, if there’s more than that, parties will be split up into multiple instances. At the end of the event, prizes will be raffled off, although details on what these are is apparently a surprise.
Overall, this is just a fantastically unique event. One of the trademarks of a healthy MMO is when players are able to make their own fun. While many have felt the pain of being griefed unintentionally (or intentionally) in an Alliance Raid, perhaps by an errant Rescue attempt by a well-meaning healer, this kind of unique PvP is the perfect chance to let those intrusive thoughts win. Go ahead Tank, drop the buster on the opposing Alliance. Healers leave those other Alliances dead, and DPS, remember to use your GCD on pushing other players to their death — the sky is the limit in PvP Alliance Raiding.
