I'm doing a trial run of a normal game. Rules for me are basically the same, but I'm removing jobs I'd used in past four job runs so as to try out more.
Blue mage is great. Healing isn't THAT big of an issue. As in, I'm about to take the earth crystal jobs, and I've used one elixer. Why? Because I was lazy and just held rapid fire a and accelerate while on vampire fighting the Sol Cannon. Fun fact, a hit all attack that does 1/2 damage and HP leak vs an attack that recovers half your missing health and does that much in damage = 1 mage left out of mana with just one shot of vampire left to kill it. Also remember that most classes don't get anyway to heal effectively aside from Hi Potions, which you should have 99 of asap.
But, actually, yeah. Treat blue mages as a cross between time mage and black mage. More offensive stuff then time mage, but more buff then Black mage. The Lvl ? spells, death claw, Aquarake, dark shock. They're probably better then black mages, if only for the fact that they can use Aegis, Ice, and Flame shields, and all the rods, without using an !ability, which, I think, makes them the only class that can do that.
Dancer feels nice to me, but its pretty much a straight up fighter. Though, it is better then the thief for the Chicken Knife, at least for the purposes of this challenge.
Alright, Random Tip time.
Tip 1. Elf Capes and Guardian daggers. Keep the capes on everyone unless there is a clear reason to use a different accessory, and keep the daggers on everyone who doesn't use a weapon. The miss chances stack, and that can save a LOT of health in the long run, especially for squishy mages.
Tip 2. When in the forest that catches fire, take the chest before going down into the hole. Aegis Shield is a FAR better choice then Flame shield. 33% chance of ignoring magical attacks, yes please.
Tip 3. Do not grind. This may seem counter intuitive, but it isn't. With only 4 jobs, you will keep your abilities up to where they should be, and most bosses will be EASIER without grinding, as most of their power comes from percentage based attacks. Remember Sol Cannon? Its a lot easier to beat when one potion recovers half the damage, as opposed to needing a high potion. In fact, in that situation, even being at level 99 with 9999 health doesn't help much, as the first shot does 5000 damage. However, if you don't panic, the next shot will only do 2500 damage, so you aren't in bad shape there, but there are other bosses that do higher percents.