Geomancer design confusion.

[Imakun]

I can easily see a SCH-esque revival for GEO in the near future.
But I think the problem with Geomancer lies within the nature of the job (pun not intended). Do we need really need what is basically an MP based Corsair with weird mechanics right now?
Answer is no, we don't. The only solution I can see, along with an overhaul like the one SCH received, is to create events in which we can use GEO's costant buffs. Which would basically mean slower battles with less "YOU DEAD!" moves and everything that comes with them.

The expansion is only a few days old, and SoA is not an add-on like ACP, ASA, AMKd'E and Abyssea were. It takes time to build up and show what it really is about.
We just got to Adoulin's door, what's behind it.. we have no idea.

[Hawklaser]

Well, while being bored and skilling up geomancy and handbell skills, I did some google translates on a couple of Community reps replys in the Japanse Geomancer forum. And something interesting is that Geomancers debuffs look to be meant to stack with normal debuffs. Might not be enough to get Geo a slot, but it would help once things get worked out.

[Alhanelem]

both buffs and debuffs form geo stack with non-geo buffs of the same kind. Even though the icons are the same, you'll see the descriptions are different and you can see two MP icons for refresh + geo refresh for instance.

[Hawklaser]

The Buff stacking is easy to find out about, all it takes is book regen + indi-regen to find that out. Debuffs are a bit harder to find out about outside of the various PvP events, and not everyone partakes in those, especially when there is new content around.

[Elexia]

I can easily see a SCH-esque revival for GEO in the near future.
But I think the problem with Geomancer lies within the nature of the job (pun not intended). Do we need really need what is basically an MP based Corsair with weird mechanics right now?
Answer is no, we don't. The only solution I can see, along with an overhaul like the one SCH received, is to create events in which we can use GEO's costant buffs. Which would basically mean slower battles with less "YOU DEAD!" moves and everything that comes with them.

The expansion is only a few days old, and SoA is not an add-on like ACP, ASA, AMKd'E and Abyssea were. It takes time to build up and show what it really is about.
We just got to Adoulin's door, what's behind it.. we have no idea.

To be fair, a lot of people forgot how real Expansions were given the design of "expansion packs" in other MMORPGs nowadays.

[SpankWustler]

I don't get why people think they should be able to cast more than two buffs, Cor and Brd both only are allowed two unless there's more than one in the party which is the same for Geo anyway.

In addition to this:

Corsair can put up 4 buffs (2 rolls on backline, 2 rolls on frontline), Corsair can now maintain at least 2 XI rolls thanks to adjustments, BRD can put up as many buffs as Pianissimo can allow and fulltime 3 songs with a 90 emp or 4 songs with a 99.

There's the matter that Bard and Corsair are both capable of switching parties in normal alliance settings. Geomancer is not.

Also, here's a look at the potency of some of Geomancer's buffs:

675 combined:

4MP/tick
30HP/tick
19STR
11.5% Attack
15.7% Defense

The Attack and Defense from Fury/Barrier is the base %, so if you have Berserk on it wont take that as your floor value, it's the before other buffs are added value. Pretty much the same as Chaos Roll.

Something definitely needs to be done about Geomancer's buffs, or the job's only hope is that its Defense Down effects make the job worth using for some activities.

[Alhanelem]

There's a number of interesting (and just plain weird) things people are finding:

-Opposite effects that can't usually coexist can with geomancy- an enemy can be hasted and slowed at the same time, you can have attack up and attack down at the same time, int up and int down, flee and gravity, etc.

-geomancy effects stack with otherwise identical effects. You can have normal poison and geo-poison on the same target, slow and geo-slow, etc. This was tested in ballista and opponents would have status effects for both spells.

(This means Slow II, Geo-Slow, and Elegy all stack. Pretty comfy window for casting utsusemi or any other spell )

-the geomancy debuffs do not seem to be resistable- a pretty good payoff for them being immobile, expensive, and a relatively small radius.

-A friend and I came up with an idea (we aren't able to test it yet) based on this: Have a group of geomancers make a circle of Geo-gravity bubbles, through which you could kite literally any monster. you can also pretty severly weaken a mob with multiple debuff effects in the same location.

The main advantages GEO has are thus in TLR format:

-Geo effects stack with identical non-geomancer effects, and these effects are not readily resistable.

GEO seems in a much better position to be a debuffer than a buffer, though many of the buffs are able to synergize with the debuffs, e.g. attack up on party, defense down on enemy.

But despite there being gravity, there's no movement speed up, and despite slow, no haste.

[Luvbunny]

So basically grab a ton of mobs to a group of Geo for the deathly bubbles, and have your AOE melee whack em all to death. Probably good for Einherjar or the new fell cleave in abysea hah ha hah.

[SpankWustler]

GEO seems in a much better position to be a debuffer than a buffer, though many of the buffs are able to synergize with the debuffs, e.g. attack up on party, defense down on enemy.

The enfeebling effects are definitely Geomancer's strong point right now.

Due to how small the spheres are at this moment, I imagine the general best course of action being to either just apply two enfeebling effects or stand by other mages and use Indi-Refresh. Either of these would circumvent both clumping all the melee together in a tiny area of effect and requiring the melee to be in the party with a Geomancer in an alliance setting.

[Gundisalvus]

The Buff stacking is easy to find out about, all it takes is book regen + indi-regen to find that out. Debuffs are a bit harder to find out about outside of the various PvP events, and not everyone partakes in those, especially when there is new content around.

I've been playing the Geomancer for a couple days now. I discovered that the debuff Indi and Geo spells do stack. My old man and I tested it on an Orc in Ghelsba Outpost. We used Indi-Poison and Geo-Poison at the same time and it annihilated the Orc. While doing research at capped skill level on both Handbell and Geomancy you can get up to 60 dmg/tick running both debuffs