dasva and Umichi, thank you both for the input. I think I've got a better idea of where you guys are coming from now.

Whereas the new stuff SMN has gotten is still kinda limited in its own way (in that magical attacks is only one aspect of what we do, and is still only something we can do every 45 seconds) it at least offers a dramatically measurable boost in performance. On the other hand, with the measly Pet:Attack options BST has been getting, you'll be lucky if you even notice the extra damage you're doing.


Quote Originally Posted by dasva View Post
Due to how oddly pdif works with pets as I'm sure you've noticed your smn melee dmg we need either alot more pet att (though crit rate da etc would be nice too) and I'm talking like 50-100 per peice on peices that also have other useful stuff like haste or like smn and pup have decent damaging tp moves with att bonuses on them lol.
You know, I think this right here is the crux of the problem. I've definitely noticed a marked decrease in my avatar's melee power in Adoulin to the point where, even without all the new +MAB stuff, I'd likely find myself sticking with magic pacts anyways. And yet outside Adoulin the physical moves still trump the magical ones on most things.

Traditionally, an avatar has always had incredible kill power on mobs that are lower level than it (often capping damage to the point where even crits didn't add any extra)... But now that level correction has been removed from Adoulin mobs, I'm wondering how much of that kill power has been due to it, as opposed to the stats of the avatars. I bet BST pets are suffering from the same thing.

This strikes me as a problem with some very core systems of the game. New gear won't actually solve this. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying BST doesn't deserve new gear - you totally do! It's not cool when everyone else gets new toys and you don't. All the same, new gear is just getting the same sorts of boost everyone else is getting. It does nothing to address the real problems facing our two jobs.