Puppetmaster has gotten a lot of fantastic boosts lately. Unfortunately, it still has not made us competitive.
I know that the dev team has previously stated that there are no plans to make a new automaton, but if they ever decide to MAKE plans, then this is what I'd like to see:
Please add a "Geomancer" style automaton head.
Outfitting one's automaton with this head will extend the effects of equipped attachments to nearby party members when the appropriate maneuvers are used. It can be used with any automaton frame. This would allow for a variety of effects that could potentially let Puppetmaster finally be sought after for parties.
Going down the list, we could potentially see the following buffs derived from relevant attachments:
When a FIRE maneuver is used:
Tension Spring: Attack up
Attuner: Monster Defense down?
Inhibitor: Store TP up
Strobe: Enmity up
When an EARTH maneuver is used:
Armor Plate: Defense up or Physical Damage Taken down
Barrier Module: Increased shield block rate
Schurzen: Allows Scherzo/Earthen Armor/Migawari to trigger more easily?
When a WATER maneuver is used:
Mana Jammer: Magic Defense Bonus up or Magic Damage Taken down
Mana Channeler: Magic Attack Bonus up and Recast Time up
Percolator: Skill gain rate up
Stealth Screen: Enmity down
Steam Jacket: Increases resistance to magic damage of a certain element after taking damage
When a WIND maneuver is used:
Accelerator: Evasion up
Drum Magazine: Snapshot up, Ranged Accuracy down
Scope: Ranged Accuracy up
Turbo Charger: Haste
When an ICE maneuver is used:
Loudspeaker: Magic Attack Bonus up
Mana Booster: Fast Cast up
Power Cooler: MP Costs down
Tranquilizer: Magic Accuracy up
When a THUNDER maneuver is used:
Coiler: Double Attack up
Dynamo: Critical Hit Rate up
Galvanizer: Counter rate up
Stabilizer: Accuracy up
Volt Gun: Enthunder
Target Marker: Monster Evasion down?
When a LIGHT maneuver is used:
Auto-Repair Kit: Regen
Optic Fiber: A little of every equipped attachment!
Vivi-Valve: Increased Cure Potency
When a DARK maneuver is used:
Mana Conserver: Conserve MP
Mana Tank: Refresh
Smoke Screen: Evasion up, Accuracy down
These effects would be considered separate from Geomancy and should stack with similar Geomancy effects from a Geomancer, but should NOT stack with effects from another Automaton.
Naturally, the potency of the extended attachment effects would have to be less than the bonus the automaton itself receives or it would likely end up being too much. All the same, a support style automaton head fashioned after Geomancer would be a great boon to Puppetmasters looking to participate in large scale endgame events. Thanks for your consideration.