The State of Scholar Address
I posit this list of issues restricting Scholar for playing to it's fullest and suggestions for making it more enjoyable for anyone who plays it.
Job Abilities
Modus Veritas
I understand this was a potential Game Breaker, but the issue is not a single scholar using this ability, but multiple scholars stacking. The fact that a monster can have immunity to this in addition to it being able to miss is rediculous on a 10 minute cooldown ability.
Goal: To allow this job ability to funtion as intended on an individual basis, but without the possibility of exponential growth in an alliance setting.
Proposal: Change the Accuracy programming from a static hit/miss to a sliding scale based on Modus Veritas Used. The critical value we are trying to avoid is 8 to 9 Modus Veritas used. This should be limited to allow only one party worth of SCH to activate. We can achieve this by penalizing accuracy by 17 percent per additional activation.
1st Scholar 100% accuracy, 2nd SCH 83%, 3rd SCH 66%, 4th SCH 49%, 5th SCH 32%, 6th 15%
Libra:
This job ability has three issues. The first is that the range is incredibly short, especially for a job that is strongest in the back line. The second issue is the implementation of putting the data in the chat log, which requires damage to be displayed in the log to function as designed. The third issue is that the data is not encompassing enough to show all values of an alliance in a way that players can actually capitalize upon.
Goal: To make this ability a funtional information tool for an alliance.
Proposal: Increase the range. This is easily achieved independant of any other change. For implementation I suggest that the Enmity levels need to be displayed in the HUD for party/alliance, not in the damage log. We have a system for lotting that displays numbers next to a name on a 999 system, there is no reason why we can't have a numeric system for Enmity listed as well. As the ability has a 1 min recast time, let the numbers persist next to the player name in the Party Alliance HUD in real time until the cast time for Libra resets. This will give all players the ability to see their own Enmity, as well as other player's enmity accurately and cleanly while bypassing the damage log entirely.
The Arts
Theory: I have a personal theory on mages in general. The order of the 4 mages on a scale from White Magic to Dark Magic seems to be WHM > RDM > SCH > BLM. This is also intoned by the Tranquil Heart trait that will be released in the next update, as WHM gets it earliest, while SCH gets it last. I find it interresting that RDM and SCH have the same scores in enhancing when a SCH is under Light Arts. Scholars do seem to have new and unique Enhancing spells geared toward party maintenance. Some posit that Light Arts are dead, but I rather hope to think that the SCH is moving from a hard "Cure" role to a more party enhancing role instead. If this comes to pass, this would place a new context to the WHM to BLM scale, which could instead be listed as: Healing(WHM) > Enfeebling(RDM) > Enhancing(SCH) > Nuking(BLM). This would actually make me very happy as new possibilities for SCH in Light Arts would exist without infringing on WHM. there is another side to this coin, however. As Light Arts picked up Enfeebling as getting a Grimoire bonus, Dark Arts should also recieve Enhancing. This would allow a solid Enhancing Score in both Arts, similar to Enfeebling, making the SCH a mage that can effictivly emphasise the role of Enhancer.
Enlightenment
This functions well, but with one exception: The MP cost and Cast time should reflect the no penalty stance that Tabula Rasa also uses. If I am needing to cast an Addendum restricted spell off Arts, it makes sense that it is a dire situation that could benefit from the Art Bonus as well.
Stratagems
I love stratagems, they are why I love SCH with how I can shape and modify a spell. That said, I have no desire to attain the Merit Stratagems at all. This is due to multiple factors. These cost 2 charges in stead of the normal one. This is a rare case where basic math doesn't illustrate the cost of the endeavor. Consider, when all Stratagems cost the same, I only have to choose the most appropriate, but when all stratagems do not cost the same, I also have to judge the future potential of overconsumption. This is the real reason those stratagems are under utilized.
Proposal: Reduce the Stratagem Charge consumption of the Merit Stratagems to 1 in accordance to other Stratagems.
Tabula Rasa
First, I want to put this ability in context. Manafont is a 2 hour which has the ability to negate all MP cost of spells and guarantee non-interruption. Chainspell is a 2 hour which reduces to 0 cast time and recast timers, which also essentially makes the spells uninterruptable. If Tabula Rasa is used, it could theoretically allow a mixture of half Manafont and half Chainspell with the repeated use of Penury/Parsimony and Celerity/Alacrity. Spells can be interrupted during Tabula Rasa, but You do have the ability to put Rapture/Ebullience up to increase damage(healed) and the ability to make spells Area of Effect. I would say this ability is very balanced split of two other 2 hour abilities, but... not all spells will actually be half cast time! Each Stratagem Charge used essentially takes a wait time macro of 2 to not misfire. While adding all of these stratagems to spells, time to actually cast spells is taken up!
Goal: Make Tabula Rasa a more accessible 2 Hour ability for players and decrease the total number of command imputs during its duration without supercharging Arts too drastically.
Proposal: Let's ease the burden of commands in Tabula Rasa to something more managable by the interface. Ulbrecht had an enhanced version of Tabula Rasa where once a stratagem is used, it 'stays in place' for his spells. This can be implemented for regular Scholars as well. Stratagems are dispellable through the user interface if not needed, such as Accession/Manifestation. As the stratagems used are still limited by the Arts one is currently in, changing Arts wipes all Stratagems currently in place, keeping the ability from maximizing Light and Dark arts fully. This is also key to this new proposed implementation as well, as changing Tabula Rasa this way would also necessitate the culmination of Tabula Rasa's duration with wiping all Arts currently on a Scholar. This will quickly wipe all stratagems in place during the ability to keep the benefits from extending outside the duration and dissuade liberal Grimoire swapping during Tabula Rasa, as you will have to wait for recast.
Spells
Do NOT give SCH Cure V, Regen IV, Raise III, or Reraise III.
I would prefer a more enhancing/managerial take on Light Arts from here.
For Consideration:
"-storm II" spells. This is easily done. Look at Bards and corsairs. They can cast 2 songs simultaneously. Make a new line of storm spells with a different name. They have the same effect, but can be stacked to 2 allowing for double weather. This in and of itself might not be enough for "High level" magic, but if you could mix and match weather, it could. If I could add one Earth and one water to a Monk, they might get more milage off latent effects on gear...
"Provocation" Spells:
Make a spell that 'maxes' Volitile Enmity or 'wipes' Volitile Enmity for a single target... in Dark Arts. No sense in letting folks get all Accession happy.
Edits to existing spells:
Let "Pax" effect from Animus Minuo stack with other enmity reducing effects, please.
Release the AoE Restriciton on Haste via Accession across the board. This doesn't need to be done until the level 99 patch, though so as to keep /SCH from having a bias between RDM and WHM.