Source Blader: A FFXIV Original Job

[LeoLupinos]

Other potentials original Job names: Silver Mage, Aether Weaver, Source Mage, Crystal Mage, Source Weaver...

Basicaly, this is the so wanted "Magic Melee/Hybrid DPS"

Since Yoshi-P said they want to create a original Job to FFXIV it's been years that I'm storing from all games and possible sources about interesting job mechanics, even before I knew FFXIV. It's now the most awesome Job I could ever imagine. It brings the most advanced about Time/Space, reality manipulation, and hybrid forms to do damage.

This job is a Magic Melee DPS of a true hybrid damage dealer form of job, being a Weaponspell user, allowing him to damage enemies from near and afar without significant loss. The main mechanic is about reality manipulation (Timeless Effect), allowing the Job to accumulate multiple actions frozen in time, and unleash everything in a single moment. Weaponspell boost the next Spell used, and the next Spell resets the timer for all the Timeless Effects.

My purpose with this development is to enrish the develop team of FFXIV about Job mechanics. This job is over filled with machanics and complexity on purpose, so that SquareEnix can choose what is good and what is not. Even adding to other jobs the left over mechanics of this one. I do permit SquareEnix to use my creation for whatever purposes.

Here goes the Link to the "Job Guide" in my Google Docs. I do recommend to zoom out to be able to see everything:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gcwELd/pubhtml
Be certain that potency numbers of actions and traits are but a mere reference for it's own damage, it's not mathematically balanced.

Limit Break: Black Hole (Demo)

The Castlevania character is just a model for reference for the animation style.

There you can see a complete Job Guide, showing Lore, Job Icon, Job gauge, Unique Limit Break system, Actions and Traits. Potential Actions for 70+ and a Sketch of Tank Stance and Healer Stance as an potential development. I would love to develop more, untill Lv 99, but I feel it can't be helped since we don't know what they are planning for 70+ Combat systems.

Every little detail I've done with love, and player help (with interviews), I've tried to put every cool thing I've experienced during my gamer life, and is all copyright free. Zero significant Copy Paste.

This job is inspired by a colossal amount of things, mostly: Heavily on FF14 and nostalgic 1.0 elements, FFXII Skills, Ultimecia (FF8), Noctis (FF15), Force Blader (Cabal Online), Arisha (Vindictus Online), Sora and Sephiroth (Kingdom Hearts 2), Lost Soul Aside, Various articles about Time/Space manipulation, Time Turner (Harry Potter 3), Sisters of Fate (God of War 2), Orochimaru (Naruto), Castlevania, Dungeons of Dredmor, Divinity Original Sin...

Please, show your love and leave to me any suggestion, I would love to improve this even more, even if it's just for fun.

I would love to do the animation demo for every skill in the future if the community accepts this Job concept.

Bonus: As 4.3 launch, I feel my job really fits what they are trying to develop. The last Duty with the guy with the "gunblade" really gets the "Timeless effects" of my Job. Ferdola also does this. I felt that it's time to releace my long time creation now.

Here's the weapon reupload, as Sylvan requested:

[Rayo]

I really like this job gameplay wise, lots of fun sounding abilities. Though I do have some aesthetic complaints, albeit minor

1. The name has to be changed, I honestly though it said Source Bladder

2. This is more of a personal gripe, but having a time themed DPS job feels off to me, maybe if you used less time related stuff, and maybe more Spacial/dimensional stuff, though this is just minor

[LeoLupinos]

I really like this job gameplay wise, lots of fun sounding abilities. Though I do have some aesthetic complaints, albeit minor

1. The name has to be changed, I honestly though it said Source Bladder

2. This is more of a personal gripe, but having a time themed DPS job feels off to me, maybe if you used less time related stuff, and maybe more Spacial/dimensional stuff, though this is just minor

1. I've added some other names to the post. Feel free to suggest names too. Be in mind that it need to be original to FFXIV.
2. It's not that much of time manipulation, I feel it's more Aether/reality manipulation. I do imagine the animations being with portals stuff.

[Rayo]

1. I've added some other names to the post. Feel free to suggest names too. Be in mind that it need to be original to FFXIV.
2. It's not that much of time manipulation, I feel it's more Aether/reality manipulation. I do imagine the animations being with portals stuff.

okay, neat. I was more paying attention to gameplay/mechanics as that tends to be the most important thing to me atleast

you can have the most lore appropriate, best looking job in the game, but if it doesn't play well it feels worst for it

[PatronasCharm]

This is absolutely inspiring, love the concept! Love how you put the drawings in there of examples, I mean it’s so neat! I drew a picture of how I envisioned my Time Knight (Chronosgaurd) changed the name thanks to feedback from the many helpful people assisting me though my process, and will be uploading it as soon as I get a chance! Keep up the great work! I’m sure one day we’ll see one of our jobs fleshed out

[Lexine-Alistair]

This job is a Magic Melee DPS of a true hybrid damage dealer form of job, being a Weaponspell user, allowing him to damage enemies from near and afar without significant loss. The main mechanic is about reality manipulation (Timeless Effect), allowing the Job to accumulate multiple actions frozen in time, and unleash everything in a single moment.

Covers target's body in a slow-burning pitch. For the next 10 seconds, 25% of most damage you inflict upon the target is compiled, then dealt at the end of the effect's duration.

TFW the "main mechanic" is already present in game just nobody plays the job that it's attached to.

[Sylvain]

So it's a BattleTimeCrystalMage

Ok I'm fine with that, I badly want the time mage but I wouldn't mind a Battle Time Mage

However some image don't show (the weapon)

[LeoLupinos]

Snip

Basicaly, it's a fusion with Time Battlemage and Source magic, lore explains.

TFW the "main mechanic" is already present in game just nobody plays the job that it's attached to.

Wildfire is not a Timeless effect.
Timeless effect is a buff for the caster. Changed by how much stack of Mage Blade it has in the time where it uses any Spell, to be converted into a Timeless effect. When he uses Time, all the timeless effects are used in the target or the nearest one. I would compare Wildfire with Stopwatch (Lv 64), even if it's mostly different.

Take a kind look at it, you will surely understand it's complexity

[Eloah]

I'm looking over your design, but before I go too in depth I'll say two things that stick out, since they are in your initial TL;DR.

1: You call them a Magic Melee DPS, which in theory if fine, but that could apply to Red Mage as well, and they are classified as a Caster. What is their classification? Right now they are in limbo. Are they a Melee, Ranged, or Caster? Sadly those are your only options until otherwise noted.

2: Your Limit Break is for lack of a better term, broken. The idea you preset is nice, and if this was not an MMO might be able to work. But sadly this is an MMO, and we are regulated to stick to the presets we are given until further notice. The best you can do is give the move a name, ideas for an animation, and a range/radius, once you figure out what role they are.

Actually I will add one more thing sorry. It's not wrong per se, but the Time mechanic feels a bit convoluted. It might be cause its too early and there is no main basis, or something else but I can't quite place it just yet.

Okay last one for this post, lol... Aetheryte Crystal... How can a player destroy it to resurrect themselves, if they themselves are KOed? Also it might not apply to just this move and any others that are dependent on your proximity to them for power or sustain is a bad idea. You are basically shooting yourself in the foot depending on your situation. There is a reason why the Pets and Turrets are automated. I'd suggest either a time limit or an automated entity like the Pets/Turrets.

Also you need to be more specific with your use of the term Timeless Effect; you are using it too liberally. Just call the Effect what it is, the player base will name it accordingly, DoT, HoT, Shield, Status Ailment, Buff, Debuff, etc.

Now I just noticed 3 skills that all appear to be some kind of Tank Stance, one even saying Tank Stance... I thought this was a DPS?

Numerology's wording makes it seem like you are placing the DoT on yourself. Also potency seems a bit off, not to mention the duration; 21s is fine its the 28s, the intervals are usually 3 and 5 so going to 30s seems more accurate.

Sorry, but scrape Aetherial Gate, that's not a move that would work in the present game, sorry.

Reunion makes no sense either, how can I resurrect someone or myself if I am KOed?

You are looking for Feint as in a false move, you wrote Faint as in pass out. But I have to say with some tweeking that is a good move and works in the current game.

Okay I did finish. The idea is a it jumbled, the pieces are there but I'm not sure how to connect them. You organized the move set by level so that is good, but the descriptions are all over the place, they need a bit of simplification; does it deal damage good, provide a buff or debuff okay, can only be used under a certain condition fine. You list some of these things yes, but there doesn't appear to be any frame of reference, not to mention a majority of the moves that state they require another move to do something just repeat the initial moves name; how can Ceruleum Embuement combo off of itself.

My suggestion is to tweek certain aspects and make then work together a bit more seamlessly. I think the disconnect stems form the fact that you are making them a "Magic Melee DPS" when you need to classify them into one of the designated DPS roles. They can have bits and pieces of the other but their mechanics will be based around their primary function. Also I'm not sure if I have this wrong or not so I just wanna clarify/offer this as a suggestion. Using an Hourglass as the gauge is nice; and I think the Mechanic is you have the Hourglass on one side and it "fills" once it reaches a certain interval, most likely 50, a charge builds, up to 5. You are then able to turn the hourglass to repeat the process with a different set of Aether as it were, each section of the hourglass allowing access to its own unique set of skills.

I say this to everyone so I hope it comes across okay, but we can't go to far outside of what we know of the mechanics of the game, until we are shown new things by the devs themselves. Case in point, the gauges. before 4.0 designing a job with a gauge might not work, but now we have them so using them is beneficial.

Hopefully this come off as constructive and not me being nitpicky, T.T

[LeoLupinos]

Snip

1. I see it as a new type of DPS, as Magic Melee DPS are not in the game, Red Mage is not it. Magic Melee DPS does use Weaponspells, they differ from spell or weaponskill because they can be used close range instantly and also long range, but with cast time.

2. Their Limit Break must be different from Ranged, Melee and Caster. I don't think it's broken, it's basicaly 7s of 100% slow + 4500 single damage + 1400 AoE + 0 to 2000 depending of the Aether absorbed from the party. It gives a MAX total of 7900p single target in comparison to Melee Limit Break, which is 9000p without any effort. It gives a 3400p AoE in comparison to Caster, which is 5400 without any effort. Melee and caster still shines for max damage, while the Source Blader Limit Break is more for survivability. It also has oposite effect of reviving all party member at the cost of yours life if no one uses any action while the Limit Break is performed (7s), most likely when everyone else is dead, while having the down side of the sacrifice. It's just a cool thing, since everyone learns the fight, no one will die anymore. It's just versatile, and in no any way better than other ones.

The main purpose of this is to incentive new systems. Even if there is no new system it's very easily convertible to the actual system. Let's say that I must chose a DPS role, it is Caster, 5400p Limit break, problem solved.

Sometimes is good to have fun thinking out of the cage.

@ About your Edit:

"How can a player destroy it to resurrect themselves" It's a game, and they pretty much can add anything to it. The same thing as when someone gets a ress, they chose to be ressurected. Everyone who is dead near the crystal will receive a unique type of ress buff, and the first one to accept will destroy the crystal, and no one can ress again.

"You are basically shooting yourself in the foot" The main purpose of the Aetheryte Crystal is to ress players, as it costs the same as a ress Spell, and also depletes your MP over time. So you will not want to extend it's life. At Lv 50 you have Reunion, which it basically a "Creckpoint" to all yours stats, you will want to summon the Crystal, burn your resourses really fast, and use Runion. If someone dies and uses your Crystal to be revived, that's a bad team organization.

"Also you need to be more specific with your use of the term Timeless Effect", Timeless Effect is literaly just a resource. Astrologian uses Cards, Source Blader uses Timeless Effects. Every Effect is different, some are DoT, some are damage, some are AoE, some are AoE + MP recover.

"Now I just noticed 3 skills that all appear to be some kind of Tank Stance" It's a sketch, if the devs wants to go the WoW did with the multirole classes. These stances are not implemented in the design, they are just there for potential development.

"Numerology" This same is from FFXII, I wanted to make a tribute to it. It doubles the potency every tick. 21s is 7 ticks, which is 254p. 21s + 7s from Unending Torment = 28s, which is 9 ticks and 1024p. It can't be any second more, or any tick more, because it would double the potency again and become 2048. This 1024p can be buffed with the trait of Mage Blade to become 160% more, total 2662p. This seems much, but Unending Torment has a really high cooldown, so it can't happen often.

"Reunion" Well, they can just enable Reunion to be usable while KO'ed, they can do that.

"Aetherial Gate" I feel that it's needed, because this Job is A LOT mobile, and the Aetherial Gate will help very much to use the skills Retrieve, Charged Retrieve, Faint, Space Control... It youre bad positioned, then it's no damage. It can work in this game as a intant teleport, same as the Samurai PvP skill. And the thing outside the intance is just a cool unique skill for the Job same as the Bard capable to play songs. But the instanced version is a must.

"Ceruleum Embuement combo off of itself" Every combo weaponskill has the combo highlight for 10s or so. If the players used Ceruleum Embuement too early then it will use the combo and get penalized for using such a unstable resource too early and will receive Dbuff. With Deny you can throw it to the enemy, opening for a whole mechanic.

Well, it's a super complex Job, as I said, it is over filled with mechanics and complexity on purpose, so that SquareEnix can choose what is good and what is not good.

I could write about this Job a lot with all the possible combos for damage.