Puppetmasters! Lend me your LIKES!!!

[Siviard]

I know last year, some of us had proposed the idea of a Trial of the Magians: Animator for us to work on, but sadly it fell mostly on deaf ears.

Not sure if the Community Leaders (Camate, et. al) ever saw it, or hardly ever step foot into this section of the forums, but I digress.....

I have made a post in the "Mr. Matsui" thread in the "General Discussion" section of the forum. Please give a Like!! to the post, so that if it gains enough likes, it could be considered by the Development Team.

***I admit, when it comes to proposing ideas for Dev. Team consideration, I'm not the best at it. If anyone would like to elaborate further on my post in the Gen. Discussion forum, please do so.***

[Theytak]

Essentially, what I'm getting would be a category of magian trials that would give us animators with stats equal to our h2h trials. I fully support that.

Something worth noting is that for why this would be reasonable; with each trial, there's a difference between 1h and 2h results. For 2h weapons: Atk/Eva paths end in +26 stat, Acc/M.Acc/M.Eva trials end in +22 stat, and MAB/PDT/MDB trials end in +13 stat (or -13% in the case of PDT). For 1h weapons: Atk/Eva paths end in +22 stat, Acc/M.Acc/M.Eva trials end in +16 stat, and MAB/PDT/MDB trials end in +11 stat (or -11% in the case of PDT). This reduced stat value is balanced due to the drastic difference in weapon damage for 2h weapons, and the fact that 1h weapons can be dual wielded for double stats. However, h2h weapons were given the 1h style stats, without the benefit of being able to dual wield them.

Sure, one could argue that mnk really does NOT need that benefit. You know, though... pup does.

Mind you, I'm not saying anyone would honestly care about the the macc or meva trials at all, no one cares about those anyway except on the staves, but having the option to have animators with magian quality stat buffs would be a huge boon, especially given how absolutely worthless our animators are right now.

To be perfectly honest, these wouldn't even need to be the full stat values. Sure, bsts can DW two PDT axes or two MDB axes for a total of 22% bonus, and I would absolutely love that ability on pup, but even if it was only HALF as effective, it'd still be worth doing, entirely because it lets us take advantage of a slot we otherwise can't.

Right now, there are only two jobs in the game who have to give up their ability to use some of the really nice stat ammo in order to function. Brd and Pup. Brd trades off for its instruments, which allow it to use two songs (or 3-4 in the case of daurdabla) and at full potency (for the songs that are affected by wind/string skill). There's nothing they lose there, because the trade off is more than worth it. Conversely, while pup's animator allows the use of maneuvers, maneuvers really do nothing other than hurt our over all performance at high end events, and could just as easily be made to work without the animator at all, making it an arbitrary limitation. If the animators actually did something for us, or the puppet, beyond maneuvers, that would be a different story, but they don't. They give us a minuscule amount of dex and one of them (animator+1) also gives the pet a minuscule amount of HP/MP.

Besides, there's absolutely nothing to lose from giving pup this sort of trial. It wouldn't be the first job to have an entire line of trials all to itself (whm (club) drg (polearm) drk (scythe) rng (archery) war (gaxe) nin (katana) sam (gkatana)), and it wouldn't exactly be such a massive boost as to overpower pup, it would simply give us a really handy tool to work with and help us compete even just a little better with the other jobs.

As for how to go about it, it'd be very simple:

Two or Three types of trials:
Type A: Master only stats (ie, the always present type, attribute +X stat +Y)
Type B: the Pet type (ie: the one we're familiar with, attribute +X pet: stat +Y)
and potentially Type C: the balanced split (attribute +X/2 Stat +Y/2 Pet: Attribute +X/2 Stat +Y/2)

So, using the current values, it would look like:

Type A: Heavy Animator (random animatorish name)
allows the use of maneuvers
STR+11 Attack +22

Type B: Heavy Animator
allows the use of maneuvers
STR+11
Pet: Attack +22

Type C: Heavy Animator
allows the use of maneuvers
STR+6 Attack +11
Pet: STR+6 Atk+11

I mean, sure, you could do something like
Fire path: Enhances/Augments "Fire Maneuver" effect or something, but honestly, that's unnecessarily complicating matters.

[Siviard]

Well, the example I gave in the Matsui thread gave buffs to both the master, and the puppet with the extra perk of 100% Overload prevention via Fire Maneuver. Although I do realize now, that's horribly broken.

Your idea, Jinte, sounds much better. 3 Types of animators per path. One entirely centered around the master, one entirely on the puppet, and one that's a combination of both. Excellent idea.

Based on your idea of the 3 types of Animators (per elemental path) here's what some of them would look like.

Wind Path

Master Path
Gale Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers.
AGI +11 Evasion +22

Puppet Path
Gale Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers
Pet: AGI +11 Evasion +22

Combo Path
Gale Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers
AGI +6, Evasion +11
Pet: AGI +6 Evasion +11


And for kicks....

Light Path

Master Path
Shining Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers
CHR +11 Magic Evasion +22%

Puppet Path
Shining Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers
Automaton:CHR +11 Cure Potency +24%

Combo Path
Shining Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers
CHR +6, Magic Evasion +11%
Automaton: Cure Potency +12%

[Theytak]

Well, the example I gave in the Matsui thread gave buffs to both the master, and the puppet with the extra perk of 100% Overload prevention via Fire Maneuver. Although I do realize now, that's horribly broken.

Your idea, Jinte, sounds much better. 3 Types of animators per path. One entirely centered around the master, one entirely on the puppet, and one that's a combination of both. Excellent idea.

Based on your idea of the 3 types of Animators (per elemental path) here's what some of them would look like.

Wind Path

Master Path
Gale Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers.
AGI +11 Evasion +22

Puppet Path
Gale Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers
Pet: AGI +11 Evasion +22

Combo Path
Gale Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers
AGI +6, Evasion +11
Pet: AGI +6 Evasion +11


And for kicks....

Light Path

Master Path
Shining Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers
CHR +11 Magic Evasion +22%

Puppet Path
Shining Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers
Automaton:CHR +11 Cure Potency +24%

Combo Path
Shining Animator
Allows use of Maneuvers
CHR +6, Magic Evasion +11%
Automaton: Cure Potency +12%

To be totally honest, the Pet-focused path should still give it's attributes (ie: str) to the master. Yes, it'd be awesome to be able to give the pet stat buffs like that, but the pet -really- doesn't need them, and the only ones that would be remotely obvious in performance would be the int and mnd paths. I'd rather have the str/vit/dex available for my use. Though, it could always be split so the magic-based paths went entirely to the pet (int/mnd/chr/mp) while the physical paths went to the master (str/dex/agi/vit) but that's a bit too excessive. Besides, every other trial follows this pattern, they wouldn't likely break it.

I do prefer your idea for the light path, though. Hell, you could even just replace magic evasion with cure potency for the master as well, since that'd have at least some use.

Honestly, if I were going to suggest anything extreme, it'd be adding a 4th path; Pet: Affinity: Damage+ That would additionally be able to force our puppet to nuke with a specific element rather than ALWAYSTHUNDERVOMFGTHUNDERFIIIIIIVEexceptwhenearthbasedmobs.

[Siviard]

Honestly, if I were going to suggest anything extreme, it'd be adding a 4th path; Pet: Affinity: Damage+ That would additionally be able to force our puppet to nuke with a specific element rather than ALWAYSTHUNDERVOMFGTHUNDERFIIIIIIVEexceptwhenearthbasedmobs.

Wouldn't a Scanner fix that problem? Or does it not work "as intended" or something? I use WHM puppet almost 100% of the time so I wouldn't really know.

Anyway......continuing on with possible animators, I was toying with ideas on various elemental paths. Here's what I've conjured up so far.

Earth Path

Terra Animator (Master)
Allows use of Maneuvers
VIT +11 Damage Taken -11%

Terra Animator (Pet)
Allows use of Maneuvers
Automaton: VIT +11 Damage Taken -11%

Terra Animator (both)
Allows use of Maneuvers
VIT +6 Damage Taken -6%
Automaton: VIT +6 Damage Taken -6%

***Ninja Edit*** - I apparently fail at using spoiler stuff. lol Help???

[Mirage]

I'll probably never actually level puppetmaster, but this seems like a fairly good idea.

[Siviard]

Dark Path

Shadow Animator (Master)
STR +2 DEX +2 VIT +2 AGI +2 INT +2 MND +2 CHR +2
Magic Accuracy +11%

Shadow Animator (Puppet)
Automaton: STR +2 DEX +2 VIT +2 AGI +2 INT +2 MND +2 CHR +2 Magic Accuracy +11%

Shadow Animator (Both)
STR +1 DEX +1 VIT +1 AGI +1 INT +1 MND +1 CHR +1 Magic Accuracy +6%
Automaton: STR +1 DEX +1 VIT +1 AGI +1 INT +1 MND +1 CHR +1 Magic Accuracy +6%

That's all I could think of for a Dark Path Magian Animator, considering the sheer amount of text on it, I doubt SE would do this. They'd probably just keep it to just Magic Accuracy stuff.

[Theytak]

Wouldn't a Scanner fix that problem? Or does it not work "as intended" or something? I use WHM puppet almost 100% of the time so I wouldn't really know.

Anyway......continuing on with possible animators, I was toying with ideas on various elemental paths. Here's what I've conjured up so far.

Earth Path

Terra Animator (Master)
Allows use of Maneuvers
VIT +11 Damage Taken -11%

Terra Animator (Pet)
Allows use of Maneuvers
Automaton: VIT +11 Damage Taken -11%

Terra Animator (both)
Allows use of Maneuvers
VIT +6 Damage Taken -6%
Automaton: VIT +6 Damage Taken -6%

***Ninja Edit*** - I apparently fail at using spoiler stuff. lol Help???

Scanner just prevents the puppet from casting something that will completely resist, or is very likely to resist (like silence on lolibri), you can't use it to force specific elements. The only way to do that is to have the mob be weak enough to that element relative to the others, or to force your puppet to cast with the exact MP cost of the nuke. Example; While fighting gamayun for my mnk body seals, we happened to get a "thunder magic" proc, so I pulled out stormwaker and deployed, hoping to at least try thunder IV. All I got was blizzard IV because of resistances.

Also, again, your

Terra Animator (Pet)
Allows use of Maneuvers
Automaton: VIT +11 Damage Taken -11%

needs to look like this:

Terra Animator (Pet)
Allows use of Maneuvers
VIT+11 Automaton: Damage Taken -11%

[vienne]

I has a pup... a job with which i laughed so much at first but afterwards so fell in love with >.> like+1 me wants more pimp animators O.O

[Melraen]

100% agree, liked! For those who want to like it, and want to find it quickly, hopefully this will help!

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/26797-Let-Producer-Matsui-Know-How-He-Should-Catch-Up-on-2-Years%21?p=356132&viewfull=1#post356132

[Siviard]

@ Theytak

Ahh, I see what you're getting at now. GOT IT!

I was brainstorming a bit on the way to work about an Ice path Animator and a sort of hidden trait that can be activated when you are using a BLM automaton where depending on the maneuvers you use, you could force the BLM automaton to use a specific nuke on a mob.

Like....

1 Earth Maneuver = Stone 3
2 Earth Maneuver = Stone 4
3 Earth Maneuver = Stone 5
2 Earth Maneuver + 1 Ice Maneuver = Stonega 3
2 Earth Maneuver + 1 Dark Maneuver = Quake

I'll brainstorm a little more on it. Come up with a name for the latent effect et. al. BUT, something like this would help make PUP somewhat relevant in Abyssea when it comes to getting Yellow !! procs. Back when Scars of Abyssea was released (Vunk, Misareaux, Attohwa) my puppet would spam Blizzard IV and several times I got Yellow !! procs on an NM. So it is possible.

[Siviard]

By the way, the post in question I wanted my fellow PUPs to "Like" is in the "Matsui" thread in the General Discussion section. 2nd post on Page 53 in the thread. Find it and "LIKE" it so that it can be considered for implementation by the Development Team.

We PUPs need this badly.

[Washburn]

Itd help te damage if there were a path for each element that had an animator such as:

Gust Animator
Allows the use of Maneuvers
Wind Maneuver +1 (always 1 wind maneuver active)
AGI+11 Evasion+11 Wind Ele. Dmg. +11

[Siviard]

Itd help te damage if there were a path for each element that had an animator such as:

Gust Animator
Allows the use of Maneuvers
Wind Maneuver +1 (always 1 wind maneuver active)
AGI+11 Evasion+11 Wind Ele. Dmg. +11

I could see where you're going with that. But the "Wind Elemental Dmg. +11", are you referring to an Enaero effect for the Automaton?

If so, I know there's currently an attachment "Volt Gun" that gives the automaton an Enthunder effect with it's melee attacks. Why SE didn't make all the other attachments for the other elements is beyond me. But it would be cool to be able to have attachments that granted all the possible elemental En-spells. Something like....

"Hot Hand" - Grants an "Enfire" effect to Automaton melee attacks
"Sprayer" - Grants an "Enwater" effect to Automaton melee attacks
"Air Gun" - Grant an "Enaero" effect to Automaton melee attacks
"Dust Bowl" - Grants an "Enstone" effect to Automaton melee attacks
"Chiller" - Grants an "Enblizzard" effect to Automaton melee attacks
"Volt Gun" - Already covered (exists)
"Neutrino Gun" - Grants an "Endark" effect to Automaton melee attacks
"Aurora Beam" - Grants an "Enlight" effect to Automaton melee attacks

[Glamdring]

ok, while I see the point I do NOT want to have to do 8 different elemental trials; I got a summoner bud that did that for staves and I almost went insane listening to him complain about them, I don't want all that work myself. I'm all for a new animator, one that actually adds something to the job, but for me it would be haste on the auto with maybe an increase in either HP or defense for the master. By haste, for the VE frame have it-combined with Turbocharger and a single manuver-hit the haste cap; our autos do not benefit from any buffs outside atmas and manuvers so it will always be slow without something to this effect. For sharpshot it should double the frequency of ranged attacks, granted that will cause hate issues with such a squishy frame but that should shut up those who would complain about it being OP with that kind of damage output. Our 3 mage frames have it halve the current casting interval with manabooster and 1 manuver, but that is capped. Harley would be the exception, 25% reduction in casting interval and halfway to haste cap with the manabooster and turbo equipped and 1 appropriate manuver each.

I'll need to think about odd-ball combos (VE head/harley bod, etc) but I think it's workable without being OP. Thoughts?

[Siviard]

@ Glamdring

I very seriously doubt there would be a Puppetmaster that would make an Animator for each and every elemental path. Only the one/ones that fit their play style.

[Theytak]

@ Glamdring

I very seriously doubt there would be a Puppetmaster that would make an Animator for each and every elemental path. Only the one/ones that fit their play style.

That is, if they only went with the typical melee stats. If they added the pet nuking quirks too, well... then it'd depend on how much you use spiritreaver.

[Glamdring]

I use my nukers ALOT, my default is stormwalker tho' because it has the highest general utility (good cures, buffs, dispel and decent nuking between those casts). I even use sharpshot and VE. about the only thing I DON'T use is Harley. Before the pupdate was a different story, but now that they aren't stupid casting anymore just about all have some utility. Spiritreaver I use in partys that are light on nuking if we have a healer, VE if we need something that can take a pounding, you get the idea. Soloing IN abby I'll use any frame, atma can make up for any shortcomings in any auto if chosen to buff it (I know I'm unusual boosting the auto instead of me, but if it's a pet job then dammit i'm gonna boost the pet). Solo tho' stormwalker is generally best for me anywhere outside, esp if I /dnc or a mage (not /blm tho'). That's why I'd prefer 1 good all around animator to 8 situational ones.

[Kristal]

Just a thought, but what if it weren't elemental animators, but frame/head-specific animators? The possibilities would be inspiring!
* store attachment configuration
* more elemental slots for that particular frame
* special abilities only available for that frame
* As a limitation, frame/head selection is disabled

Harlequin Animator
* Melee rank +2 (B- > B+)
* Magic rank +2 (B- > B+)
* Martial Arts (both hands attack)

Soulsoother Animator
* Damage replenishes MP
* Status removal spells affects puppet when cast on master and vice versa.

Such animators alone would be pretty nice, and it would even make the new two-hour ability functional. Need a emergency Benediction? Swap animators (bye-bye TP) to the Soulsoother Animator, DeaDeus and hit that shiny red button! Harlequin would actually be more then training wheels.

[Annahya]

Just a thought, but what if it weren't elemental animators, but frame/head-specific animators? The possibilities would be inspiring!

I don't know how best to implement this, but I *really* like this suggestion. It allows people to make ones tailored to their play-style, while not requiring us to make 8. For simplicity, I think that they should just stick to either being themed by head or themed by body, not both - but which one would be better, and what that could mean, is a pretty interesting concept to chew on.

[Dreamin]

Or just give us more attachments that has more functionalities or features that we can put on/off based on what we want to do instead.

[Theytak]

Or just give us more attachments that has more functionalities or features that we can put on/off based on what we want to do instead.

We've already got so many attachments and less and less room for the situational ones. Against anything that actually matters, most of the puppets' good set ups will only have room for 4 spare attachments to devote to defense. Besides, we've got tons of bizarre or worthless attachments already, I don't trust SE's track record.

- Tactical Processor.
- Heat Capacitor still hasn't been fixed to not consume fire maneuvers like they promised
- Heat Seeker and Pattern Reader have a really wonky design (+1 acc/eva per second up to a cap with the appropriate maneuver active, and staying up only so long as the maneuver stays active. If the maneuver drops, the bonus begins to decay)
- Shock Absorber was buffed, but still isn't really that practical to use
- Reactive Shield and Volt Gun are worthless against anything that matters
- Equalizer uses a really weird formula that sort of reduces its effectiveness, especially compared to the new effects for the armor plates
- Dynamo's boost to crit rate is so pathetically small it's laughable
- Both Coiler and Galvanizer are nice, but both buffs rely heavily on accuracy to function (double attacks that miss are pointless, and counter's proc rate is directly related to hit rate), making it difficult to use them against higher level mobs due to VE's limited thunder slots and SS's pitiful melee damage
- Barrage Turbine is really nice for big numbers, but the way it burns through wind maneuvers both kills your (the master's) DPS and hurts the puppet's due to suddenly losing a huge chunk of haste, and it also forces you to choose between two of turbo charger, scope, and drum magazine, all of which are incredibly important to sharpshot's damage.
- Smokescreen is just stupid.
- Strobe is only useful for procs in dynamis
- Analyzer and Steam Jacket are fairly strong, but they're really weird to get the hang of how to use
- Tactical Processor.

Hell, even some of the really nice ones we have right now were terrible at introduction and it took them how many years to update any attachment? I don't trust SE's track record with attachments at all.

[Annahya]

We've already got so many attachments and less and less room for the situational ones. Against anything that actually matters, most of the puppets' good set ups will only have room for 4 spare attachments to devote to defense. Besides, we've got tons of bizarre or worthless attachments already, I don't trust SE's track record.

(List only removed to save space)

Hell, even some of the really nice ones we have right now were terrible at introduction and it took them how many years to update any attachment? I don't trust SE's track record with attachments at all.


Agreed. I love this job, but you hit the nail on the head with this. I know it is not easy to balance something as goofy as the maneuver system/attachments/etc., so I don't expect miracles or anything from the Devs, but it is saddening that such an interesting job is plagued by these kind of issues.

I don't want PUP to be the most powerful job in the game - I just want it (and a few other jobs, honestly) to be able to participate in events and content. Hell, I don't even want it to be so good it becomes a job that HAS to be in every party (because I also think that trend is kind or annoying). I just want it to be stable, competitive, and to function as intended; and the current attachment mechanics are not really living up to that.

Well said, Jinte/Theytak (I am not sure which you prefer). More attachments? No. Fixed Attachments? {Yes, please.}

[Dawezy]

Extended Deploy range would be awesome, roughly 17.5yalms atm. Need atleast 20~25 simular to spells.

Also Strobe.

[Kristal]

Extended Deploy range would be awesome, roughly 17.5yalms atm. Need atleast 20~25 simular to spells.

Also Strobe.

An ability to bind your maton to one spot so it can stay out of aoe in a party, instead of running into range and spending half the time curing itself. That was pretty annoying when farming animated weapons in dyna-xarc for pops...

[Mirage]

Every pet job should have an ability like that, to be honest.

[Kristal]

Every pet job should have an ability like that, to be honest.


BST has Stay, SMN doesn't go into melee, and DRG pets need to in melee range to be able to use breaths on targets.

PUP's version of Stay doesn't have to work like it, but it would be nice if it would simply be 'alert' without attacking. No more interrupted spells due to mobs dying, or a need to deploy it on mobs to get a Poisona, but it won't attack mobs either while in that mode. So if you want debuffs or nukes, you need to use Deploy again. (And Retrieve to call it back to you.) Maybe in that mode it could also enjoy 25' cast range, versus 17' deployed.

Sentry Mode:
* Valoredge frame gains the ability to Cover, increased shield block rate and damage taken is reduced. Faces and attacks master's target if it comes within melee range.
* Sharpshot frame gains increased range on ranged attacks, ranged attacks double in speed, no melee attacks.
* Stormwaker frame gains increased range on spells (25')
** Soulsoother head does not attack or debuff targets.
** Stormwaker head does not attack or nuke targets, priorites cures and buffs, only debuffs master's target.
** Spiritreaver head only nukes master's target, does not cast Drain, Aspir or Absorb-INT.
*Harlequin does nothing but /dance.

[Theytak]

BST has Stay, SMN doesn't go into melee, and DRG pets need to in melee range to be able to use breaths on targets.

PUP's version of Stay doesn't have to work like it, but it would be nice if it would simply be 'alert' without attacking. No more interrupted spells due to mobs dying, or a need to deploy it on mobs to get a Poisona, but it won't attack mobs either while in that mode. So if you want debuffs or nukes, you need to use Deploy again. (And Retrieve to call it back to you.) Maybe in that mode it could also enjoy 25' cast range, versus 17' deployed.

Sentry Mode:
* Valoredge frame gains the ability to Cover, increased shield block rate and damage taken is reduced. Faces and attacks master's target if it comes within melee range.
* Sharpshot frame gains increased range on ranged attacks, ranged attacks double in speed, no melee attacks.
* Stormwaker frame gains increased range on spells (25')
** Soulsoother head does not attack or debuff targets.
** Stormwaker head does not attack or nuke targets, priorites cures and buffs, only debuffs master's target.
** Spiritreaver head only nukes master's target, does not cast Drain, Aspir or Absorb-INT.
*Harlequin does nothing but /dance.

mmm, while I agree we need an ability to force our puppet to stay in one spot, I don't think what we should be after is something like "don't move after I use deploy" exactly. Instead, I would suggest something like this:

Support
Level 40 pet command
Recast: 0:10
Deploys the automaton, focused on the master.

Essentially, this would cause the following effects:

Harlequin, Valoredge, Sharpshot, and Spiritreaver heads would automatically /assist the player, engaging whatever the player engages without needing to be deployed, or reacting to something attacking the player (essentially acting like an unengaged avatar does)

Stormwaker and Soulsoother would act as though deployed, but would only cast enhancing and healing magic, and be unable to melee or cast enfeebling/elemental magic. If really nice, SE could even remove the light/water maneuver requirements to cast on party members, as well, though only for this ability (ie: you trade offensive ability for less complicated enhancing/healing triggers)

Or, alternatively, a pair of stance abilities (ex: Lead Role and Supporting Role) that modify the puppet's behavior patterns and innate traits to cause them to further specialize towards one half of their role. Lead Role would enhance what the puppet is strongest in, at the cost of everything else, while Supporting Role would enhance the everything else, at the cost of what it's strongest in.

Lead Role:
Level 50 Job Ability
Duration: 5:00 Recast: 3:00
Alters the behavior and performance of the Automaton. Overwrites and is overwritten by Supporting Role.

- Valoredge gains a 5% increase to its natural DT-, a native shield block rate (which would be enhanced further by barrier module), significantly increased enmity generation, an innate regen effect (floor((level+1)/10) hp/tick, so 5hp/tick at 50, up to 10hp/tick at 99) and perhaps a natural "Cover" Aura that applies only to the master (if you stand behind valoredge, it would absorb hits for you), but at the cost of reduced weaponskill damage. This would only apply to Valoredge Head/Frame combined. Mix/matching would not gain any benefit.

- Sharpshot has its ranged attack delay halved (and the benefit of drum magazine reduced by more than half because otherwise it would be stupidly strong; essentially going from 20 (base), 17/14/12 to 10/8/6/5), and gain store TP+10 (enough to boost it's ranged attack TP/hit to the 10.2 of melee attacks), but would be unable to use melee attacks, and would suffer from a 10% damage taken increase.

- Harlequin gains an increase in attack (+5%) and accuracy (+10), access to a new weapon skill (the mage puppet's string shredder/armor shatterer tier ws that they never got; basically harlequin would only have access to it with this ability active and stormwaker wouldn't get it at all) and gain the ability to attack with both hands (or twice per round, whichever), but would sacrifice its ability to cast magic. This would only apply to Harlequin Head/frame combined. Mix/matching would not gain any benefit.

- Soulsoother gains the ability to cast enhancing and healing spells outside of combat, and no longer requires light maneuvers to cast healing spells on party members, nor water maneuvers to cast enhancing or -na spells on them. Additionally, it would gain access to the Stoneskin and Phalanx used by Stormwaker, however those would still be Master-only. However, it would unable to cast enfeebling magic, or use melee attacks, and would suffer from a 10% damage taken increase.

- Spiritreaver gains a small amount of magic attack bonus (+24, the same as the MAB I trait), access to additional spells, increased sensitivity to day/weather effects (ie: native obi effect), and greatly increases the player's control over which spell is cast. However, it no longer stays engaged when the deploy command is used, instead only casting a single spell per deploy and automatically disengaging afterwards. Additionally, it is left unable to use melee attacks, or cast dark and enfeebling magic, and would suffer a 10% damage taken increase
--- Spiritreaver would cast Tier V spells with the corresponding maneuver (ice triggers blizzard V) weighted so that the most recently used maneuver takes priority (essentially allowing you to use 2 ice maneuvers for ice maker, but still trigger any of the T5 Spells); Tier IV spells triggered by 1 dark maneuver and the most recently used maneuver (so Dark-> Fire would trigger Fire IV); Tier III spells triggered by 1 light maneuver and the most recently used maneuver (light -> wind would trigger Aero III); and additionally, would gain access to Holy II (Triggered as a T5, with light maneuvers), Banish III (Triggered as a T4, with light maneuvers), and Comet (treated as the T5, with dark maneuvers) (Or, alternatively, give pup some sort of unique, comet/meteor/impact/meteorite-esque nuke in lieu of giving it comet)

- Stormwaker would be left unaffected.

Supporting Role:
Level 50 Job Ability
Duration: 5:00 Recast: 3:00
Alters the behavior and performance of the Automaton. Overwrites and is overwritten by Lead Role.

- Valoredge gains increased attack speed (delay drop to 320), attack +5%, accuracy +10, and native double attack I and Crit. Atk. Bonus I traits (DA+10% and crit damage +5%), but loses access to shield bash, VE's native DT reduction, and the benefits of hammermill and barrier module (ie: it can't use it's shield)

- Sharpshot gains an increase in melee attack speed (Delay reduction from 400 to 320), melee skill rank (up to B+; or 404) and a 10% decrease in damage taken, but sacrifices the ability to use regular ranged attacks (it would still use ranged WS, and would still be able to use Barrage Turbine, however).

- Harlequin would have its melee attack speed reduced (up to 400 delay), but would gain access to

- Stormwaker gains access to additional spells, and gains the ability to cast on party members in the same manner as Soulsoother, but loses its ability to use melee attacks and cast elemental magic.
--- Stormwaker gains access to the regen spells (up too Regen III), as well as Refresh.

- Soulsoother and Spiritreaver would not be affected by this ability.

[Mirage]

BST has Stay, SMN doesn't go into melee, and DRG pets need to in melee range to be able to use breaths on targets.

If you want your wyvern to just heal you and not die, I'd rather it stayed out of range and more easily survive, rather than dealing damage.

And melee summoners are awesome.

[Mayoyama]

mmm, while I agree we need an ability to force our puppet to stay in one spot, I don't think what we should be after is something like "don't move after I use deploy" exactly. Instead, I would suggest something like this:

Support
Level 40 pet command
Recast: 0:10
Deploys the automaton, focused on the master.

Supporting Role:
Level 50 Job Ability
Duration: 5:00 Recast: 3:00
Alters the behavior and performance of the Automaton. Overwrites and is overwritten by Lead Role.



While on paper most of what you are suggesting sounds good (if not a bit overpowerd)... I have to say from a programming standpoint it would be a LOT of work and woud mean having to re-write parts of the AI itself, which is quite tricky as it would be easy to accidently cause something to not work as it should.

[Kristal]

While on paper most of what you are suggesting sounds good (if not a bit overpowerd)... I have to say from a programming standpoint it would be a LOT of work and woud mean having to re-write parts of the AI itself, which is quite tricky as it would be easy to accidently cause something to not work as it should.

Remember Ob!

[Badieh]

Also, ugh... I don't want to do another dang trial....

[Okipuit]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.

[Hashmalum]

Good evening

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.And yet PLD has always been able to benefit from both sword and shield, and BRD has always been able to benefit from both instrument and dagger. This rationale doesn't seem to make much sense.

[StingRay104]

Good evening

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.

As opposed to people who dual wield trial weapons.........this doesn't make sense. Ok how about this can you at least add some new animators with decent stats that we would want, for instance an animator with pet haste 10~25%.

[FrankReynolds]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.

Does this mean your going to nerf Ninja, Dancer, Blue and Thief so that they can't dual wield anymore (and every other jobs that subs it)?

Even my girlfriend who has never played this game looked at that response and went "WTF are they talking about? Doesn't your 'little ninja character guy thingy' already do that?...".

[Zhronne]

And yet PLD has always been able to benefit from both sword and shield, and BRD has always been able to benefit from both instrument and dagger. This rationale doesn't seem to make much sense.
Tell me something I don't know about the stupid replies that the poor community managers are forced to bring us on behalf of the dev team.

[Raksha]

If they bother replying again, they're just gonna say that dual wieldable magian weapons were balanced around being dual wieldable.

Still a retarded reason, don't get me wrong.

[Kysaiana]

I'd be okay with just being able to throw the current animators like a boomerang. Or being able to equip something besides oil in the ammo slot with an animator equipped. But sadly, these are but pipe dreams.

[Ophannus]

Magian 2handed weapons actually get larger bonuses than 1handed weapons(elemental path) i.e STR polearm gets 26 attack vs 1h weapons getting 22(although it SHOULD be higher since you can dual wield 1h weapons for 22 str and 44 attack)

[Jonadriel]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.

This response just makes me think of a quick excuse to say no. A very weak and poorly thought excuse If I may say. I would be a lot more happy with a more sincere excuse like "developers have a lot of things in their hands atm and we too busy to do it" or something like that.

[Camiie]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.

I think the Development Team needs to elaborate on this. I'd really like to see them try to dig their way out of this one. I'll go make the popcorn.

[Babekeke]

Worst

Response

Ever.

As someone who only has lvl 30 PUP (my only sub-75 job left) I feel for all the PUPs with this response. 2H users can equip weapon and grip. Dual-wielders can wear 2 1h weapons or 1 and a shield, and every other job can equip stat boosting ammo which can be swapped for WS and TP or other specific uses (-DT/HP etc.)

PUP gets just their H2H weapon, no grip, and only gets the stat boost from the animator, but gets no option to swap for store TP during TP phase, or for STR/ATT during WS, due to the loss of TP by doing so. If Magian trials are out fo the question, at least let PUPs swap their animators in/out without losing their TP.

[Nala]

they'd have to change animator's equip slot to do that meaning no oil and animator at the same time anymore, but that wouldn't really be a great loss.

main point though is that you'd be able to actively change your animator to the situation without any penalty if they adjusted equip slot to ammo even a DW has to lose all their tp to equip STR, PDT or evasion weapons when the situation warrants it so being able to hot swap the animators... wouldn't be against it but just wouldn't be... balanced..............

[Kaisha]

Give us an Animator then that has some actual DD stats on it. Automaton damage means jack nowadays when you need BRD/COR/SCH/SMN buffs to kill anything end-game nowadays, and pets are excluded from all of those, rendering them mostly useless.

[Kristal]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.


As opposed to people who dual wield trial weapons.........this doesn't make sense. Ok how about this can you at least add some new animators with decent stats that we would want, for instance an animator with pet haste 10~25%.

What Okipuit means is that MNK would not be able to equip the animator, and therefor would lose out on dual wielding automaton stats augments. (Animators would be pet stat only, obviously.)

Damn, that STILL doesn't make sense...

Maybe it would make more sense if it was the VW Deluxe Animator that could be augmented. Devs love those VW rare drops.

[xbobx]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.

wow this has to be the dumbest response I have seen in a while.

Hey, have you heard of AMMO that adds stats that every job but Pup and Rng can utilized?

What is wrong with you people, do you have some magic 8 ball you use to come up with your replies.

[Siviard]

Needless to say, I am deeply disappointed by the response of the Development Team.

I am, however, curious. Was this a knee jerk reaction by them, or did they actually think this through and conclude that it wouldn't be "balanced" or something?

I will say, though, that even though PUP is by far my most favorite job out of the 20, it is disheartening to see that this idea is being rejected. BST can augment TWO axes, thus doubling up on the potency of the "Pet: Damage Taken" stat. PUP are only allowed to do it once, via H2H trial. That, right there, is not balanced at least when you compare it to what BST can achieve.

[Etrigan]

Wait so you are telling me that a puppetmaster who is only able to get/use
Oxyyranis
DMG+34 Delay+61
VIT+11
Pet: PDT -11%

Is the same as a Beastmaster who is able to dual wield a Pair of these?

Astolfo
DMG:74 Delay 276
VIT+11
Pet: PDT -11%

When the main focus of this trial is the Pet PDT How is this even remotely balanced?

come on, throw us a bone here

[Siviard]

Wait so you are telling me that a puppetmaster who is only able to get/use
Oxyyranis
DMG+34 Delay+61
VIT+11
Pet: PDT -11%

Is the same as a Beastmaster who is able to dual wield a Pair of these?

Astolfo
DMG:74 Delay 276
VIT+11
Pet: PDT -11%

When the main focus of this trial is the Pet PDT How is this even remotely balanced?

come on, throw us a bone here

100% in agreement with Etrigan

Or how about a hypothetical here?

I'll speak about myself here and use myself in this situation.

I use WHM Automaton nearly 100% of the time. I primarily go PUP/THF to farm in Dynamis, and PUP/WAR to farm Allied Notes in Campaign.

I use this weapon...

Revenant Fists +2
DMG +31 Delay +55
"Victory Smite"

As you can see, I went with that weapon. Although I do have a STR path Taipan Fangs in the works, the process of farming Flame Geodes is taking a very long time, and at current Auction House prices, they aren't worth buying in bulk in order to complete them. So the only "benefit" I am getting from my Trial of the Magians weapon is the use of "Victory Smite" which itself, got the nerf bat a few updates ago.

Lets pretend that SE, and the Development Team actually thought having a set of trials for Animators was a good idea. Since I use WHM puppet almost exclusively, I want to build a "Automaton: Cure Potency +11%" Animator for myself.

So, my question is.....is THIS:

Revenant Fists +2
DMG +31 Delay +55
"Victory Smite"

"Curing Animator"
Automaton: Cure Potency +11%

....considered "Unbalanced?"

[tyrantsyn]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.
This must have been really hard to post, they don't really think the community would believe that excuse did they?

[Seha]

Okipuit, please smack the palm of your preferred hand with all your might on the cheek of the person who told you to give that answer.

Thanks.

[Siviard]

Okipuit, please smack the palm of your preferred hand with all your might on the cheek of the person who told you to give that answer.

Thanks.

Please don't do that. That is not the answer.

The only way for Mr. Matsui and the Development Team to take notice is the LIKE! Button. If there are enough LIKES, then they will have no choice but to address this and take the idea into very serious consideration.

LIKE the OP, and LIKE the post I made in the "Matsui" thread in the General Discussion forum. Someone earlier in this thread had provided a link. I'll repost it here soon as I find it.

Found it! http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/26797-Let-Producer-Matsui-Know-How-He-Should-Catch-Up-on-2-Years%21?p=356132&viewfull=1#post356132

[xbobx]

Please don't do that. That is not the answer.

The only way for Mr. Matsui and the Development Team to take notice is the LIKE! Button. If there are enough LIKES, then they will have no choice but to address this and take the idea into very serious consideration.

LIKE the OP, and LIKE the post I made in the "Matsui" thread in the General Discussion forum. Someone earlier in this thread had provided a link. I'll repost it here soon as I find it.

Found it! http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/26797-Let-Producer-Matsui-Know-How-He-Should-Catch-Up-on-2-Years%21?p=356132&viewfull=1#post356132

I hope you don't honestly believe that do you?

[Kari]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.

Aaaand here's the community rep giving us more nonsense. If you're going to come up with reasons to say no, make them make sense.

[Siviard]

Well, it's better than advocating violence/physical harm towards Development Team members.

What's your suggestion, then?

[xbobx]

My suggestion is just make the suggestion. They will listen or not listen. There is not a damn thing you or any of us can do about it. They don't care about us, they have no respect for us, they probably don't even like at us, which is very apparent in their their idiotic, insulting, demoralizing comments.

[Etrigan]

Honestly there are two ways to balance this out, first to give either additional trials to the 2H weapon folks to get their weapons up to where the dual wielding ones are ie:// take H2H Pet: -11% PDT to -22% PDT

simply put there needs to be additional trials because the amount of effort to get it needs to be equal.

OR

what everyone is asking for give us magian animators that allow us to choose what we want between the two.

ie:\\ cure potency, PDT, MAB, etc

*edit*

I forgot the third option, which is the most likely to happen

SE chooses to ignore us as PUPs are not relevant to them.

[Camiie]

Is SE assuming here that they would have to make augments for Animators to be equivalent to the ones on weapons? Example: Earthen Animator VIT+11 PDT -11%? I wouldn't expect that. I would expect something closer to the amounts typically found on Ammo. I mean I have a Demonry Core on my BST with DEX+4 and Pet: Acc +4. What would be so broken about numbers closer to that? What if it was VIT+5 and PDT-5% for an Earthen Animator? Would that be so game-breaking?

[Siviard]

I'm starting to wonder if this is happening there....

Devs: Woohoo! Trial of the Magians is FINALLY complete!

Okipuit: Hey, there's a suggestion here asking for Animators for PUP to be added to Trial of the Magians.

Devs: WTF we just finished with Trial of the Magians, we're not going to back to work on it again just for PUPs. Tell them to GTFO

Okipuit: ........what do I tell them?

Devs: Make up some BS, we don't care!

Okipuit: .......wtf?

[Theytak]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.
That was the entire point of the suggestion in the first place..... because


Wait so you are telling me that a puppetmaster who is only able to get/use
Oxyyranis
DMG+34 Delay+61
VIT+11
Pet: PDT -11%

Is the same as a Beastmaster who is able to dual wield a Pair of these?

Astolfo
DMG:74 Delay 276
VIT+11
Pet: PDT -11%

When the main focus of this trial is the Pet PDT How is this even remotely balanced?

come on, throw us a bone here


H2H gets 1H level stat bonus from magian trials, but cannot be used in pairs like actual 1H weapons. That is significantly unbalanced.

[THD]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.

Like a BRD with Carnwenhan + Gjallahorn/Daurdabla?

Or a SAM with Amanomurakumo/Masamune + Yoichinoyumi?

Or even weird combos such as a RDM Dual Wield Excalibur + Mandau or PLD Dual Wield Excalibur 99 + Excalibur 95?

[Etrigan]

Is SE assuming here that they would have to make augments for Animators to be equivalent to the ones on weapons? Example: Earthen Animator VIT+11 PDT -11%? I wouldn't expect that. I would expect something closer to the amounts typically found on Ammo. I mean I have a Demonry Core on my BST with DEX+4 and Pet: Acc +4. What would be so broken about numbers closer to that? What if it was VIT+5 and PDT-5% for an Earthen Animator? Would that be so game-breaking?

Well here's the long and short of it....

To match the dual wielding aspect, they would have to adjust ALL 2H weapons (Gaxe, H2H, Polearm, potentially Gun and Bow) to the 22% PDT but again make it so that there is overall balance, not just giving PUP an extra bonus on the animator.

let's face it if they did then we would have Monks, Dragoons, Warriors, and Samurai all complaining because what would you give them?

My Answer would be to make a Magian Grip as well as Magian Animators, BUT this then leaves out Monks.... What do you do for them? Create a special Offhand Augment item? I Doubt it. So the only Logical Balancing thing to do would be to up the % on the Main weapons themselves.

This is much like asking for a raise at your job, it's not about you and your benefit so much as it is what can you do for the company. How will giving pup a Magian Animator change the balance of things, and by doing that who else will you piss off because their favorite job didn't get some extra Magian Trial.

In Short It is NOT Balanced the way it is, but giving us a Magian Animator (whereas that would be awesome) is sadly not the "balanced" answer.

[Juilan]

Please don't do that. That is not the answer.

The only way for Mr. Matsui and the Development Team to take notice is the LIKE! Button. If there are enough LIKES, then they will have no choice but to address this and take the idea into very serious consideration.

LIKE the OP, and LIKE the post I made in the "Matsui" thread in the General Discussion forum. Someone earlier in this thread had provided a link. I'll repost it here soon as I find it.

Found it! http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/26797-Let-Producer-Matsui-Know-How-He-Should-Catch-Up-on-2-Years%21?p=356132&viewfull=1#post356132

are they adding a "dislike" button ?

[FrankReynolds]

Well here's the long and short of it....

To match the dual wielding aspect, they would have to adjust ALL 2H weapons (Gaxe, H2H, Polearm, potentially Gun and Bow) to the 22% PDT but again make it so that there is overall balance, not just giving PUP an extra bonus on the animator.


They wouldn't have to do that. That's just what you think they would have to do. To be honest, if they gave pup an animator with PDT -%22 and STR +100 and a unicorn to ride, I doubt that wars drgs monks etc. would bat an eye.

Even if they added animators in all the flavors that the weapons are currently available in, they still wouldn't be strong enough to make people think that PUP is somehow at an advantage over other jobs... and that's not even what camiie suggested.


are they adding a "dislike" button ?

See below :P

[Annahya]

My Answer would be to make a Magian Grip as well as Magian Animators, BUT this then leaves out Monks.... What do you do for them? Create a special Offhand Augment item? I Doubt it. So the only Logical Balancing thing to do would be to up the % on the Main weapons themselves.

This is much like asking for a raise at your job, it's not about you and your benefit so much as it is what can you do for the company. How will giving pup a Magian Animator change the balance of things, and by doing that who else will you piss off because their favorite job didn't get some extra Magian Trial.

This analogy doesn't really work, on a number of levels, but the overall spirit regarding how it will affect the playerbase is understandable; though I am not sure I agree with your conclusion about the only logical choice for balance.

To be honest, not directly related to the discussion of Magian animators, it would make me a lot happier if we could just equip the grips that exist now...

[Siviard]

are they adding a "dislike" button ?

When I said "Please don't do that." it was in reference to a poster advocating physical harm/violence towards a member of the development team. And as we all know, it's crap like that that gets threads locked up.

Now as for me saying to hit the LIKE button to get them to notice......yeah, I'm realizing now that was an incredibly stupid thing to say. Because it is becoming more and more apparent that no matter how many "LIKE!" a post/idea/suggestion gets, about 9 times out of 10 it falls on deaf ears.

[Theytak]

Honestly, even if we can't get magian animators, could we, at the very least, get the stats on the magian h2h weapons increased to be equal to the magian 2h weapons? If we can't use two of them, why should they have the stats equal to the weapons of which two can be freely used by other jobs, rather than the other weapons of which only one may be used at a time? That's not balanced.

[Fupafighter]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.

It's an ammo slot. No other job in the game get's such a crappy ammo slot. Pup is FORCED to use animators via PUPPETMASTER. The animator chosen should make a huge impact on how the job is played, not the weapon. Look at bard.

[Glamdring]

I don't normally agree with Fupa but he's dead on here. The animator is the ONLY mandatory piece of gear in the game. If a pup doesn't use one all your auto does is stand there, look silly and eat any AoE damage that's floating around. the only POSSIBLE uses it has without an animator is helping to eat a 1000 needle type effect and making your emotes a bit cooler. I mean seriously, is an end-game animator too much to ask? No one is advocating anything that would upset the almighty god BALANCE. We aren't even asking for anything that would detract from Zerg being the only end-game strategy that is allowed. We just want our beloved companion with the skinny feet to grow up and join us in end-game.

Pup is supposed to be a soloer on par with bst, maybe not as tough against melee, but compensating with increased roles our pet can fill. Now I'll grant you, my pup is able to handle alot of content, but nowhere NEAR as much as my bst, or some well-played smns I know, and the fights are considerably more difficult. a new animator that would allow me to approach the level of content those jobs can-even if it is only through haste or something isn't really asking alot, just to be put on par with the other pet jobs.

Also, those commenting on our facing the inequity of facing the 2-handed penalty while only being allowed a single hand buff are dead on as well. This needs to be fixed, and not just for us, let the monks get an off-hand buff as well. I mean the animations CLEARLY display us using 2 weapons. Seriously, I counted, I have 2 hands and they both have weapons in them, that's 2 weapons. Then I looked at my equipment screen, 1 weapon, 1 buff. I'm sensing a discrepancy here. Perhaps, nah, couldn't be that, we aren't being denied the use of our off-hand are we?

Perhaps some testing, I'll try putting on every claw I have muled and see if the 2nd slot gets filled and what buff I receive when I do. I'll /dnc to ensure it's not blocked from not having dual-wield just in case that's the barrier.

[Camiie]

If PUP wasn't a pet job, yet still required something mandatory like an Animator to function, there would probably be a ton of endgame-worthy options. I think this is the dev team's anti-pet job bias showing through again plain and simple.

[Kristal]

Good evening,

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I Just got word back from the Development Team and currently there are no plans to add animators to trial of the magians for enhancement. The reason is because you would be able to receive the beneficial effects from both h2h weapons and animators.


If PUP wasn't a pet job, yet still required something mandatory like an Animator to function, there would probably be a ton of endgame-worthy options. I think this is the dev team's anti-pet job bias showing through again plain and simple.

They aren't as anti-PUP as they used to be, but animators were added at a time when the devs were trying to put together the worst possible options for the newly hatched PUP. Like with the harlequin automaton, animators are one of the 'dark relics' of PUP's past. Their main purpose is to cripple the job just a bit more then needed.

[Theytak]

I don't normally agree with Fupa but he's dead on here. The animator is the ONLY mandatory piece of gear in the game. If a pup doesn't use one all your auto does is stand there, look silly and eat any AoE damage that's floating around. the only POSSIBLE uses it has without an animator is helping to eat a 1000 needle type effect and making your emotes a bit cooler. I mean seriously, is an end-game animator too much to ask? No one is advocating anything that would upset the almighty god BALANCE. We aren't even asking for anything that would detract from Zerg being the only end-game strategy that is allowed. We just want our beloved companion with the skinny feet to grow up and join us in end-game.

To be fair, it's not quite that bad. The only limitation we have isthat we can't use the eight maneuvers without the animator. We can still deploy/retrieve/tactical switch/etc.