August 2020 FINAL FANTASY XI Digest

[Akihiko_Matsui]

The latest FINAL FANTASY XI Digest is now available! The digest covers key features from the most recent version update. Check out the video, try the version update, and leave a feedback based on your experience of playing the new content.

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[Akihiko_Matsui]

Greetings, adventurers!
Matsui here with a few words about The Voracious Resurgence.

We are excited to bring you the first installment of The Voracious Resurgence, our newest storyline that commences with the August version update. The team is working hard to bring you new narrative experiences, but please note that The Voracious Resurgence is content that we are doing in addition to--not in place of--the normal monthly version updates that we have been bringing you the past few years. As such, the size of each individual entry in the storyline is a bit on the humble side; however, we are committed to the long haul with The Voracious Resurgence, which is scheduled to conclude in 2022 in celebration of the 20th Vana'versary. We hope that you will enjoy the story along with us as we embark on Vana'diel's newest journey.

If you have yet to do so, please take a look at the wonderful illustration by Akihiro Yamada, as it contains a plethora of hints and mysteries that the storyline will explore!

[Ruf]

Thank you!

[Alhanelem]

this is legitimately exciting. You should seriously consider doing some cross promotion with FFXIV or elsewhere with SE, this is a grand opportunity to make the next two years the most lively in a while.

[Sirmarki]

Records of Eminence for the new storyline/missions?

I was kind of hoping there would be some, as there are for most of the other storyline missions.

[BST]

Great Update! I look forward to future additions to the new Story =^.^=

[xiozen]

Awesome update! Greatly looking forward to the new story line. Keep up the good work SE!!!!! <3

[Maledict]

A question.

Why is *Champion of the Dawn listed as "Content Level 119" on Very Easy difficulty, when it's clear that this fight is in the 130+ range?

Unlike the other High-Tier Mission Battlefields, it can't really be soloed by most non-pet jobs on Very Easy, even with Alter Egos. The fact that Cait Sith uses Level ? Holy every few seconds--an ability with an Area of Effect that extends to casting range which can very easily exceed 10,000 damage even on a fully-buffed tank when she gets lucky (and she does get lucky with that high of a usage rate)--doesn't seem to put this fight in the "CL119" range at all.

...Or maybe I just suck, right? >_>

(Should Ulmia gain access to Sentinel's Scherzo or something to offset this? Most jobs don't gain solo access to a mechanic that can Nullify Severe Damage Taken--)

[Sirmarki]

A question.

Why is *Champion of the Dawn listed as "Content Level 119" on Very Easy difficulty, when it's clear that this fight is in the 130+ range?

The text is incorrect. The correct fight is Dawn.

[Zehira]

Finally, thank you for the new story! :)

[Beastorizer]

Good job with the BST update btw. Can't complain......

My initial thought with the 3 charge moves was wtf....Then I thought "Unleash...." yeah, one of the best 1 hours out there imo. Unleash is so insane.

Thanks for improving BST, please don't nerf.....A crab dies every-time BST gets nerfed....

[Soraii]

Man, I wish I could get half as excited about a 1 minute "content" update that took a month to create like you people still can.

No wonder they give zero effort, you praise them regardless.

[Sirmarki]

Man, I wish I could get half as excited about a 1 minute "content" update that took a month to create like you people still can.

No wonder they give zero effort, you praise them regardless.

If people are happy with the service they get, then they are happy, regardless of what you think.

[Alhanelem]

Records of Eminence for the new storyline/missions?

I was kind of hoping there would be some, as there are for most of the other storyline missions.
Maybe in 2 year's time we'll get another 10% CP. :p

[Alhanelem]

Man, I wish I could get half as excited about a 1 minute "content" update that took a month to create like you people still can.

No wonder they give zero effort, you praise them regardless.
If you're not happy, feel free to cancel. However, your estimation about the amount of effort they put in does not have any bearing on the actual amount of work/effort they put in.

If you think you can do better, apply for a job and then prove us all wrong.

I will remain happy to receive something that neither I nor anybody else was actually expecting to happen.

[Gwydion]

Thank you for the beastmaster pets and for the additional quest storyline as well. I secretly was hoping for a scorpion, but slimes are great too. I will compile feedback on pet performance and post again at later date. For today, would it be possible to:

1.) Allow Fantod to apply to both Master and Pet?
2.) Would you consider Zealous Snort be Haste II, or perhaps adjust priority so that it does not get overridden by Trusts' Haste?
3.) Can we make Rank 15 Aymur's Acc/M.Acc+30 augments include pets, as well?

Also, Producer Matsui mentioned that updates for item-level Aegis and Ochain would be a future task for the battle team. Could you please consider making the i-level Aegis the same color as in your Voracious Resurgance artwork, shown below? It just looks so cool and would be a very refreshing take on our beloved shield.

https://i.imgur.com/yj6Wv9m.png

Thank you for your time!

[Dekusuta]

Just completed the new content. It was a bit nostalgic to hear the fanfare for quest completition when I received my 20,000 gil rewards in the story :P

One thing I did notice is the scenario logo for The Voracious Resurgence did not appear at all in this part of the story. Perhaps it will show up at a later time? :thinking:

In anycase, I am very happy to see new story content is being worked on again. Thank you

[Keagan]

Just completed the new content. It was a bit nostalgic to hear the fanfare for quest completition when I received my 20,000 gil rewards in the story :P

One thing I did notice is the scenario logo for The Voracious Resurgence did not appear at all in this part of the story. Perhaps it will show up at a later time? :thinking:

In anycase, I am very happy to see new story content is being worked on again. Thank you

they said it's a quest-line not missions, so i would guess it likely will not :(

[Dekusuta]

they said it's a quest-line not missions, so i would guess it likely will not :(

That is a possibility, although it would be strange not to have it show up at some point as it is a) listed under add-on content and not quest b) they have a logo for it even a landing page.
This is more than just a quest IMHO

[Alhanelem]

Where do these quests appear in the quest log? I'm currently on it and I can't find it in the log anywhere

[Dekusuta]

Where do these quests appear in the quest log? I'm currently on it and I can't find it in the log anywhere

It is listed under 'add-on' content in its own tab same as Rhapsodies of Vana'diel, and the other 3 paid add-ons.

[Beastorizer]

Man, I wish I could get half as excited about a 1 minute "content" update that took a month to create like you people still can.

No wonder they give zero effort, you praise them regardless.

I mean, you have a point. However, to Sirmarki's point, they are catering to the niche audience they have. Not to bring in new players, etc. The people who are happy, keep paying and playing, which includes us 2......For now...........

Now, will this content keep me paying and playing beyond this month?
Nope......

Will I perhaps, return to XI eventually?
Sure, I quit, then come back from time to time. Also, I like talking to you guys, can't do that without a sub....

But like I said, you have a point. These are not the type of updates that will bring in new players, or even keep old ones. This is one for the loyalist. I do not consider myself a loyalist. However, I give credit to were it is due. I like the new BST update......That is it......

I spend a lot of time being negative about BST. For once, I thought it would be a good idea to give them props. Some of the stuff added, were things I complained about......Thus, I can't really complain ya know....lol.

This is not World of Warcraft: Shadowlands by any means. This is also why WoW (Love em or hate em...) brings in new, and keeps the old while being the highest viewed MMO to stream. Even without the top streamers inflating the viewers. It is one of the most highest grossing franchises for a reason. Due that, they can continue to add new races, new expansions, new professions, etc.

However, XI is the most profitable FF title iirc. I don't take myself to seriously to admit you have a point, even when you low-key called me out. You do have a point.....A great point.

[Alhanelem]

But like I said, you have a point. These are not the type of updates that will bring in new players, or even keep old ones. This is one for the loyalist. I do not consider myself a loyalist. However, I give credit to were it is due. I like the new BST update......That is it......
I entirely disagree. There's no big "bring in new players"" motive. This is purely a nice little extra bit of content..

Admittely, I might actually prefer they updated it every few months like the old days, and introduced more of it at once instead of a small bit every month. But it's still nice to get a new story that nobody was expecting, and unless you were seriously contemplating quitting prior to the announcement, it probably isn't going to change anything in any way other than possible excitement about what will happen next.

It's only a problem if you were expecting it to be something more than it was.Every version update for the next two years is going to add to the storyline. Even one quest each month, that's a rather long questline for people who do it later on.

It wasn't advertised to be an expansion, they aren't being disingenuous or anything. Just a little bit more substance than the monthly updates usually bring. So I'll pass on the party-pooping cynicism.

[Jerbob]

Thanks for continuing to work with BST. Things are improving, but there's still a long way to go.

The distance nerf is still unacceptable. It's broken and the justification for it has no basis in reality, especially now. I approve of this recent move towards encouraging beastmasters to fight on the front lines, rather than completely invalidating a playstyle we've had for more than a decade - this is the direction you should have taken initially. Revoke the nerf.
Charm and its associated abilities are still not useful in the vast majority of content. With a bit of creativity you could do a lot of exciting things with this. I'm sure players could volunteer lots of ideas.
We still have to use a pair of pre item-level trousers to use our pets effectively. You could have remedied this trivially with the changes to you made merits recently - please do this.


Unfortunately I've not been able to enjoy this BST update. The almost complete lack of rules enforcement in the game means that there are barely any activities I can participate in while trying to avoid botters and flagrant cheaters. I'm not even talking about the people who abuse macro extenders and other third party tools, though that does frustrate me no end. I'm talking about the huge numbers of fully automated characters.

I have realised that my frustrations about these problems are outweighing the enjoyment I get from the game, and haven't logged in for a couple of months. I know you probably don't care, as I'm still paying my fees in anticipation of some motivation for me to return to the game, but to be frank, every time I have that urge, I think about what I'll do when I log in and I'm immediately confronted with the reality that I'll have to compete with with RMT bots, play in parties with healer/buff bots, and contend with an action house heaving with HQ items that have been generated by cheaters. So I don't log in for yet another day.

I used to religiously attend my linkshell events, thrice a week. I'd been doing so for years and years. Lots of friends, lots of fun. Your inaction on multiboxers and botters has ruined that for me. It would have been unthinkable just a couple of years ago for someone to bring a bot to my linkshell's group events, but now it's considered normal. Desirable, even. I feel like the bad guy for complaining about flagrant cheating.

A couple of months ago, I have to confess that I ragequit at the end of one of our linkshell Omen runs because, as a WHM, almost all of my healing spells were landing for zero. We had three players running heal bots. No one questioned it. No one rose an eyebrow. This is the new normal, and I can't enjoy a game that tolerates this kind of ridiculous cheating. I've not logged in since then.

I'm sure I'll be back, but you need to know. Your inaction is having an extremely detrimental effect on my ability to enjoy your game. I want to play! I want to enjoy FFXI. I love it - but I do not love what you inaction has allowed to fester out in broad daylight.

You ask for feedback. This is what I have to say - Please do something.

[Sirmarki]

Unfortunately I've not been able to enjoy this BST update. The almost complete lack of rules enforcement in the game means that there are barely any activities I can participate in while trying to avoid botters and flagrant cheaters. I'm not even talking about the people who abuse macro extenders and other third party tools, though that does frustrate me no end. I'm talking about the huge numbers of fully automated characters.


I don't understand why, seemingly, nothing seems to be getting being done about it. The Job Point seller botting is out of control, not just in Dho Gates, but pretty much all of the gate areas now. That's one problem.
The next is actual players who are clearly cheating, you can see they are cheating, and their questions and comments on third party forums also confirm they are cheating - Again, nothing gets done. They just.... Carry on doing what they are doing.
The same shield botting players, and other botting related actively from the same players has been going on, in some cases for a year or more.

In fact, most don't even care, so much so that they have the audacity to do it in full view of other players.

I'm kind of lucky because I'm in an active Linkshell, so I can afford to shut myself away from most of that, where I can. I just feel sorry for other players who don't have that luxury.

[Jerbob]

I'm kind of lucky because I'm in an active Linkshell, so I can afford to shut myself away from most of that, where I can. I just feel sorry for other players who don't have that luxury.
I'm glad you're managing to evade most of it. Unfortunately my linkshell is turning a blind eye to it, so I can't even escape it there. Worrying that people will think me unreasonable if I express the opinion that people shouldn't blatantly cheat in my own linkshell is horrible, and was the final nail in the coffin for me.

[Sirmarki]

I'm glad you're managing to evade most of it. Unfortunately my linkshell is turning a blind eye to it, so I can't even escape it there. Worrying that people will think me unreasonable if I express the opinion that people shouldn't blatantly cheat in my own linkshell is horrible, and was the final nail in the coffin for me.

Yep, been there myself. Was practically forced into my own corner by the majority of a Linkshell I was in because I asked why so many people in it were using JP sellers and certain members participating in dubious activities themselves.
I left. Found a LS that runs by my time, and tends to steer clear of all that. Took me about four years to actually find a decent Linkshell on Asura that was on my level.

[Rwolf]

Thank you for continuing to listen to the English community feedback and update Beastmaster. After checking out the new traits and pets, with discussion among the community I'll list in separate posts some issues we find still so players can like individually what they agree with.

First is that Axe weapon skills are very lacking in general. Decimation with Dolichenus is very dominantly used for damage because pet axes cannot keep up.

Important Weapon Skill changes


Decimation: Overly increased by 1 weapon. Instead of +120% on weapon, why not boost the weapon skill itself by 100-110%? Then the Ambuscade axe can just be +10-20%. Right now it makes it too useful over using Relic, Mythic, Empyrean or Aeonic weapons.


Mistral Axe: Needs the same TP scaling as Savage Blade.


Primal Rend & Cloudsplitter: BST gets two RMEA elemental weapon skills which are weaker than ranged ones like Leaden Salute and Trueflight. Suggest to match TP scaling for damage to Leaden Salute. Increase gear that BST has access to with Magic Accuracy and Magic Attack Bonus.


Wishful Weapon Skill changes


Bora Axe: Request to be changed to a hybrid of physical and ice elemental damage to increase it's usefulness. Similar to WS such as Tachi: Jinpu.


Ruinator: Most merit weapon skills either increase damage with TP or additonal effect except Club and Axe. I don't think BST needs accuracy varies with TP. BST is the only one that can use Tri-Edge. Change to damage or critical hit varies with TP.


I believe these suggestions won't affect Warrior too much. Warrior does not have access to as many Axes as BST. At most they would just see a bonus to Cloudsplitter's usefulness and I feel the weapon skill in general should just be more useful.

Thank you for reading.

[Rwolf]

Thank you for updating pets to give the master offensive options. While it is helpful, the majority of Beastmaster job abilities feels dated.

Familiar
Mainly used prior for Charm duration on strong monsters and HP boost+10%. It feels not as useful now even with Job Points adding attributes.
Suggestion: Add more scaling for Ready moves during Familiar and a boost to master offensively as well.

Charm
Suggestion 1: Allow charm of monster pets or adds in content such as Gaes Fete and Dynamis.
Suggestion 2: Charm has a chance to remove the effect on charmed players. Base removal rate and Charm+ adds to chance of removal that well geared BST can remove it. Similar to Cursna.

Call Beast/Bestial Loyalty
The recast for Call Beast and Bestial Loyalty is very long.
Suggestion 1: Lower recasts similar to Puppetmaster. Call Beast increases to 20 minutes and does not consume item. Bestial Loyalty consumes item to summon pet with low HP but recast 1 minute.
Suggestion 2: Increase duration of pet special ability effects to master to 10 minutes or longer at high TP. Also increase duration of debuffs to 5 minutes.

Reward (Pet Survival/Status Issues if master meleeing)
Need the ability to remove more status ailments and frequently. Puppetmaster works because not only does their pet have similar HP. They have massive Regen attachments, can swap HP with pet and Repair and Maintenance remove status ailments. Dragoon also gets a lot of native damage reduction, cover and heal pets. This is needed if master will be in melee gear and not pet damage reduction.

Tame
Suggestion: Varying difficulty to land but reset hate on any monster and removes all status ailments so no exploits. Resistance given to Tame. Provides a unique support ability to reset and recover.

Feral Howl
Jettatura from Hippogryph is more potent and accurate.
Suggestion: This ability needs to be just as strong if not better in some other way due to being a job ability.

Spur
Suggestion: Give Store TP to master as well. Attack with Job Points.

Run Wild
Spur can be used disengaged, this ability should be able to do that as well.
Suggestion: Run Wild used without engaging a target first. Run Wild can be used on charmed enemies but lowers the charm duration. It should also give a tandem bonus to master.

Thank you for reading.

[Rwolf]

Distance to execute commands continues to be a huge hurdle to enjoying the job. Large scale monsters can require you stand next to your pet, which sometimes you don't want to stand in conal range next to it.

Areas with lots of aggressive enemies can cause trouble executing commands due to pet's own enmity list. If a mage or ranged enemy attacks my pet, it will run after them. Making it harder to control.

I've heard different suggestions from the community. So any changes would be helpful.

My suggestion: Revert distance entirely. If the goal is for pet 50% damage, right now it's more 70% master 30% on some pets maximum then it just means a defensive play style to use among Summoners and Puppetmasters. The master will melee for damage input just as Puppetmasters do.

Alternate suggestion 1: If master and pet are active on the same target then increase distance to execute attacks.

Alternate suggestion 2: Increase execute range to 10 yalms.

[Rwolf]

Beastmaster has a very large amount of equipment to carry for the master's abilities, for their pet's physical and magical abilities, to heal the pet, and lots of jugs.

There are about 29 jugs that give different types of pets at or near 119. Even if you aren't using them all. Just having several is a lot. Beast Affinity feels mandatory versus being an option.

Suggestion: Have 119 pets be learnable instead and use a new universal jug item to summon pets. Pet become 119 with weapon in main hand like Dragoon.

[Rwolf]

Right now it seems Beastmaster gets more use out of Dual Wielding weapons. Beastmaster doesn't have the multi-attack of Warrior or Red Mage to really make use of using a single weapon.

Suggestion 1: Give Job Ability Haste to Beastmaster with Fencer.
Suggestion 2: Give multi-attack to Beastmater with Fencer.
Suggestion 3: Give BST Weaponskill damage boost like Dragoon when pet and master on same target.

Shields are very lacking.

Suggestion 1: Add Beastmaster to Blurred Shield / Blurred Shield +1 / Nibiru Shield / Voluspa Shield (DI Shield) / Svalinn changed to WAR RDM PLD BST
Suggestion 2: Added Beastmaster only shields that add copious pet and master stats. Suggestion 3: Add more shields to existing content. Ambuscade Pulse option, Superior gear and Gaes Fete. Improve more in Unity upgrade shields.

The Tatami Shield is a very nice design that is sorely missed.

[Nadie]

New pets are pretty nice (Crossthrash, Hoof Volley and Mega Scissors are bugged however, and TP does not increase their damage).

New traits are decent, but do little to address the main problems with beastmaster melee damage.

There is little point to the pet fighting. Base damage of pets is very low - at 139 base damage, this puts them on par with daggers, while having delays in the 240 to 320 range - the same as axes and swords. Compared to level 99, when pets had relatively high base damage for their delay, this is pretty disappointing and makes for rather pitiful auto-attack damage.

The extra TP from hits is also not very useful, as pet TP moves ignore any TP below 1000. It would be better to set the anchor points at 0, 1500 and 3000 TP, instead of 1000/2000/3000 as is the case now.

[Nadie]

Meleeing with master still has its issues too. Most importantly, axe weapon skills are significantly weaker than most other weapon types. Beastmaster not having any native delay reduction is yet another problem.

Another problem is that pets are, on the whole, not sturdy enough. Reward was designed around level 75 play, and the game at this point is much more fast-paced. A 4000 HP heal every 52 seconds is not sufficient nowadays.

On top of that, there exists very few pieces of equipment that has both good defensive stats for pet, as well as offensive stats for master. Other melee jobs have plenty of access to equipment that give both good defensive and offensive stats simultaneously. For beastmaster however, if you want to equip gear with defensive stats for pet, you have to give up most offensive capability for the master.

[Nadie]

Range on pet commands - no matter how much you say that this is meant to make beastmasters melee, the fact is that it impedes meleeing. Often, despite fighting the same target as pet, there are things that will cause the pet to be out of range, such as the target moving, the pet running off to fight something else due to being hit by an AoE, adjacent mobs moving in range and forcing pet and target to reposition.

Every time this happens the pet needs repositioning which means spending 4 seconds of job ability delay to use heel and fight. Constantly interrupting meleeing to do this means a drop in damage that should not have to exist. It also makes for a very clunky, frustrating and unenjoyable experience.

All in all the job has too many small things which, all added together, makes meleeing too ineffectual. Very disappointing since I want to melee alongside my pet, and used to do so back at 99 and before that - but between the updates to the job, and the general direction the game has been moving in over the last 5-6 years, it has grown increasingly inefficient and frustrating to do so.

[Sirmarki]

Range on pet commands - no matter how much you say that this is meant to make beastmasters melee, the fact is that it impedes meleeing. Often, despite fighting the same target as pet, there are things that will cause the pet to be out of range, such as the target moving, the pet running off to fight something else due to being hit by an AoE, adjacent mobs moving in range and forcing pet and target to reposition.

Every time this happens the pet needs repositioning which means spending 4 seconds of job ability delay to use heel and fight. Constantly interrupting meleeing to do this means a drop in damage that should not have to exist. It also makes for a very clunky, frustrating and unenjoyable experience.

All in all the job has too many small things which, all added together, makes meleeing too ineffectual. Very disappointing since I want to melee alongside my pet, and used to do so back at 99 and before that - but between the updates to the job, and the general direction the game has been moving in over the last 5-6 years, it has grown increasingly inefficient and frustrating to do so.

Yep. Rewarding can be a complete nightmare too. Many times my pet has needed an emergency heal and it failed because my pet was apparently 'out of range'. Despite the fact my pet and I are fighting the same monster.

[Rwolf]

Puppetmaster and to a lesser extent Dragoon mechanically works better as a tandem pet/player combo way more than Beastmaster. Please, please make adjustments as you have for Puppetmaster and Dragoon.

PUP has comfortable distance on commands but still melees just fine when applicable.


PUP and DRG have better control of pet survival without sacrificing DPS.
- Repair & Maintenance remove all types of effects, not just Silence, Weight, Slow, Paralysis, Poison, and Blind only.
- PUP oils give double the Regen.
- PUP has the ability to use defense and auto-regen attachments.
- DRG can cover their pet, give stoneskin effect, heal and remove status ailments including Doom which BST cannot remove.


PUP and DRG keep their pets when they zone.


PUP can immediately resummon in weakened state.


PUP can swap HP, TP or Enmity values with pet.


PUP maneuvers have no JA delay to interrupt TP gain, give a ring's worth of attribute and can last up to 5 mins over time.


PUP and DRG gets Job Point categories for the master.


The design of these two jobs is way more comfortable to play with the pet in tandem. It flows well at the core mechanics to say yeah this master and pet works together.

Increasing distance isn't about exploiting the system. Having a healthy amount of distance ensures abilities execute properly in a variety of situations. While some BST pets have major amounts of specific kinds of DT. With the 5 minute recast they have you can't swap around like you can with SMN or PUP.

[Ilisidi]

Thank you for the update

I enjoyed the new mission line and quite like the pace. Previously there was always so much to do at once it felt quite stressful and harrying. This was very relaxing and fun and makes me look forward to the next bit instead of dreading the next update because I wasn't done with my missions yet. I have hope for another great two years.

Quite nice overall.
(Except for making me fail the cat when I was actually supposed to have a merry chat with Promathia.)

[Xilk]

Thank you for the great work on this update. I'm really looking forward to the new storyline.

I'm also a long time Beastmaster fan. I really like the the tandem strike and tandem blow traits. They are a nice flavor of these buffs for beastmaster and they work well. I can notice the improvement without it being overwhelming. They are well developed and well-implemented updates.

I also really appreciate the new pets! I took extra effort to test them out to understand them as much as possible.

This is definitely a great way to design the beastmaster pets. They have clear strengths and weaknesses. Its exactly the spirit of playing beastmaster to find the right animal that works in in the right ecosystem! I especially notice that player feedback was taken into consideration when adding these pets. Having a lynx pet with thunder bursting and support abilities is great (and I specifically asked for this one). Players have long wanted a Slime-type pet and an ilvl 119 Hippogryph pet!. The skillchain properties are also great! I have wanted a good fragmentation ready move for a long time, and now there are 2! So thank you very much!

However, I do worry about the Beastmaster design as a whole. There are many good suggestions in this thread that I like, but some I don't really agree with either.
Moreso, I really cannot accept the way of forcing beastmaster to the frontline.

Do not misunderstand, I always wanted to play in the front line with my beastmaster from several years ago, and it has improved since then, so I am thankful. However, forcing the playstyle is a poor design choice in my opinion.

I think beastmaster has long struggled with its identity as a job.

Its identity was clear in the early game, in how the mechanics of charming monsters was used. However, this also alienated the job from party and alliance play, which was a complete conflict with the rest of the game design to work together.

Beastmasters eventually found a home in End-game by using a complete pet-style party or alliance.

However, the recent changes have nerfed this playstyle alot. If Identity as a charmer of wild beasts, and as a pet-focused job are gone... what is it now? Is beastmaster just another damage dealer? it doesn't really fit well or shine enough to be worth choosing over another job in the same roles.

I worry that making the play-styles more homogenous will have a negative effect on the enjoyability of the game. why have so many jobs if they become more and more the same?

[Alhanelem]

Why are you necrobumping instead of making a new topic or posting in the current one that people are actually looking at?

[kythra]

Still hoping for major buffing updates for Black mage.

[Alhanelem]

Still hoping for major buffing updates for Black mage.
Perhaps you should consider raising the issue in the most current digest thread, and include specifics for when it comes to how to "major buff" BLM.

[RandomCanadian]

I've spammed this new BCNM 40 times now on D. Not one gear/weapon drop. I get that development resources are limited at this point in the games lifetime but please - PLEASE - have some basic respect for your players time. If your expectation is that a group of players should do this event 500 times to get one player their gear, that is not content... its an insult to those who participate. I'd rather no new content than this dreck.

I've always offered constructive feedback on this board. I'm trying to find some but this addition was pretty grim. With all the promise of inventory and game balance incoming, I really hope its handled better.

[Yvone]

There will be no getting better. You need to realize they have no respect for the players and move on sooner than later.

[Tharly]

There will be no getting better. You need to realize they have no respect for the players and move on sooner than later.

You can't. Why should anyone else?

[Yvone]

Significant difference. I can and they can easily fix bots, if they want to. They cannot fix being greedy and not paying enough employees to fix content.

[Tharly]

Significant difference. I can and they can easily fix bots, if they want to. They cannot fix being greedy and not paying enough employees to fix content.

If you can move on, please do.

[Alhanelem]

Significant difference. I can and they can easily fix bots, if they want to. They cannot fix being greedy and not paying enough employees to fix content.
This borders on obsession. Seriously, if you want to know what the most effective way is to get SE to listen to you, I'll tell you. Speak with your wallet and cancel your sub. By your own admission, SE only cares about dollar signs (yen signs, whatever). The only thing that can move them to act is people leaving.

[Balduran]

Why are you necrobumping instead of making a new topic or posting in the current one that people are actually looking at?

The forum lacks a mechanism where such necro bumps warrant a penalty. Report his post so a moderator can take action on his account. As I will do too.