Useless Update (AKA: Update Fail)

[Wolfe]

I can thoroughly admit that I am quite disappointed with Square-Enix. For starters, I wasn't even aware that this update that came out was, in fact, the REAL level cap increase update. There was nothing on Play Online Viewer that said "level-cap is almost here" or "go to the forums to see the new update." My friends and I were all watching the system updates because we hate going to the forums to get our update information.

I play on Xbox 360 because I prefer to play this game on a platform system. I loved when my updates were posted to the Xbox so that I never had to go to the forums to read about what was coming. So, thank you SE for dropping the ball on that one.

Next, this is an update for Blue Mages, Puppetmasters, and Scholars. Nothing else. I got the typical stuff that I was already expecting. Increased merit caps, category adjustments, and finishing off spells such as tier 2 Bard songs, Thundaja, a few typical things that I already expected.

New synergy, new armor, new items, Voidwatch, the typical stuff I've expected to see in "major" updates. Especially with an increase in level cap. Nothing much here to complain about. But where are the job specific updates to EVERY job?

Unless you are playing BLU, SCH, or PUP, you get absolutely nothing from this update.

SCHOLAR

What I thought was a typo, turns out was far from it. Scholar is getting Regen V...? Not only that, but now they get Regen IV too. And if Light Arts is up, their Regen spells last longer and heal more than a White Mage casting the same spell, fully merited.

Light Arts will now grant a bonus to the effect and duration of Regen spells.

What is the point of letting WHM merit Regen if you are just going to GIVE that ability to SCH? AND you are making it last longer than the WHM that have to equip armor to extend the duration!? That's just as bad as letting WHM merit Protectra & Shellra V, but GIVING SCH Accession and Protect & Shell V. WHM merits are now completely useless unless you merit Cure Casting time, which you can now achieve maximum cure casting time down with equipment.

SE has just turned SCH into a supercharged, WHM & BLM combo. Are you guys trying to make up for making SCH the biggest joke of a job in FFIII when it was first introduced? I've decently geared SCH out nuke fully +2 geared BLM with pimp gear. How fair is that? I have both my BLM & WHM leveled to 95. At this point, who cares if a SCH doesn't get Cure V?

Rapture + Cure IV
[Base Cure Value + (Base Cure value * 50% (Rapture))] x 2 (Divine Seal) = Full Cure amount
i.e If base Cure IV = 429, then [429 + (429 x 50%)] x 2 = 1287

Yup, that just put my WHM to rest. PLUS, you can equip that Surya's Staff +3 to SCH too. SCH may not have the same potent cures as a WHM, but when you take into consideration that you can replace 3 jobs with 1 SCH, who cares? RDM are getting shut out too. You no longer need to worry about Convert, because Sublimation can give you a full MP pool with even slightly proper gear. A gimp geared SCH can out nuke and heal BLM, RDM, WHM. COMBINED!

And before you try to say that the only way a SCH can drop good cures is by using Rapture, you can cure nuke pretty effectively that way. At level 90, you get 5 charges, with a recharge every 48 seconds, you can easily use that job ability in-between cure recasts without it ever making any kind of impact on your overall curing ability. Plus, if you drop a Perpetuance Regen V on the target with Light Arts up, do you really think you are going to have to Rapture Cure IV very often?

BLUE MAGE

This is a fun job, I've always loved being able to go out and learn new BLU spells. But if you've been paying any attention to the last few updates, the number of BLU mages that I have seen running around has skyrocketed. Again, here is a job that you can have geared pretty gimp, and still drop massive damage. It is insulting to see that a Dark Knight with full +2 emperyon, drops an Insurgency with a Woeborn and gets about half the damage that a BLU can get by casting Charged Whisker and Thunderbolt Magic Burst.

Now, the latest spells that a BLU can learn, I've reviewed them briefly and without seeing them in-game, I am already scared to see how that above mentioned BLU with full Artifact armor can embarass the same mentioned DRK. What is the point of even letting people get Emperyon armor if it makes little to no difference ?

PUPPETMASTER

I've never cared for this job, but always felt that it was horribly under powered. In the past few years, I have seen SE doing a great job of un-gimping PUP. If you can play this job and you like it, good for you. You can also help me prove my point.

Look at what you have gotten for the job in the past, let's say 5 updates. Tell me one thing that has been done to the job that has made it worse off. Just one. Because I've looked it over, and I can not find anything. PUP is one of the few jobs out there that has gotten constant updates and keeps getting noticeably stronger.

Level 99 Merits

What happened to these merits that I heard about? Are "Weapon Skill" merits really what I have been getting so excited about? Seriously? 14 new weapon skills, I get to fully merit 3 of them, and each one is going to cost me 100 merit points... Really!?

I thought SE was going to incorporate a whole new level 99 merit system. At least, that's what they implied. WS merits isn't the level 99 merits I was promised. Want proof? You get these at level 96!

So, where are those promised level 99 exclusive merits we got so excited about?

Other Insults

Oh, look, Paladin can use Holy II! Because, you know, there were so many PLD that cast Holy, now they can cast Holy II as well and kiss 250 of their already tiny MP pool goodbye! Yay.

Ooh, Gravity II, you remember that spell you learned back at level 21, right? No? Well, it was a long, long, LONG time ago. Well, now you can learn the second tier of that spell at level 98! Only 77 levels later, by the way, that is a new record for largest gap from one spell to the next tier.

Attention all Warriors, congratulations! You can now get to level 99, as payment, we are going to severely gimp and nerf Restraint. Enjoy.

Oh, yeah, speaking of PLD, you still can't cast Cure V. Not that you actually need to cure yourself or anything. Why would the tanking job need to do something as silly as that?

Obsolete WHM

There is no longer any point to meriting WHM, let alone even playing it.

Group 1

Divine Seal Recast (-20 seconds per upgrade)
Seldom used by any WHM, you might as well merit this now.

Cure Cast Time (-4% cast time of all Cure spells per upgrade)
You can get higher than this by equipping gear and reaching the cap.

Bar Spell Effect (+2 potency of Bar spells, +2 Magic Defense Bonus per upgrade)
You can get higher than this by equipping gear and reaching the cap.

Banish Effect (+2 damage, +2 seconds duration of Defense Down effect per upgrade)
Might as well merit this too since the other three groups are no longer useful exclusives.

Regen Spell Effect (+1 HP/tick recovered per upgrade)
SCH now gets this NATURALLY, without merits.

Group 2

Martyr (-2 minutes 30 seconds recast per upgrade)
Might as well merit this too since the other three groups are no longer useful exclusives.

Devotion (-2 minutes 30 seconds recast per upgrade)
Might as well merit this too since the other three groups are no longer useful exclusives.

Protectra V (+2 defense per upgrade)
SCH now gets this NATURALLY, without merits. Just use Accession and Perpetuance and your Protect V lasts twice ass long.

Shellra V (~-0.8% Magic Damage Taken per upgrade)
SCH now gets this NATURALLY, without merits. Just use Accession and Perpetuance and your Shell V lasts twice ass long.

I also mentioned earlier how a SCH can out cure a WHM.

What doesn't suck about this update?

Well, from what I can see while I wait for this 4 hour update to finish installing:

Gobbie Mystery Box
I sure hope this doesn't suck, since there isn't much information posted about it, I'll just wait and see.

BCNM Warp
Warping to Burning Circle locations, it only took SE about 9 years before they realized this MIGHT be a nice thing to include.

Demilune Abyssite Upgrading
Your Clear Demilune Abyssite will upgrade into a Colorful Demilune Abyssite easier. I'm stretching by adding this one.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Oh, wait, the best update of all. The best update in this entire mess!

Items will no longer be lost if paralyzed while using them.

It only took 9 years for this update to finally come out. It should have been released years ago, before the game was ever beta-tested. This is, by far, one of the dumbest things I have ever seen in a video game. And it has finally been patched, 9 YEARS LATER!

I've been playing this game for years, I've always felt that over time, I would get used to every update that has come out and I've tried my best to support SE in their decisions. But I have made predictions about everything in the past, and they always seem to come true. The level cap increase, 14's failure, as well as many others. Here's my latest prediction.

11 will finally fail (much like 14), and (sadly) I hope it does.

EDIT:
After looking the update over, the new style for macros is horrible. I like that they made them larger so you can read more in them, but the white color fade was placed in the worst spot imaginable. It's actually harder to read my macros now than it was before. There is a white fade, right where the WHITE LETTERS are. Who the hell thought that was a smart idea? SE needs to come out with an emergency patch to fix that. This is especially bad for anyone playing on a SD TV, or an elder HD TV.

And if you shrink the chat box's width, you are going to lose a LOT of dialogue. No word wrapping? Really? Talk about genius.

By the way, I'm glad that SE didn't listen to the fans and give us a final, more difficult Matt fight as our last Limit Break. Because, who really wanted to fight a full fledged and pimped out Matt? Certainly not the fans that were asking for it.

I'd love to think that SE isn't filled with a bunch of idiots, but that's becoming harder and harder to believe. Want proof? What number team is this now, third or fourth?

[Raksha]

If you read the forums more you would have known all this months ago.

Aslo if you think SCH obsoletes WHM then you are an idiot.

[Zarchery]

Inevitably, every single update for 10 years has had this exact same post.

[Daniel_Hatcher]

Sorry my friend, but you are talking out your backside...

[Alhanelem]

<insert my favorite job here> didn't become the ultimate power in the universe! #&*^$ you SE!

/sarcasm

[Karbuncle]

I giggled at the thought of MP Being an issue with Holy.

Holy II paired with Divine Emblem will be pretty fun, Especially since it will be pretty accurate, and thusly can be quite powerful, even in voidwatch (Ascetic's Tonic/Bravers help)....

Not like MP is a big issue unless you're awful anyway... o-o;

Outside of that. This update seemed a little content light at first, But Thats in my head, A lot was added. I'll be busy for maybe a week.

Up until about the time i go 0/50 On another new voidwatch drop, deactivate my account, and go play offline games some more.

[Economizer]

Since I'm still grabbing the update, I'll point out some of the stuff you said that was blatantly wrong. If you have any questions, I'll be glad to help you learn more about the game. I promise that it will help you be a better player.

What is the point of letting WHM merit Regen if you are just going to GIVE that ability to SCH?

Admittedly, the merit category sucks, but if anything, this update did good for White Mage. SE had no intention of giving us Regen V at any point, but due to this update, Regen now has the cast time it should have years ago. I still would tell you that Regen boosting gear and merits for White Mage suck, but at least now you can cast it from time to time without having your entire party die of old age.

That's just as bad as letting WHM merit Protectra & Shellra V, but GIVING SCH Accession and Protect & Shell V. WHM merits are now completely useless unless you merit Cure Casting time, which you can now achieve maximum cure casting time down with equipment.

Not true, I'll get to this later as I reply to the rest, but lets just say that Shell V will never match up to Shellra V.

Rapture + Cure IV

Curaga IV. Or if you can afford it, Curaga V. Add AF3+2 pants and profit from the occasional free Curaga. Or better yet, equip said pants with a party of six and fight Emperador de Altepa then tell me that a Scholar can pull that off.

SCH may not have the same potent cures as a WHM

I'm not sure if you'd have a heart attack, but Scholars actually get better cure potency because they can pop light weather. Not that this makes them better or worse then any job.

Plus, if you drop a Perpetuance Regen V on the target with Light Arts up, do you really think you are going to have to Rapture Cure IV very often?

I hope the Regen change helps Scholars out. They still won't be main healing during events, but it is always nice when you can rely on some healing backup, especially if that backup can contribute to damage when the backup isn't needed.

Hopefully SE makes weather spells alliance castable along with some other Scholar specific spells.

Again, here is a job that you can have geared pretty gimp, and still drop massive damage.

Getting spells is part of "gearing" BLU.

Tell me one thing that has been done to the job that has made it worse off. Just one.

Ob went on a rampage for a month or two due to one of the updates, making getting attachments harder for PUP for some time.

So, where are those promised level 99 exclusive merits we got so excited about?

Due time. Would you rather they held this update for when they did have those ready? They've already said this is most certainly not the last update to jobs, so don't worry.

Oh, look, Paladin can use Holy II! Because, you know, there were so many PLD that cast Holy, now they can cast Holy II as well and kiss 250 of their already tiny MP pool goodbye! Yay.

Holy II costs 150 MP. Also, Divine Emblem, which makes the spell more useful to them then for White Mage (I'm a little jealous, but due to White Mage's kinship with Paladin, and White Mage's historically bad nuking, I'll let it go for now).

Obsolete WHM

There is no longer any point to meriting WHM, let alone even playing it.

... ha?

Bar Spell Effect (+2 potency of Bar spells, +2 Magic Defense Bonus per upgrade)
You can get higher than this by equipping gear and reaching the cap.

If you aren't meriting this 5/5 on White Mage, I think you need help on setting priorities. If you really want to learn about how to play White Mage, just ask, I will gladly help.

Regen Spell Effect (+1 HP/tick recovered per upgrade)
SCH now gets this NATURALLY, without merits.

Admittedly, this does, and always has sucked, like most of White Mage's Group 1 merits. I personally do Barspells and Cure Cast Time, although I understand not every White Mage will do Cure Cast Time (but every White Mage should have 5/5 Barspell).

Devotion (-2 minutes 30 seconds recast per upgrade)
Might as well merit this too since the other three groups are no longer useful exclusives.

I 5/5 this from preference. Being able to restore a party member's MP more efficiently then any other tool you have never gets old.

Protectra V (+2 defense per upgrade)
SCH now gets this NATURALLY, without merits. Just use Accession and Perpetuance and your Protect V lasts twice ass long.

I understand that this sucks compared to other choices in the category. Personally, I don't have a single merit in this because Protectra IV is something like only 5 defense less over a 1/5, and the DEF stat is somewhat useless. White Mages have been asking for this to be more useful for years, but honestly, I don't care too much.

Shellra V (~-0.8% Magic Damage Taken per upgrade)
SCH now gets this NATURALLY, without merits. Just use Accession and Perpetuance and your Shell V lasts twice ass long.

Again, if you aren't meriting this 5/5, you are doing it wrong. Meriting this to full gives you a ~3% advantage over Shell V in terms of reducing magic damage.

I also mentioned earlier how a SCH can out cure a WHM.

Again... ha?

[saevel]

Ooh, Gravity II, you remember that spell you learned back at level 21, right? No? Well, it was a long, long, LONG time ago. Well, now you can learn the second tier of that spell at level 98! Only 77 levels later, by the way, that is a new record for largest gap from one spell to the next tier.

This in and of itself wouldn't be that bad. Except ... its the SAME FCKING SPELL. We have two spells that now do the exact same thing which is utterly useless. Gravity lowers the monsters movement speed, NEARLY ALL NM's for the past few years have been made immune to gravity. Testing on the server has shown that Gravity II doesn't change this, their still immune to it. Giving PLD's Holy II was at least a semi-useful update, they can use that +hate +m.acc JA to get a decent damage and hate spike on it. Giving RDM's Gravity II was less then useless, the spell shouldn't even exist the way it is now.

[Brolic]

new voidwatch\af2+2 alone made this update good

[Wolfe]

I'm glad to see that some people actually take time to back up their arguments to my original post, like Economizer. Rather than just posting an insult and thinking that is all they need.

Economizer:
Personally, I prefer to have Protectra V fully merited, as well as Devotion (like you said, it's great being able to drop MP to a party member when they need it). When you look at the bonus you get between Protectra and Shellra, Protectra gets one more over Shellra, per.

I also prefer the Regen merits because when you drop a Regen IV at your tank, it can make your life a lot easier in the long run. If you have the Relic body too, that makes it all the nicer. Which is another reason why I wanted to know why SCH got Regen V and not WHM. WHM Relic body caters SPECIFICALLY to Regen spells. It just doesn't make sense.

I also understand that Holy II costs 150 MP, the point I was making is, if you cast both Holy I & II, you can kiss 250 MP goodbye, quicker than a WHM can Devotion you.

I can see how some WHM might want to take Bar Spells fully merited. Personally, I am not fond of magic defense, I like physical defense more.

And Alhanelem, none of these jobs are my favorite. I prefer Dark Knight, which was never mentioned. I am just getting sick of seeing White Mage get dumped on in every update. Especially with Cure VI, the worst cure in the game, but hey, at least it looks pretty. That seems to be what SE is going with lately. Let's make more stuff look prettier in the game and maybe we can distract the players from realizing that we're on our 7th Development team.