New 2-hour Abilities

[Yinnyth]

If I hadn't killed without PD I'd agree with you. But I have and so have otheres.....squall is a powerful tool, he won't be getting much of anything off. Earthen armor/scherzo are just part of stacking the odds, good DDs and squalls are the foundation.

Is it fool proof, hell no, is it doable, without a doubt.

Of course it's doable. But what exactly is scherzo + EA doing for you? What ability does ADL use that does 800+ damage in a single hit? Even though he synchs his WSs perfectly when he splits, they're both checked seperately for whether or not scherzo will have an effect. Having dozens of ADL attempts under my belt, I have yet to see him do any attack besides Thundaga IV on a single target or Dynamic Assault which would actually cause scherzo to proc. If Thundaga IV is on a single target, you're in trouble anyways. Dynamic Assault he only uses at higher HPs, is a single-target attack, and is still survivable by most melees.

I think you're misunderstanding what I'm getting at. I'm not saying "it's impossible to win without PD." I'm saying "why are you using scherzo?" Scherzo is almost completely worthless vs. ADL. You may as well be using aubade to increase sleep resist.

[Mayoyama]

From the way I read it.. they'd only be changing the NEW "2hrs" to 30min-1hr... not the existing ones, but maybe thats just how I interpreted it.

EDIT: NVM i missed th last spoiler tab ; ;

[Mikumaru]

Dear Dev team and Matsui-san ,

As a veteran player who started at the PS2 release over 8 years ago , i have seen many changes made to the game i love so dearly . Some have been very welcome , others maybe not so much . Up until the release of the Abyssea Battle Add-on Trilogy , The 2 hour ability not only defined the job class it was for , but was the Last Resort or hidden Ace-up-the-sleeve that would or could turn the tide of battle . These Abilities are supposed to be over powered , hence the exceptionally long cool down . In the Official Strategy Guides this point was firmly stated and as the game progressed from Rise of the Zilart to Chains of Promithia thru the Treasures of Aht Urghan , crucial use of these extreme abilities was the difference between success and failure . Chainspell Stunning Suzaku's Chainspell , or Countering Sieryu's Hundred Fists with Invincible are prime examples of how the game used to require sacrifice and strategy to prevail .
Reading each new "update" about how the Dev team is seeking "balance" , especially lately more than ever , seems more like a new Absolute Virtue is being sought . If you feel you must weaken a job's most powerful ability then you must in turn weaken the foes they are used against . Balance . Perhaps tho , as a suggestion , instead of looking for the new impossible to kill monster or Kill the entire alliance Ability the Dev team could take some different ques from the FFXI of old and include content that requires actual team work and strategy and doesnt rely on "Staggering" , Temporary items , Atma/Atmacite , or certain 2 hour abilities to defeat it . It happened in the past , no reason it cant happen now . Jailer of Love , Kirin , Proto-Omega , Proto-Ultima , the list goes on . These monsters yielded some of the most sought after items and they were hard won with team work and strategy .
Keep 2 hours Over Powered , while preserving the soul of FFXI . Keep up the great work on a wonderful game .

<3 Mikumaru

[Bloodrain]

Up until the release of the Abyssea Battle Add-on Trilogy , The 2 hour ability not only defined the job class it was for , but was the Last Resort or hidden Ace-up-the-sleeve that would or could turn the tide of battle . These Abilities are supposed to be over powered , hence the exceptionally long cool down . In the Official Strategy Guides this point was firmly stated and as the game progressed from Rise of the Zilart to Chains of Promithia thru the Treasures of Aht Urghan , crucial use of these extreme abilities was the difference between success and failure .

This. 1000 times THIS.

[Yinnyth]

This. 1000 times THIS.

Because I cannot tell you how many times I've saved my party with overdrive. (For those of you who don't play pup, that was sarcasm).

In all seriousness though, that's not how 2hrs get used anymore. It might have been 5 years ago, but they're zerg fodder now. In most events, you save your 2hr for the boss, because you can't use it twice per event, and that's the place it counts the most. If you make it so your pld can hit invincible 3 times per salvage, then he c- wait, why do you have a pld in salvage?

!@#$ happens. Any run of any event can go south quickly. The ability to recognize these problems, weigh them with when you'll need your SPs again, and properly or improperly save the day will play a large role in the new shape of FFXI.

And make no mistake, changing SPs this drastically will COMPLETELY reshape FFXI. I'm not a fan of embrava and PD getting nerfed since nyzul and dynamis are about all I do ingame right now, but I think that's part of the reason why they're delaying. Or at least I hope so. Let's wait and see how naive I am.

[Rambus]

Dear Dev team and Matsui-san ,

As a veteran player who started at the PS2 release over 8 years ago , i have seen many changes made to the game i love so dearly . Some have been very welcome , others maybe not so much . Up until the release of the Abyssea Battle Add-on Trilogy , The 2 hour ability not only defined the job class it was for , but was the Last Resort or hidden Ace-up-the-sleeve that would or could turn the tide of battle . These Abilities are supposed to be over powered , hence the exceptionally long cool down . In the Official Strategy Guides this point was firmly stated and as the game progressed from Rise of the Zilart to Chains of Promithia thru the Treasures of Aht Urghan , crucial use of these extreme abilities was the difference between success and failure . Chainspell Stunning Suzaku's Chainspell , or Countering Sieryu's Hundred Fists with Invincible are prime examples of how the game used to require sacrifice and strategy to prevail .
Reading each new "update" about how the Dev team is seeking "balance" , especially lately more than ever , seems more like a new Absolute Virtue is being sought . If you feel you must weaken a job's most powerful ability then you must in turn weaken the foes they are used against . Balance . Perhaps tho , as a suggestion , instead of looking for the new impossible to kill monster or Kill the entire alliance Ability the Dev team could take some different ques from the FFXI of old and include content that requires actual team work and strategy and doesnt rely on "Staggering" , Temporary items , Atma/Atmacite , or certain 2 hour abilities to defeat it . It happened in the past , no reason it cant happen now . Jailer of Love , Kirin , Proto-Omega , Proto-Ultima , the list goes on . These monsters yielded some of the most sought after items and they were hard won with team work and strategy .
Keep 2 hours Over Powered , while preserving the soul of FFXI . Keep up the great work on a wonderful game .

<3 Mikumaru

This. 1000 times THIS.

I was thinking the same thing so i hit like for both posts. Only for me was NA comp and that actually started as level 70 for the cap but that was changed like 2 months later so it really did not effect us much having 70 being the cap.

[Waldrich]

Dear Dev team and Matsui-san ,

As a veteran player who started at the PS2 release over 8 years ago , i have seen many changes made to the game i love so dearly . Some have been very welcome , others maybe not so much . Up until the release of the Abyssea Battle Add-on Trilogy , The 2 hour ability not only defined the job class it was for , but was the Last Resort or hidden Ace-up-the-sleeve that would or could turn the tide of battle . These Abilities are supposed to be over powered , hence the exceptionally long cool down . In the Official Strategy Guides this point was firmly stated and as the game progressed from Rise of the Zilart to Chains of Promithia thru the Treasures of Aht Urghan , crucial use of these extreme abilities was the difference between success and failure . Chainspell Stunning Suzaku's Chainspell , or Countering Sieryu's Hundred Fists with Invincible are prime examples of how the game used to require sacrifice and strategy to prevail .
Reading each new "update" about how the Dev team is seeking "balance" , especially lately more than ever , seems more like a new Absolute Virtue is being sought . If you feel you must weaken a job's most powerful ability then you must in turn weaken the foes they are used against . Balance . Perhaps tho , as a suggestion , instead of looking for the new impossible to kill monster or Kill the entire alliance Ability the Dev team could take some different ques from the FFXI of old and include content that requires actual team work and strategy and doesnt rely on "Staggering" , Temporary items , Atma/Atmacite , or certain 2 hour abilities to defeat it . It happened in the past , no reason it cant happen now . Jailer of Love , Kirin , Proto-Omega , Proto-Ultima , the list goes on . These monsters yielded some of the most sought after items and they were hard won with team work and strategy .
Keep 2 hours Over Powered , while preserving the soul of FFXI . Keep up the great work on a wonderful game .

<3 Mikumaru

CAN YOU HEAR IT SQUARE ENIX?

[ManaKing]

I'm ok with people having to try again. PD is a crutch, Embrava.....i guess. Not like Zergs didnt happen before it.

[Gakaroth]

How about this as an alternative... LEAVE THE OLD 2HOURS ALONE, DON'T TOUCH THEM!
and instead, just introduce these new special abilities with thier reduced timer, seperate as you seem to be doing anyway.

[Cabalabob]

Outside of a few events that PD and embrava are essential for they are completely useless abilities that no one uses, nerfing them is basically saying "this has a use in the game, let's change that". Leave them as is. if anything Odin and Alex should be taken off astral flow and have something else limiting their use. Alexander is the only reason astral flow gets used anymore, rendering every other aspect of astral flow useless. even If people wanted to use the other aspects of astral flow the mindset of "I might need perfect defense later so I best not use astral flow now" stops them. Embrava is a little better on this front seeing as it can be used in conjunction with the other effects of tabula rasa but still has the same mindset limiting the 2hrs other uses.