Let Producer Matsui Know How He Should Catch Up on 2 Years!

[Tamarsamar]

I feel quite underqualified for summarizing the past two years for the new producer.

I'm confident in saying that everyone (myself included) wants less luck-based content, less random drops with obscenely low percentages that do nothing but waste the players' time, and more content that provides a definite sense of progression and reward, such as the earlier Trials of the Magians.

Furthermore, please allow us a text command to save and recall multiple different sets of gear. For example, if I were to type something like, say, "/equip set 01 save", all my current equipment would be saved to "set 01" for me to equip again later with something like "/equip set 01". In essence, we want it so that we can change every one of our equipment slots to a predetermined piece of equipment using only one macro line.

Someone fill free to repost the previous paragraph for themselves instead of liking if you disagree with my next paragraph, because I'm about to go as selfish as all get-out over here (at the producer's specific request, mind you).

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As for me specifically, I have a concern that dates back to slightly more than two years ago, but it's similar to a more recent concern that other players share. It concerns a subject known to the players as "tanking," where one (sometimes two) players hold a monster's attention through accrued enmity, and manage its attacks so that it does not kill someone not equipped to handle it. This has become something of a dead art, as players, substantially more powerful now than they were at the 75 cap, find themselves hitting a cap in enmity, which is difficult for a dedicated tank to hit first, and impossible for the tank to supercede. This is a concern that development claimed to have plans to address with the release of Seekers of Adoulin, and the purported new tank job Rune Fencer.

I, however, am a Red Mage. My request comes from just shortly before the decline of the tanking role, and will help to add a variety of more than a handful of job combinations to it (assuming, of course, the role begins to flourish again after SoA): undo the reduction of enmity applied to Black Magic Enfeebles, and remove the Job Trait "Tranquil Heart" from Red Mage. Before the Black Magic Enfeeble "nerf" (reduction in effectiveness), players were permitted to try various interesting job combinations for the tanking role, including PLD/RDM, NIN/DRK, and the admittedly somewhat overpowered RDM/NIN. This all changed with the raising of the level cap to 80, where single-target Black Magic Enfeebles were given a sharp reduction in generated enmity, and as if to spite PLD/RDM in particular, Paladins were given the spell Phalanx natively at level 77 (and, later on, Reprisal and Enlight). Several tried to defend the update as a beneficial one for those who play dedicated Back-line jobs, but this was obviously not the intent, as the large accrued enmity values on Sleepga spells were left unaffected. At that point, the options remaining for tanking were largely reduced to just PLD/WAR, NIN/WAR, and the occasional PLD/DNC. Instead of giving players more options, the developers instead decimated the ones they had. If tanking is to be revived, I want it to be revived in full; you claim to want more tank role jobs to be added with the introduction of Rune Fencer, but your actions need to match your words. (As a side note, I would be very excited for Rune Fencer if we could make a useful subjob out of it.)

Speaking as a Red Mage, I personally find it laughable that among our many purported "trades," tanking is not permitted to be among them, despite having more endurance available to us than nearly any other job in the game! This is further exacerbated with our extensive array of self-only Enhancing Magic: we can make ourselves a relatively large (if slow) threat to a monster's well being, but it's partially put to waste if the monster never pays us any mind. (This happens to also be why Red Mages tend to have a reputation of performing very well solo.) On this note, remove the Tranquil Heart Job Trait from Red Mage, since it serves no purpose but to run salt into wounds. Replace it instead with Fencer, or if not, at least change the name of "Fencer" to something that doesn't sound like it begs to be on a Red Mage (and not something like Bard . . .). Give Red Mage more ways to allow us to more ably contribute to our party while on the front lines--not just raw damage (though we could use a bit more of that . . .), but I can't think of a more fitting use of all our talents other than directly ensuring that an enemy doesn't kill other party members by going face-to-face with it and reducing it to a crippled mess.

On that note, give Red Mage more unique Enfeebles. The Enfeebling update is welcome, but a Red Mage's Enfeebling talents don't stand out nearly enough compared to that of other mages. Consider making RDM-only spells, such as a "Confuse" spell that, similar to Paralyze, occasionally prevents the inflicted from acting, but unlike Paralyze, inflicts recoil damage, and stacks with paralysis; a "Mute" spell, that acts as a more potent Silence that can affect a wider array of enemies (to account for the large level gap in-between the two spells); an Enfeebling spell that somehow inhibits monster special attacks--even if they can't be preemptively prevented outright for whatever reason, at least give us something that inhibits monster TP gain (similar to Yurin: Ichi) or, better yet, doubles the TP required for the monster to use a special attack; a spell that increases the rate of Critical Hits inflicted upon the target; a Terror spell, because seriously, you guys gave Jettatura to Blue Mages at freaking level 48. There are plenty of ideas for Enfeebling Magic that you have every reason to make Red Mage-exclusive.

Oh! And speaking of Blue Mage, by the way, I would greatly appreciate it if you guys would stop with the blatant favoritism concerning the gigantic variety of gear that you allow Blue Mages. To wit, nowhere is this more obvious than the fact that Blue Mage can use both the Homam and Nashira gear sets, as well as all of their upgraded forms; the Adhara Manteel even had freaking Blue Magic Skill added on to it, for crying out loud! On a related note, if you could start including Red Mage on more "medium" armor sets (equipment that is neither mage-specific armor nor heavy armor), that would be much appreciated. I can understand if you don't let Red Mage have every "medium" armor set in the game (we don't have many complaints about not being able to use the Skadi's Cuirie set, for example), but when you take the pieces of our artifact set (Chapeau, Tabard, Gloves, Tights, and Boots), and use them on a medium armor set, and then prohibit us from using it . . . actually, that brings me to my next point:

Please stop trolling (that is to say, treat poorly for no reason beyond provoking reactions) Red Mages. If you don't understand what I mean, I provided two examples were development has trolled Red Mages in this very post already: making a Job Trait called "Fencer," which has been a title thematically appropriate for Red Mages over the years (for example, see the screenshot of the "Fencer's Ring" in my signature), yet not only not giving it to Red Mages, but having the audacity to give it to Bards instead! And, of course, as I just mentioned, the Athos's Armor Set, which is little more than a retouched, Green-and-Gold variant of the RDM-specific Duelist's Armor Set, except it actually provides worthwhile melee stats, and Red Mages can't use it. You request that I tell you what I want instead of what I don't want, but how about I give you both: stop teasing Red Mages, and start letting us have stuff that there's little reason for us not to have.

Oh, and back to the subject of equipment, you know the Morrigan's Robe set, and how it, along with all the other pieces of Salvage-exclusive equipment, is set to receive some upgrades some time soon? Please do not neglect to enhance its melee attributes. I would not be putting this here were it not what happened to the Goliard Saio set when it got "upgraded" to the Nares Saio set, and all the relevant melee stats on the set, such as Haste and Accuracy, were wiped away. This was not a kind move and I do not wish to see it repeated with the Morrigan's Robe set.

I think that I am done venting-with-polite-language for the time being, but for now I simply have one more request: as a San d'Orian, I hugely regret missing out on the opportunity to obtain the Harpsichord item, and the more recent Spinet item was not a fitting consolation. May we please have another chance to attain it?