FFXI: ACTIVE BATTLE SYSTEM (ABS)

[Urteil]

I know that not everyone will read this but if you do I appreciate it. Below are my thoughts on how some adjustments to the already existing battle system, current in-game content and some utilization of existing animations/concepts that could improve our FFXI combat.

I remember there used to be a very skilled artist who used to draw pictures to explain his ideas. . . unfortunately I do not have anything that fancy, but please try to bear with me through the entirety of this post.

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I.


First, I'd like to point out that a TP variable system for weapon skills and abilities is clearly possible. Dancer being a prime example. I feel this aspect of FFXI is under utilized by the development team and should be drastically opened up. One must then decide how and when to use their store of TP and be careful to not waste the precious resource by making slow decisions.


Weapon skills using a variable amount of TP adds depth to game play. While doing the maximum amount of damage is always useful and a viable role to play in an encounter, now people will have the ability to weaken a foe for a future devastating attack, deal as much damage as possible in a short period of time, maybe switch between the two, and or perhaps use their weapon skills to inflict a powerful Enfeebling Effect during critical moments. Below I also outline a potential system that expands upon the a variable TP system that is not in game that could greatly reward players for party synergy in all battle content.


Please remember that even if "Limit Breaks" sound improbable the variable TP system is not. The groundwork is already in the game.
[Here we go.]


II.

First and foremost I feel our base HP and MP values should be modified across the board in the following ways:

HP + 75%
MP + 50%

Combat currently exists in two layers:
Melee or cast magic under specific circumstances to gain Technique Points.
Execute TP weapon skills and abilities.


I propose that combat should exist in three layers in addition to variable TP WS cost:
Melee or use magic under specific circumstances to gain TP.
Execute TP weapon skills, abilities, deal, receive or recover damage to gain Limit Break Points.
Execute individual Limit Breaks to change the flow of battle in offensive and defensive ways.



-The idea of a flexible TP system that promotes more active combat and encourages intelligently opening up an adversary to a targeted weakness via self/collaborated skill chains is as simple as reassigning TP Costs!


If you like my ideas please like the post. I feel that now is a good time to show support for the ideas we think would better the game we love. Please discuss.






III.

THE FFXI ACTIVE BATTLE SYSTEM:

•First use melee attacks, magical spells under certain conditions or abilities to gain Technique Points (TP).
•Use TP to use Weaponskills.
-Weaponskills vary in cost depending on damage potential, additional effects
inflicted and skill chain properties.
-The LBB must be full at 1,000 points to execute a Limit Break.

-Additional effects on Weaponskills must have their base chances to land in a
typical situation drastically improved.
-TW 100%
-IEP 100%
-EP 100%
-DC 100%
-EM 95%
-T 90%
-VT 85%
-IT 80%
-ITG – Self evident

-The above is of course only a guide-line for the methodology behind the application of Enfeebling Effects. Gear will modify results drastically in regards to the target chosen.

Notorious Monsters will of course have immunities.
-However the game system as it currently stands simply blankets NMs with unreasonable long-term immunities to Enfeebling effects with little regard to a vast majority of NMs' location, lore-wise, and sometimes even modest rational expectation.

- The development team would have to take a more involved approach to giving NM’s immunities and weaknesses. This costs more money and has a lower chance of ocurring. Due to this, an NM should in general be designed to always possess more vulnerabilities to Enfeebling Magic than strengths.

-Elemental immunities should be observed but should always come with the expected severe weakness to the opposing element. There is obviously a much larger discussion on enfeebling magic but if the above was observed at least Enfeebling Magic would be on the way to being a staple mechanic in all aspects of game play.





The LBB is filled by five sources:

1) 1% of Damage Dealt (After full mitigation)
2) 1% of Damage Received (After partial mitigation)

3) 2% of Damage recovered through Healing Magic or Abilities.
-Drain and Aspir abilities grant 1% of the damage they do to the target.
-Weaponskills that absorb HP or MP from a target do not gain an additional bonus to LBP gain based on recovery.

-MP recovering Weaponskills have no effect on the LBB. The damage contributes to the entirety of the LBB gain.
-A general example are the weapon skills Entropy and Starlight.
-There may be exceptions, Yagrush and Hvergelmir come to mind.
-Effects that recover MP and HP over time do not contribute to LBP.
-I feel that avoiding “over-time” effects on the LMB is preferable as it rewards passive game play more than it should.




4) Skill Chain Bonuses

-The LBB is filled by obtaining 1000 Limit Break Points.
-Based on the level of Skill Chain performed all participants gain LBP bonuses by stringing Weaponskills together into Skill Chains:
Level 1 +50
Level 2 +150
Level 3 +305
Level 4 + 650

- Cosmic Elucidation (Level 4) should of course be unlocked for player use. link it in with something to do with Dalamud from Final Fantasy XIV.




-It is my sincere desire that this placement of Skill Chain bonuses will encourage players to try to link Weapon skills together for a greater end, rather than spam the same technique repeatedly on end for damage regardless of context.
-This opens up the maximum possible window for Magic users gain LBP bonuses based on Magic Bursts (This will be further explained below) and additionally for melee to execute their individual Limit Break Abilities at a quicker rate.
- In addition the user will have to make intelligent decisions based on whether they will have to use their TP to enfeeble the foe with a potent effect, deal immediate damage or try to boost their LBB with a skill chain bonus.
- The user will be encouraged to skill chain with themselves and create their own active openings in combat.


But do not worry my wizard friends, for you have not been forgotten!

5)Magic Burst Bonuses:

-If you successfully magic burst a spell in addition to existing bonuses you will get a LBP bonus based on the Tier of the Spell. AoE versions of a spell gain an additional +10 standard bonus regardless of the number of foes present. Manafont should remove the above restriction in regards to AoE spells in addition to performing existing functions.
-Tier I + 10
-Tier II + 40
-Tier III + 80
-Tier IV+130
-Tier V+190
-AM I + 90
-AM II +200
-Blue Magic = 1% of damage dealt to the main target only.
-As the Blue Mage is a hybrid job, best played while using their martial mastery
in conjunction with their Azure Lore. They can also benefit from bonuses from
physical Skill Chains as well as magic ones. This brings up the topic of jobs that
gain hybrid bonuses and will be discussed later.
-Ninjutsu = 1% of damage dealt to main target only.
-Ninjutsu gains a potency and accuracy bonus to Ninjutsu enfeebles and a bonus to Elemental Wheel damage via Magic Burst.
- Ninjutsu should increase the targets damage taken, decrease magic evasion, and
increase duration of enfeebles by 10%.
-Katon -> Water Damage, resistance, duration +10% etc.


-1,000 damage effectivley = +10~ bonus to the users LBB. If less than 100 damage is dealt no bonus points are gained.


[Meteor Thoughts]
Meteor – Potency Based Upon the Limit Break Bars and statistics of the Black Mages who cast it:
Hardcap on damage determined by Black Mages present.

Example for Meteor:
3 Black Mages = 3,000 Possible LBP.
3 Black Mages = 66,666 Possible Damage (whatever # no idea what this would be).
The game adds the LBP of the Black Mages together and applies it to the following table in regards to the total possible LBP among all participants:
• 90%+ = 100% Damage
• 80%+ = 79% Damage
• 50%+ = 39% Damage
• 25%+ = 25% Damage

- The game then takes the Statistics and equipment of the Black Mages casting (any order is fine) and calculates damage. If the Black Mages timed their LBB’s well they will suffer no penalty. The middle ranges are the most punishing ratio of LBB to damage is poor. However this leaves 90%+ by far the most desired goal. This also gives more importance to Enmity douse.

-On the topic of Enmity Douse. This needs to be improved (amongst many other abilities). The ten minute recast is ridiculous it should be five minutes at most, preferably four.
Upon use Enmity Douse will shed all of a PC’s enmity on an NPC target and
-remove ALL enmity gained by the target if used on a player character in PvP.
-10% ALL Damage Taken
-5% Chance to be take critical damage (physical and magical).
Additional -5% Magic Damage effect
This stacks for effectively -15% Magic Damage during the duration of this
ability.
The duration of this damage mitigation is 1:30 seconds for the interest of Solo
content, PvP and unexpected trips to Frown-Town during adventuring.

-Each Black Mage should have 2.0 seconds to begin casting meteor after the previous Mage.
-The quicker they cast it together the more damage meteor should do. A slight 5% bonus may be nothing to write home about but it is still incentive.
-The order of casting is not important merely the gear worn at the end of casting. ---Each Black Mage will finish casting simultaneously.
-If used at 25% cumulative LBB most NM’s take 0 damage from it. The idea behind this in regards to a "Boss" is a finisher.

-The floor of 25%/25% allows for quick use for meteor at a much lower of damage to non NM’s, but the cost vs damage ratio becomes even. Most likely for farming, Dynamis etc. This encourages multiple Black Mages in parties to always co-operate to create a stronger version of their signature AoE attacks rather than have no synergy with the group or each other in battle.

-Meteor is still of course castable by oneself however the hardcap for damage will be lower.
-Perhaps on an even more exciting note, the above way to approaching Meteor could open the door to more group coordinated casts such as Ultima, Life or other powerful iconic abilities from Final Fantasy History.
[Meteor Thoughts]




IV.
On the subject of Enfeebling Magic and Magic Burst Bonuses:

-Enfeebles will always grant a +1 to a player’s LBB if used successfully in a Magic Burst.
-Red Mages alone should gain + 5 to LBB per Enfeeble used in a Magic Burst successfully.
-The low MP cost of enfeebles and fast casting speed means that these spells should hardly if ever contribute substantially to the acquirement of LBP.
-In exchange the potency and duration of all Enfeebling Magic should be STRONGLY IMPROVED by a successful magic burst on the target.
-Absorbs-XYZ if succesfully Magic Bursted have their potency and duration improved.
-Stun or other status down effects will see increased potency and reduced resistance if used sucessfully in a Magic Burst.

-The following spells should never have a large affect on LBP gain.
-Bio
-Dia
-Poison
-Helixes (Initial Cast gives Tier III bonus)
-Blue Mage DoT’s (Direct spell damage contributes).

While Enmity like Enfeebling Magic is a much larger discussion here are a few proposed changes that would have great results:
- Scholars, Geomancers, and Black Mages should gain no enmity or reduced enmity (10%) from damage dealt through Magic Bursts.
- Red Mages Should gain reduced enmity (50%) from damage dealt through Magic Bursts.
-Conversely Dark Knights, Blue Mages, Paladins, Ninjas etc. and all other jobs with access to both martial and magical prowess innately or through ub job selection will gain enmity at the normal rate from damage dealt through a Magic Burst.

- Enfeebling Magic that is successfully used in a Magic Burst should always
and have a floor of 30 active seconds. Hopefully this way it is feasible through skillfull play to apply a debilitating effect to a foe that would otherwise not be possible.
- I feel it is understandable that some monsters such as Shiva for example would
their immunity. In Shiva's case Ice.








You keep mentioning Limit Break, but where and how and why? What would it even do? You've been eating too much rock salt!



Right beneath our noses there are a plethora of unused abilities and spells waiting to be tooled for adventurer use and unleashed on Vana'Diel!

The Limit Bar system would give relevance to Skill Chaining and Magic Bursting that has long been lost. I feel it has the potential to make XI a much more tactical experience.



[ Urteil's Terrible Diagram of interface.]

TP [0 - 300]
LB [0 - 1000]

-Limit Breaks would ideally be composed of iconic weapon skills/abilities used by NPCs but long foreign to players. Such as Zeid's Soul Drain, Prishe's Drop Kick or Kam'lanaut's Light Blade etc.
-All limit breaks cost 1,000 LBP and reset the user to 0 LBP after use.
-Limit Breaks are either very damaging or have unique effects like Warden of Terror used by Duskraven for example.









- One of the richest areas for already existing material is campaign. There are many half-finished and potentially finished abilities in the game that could be used for this system.


A few quick Ideas for Limit Breaks (I'll add more as time allows):
Light Blade
Drop Kick
Campaign Freelancer Weapon skills
King Cobra Clamp
White Mages casting Reviviscence.
Maat's Bear Killer.
- The list goes on and on and it would be a great way to include these
powerful abilities in a way that makes sense mechanically and from a lore
perspective.

ToaU Serpent General Weaponskills.
Victory Beacon
Salamander Flame
Scouring Bubbles etc.

This is an embarrassingly small list of all the possible ones in game. . . and it doesn't even have to be weapon skills, it could be spells that adventurers currently cannot cast like Curse etc.


If you notice something odd or have a suggestion please let me know. . . and If you made it this far I congratulate you, if you liked most of what you saw then you know what to do!


(I'll be editing and correcting Typos as time permits.)

[Alhanelem]

I appriciate the effort you put into this, however I don't feel like such a wild and radical battle system revision would be very prudent this late in the game even though it seems fairly sound, with the exception of limit breaks which you're more or less copying from FFXIV.

[Artemys]

Good effort, but have to agree with Alhanelem. Besides I like FFXI's Battle system.