Change to Indi - geo Fend/acumen --maybe?

[machini]

I like GEO because it allows me to make up for weak groups, and allows me to assist strong groups. A lot of people use GEO for both of those reasons.

I like when a newbie friend gets excited because he did a 15k ws against content hard for him and has no idea that fury/frailty is the reason why.

I'd rather them have fixed Bard, and then I'd play Bard again for the very same reasons. I never played Corsair. Just don't have the inv space to do it properly.

And btw, changing the potency of Acumen (Malaise is preferable) isn't going to change the fact that Bard has nothing like it, and threnodies/carols are generally poor substitutes for vex+attune/focus+languor.

Misbehavior, indeed.

The "misbehavior" is that the overwhelming majority of the playerbase will take the path of least resistance. In an of itself, there's nothing in particular wrong with that. The problem in specific is that there is one path that is quite obviously of much less resistance than the others. This isn't really going to change anything, and it's extremely wishful thinking, but perhaps if the correction to the effect of these spells lessens the overkill of nuke-a-thons slightly, perhaps other strategies might be considered worth a shot, which might lead to people getting to play other jobs and some variety coming along and disturbing us all with change.

[OmnysValefor]

I'd really just rather they buff bard.

Bard's strengths:
Buffs have no cost other than time to cast
Several Buffs
The bard can provide different buffs to different party members
The bard doesn't have to stay in melee range.
Pianissimo (Entrust doesn't really compare)

Bard's weaknesses
Outdated buffs (though it still has many useful ones, though GEO can match these, save for Scherzo and Hymnus)
Buffs can be erased/dispelled

Geo's strengths
A variety of relevant buffs.
Buffs cannot be erased/dispelled, though they can be killed/die with the geo
Magic Accuracy, while not much of an issue for Bard most of the time, is never an issue for GEO

Geo's weaknesses
High MP cost of buffs if aspir is not an option and plentiful refresh is not available.
As above, buffs can be killed, and then re-placed but sometimes hefty MP costs/risk to the GEO.
Sometimes the GEO needs to be in melee range.

Most of these are great differences between similar jobs, but bard's outdated buffs are a disservice to the job.

I was fighting Naphula to help another GEO get Solstice (0/15 oddly) and basically her vex/attune simultaneously protected everyone from Meteor/Comet/Paralyze/Sleep/Petrify. We were actually winning with FerreousCoffin healing for the lols of it, and because we wanted a healer trust that would stay in bubbles. Apururu, naturally would not.

I feel like people see these changes as "Great! Now maybe my bard--", and it's not the case.

[scaevola]

And btw, changing the potency of Acumen (Malaise is preferable) isn't going to change the fact that Bard has nothing like it, and threnodies/carols are generally poor substitutes for vex+attune/focus+languor.

Misbehavior, indeed.

It is possible that Acumen is getting nerfed not because it makes GEO too strong relative to BRD and COR, but because it makes GEO too strong period.

[Pups323]

All i can say is im glad acumen isnt % based or it would be a huge nerf, but honestly, a few points of mab isnt much to worry about

[OmnysValefor]

It is possible that Acumen is getting nerfed not because it makes GEO too strong relative to BRD and COR, but because it makes GEO too strong period.

It's neither. Acumen was just stronger than intended.

A lot of times though, there are buffs more desired than Acumen, especially if you only have one GEO.

In easy content, I find myself giving indi-haste/malaise because mp is not an issue for BLM or SCH so they can use their bigger nukes quicker.
In harder content, I often find myself giving at least one buff to leverage magic accuracy. If I'm not giving both, then I'm putting malaise on the boss, or I'm there for defensive value.