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It was a pain in the butt for most players who didn't make an effort to learn how to play and play well, much like any Extreme or Savage content would be for anyone who doesn't attempt to learn it. The old kits - and we've debated this many times now - natively had skills that proved to be highly effective in PvP where they were otherwise unused in PvE. I can't speak for most other jobs, but for MCH, the only things I didn't use were Spread/Grenado Shot, and even then there were odd occasions I could use them. You mention a semi-gimped PvP kit, yet each job then had PvP skills tailored to them, unlike what we have now: an optional sprint. Safeguard: a weak tank cooldown for all. Concentrate: a weaker Fetter Ward for all. Muse: a weak MP refresh for all, especially now that BRD and MCH can't restore MP anymore. . . See the trend there?
Once again 3.5 brought the uniform length reduction and standardization of all CC skills, which was actually a major improvement, especially with the diminshing returns of that time. Sure, a PLD could stun lock you, but if that was his one trick and he kept doing it, soon enough, it wouldn't work at all for the next minute. Now, length/duration of CC skills are so pathetically low, with an immediate immunity triggered after it (which I don't necessarily think is a bad thing, if the length of the actual effect weren't so short) is so laughably minor that it does little to actually benefit players. And that's assuming they're playing a job that even has them. Sorry DRG, MNK, and SAM.
Half the pvp abilities themselves were useless. A lot of point blank aoes, if I remember. Most had two abilities offensively, then everyone picked the same defensive ones per role. If anything, getting rid of MP refresh was a good move, and TP refresh was useless in PvP once they made sprint not take TP.