[Suggestion Thread] Unused Mechanics (A combined effort by everyone)

Reduced recast on related abilities or weaponskills - This can be used as a different sort of combo, wherein after using step 1, step 2 regenerates from the GCD faster than all other skills, giving you a hastened combo, or where the use of certain skills or uptime of certain buffs subtracts a certain amount of remaining cooldown from X ability or increases its regeneration rate for a given duration.

Conditionally available self- or allied-casting for certain offensive skills. (E.g. a Thaumaturge uses Mana Ward, then proceeds to light himself on fire before AMing into the fray to deal extra periodic AoE damage, while the initial damage, converted into a DoT, ticks away his Mana Ward, fading when the Mana Ward has been exhausted.)

Charged abilities - Cast time dictates level of effect. (Thunder I, II, and III could basically be combined into one in such a system, releasable at Thunder I's cast time, but additionally chargable to II's or III's for those amounts of direct damage and duration.)

Channeled abilities - self-explanatory...

DoT detonation - a certain % or seconds' worth of your DoT' or DoTs' duration on the target are instantly consumed for % direct damage.

# Active effects- conditional attack or casting speeds. (Such as a HoT based healer having greatly accelerated HoT casting at first, but slowing based on the number of her HoTs or their total periodic potency currently in play. This would allow suitable immediacy for the job's additional setup requirements without being overpowered.)

Attacks as parries - While targeting an attacking enemy under certain effects, the potency of your attack can subtract potency from the enemy's if within X seconds. The attack may or may not then continue through to deal its remaining damage.

Condition-queued release of weaponskills or abilities - An attack may be queued to release only upon the enemy's next attack, etc.
[*]"Flex" systems - Auto-attack, skill, weapon, or attack speed may be generated in % balance with uptime lost (due to certain effects, such as above).

Manipulable auto-attack speeds - Certain skills may reset, delay, or accelerate the timings on auto-attacks. Makes use of a "flex" system.

Multi-function skills - Let's say a new "Swordsman" class has stancing skills such as Ox, Boar, Falcon, Horn, Fool, Hang, Point, Tail, or Iron Door. Depending on when, with what movement, and/or under what conditions they are used, they can make the next auto-attack or weaponskill a defensive action, a combo-opener, or combo-bridge or a combo-finisher.

Progressive AoEs - Most AoEs now have one or more direction(s) of expansion. As damage continues in those direction(s), the damage they deal is reduced with each enemy hit or the mitigation dealt by one reduces the damage dealt to the unit or units behind it by the mitigated amount (e.g. stacking mitigation). In the case of a split AoE that forms seperate lines of attack for each unit hit, for instance, this may mean that you create 4 groups to split the initial potency of the attack, and then place your most vulnerable players behind players of higher magic defense. In the case of numerous cleaves, you might assemble in order of defense left to right or right to left to safely take the damage.

*Interception* - (See above.) Most attacks are now to some extent Progressive AoEs, meaning that most can be absorbed or mitigated through interception. This allows for a style of tanking that would not necessarily depend on enmity dominance, should enemy AI ever make the concept of enmity much less straightforward (read: more interesting).

Stolen abilities - Certain skills will steal give access to enemy abilities from among a pool of abilities based on mob type (often in the appearance of an item) that can then be released with an additional click of the stealing ability. Different skills have different mob types they can steal from (item carriers for the Rogue's "Mug", corpses for an Artificer's "Scavenge" or a Ranger's "Due Respects", while an ability must be currently or very recently in use by the target for a Blue Mage to "Copy" the skill), and are affected by different conditions (such as break-offs, whether the item is currently in use; hp pool, mob behavior set (AI revisions); skills used or typal damage taken; challenge, achievement, or special condition completion; etc.).