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Well...SE could be really ... sneaky like...
They could make the stats and tactics of all NM fights changes randomly >.>
Today a THM setup for Ifrit works fine, but next time you go in... might be immune to magic but weak to melee.
Moogle might be great with archers.. but next time you go in, might resist piercing but weak to thunder.
Maybe Iffy will dance differently the next fight again.. no 'safe spot' to stand on.
This could even be extended to XP mobs... Hanging out with the wolves at Nathalan (sp?) may sound fun.. but what if different mobs started popping there to replace the wolves...
Throw a bit of randomization (rather than always making target types and strats the same) and you can abolish the 'need' for a cookiee-cutter group.
One could argue the new cookiee-cutter group is 'one of everything', but then we might be extending the definition of 'cookiee-cutter' too much and implying it means 'as varied as possible'.
Besides, whose to say 1 of everything will be better against Ifrit this time around (due to mob randomization) rather than 8 CNJs and Iffy suddenly weak to Cure O.o!
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All the stagger system needs in XI is a war, sam, blu and blm. Outside if that it's just a tank and DDs and a healer -- in Aby a single healer with the proper atmas suffices.
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Its quite simple really give each dd a specific buff/debuff that impacts the fight significantly. That way you would need balanced parties. If that's too militant then use skill chains to facilitate the need for multiple classes without being too strict. Ie you need at least 4/6 different classes to perform big damage sc's. The latter I think could work well if implemented correctly.