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Button Mashin' Mages
I'd like to start by saying that I'm not necessarily asking for (or complaining about) anything, but I'd like to start a discussion to see how we all feel about the current state of this issue.
One of the problems that Patch 1.18 sought to eliminate was the feeling that certain jobs were mashing too many buttons; however - in my experience - the changes have actually caused more button mashing for the Disciples of Magic.
I'm not going to say that the MP costs are "way too high," (maybe 15%~ish, whatever, I can adapt just fine) but their current costs demand a certain style of skillful play that involves making the most of MP management resources. For those of you who don't play the jobs, in a Max-Capped fight of high difficulty (HNMs, Dungeons), these techniques include:
- Exaltation / Tranquility (10:00 Recast)
- Siphon MP (1:00 Recast)
- Enmity- Basic Attack into MP+ MPWS (Damnation/Radiance) (Roughtly 2:00)
- Stygian Spikes to Covert Unavoidable Damage to MP
- Going into Passive Mode whenever the above are nonapplicable.
This rotation causes the feeling of button mashing by default, and is exacerbated by the fact that the range of Conjurer abilities (regardless of what job they are used from) generally have a range of 12 Yalms (roughly the same range as the most devastating AoE attacks delivered by "Boss" mobs), which means the healer often has to weave in and out of the danger zone while going active/passive and rotating MP abilities.
Like I said, I can adapt - but if the goal is to avoid the feeling of button mashing, there might be some further changes I'd recommend, as I sometimes feel like I'm running around like a headless, F-Key-Mashing chicken.
Anybody else?
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Pressing many different buttons in order to manage your MP/enmity while moving around to maintain positioning is not the same as standing still and pressing a single key bound to cure over and over. Patch 1.18 sought to eliminate brainless mage gameplay of "mashing" an endless supply of cures out, not reduce the amount of button pressing required to play mages.
tl;dr pressing many buttons does not = mashing.