Beastmaster: A proposal at utilizing a pet system for the Tank role
Beastmaster is a class which has come up from time to time as a player most wanted. Typically, it is requested as a tank, mostly due to the fact that Healers have Scholar and DPS have Summoner. For the most part, these proposals are short or flawed because no one has quite figured out how to utilize a pet class for tanking and making it unique. The purpose of this proposal is to flesh out the details on how a unique and fun Beastmaster class can be utilized under the constrains of the FFXIV system.
The role of a Tank: The purpose of a Tank must cohere to these three rules.
1. Must be able to hold aggro.
2. Sustainable damage mitigation for heavy hitting attacks
3. Ability to actively move the enemies across the arena.
Due to the nature of these three rules, all three Tank classes currently in the game are melee ranged classes. Enemies stand close to the tank, therefore making a ranged Tank difficult. So, why not make Beastmaster have a pet like Titan-egi?
The problems with Titan: If Titan, or a pet like Titan, was able to effectively hold aggro for an extended period of time it would break the “Endgame.” The difficulty of Trials and Raids comes from memorizing fight mechanics and having each role carry out their respective duties.
When Titan dies the Tank is still essentially not dead. The other Tank will provoke the boss, while the Beastmaster re-summons their tank pet. Then the tank pet provokes once again, soaking up any damage and ignoring all mechanics that any “normal” tank would need to pay attention to. Adding a longer cooldown to the summon action would not fix the problem, because one mistake on the Beastmaster's part would result in a most likely party wipe. Having a healer be able to rez the pet will only trivialize the class and fight further.
Having a pet actively tank a boss will lead to sloppy movements around the field. Imagine having to tell your pet to rotate the boss, or move it across the field multiple times. It sounds pretty tedious doesn't it? Of course, the player could personally take control of the boss for a time, but if the Player is able to hold aggro for a length of time that essentially means we have three tanks in an endgame raid.
The Beastmaster must adhere to the three rules of tanking, while being both unique and viable.
The role of Beastmaster: A Beastmaster is one who works in unison with their beast. Player control is divided evenly between character and beast. They must essentially be one unit as to adhere to the mechanics of the game.
1. Use pets as Tank Stances. This would work more like PLD/WAR as opposed to DRK, as having two pets out at once would be troublesome. The “Tank” pet would grant benefits such as additional enmity, a permanent boost to defensive stats like def/hp, and a strength penalty so long as the pet is out. The “Off Tank Pet” grants a boost to offensive stats like atk/crit, and could have the downside of more TP usage per attack/slower TP regen.
2. All pet actions are executed off the global cooldown, or as weaves. The “Tank” pet will have actions (let's call them beast actions) that grant debuffs on the enemy to help with the Beastmaster's strength penalty, as well as defensive cooldowns and HP recovery for the Beastmaster. These cooldowns could have downsides such as 5% defense down on the pet and 20% up on the Beastmaster, and sacrifice 10% of the pet's HP for a 1200 potency cure on the Beastmaster. This adds a level of management outside of the “rotation” based system, and makes Tanking a bit more hands-on.
The “Off Tank Pet” will have weaves that directly do more damage, add DoTs onto the enemies, and have abilities to aid in TP management.
Both Pets will have a signature attack. (Wind Blade/Crimson Cyclone.)
3. The new Meter System will be used to add diversity to the Beastmaster and really make it stand out from SMN/SCH. The “Feral Meter” will build up every time a beast action or non-aggro combo action is used. (Storm's Eye/Soul Eater).
Once the Feral Meter is at least 50%, the Beastmaster can unleash the pet for a devastatingly strong attack. Secondary effects could include AoE damage, buffs/debuffs, and boosted aggro.
When the Feral Meter hits 100% the Pet will become Feral and assume control. Essentially, the Player Character is directly replaced with their pet. They can move it around the arena, and the pet's signature move will become powered up. During the Feral phase, the Feral Meter will constantly be draining, so be quick and get out all those powerful hits! Any Role Actions that the Beastmaster had equipped will be accessible by the pet in this phase. Therefore provoke will be ready. Feral can be canceled at any time to regain control of the Beastmaster.
- Both of these actions are in reference to how Beastmaster was played in Final Fantasy V
Equipment and additional actions: On top of being a completely unique and hands-on tank, Beastmaster can also bring some party utility.
1. Using it's unique Giant War Horn, it clobbers it enemies into submission, essentially using it as a club. Being a blunt weapon, any blunt debuffs put onto an enemy will directly aid Monk with their DPS.
2. Like bard with their harps, the Beastmaster rallies their pets by blowing on their horn. This leaves room for adding any additional party utility should the horn also be able to rally another adventurer.
