Class Trial Simulator

This is just a general suggestion that has maybe been brought up before, but I think it'd be cool if SE added a "simulator" like instance where you can choose to play as any class at level cap to test it out against dummies/bosses/monsters. This would be a tremendous QoL addition, as I don't want to rely on watching videos/reading feedback from other players on whether or not I will like a class. The best way to know that is by playing the class yourself, and I definitely do not have enough time to level each class to the existing level cap to see for myself. Sure, it's easy enough to start a new class and get to like level 10, but that is literally just a tiny, TINY glimpse of how that class will play versus endgame.

Please, please add something like this SE!

Yeah, I'd agree. Some older jobs like PLD, BLM, WHM just feel more clunky than anything early on, and it would be nice to know what I'm working toward to give me a little more motivation.

Mostly Square Enix has fallen back on Youtube creators and their own videos to explain this. The only problem with this idea is giving a new sprout a Black mage for example at lvl 80 with no explanation would make them quit the game because of intense the rotation is at end game for them. Especially Ninja is a good example that with no explanation would leave you throwing yours hands up.

You can do Palace of the Dead at level 17. This allows you to level any class or job you have unlocked to level 60. Level 60 isn't the level cap but it is when rotations begin to stop being as boring as 3 buttons.

Ill be Komaeda

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Originally Posted by RootBeerWiz

Ill be Komaeda

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I’m calling Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu

A good idea, but I’d suggest allowing you to choose a capstone to practice at. Some jobs play completely different depending on your max level (DRG comes to mind). This would allow you to experience the types of rotations you’d be expected to know and could possibly get from all sorts of roulettes.

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Originally Posted by Eclipse12187

A good idea, but I’d suggest allowing you to choose a capstone to practice at. Some jobs play completely different depending on your max level (DRG comes to mind). This would allow you to experience the types of rotations you’d be expected to know and could possibly get from all sorts of roulettes.

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Something like that would also be invaluable when trying to get used to non-cap kits and get ready for tackling old Ultimates.

Considering our WoL is blessed by Echo, I was wondering if they can twist such trial into an actual intro/prologue duty that have our WoL 'reminisce' into one of the pivotal events from 1.0 complete with our chosen job's capstone kits (can be 50, 60, 70, or 80) and geared with their AF looks depending on which capstone lv. After we clear this prologue duty, we will then resume our gameplay as a lv1 WoL starting in one of the three major cities.

I'd agree to something like that, even to this day I kinda regret unlocking certain jobs, call it nitpick or ocd but I would totally unlearn them if I could - it may be too late for me but would spare people the time of leveling soemthing they may end up not liking.

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Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

You can do Palace of the Dead at level 17. This allows you to level any class or job you have unlocked to level 60. Level 60 isn't the level cap but it is when rotations begin to stop being as boring as 3 buttons.

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Yes and no - PoTD may give you a basic idea, but things still die way too fast for you to even try doing a proper rotation, even the floor bosses only last ~30 seconds

I've always said that I think they should re-work skill progression entirely. If I sound like a broken record, i apologize!

For me:
1) By first dungeon (so level 16ish) your basic 1v1 and AoE rotations should be available. For examples: PLD, Halone and the 2 step AOE; Samurai the Gekko combo and Mangetsu Combo
2) By 50, you have all skills, in full.
3) Post 50, the skill bar related stuff. Again for PLD we're talking things like shelltron or the proc-abilities; for Sam, the Kenki gauge stuff

With new expansions I would rather they not add new abilities, but maybe expand upon current ones (lower the cooldown time, make more interesting choices with resources or just make the entire combat speed faster by reducing recast times.)

THEN, for the OP's original idea, YES! There should be some kind of area where you can practice avoiding mechanics or your rotation in a "live fire" situation...but it really irks me when they re-do the whole rotation unnaturally.

..like Samurai feels pretty smooth from 1 to 80; what you do at 50 isn't that different from 80. Blackmage however you have to re-learn your rotation at several intervals as it becomes wildly different depending on what you have access to.

Hopefully they just expand PotD to lvl 80/90.

I agree skill progression needs a major rework.

The problem is for the OP's idea to work they would have to create an instance zone, then there is the issue of handling the problem if the player does not have the job unlocked but would like to try it. So a new system would need to be created entirely. From a new player perspective it sounds great, from an existing player perspective many would just say they should have expanded PotD.

If they do add it. They should add it to hall of novice. The instance is already there and it could be used a deeper learning opportunity for new players.

So, which patch do you want the dungeon instance to be missing in 7.0 because of the hours of programming this suggestion will take? 6.0 is pretty much set in stone at this point, content-wise.

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Originally Posted by DPZ2

So, which patch do you want the dungeon instance to be missing in 7.0 because of the hours of programming this suggestion will take? 6.0 is pretty much set in stone at this point, content-wise.

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Shouldn't take much programming at all. This could easily be incorporated into Hall of the Novice.

Create a tutorial for job testing. Have the Master of Arms act as a vendor selling Weathered Weapons and fake Soul Crystals that will be removed from inventory when the tutorial ends so the player can switch between the jobs they want to test. Set up a hotbar system that temporarily replaces the player's normal hotbars while in the tutorial (similar to what happens when we're at the Wolves' Den). Put out the striking dummies used in one of the tanking tutorials. Add in a healing dummy and a mammet that tosses an occasional AoE for the player to dodge.

Done.

There's no new art assets that need to created, no complicated combat to program. The player gets to see what the full toolkit is like without committing to the job in advance. If they like it, they can then go do the normal unlock quest to start the leveling process.

If the game code has a problem giving a character temporary access to a job they haven't yet unlocked, then access to the tutorial could be set up through character selection using a stock character with every job unlocked. Player chooses this stock character (allow race/gender options for animation purposes but no other customization to simply things) and it places the character directly into the Hall of the Novice tutorial. Exit the tutorial? Back to character selection.

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Originally Posted by Jojoya

Shouldn't take much programming at all. This could easily be incorporated into Hall of the Novice.

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Bro, do you even code?

Better still, have you ever had to plan out a major change in software to accommodate a new feature in any other kind of software, let alone a game?

It takes time for development, money to pay for that time, testing, money to pay for that testing, time for translation of every scenario that needs to be involved, money to pay for that time, time for project management to ensure the change is on time and on budget, money to pay for that project management, the list goes on and on.

This feature would have to be rebuilt every expansion to accommodate the "full toolkit".
Battle tactics would have to be written, since not all jobs are DPS. At least three scenarios would have to be created, since Tank, Healer and DPS roles would have to be written.

It's way more complicated than waving hands over a paper copy of the code and chanting "And then ... a Miracle happens!"

That's why I asked which patch's dungeon do you want to skip in order to code this new feature into 7.0 ? Because it's going to take time. And money.

There really isn't an MMORPG out there that does this right now. Don't point to WoW's "try it out for free", as the only tutorial you get is tightly controlled [Disc priest only, really?] with minimal "toolkit" before it dumps you in-game. {Bonafides: I played that game for 10 years, have both Alliance and Horde characters featuring every race and every class up to Max Level prior to BFA (when I bowed out), and found their Instant Max Level trials to be worthless}

I call Monokuma.

Given that bits and pieces for this sort of system already exist in the Squadron/Companion system, the PotD/HoH system and the Hall of the Novice system, I'm sure there would be a way to do this without really adding anything new. Not to say it would necessarily be simple or easy, but there is an evident pathway. At the absolute very least, they should incorporate job action trailers into the game. While watching a video isn't anywhere near as good as going hands on with a class at least it would give you some sort of idea on how a job plays/is meant to be played. (and yes you can always look on Youtube or where ever for this sort of thing but I firmly believe you should never have to go outside of the game to some sort of 3rd party resource just to learn basics on how the game plays because as soon as you add that extra step you're creating a distance that many players will not want to travel)

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Originally Posted by DPZ2

Bro, do you even code?

Better still, have you ever had to plan out a major change in software to accommodate a new feature in any other kind of software, let alone a game?

It takes time for development, money to pay for that time, testing, money to pay for that testing, time for translation of every scenario that needs to be involved, money to pay for that time, time for project management to ensure the change is on time and on budget, money to pay for that project management, the list goes on and on.

This feature would have to be rebuilt every expansion to accommodate the "full toolkit".
Battle tactics would have to be written, since not all jobs are DPS. At least three scenarios would have to be created, since Tank, Healer and DPS roles would have to be written.

It's way more complicated than waving hands over a paper copy of the code and chanting "And then ... a Miracle happens!"

That's why I asked which patch's dungeon do you want to skip in order to code this new feature into 7.0 ? Because it's going to take time. And money.

There really isn't an MMORPG out there that does this right now. Don't point to WoW's "try it out for free", as the only tutorial you get is tightly controlled [Disc priest only, really?] with minimal "toolkit" before it dumps you in-game. {Bonafides: I played that game for 10 years, have both Alliance and Horde characters featuring every race and every class up to Max Level prior to BFA (when I bowed out), and found their Instant Max Level trials to be worthless}

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I understand it takes development time.

Most of what they would need to do it is already part of the game. They do not have to create all of it from scratch, only the parts that would be new to the tutorial.

That's significantly less time than it takes to create an entire new dungeon from scratch. which was the comparison being used.

WoW's try it for free is a mess because they put it into a complicated combat scenario. I'm not suggesting that. I'm suggesting they put a striking dummy into an arena for the player to whack at (or heal) so they get the chance to see and experiment with the level cap toolkit, not defeat some "epic" encounter 5 minutes after they pick up a class.

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Originally Posted by Jojoya

I understand it takes development time.

Most of what they would need to do it is already part of the game. They do not have to create all of it from scratch, only the parts that would be new to the tutorial.

That's significantly less time than it takes to create an entire new dungeon from scratch. which was the comparison being used.

WoW's try it for free is a mess because they put it into a complicated combat scenario. I'm not suggesting that. I'm suggesting they put a striking dummy into an arena for the player to whack at (or heal) so they get the chance to see and experiment with the level cap toolkit, not defeat some "epic" encounter 5 minutes after they pick up a class.

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Eh it might take more depending on how spaghettis the code they're dealing with. Even if it doesn't take longer than an entire new dungeon it will eventually with every expansion unless they code it properly so it is as simple as copy and paste, g2g.

Also using "dungeons" as a comparison isn't great considering how streamlined and dog shit they are now in comparison to ARR dungeons. And they're trying to streamline them even more.

The simplest way to do it is probably to create a character preset of every class the same way they do rpg instances. And simply update the skills every expansion.