Patch 6.28 PvP Changes Megathread

Season 3 ends, Season 4 comes, collect your rewards fellas.

Changes below. Feel free to discuss and react now or later.

Job Changes

Dark Knight

• Eventide (LB):
  - Time required to fill the limit gauge has been increased (90s -> 105s)
  - Potency has been changed from 10,000-20,000 to 6,000-24,000 (see graph)

Quote:

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"Eventide has a very powerful effect that prevents HP from be reduced to zero, and the frequency with which it can be used is quite high. Because matches have a tendency to be longer, we have adjusted the rate at which the limit gauge fills. This change is offset by expanding the range of its potency, resulting in a potency increase when dark knight's HP is low*."

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* = is meant to say "high"
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...48/unknown.png

Gunbreaker

• Draw and Junction:
  - While under the effect of Junction Healer, targets in the area of effect of certain actions will now be healed even when obstructed by objects on the field.
• Nebula:
  - Potency of damage reflected has been incresed from 3,000 to 4,000
• Aurora:
  - Regen potency has been increased from 3,000 to 4,000
• Relentless Rush (LB):
  - Relentless Shrapnel Effect now also reduces target's damage dealt by 4%

Quote:

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"Because we felt Relentless Rush lacked utility only being used in an offensive capacity, the Relentless Shrapnel effect has been adjusted to also reduce the damage dealt by enemies. We have also increased the damage potency of Nebula, as well as the healing potency of Aurora, to better gunbreaker's performance as a tank and improve their win rate. Additionally, we have improved the usability of Junction Healer by allowing it to be applied to targets regardless of obstructions breaking line of sight."

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Monk

• Snap Punch & Demolish:
  - Potency has been increased from 5,000 to 6,000
• Riddle of Earth:
  - Recast time has been reduced from 30 to 25 seconds

Quote:

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"In Patch 6.2, we reduced the frequency with which monk could use Meteodive. To improve DPS rotations when the limit gauge is not available, we have reduced the recast time for Riddle of Earth. To further improve the merit of using full combos against enemies, we have also increased the potency of Snap Punch and Demolish. By strengthening actions in the middle of the combo rather than the final action, we believe players can more readily adapt to a variety of situations."

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Ninja

• Shukuchi:
  - Hidden effect duration has been reduced from 5 to 4 seconds
• Huton:
  - Movement speed effect has been reduced

Quote:

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"Ninja has exceptional defensive capabilities, so to prevent contribution to win rates by simply escaping enemies, we have decided to make adjustments to Shukuchi and Huton."

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Bard

• Powerful Shot:
  - Movement speed while casting has been increased

Quote:

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"To improve bard's overall combat capability, we've increased their walking speed when casting, allowing them to more easily position themselves when attacking."

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Machinist

• Blast Charge:
  - Movement speed while casting has been increased
• Bishop Autoturret:
  To improve clarity of the targeted area of effect, the ground targeting radius has been increased to 1m to 5m (effect otherwise unchanged)
• Aether Mortar:
  - Duration of Increased Damage Taken has been increased from 5 to 7 seconds
  - Duration of Barrier effect has been increased from 5 to 7 seconds

Quote:

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"We have increased machinist's walking speed when casting, allowing them to more easily position themselves when attacking. It is relatively easy to avoid attacks from the Bishop Autoturret after confirming where it has been placed, making it difficult for machinists to benefit from its effect that increases damage taken by targets. To offer a greater benefit from this effect, even if it can only be applied once, we have increased its duration."

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Dancer

• Honing Dance:
  - Reduction to damage taken has been changed from 20% to 25%

Quote:

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"Honing Dance is an attack that must be used in close quarters, but we felt the risk outweighed the reward. To allow dancer to use this action more reliably, we have increased its damage reduction effect."

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Black Mage

• Soul Resonance (LB):
  - The Apocatastasis effect (-10% damage taken) has been removed

Quote:

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"In light of their relatively high win rate in higher tiers, we have decide to make adjustments to black mage. Rather than lower their attack, however, we have lowered their defensive abilities. This will ensure greater risk in the actions they take, and allow opponents to strategize more effectively."

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Summoner

• Ruin III:
  - Potency has been increased from 4,000 to 5,000
• Astral Impulse (Ruin III under Bahamut):
  - Potency has been increased from 6,000 to 7,500
• Fountain of Fire (Ruin III under Phoenix):
  - Potency has been increased from 4,000 to 5,000
• Megaflare (LB, Bahamut):
  - Ignores line of sight checks now (i.e. like BLM Superflare)

Quote:

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"Although summoner's limit break strikes a large area, there are instances where objects on the field obstruct the attack, preventing it from dealing damage. We have made adjustments to ensure the limit break will hit targets regardless of any obstructions in the area of effect. Furthermore, because summoner has a relatively low win rate in higher tiers, we have increased the potency of their basic attacks."

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Red Mage

• Magick Barrier:
  - HP recovered via healing actions has been reduced from 20% to 10%
  - Effect duration has been reduced from 10 to 8 seconds
• Frazzle:
  - Reduced HP recovery via healing actions has been changed from 20% to 10%
  - Effect duration has been reduced from 10 to 8 seconds
  - Ignores line of sight checks now (i.e. like BLM Superflare)

Quote:

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"Red mage is a job whose win rate was much higher than we anticipated. We believe the reason for this is the large area of effect and high utility of both Magick Barrier and Frazzle. Because of this, we have reduced the duration and potency of their effects. However, we also wished to improve the ease of use of Frazzle, which is why we made adjustments to ensure it will apply to targets regardless of any obstructions in its area of effect."

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White Mage

• Afflatus Misery:
  - Range has been reduced from 30 to 25 yalms
• Miracle of Nature:
  - Range has been reduced from 15 to 10 yalms

Quote:

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"The win rate for white mage increased significantly since the last update, but we believe their present win rate to be slightly higher than intended. Rather than reduce their ability to heal, we have reduced the range of one powerful attack and one debuff action, requiring white mage to take greater risks when going on the offensive."

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Astrologian

• The Balance, The Bole, The Arrow:
  - Ignores line of sight checks (i.e. like BLM Superflare)

Quote:

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"To improve the usability of astrologian's card actions, we have made adjustments to ensure their effects will be applied to targets regardless of obstructions breaking line of sight when executed."

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PvP-related Bug Fixes

• An issue in PvP wherein players under the effect of Meteodrive inflicted by the monk action Meteodrive could still execute the action Purify.
• An issue in PvP wherein players under the effect of Hysteria inflicted by the reaper action Tenebrae Lemurum could still execute the action Purify.
• An issue in PvP wherein the Excogitation effect granted by the scholar action Seraph Flight was not immediately applied to party members.
• An issue in PvP wherein the Excogitation effect granted by the scholar action Seraph Flight did not immediately trigger when its requirements were met.

Sources:
Patchnotes 6.28
PvP Job Guide (contains developer insight at the bottom)

Thank you for putting this together!

Overall I like the patch. I kind of liked the counterplay of LOSing Megaflare but I get them wanting consistency. MNK buffs cone from a good place, but maybe making Riddle of Earth more responsive and maybe giving it 8y range would be a better buff. For the most part the patch increased sustain damage but not burst, which is good. Think I would like to see some instances of burst damage decreased in the future, but continue to increase sustain damage so fights resolve. I do think blowups are OK but there are a lot rather easy to execute on and don't have good design behind them, so I would like to see 6.3 address these.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Esmoire

Thank you for putting this together!

Overall I like the patch. I kind of liked the counterplay of LOSing Megaflare but I get them wanting consistency. MNK buffs cone from a good place, but maybe making Riddle of Earth more responsive and maybe giving it 8y range would be a better buff. For the most part the patch increased sustain damage but not burst, which is good. Think I would like to see some instances of burst damage decreased in the future, but continue to increase sustain damage so fights resolve. I do think blowups are OK but there are a lot rather easy to execute on and don't have good design behind them, so I would like to see 6.3 address these.

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Seconded. I think these are mostly good changes, esp considering how insanely hard to kill nin has been in FL especially (though I know it's balanced around cc).

And a bigger focus on sustain would be swell, I'm not a fan of "dead in less than 1 sec" fights. Hoping for obeshot gimmicks and that whole chainsaw rng stuff to disappear in time.

Another patch where they buff MCH, SMN and MNK. You can't make this shit up. Lmao.

Those developer insights sound like someone who has never played CC or done any Duels in their life.

So they nerfed nin and buffed monk.. maybe they should reduce alcohool at se?

It's really weird that they decided to bring everything in line with superflare ignoring obstructions. I guess we'll see how it goes. Thanks Reinhardt.

AST still doesn't have its LB charge rate lowered after the card changes. I'm lucky to see it even once in a match...

MNK did not need any potency buffs, it needs Riddle of Earth to change to an effect that goes off immediately if you can't press it.

Also more Miracle of Nature nerfs lol

again nothing for dragoon the last time you gave us anything was to make our lb guardable. but yeah lets buff blm again

They noted spesifically that these changes are based on the highest tier winrates. Even though I'm not sure if I agree with all of them, just that fact alone makes it better than most of the previous where they look at it based on all ranks.

Considering it's a minor patch this was still half decent, hopefully more things get figured out in the major patches.

Riddle of Earth should behave similar to Holy Sheltron, I do not think 30 second was a big deal considering how much hp restores it gives for a full beating.

The fact that even Gunbreaker's heals can go through LoS is.. well I think it is good, not sure how much I can speak of since I do use Healer GNB that much... the damage debuff on LB is nice, you are still at mercy of anything else though

I still feel like they are missing the issues on most of the things they adjust. Who here thought MoN was a range issue? Is there anything wrong with MNK other than having seven buttons in one. In a fast-paced game how many times do you ever get to hit that final combo?

I was hoping for the following to be implemented this patch, but ehhhh! So I'll just put it out there!

Reduction of Samurai Kuzushi's to deal damage equal to 100% of opponent's HP to at least 90%.
-Instant AOE kill can be used with gap closer, aside from 25% taken damage reduction.

Sprint cooldown, at least 5seconds!
-There are players that somehow, always on sprint after receiving an attack!

Removal of additional effect of Sky shatter's 25% HP barrier!
-Aside from unable to targetable effect of Sky High and additional potency increase of 50% when targets are within 5y, melee's already have their defense increased by default. So, everyone's attack potency are already reduced.

Reduction of Ninja's skills range.
-25y range skills are for both magical and physical range! Melee's have their instant gap closer(with stun) skills to aid.

Removal of Blackmage in pvp....
-Since patch 6.11a, BLM is slowly but surely reverting to it's original annoying-easy-to-kill state that can't fight back when targeted and worse(Deepfreeze)! All we have now from that patch are the damage potency increase; which everyone got among other buffs, and cast time reduction; where everyone doesn't have cast time! And they were thinking to reduce the damage potency?

Alright. It's been over six months since the PvP changes to the new system and we still haven't fixed the issue with Purify getting overwritten thanks to server ticks. How is that not priority one?

"We didn't like Ninjas escaping so much". Huh? Isn't that like a core component to the job's identity? We've never had great potency. We're almost always the first priority to get picked off by the entire enemy team in the initial engagement at the Crystal. How does a Ninja shooting off (hopefully Purify works to even succeed at that) contribute to teams winning when it's not pushing the objective? It honestly feels like they just wanted to nerf NIN yet again but wanted to look at something other than potency or Seiton timers this time...People vastly overrate how "broken" NIN is in CC against even a semi-competent team. We've got a lot of utility, but that comes at the expense of our offensive potential, which has never been stellar. Outside of Seiton windows, you're unlikely to see a NIN pick up many kills at all.

NIN feels like one of the most nerfed dps over the whole of CC while still being stupidly clunky like not being able to use Assassinate if you have a raiju ready or getting knocked out of Shukuchi by a server ticked damage instance, or having Seiton eaten by a server tick heal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gunbladesman

NIN feels like one of the most nerfed dps over the whole of CC while still being stupidly clunky like not being able to use Assassinate if you have a raiju ready or getting knocked out of Shukuchi by a server ticked damage instance, or having Seiton eaten by a server tick heal.

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I feel like it's been nothing but nerfed ever since the mode's first adjustments. Every patch I continue to see NIN getting chopped further and further down, meanwhile MNK and MCH keep getting buffed. WHM has gone through a whole cycle of starting OP, getting nerfed, getting buffed, and getting nerfed again, yet NIN is always just nerfed. It honestly feels horrible if you don't multiclass.

Raiju overwriting Assassinate is a big problem to be sure. I'd almost prefer if they just buffed Assassinate to DWAD during while Raiju is up to not punish us for poor Invis timing. Assuming again, like you said, the bad server ticks don't just immediately get us out of stealth in the first place.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gunbladesman

NIN feels like one of the most nerfed dps over the whole of CC while still being stupidly clunky like not being able to use Assassinate if you have a raiju ready or getting knocked out of Shukuchi by a server ticked damage instance, or having Seiton eaten by a server tick heal.

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NIN is the weakest melee job and has been ever since people figured out how busted the rest are. Can't stand toe to toe with any of that.
They have the win percent by being sneaky and attacking at opportune moments. But then a MNK can just dash 3 times do what a NIN can in 3 buttons instead of Bunshin + Shukuchi + Assasinate + mudra 1 + mudra 2.
I see a lot of people playing NIN trying to duel people and get absolutely destroyed.

For example they nerf stealth to 'reduce survivability' but that's will never change. Even if stealth was 1 second long, it would still allow a NIN to jump and lose target. if a NIN dashed defensively their biggest burst is wasted.
To put it into perspective. When BLM used their LB and got 10% less damage they could tank you as a NIN.

Square Devs do not play CC and certainly do not duel. They think Win-rate is all that matters, they have buffed MCH, BLM, MNK and SMN to an obnoxious amount where it's literally not fun fighting them because it just feels unfair. You have to perform a whole circus act whilst they press 3 buttons to do what you can do. The fact that they are giving MCH a better shield potential whilst still letting them have that damage is just silly.

That SMN LB change is definitely gonna go over well, for sure! Let's just make every ranged character ignore LoS while we're at it. I also fucking hate how all the insights are about win rate this and win rate that, like they genuinely don't know what's actually making the high win rate jobs powerful. Buncha fucking amateurs honestly.
>Force of nature is an undodgeable, unpurifiable CC lasting 2 seconds
>Let's reduce the casting range

No brain activity going on.

I’m trying to see the logic where if the rate is high to do this job, is the nerf justified or vice versa if the rate is low, the job needs to be buffed. It would it make more sense to adjust abilities every 1-3 weeks and get feedback from the community, compile it via survey, play test it, and patch it to improve the experience, but that’s just me.

I’m really curious to see what feedback they have gotten from this via live letter if the changes are better or worse.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bureda

NIN is the weakest melee job and has been ever since people figured out how busted the rest are. Can't stand toe to toe with any of that.
They have the win percent by being sneaky and attacking at opportune moments. But then a MNK can just dash 3 times do what a NIN can in 3 buttons instead of Bunshin + Shukuchi + Assasinate + mudra 1 + mudra 2.
I see a lot of people playing NIN trying to duel people and get absolutely destroyed.

For example they nerf stealth to 'reduce survivability' but that's will never change. Even if stealth was 1 second long, it would still allow a NIN to jump and lose target. if a NIN dashed defensively their biggest burst is wasted.
To put it into perspective. When BLM used their LB and got 10% less damage they could tank you as a NIN.

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That's also assuming that we don't get shanked by server ticks when someone throws a ranged attack at us literally the same instant as we're trying to Shukuchi away. If that happens, not only is your biggest burst screwed as you use it to escape, but you can't even escape.

How has Miracle of Nature not been altered yet either? It's not like it'd matter even if it was a normal CC because the second you purify, you get CC'd again before the immunity can kick in.

This mode has become a mess and the unpopular classes constantly getting buffs has made it an uphill battle to play as a NIN. It's well on its way to becoming the new Feast that nobody plays and never gets the attention it actually needs to thrive.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lancun

That's also assuming that we don't get shanked by server ticks when someone throws a ranged attack at us literally the same instant as we're trying to Shukuchi away. If that happens, not only is your biggest burst screwed as you use it to escape, but you can't even escape.

How has Miracle of Nature not been altered yet either? It's not like it'd matter even if it was a normal CC because the second you purify, you get CC'd again before the immunity can kick in.

This mode has become a mess and the unpopular classes constantly getting buffs has made it an uphill battle to play as a NIN. It's well on its way to becoming the new Feast that nobody plays and never gets the attention it actually needs to thrive.

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You're spitting facts. This server's core design doesn't work well with stealth or when trying to time skills because you can never truly compensate for that calculation all the time.
They should remove stealth and have Assassinate on use, dash to a person to do damage from behind so Ninjas have to calculate a risk and then have our Shukuchi do what the WHM dash does, give us some sort of defensive and movement speed to at least have a chance of getting out of a dive.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Osmond

I’m trying to see the logic where if the rate is high to do this job, is the nerf justified or vice versa if the rate is low, the job needs to be buffed. It would it make more sense to adjust abilities every 1-3 weeks and get feedback from the community, compile it via survey, play test it, and patch it to improve the experience, but that’s just me.

I’m really curious to see what feedback they have gotten from this via live letter if the changes are better or worse.

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Speaking from MOBA experience, champions with toxic kits are kept around the the 46% win rate to place champions in a position where they aren't perpetually banned. Win-rate is important, making things easier to understand for newbies but balancing numbers from top bracket plays is the right approach. Having a look at jobs holistically should also be a merit for consideration into balances without really taking from the job identity.

Ninja is not a job for solo play.
I consider any Ninja trying for solo kill is not worthy and do not understand the purpose of his job, just like those lol Baota Warriors
Most of toolkits are very strong but supportive in nature.
Ninja’s strength is to cooperate with a team
If you are trying to solo, even at 100% eve I let you hit me for 15 mins straight you still can’t lower my HP pads 80% mark.
However, Ninja’s survival ability is too strong and too easy to achieve, therefore you are getting nerf.

I think I'm going to take a break until at least 6.35. I'm not understanding some of the changes here or the direction things are going.

I'll take those SMN buffs gladly. Let's be honest though. The Bahamut LB ignoring line of sight, it's an overbuff to me. It was not needed in my opinion. I would not be surprised if majority stops playing the Volcanic map for CC midway through the season. If this is taken in a positive manner, however, expect more AoEs or certain skills to ignore line of sight.

DNC's buff is legit. I would keep an eye on them though, because they're heading that way towards being overbuffed.

Just my 2 cents...not like they matter though since I hardly touch frontlines anymore and have 0 experience in CC crystal matches.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Divinemights

Ninja is not a job for solo play.
I consider any Ninja trying for solo kill is not worthy and do not understand the purpose of his job, just like those lol Baota Warriors
Most of toolkits are very strong but supportive in nature.
Ninja’s strength is to cooperate with a team
If you are trying to solo, even at 100% eve I let you hit me for 15 mins straight you still can’t lower my HP pads 80% mark.
However, Ninja’s survival ability is too strong and too easy to achieve, therefore you are getting nerf.

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I'm assuming you're trying to tell me how to play NIN, but on the same sentence you're invoking an assassin style job's name and mentioning that they cannot assassinate or do damage. You should proofread your words and then let them sink in.
Go do some quick maths on the melee jobs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Divinemights

Ninja is not a job for solo play.
I consider any Ninja trying for solo kill is not worthy and do not understand the purpose of his job, just like those lol Baota Warriors
Most of toolkits are very strong but supportive in nature.
Ninja’s strength is to cooperate with a team
If you are trying to solo, even at 100% eve I let you hit me for 15 mins straight you still can’t lower my HP pads 80% mark.
However, Ninja’s survival ability is too strong and too easy to achieve, therefore you are getting nerf.

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Yeah, supporting a team...
In a mode where you cannot queue with an actual organized team. So what you're saying is that the job's purpose fills something that is impossible in the current state of the game where teammates are 100% randomized, unreliable, and communication is minimal. And yet we're getting nerfed despite our damage being trash.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bureda

I'm assuming you're trying to tell me how to play NIN, but on the same sentence you're invoking an assassin style job's name and mentioning that they cannot assassinate or do damage. You should proofread your words and then let them sink in.
Go do some quick maths on the melee jobs.

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like i said in another thread, that guy is just a troll and you should probably ignore him lol.

These patchnotes prove that the budget doesn't go towards other SE projects.

It goes towards crack.

Why do they hate reaper so got damn much...no adjustments ever and were literally ass rn ranged jobs are ruling cc matches. Whats the incentive not to give up and just start playing meta jobs???

I feel that these changes have made Monks and Summoners overly dominant in CC, not to mention that the SMN buffs will increase their damage in FLs as if they weren't topping the damage charts already. I really wonder what is SE thinking.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MonteCristo

Why do they hate reaper so got damn much...no adjustments ever and were literally ass rn ranged jobs are ruling cc matches. Whats the incentive not to give up and just start playing meta jobs???

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RPR really has been an emotional rollercoaster since we first stepped into endwalker. OP in PVE and PVP at launch only to get complained into oblivion by the SAM crybaby squad in PVE and then reworked into the weakest dps next to DNC in initial CC launch. After much suffering finally some adjustments and what do they give poor RPR? Tank status lol~

There was a Goblin premade on Onsal today (GNB, DRK, possibly two BLMs). The GNB got 39 kills and the DRK around 30. I managed to witness a GNB massacre of about six people but couldn't quite make out what caused it, though I highly doubt the buffs to Nebula and Eventide were the deciding factor.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VictorSpoils

There was a Goblin premade on Onsal today (GNB, DRK, possibly two BLMs). The GNB got 39 kills and the DRK around 30. I managed to witness a GNB massacre of about six people but couldn't quite make out what caused it, though I highly doubt the buffs to Nebula and Eventide were the deciding factor.

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One GNB with full battle high can burst over 40,000 damage to squishy jobs with their LB and Double Down, combine that with even one or two other people's AoE and you can wipe whole teams in seconds.

Pretty much any combination of jobs stacking AoE and limit breaks is super powerful in FL, although DRK is also great for that because of its huge draw-in.