Why does PLD have no damaging spender before level 64? It's boring!

So I boosted my lowbie PLD to 80 after finding it excruciating at lower levels and...it's a good time! I've been toying with a tank main for Dawntrail, and my 90 WAR feels a bit too simple. But PLD has multiple systems and resources, which is quite engaging, and I've glided to level 85 in dungeons.

There's just one problem: roulettes. See, PLD has no useful resource spender at low levels for your mana regen. Sure you can drop Sheltrons from your gauge, but roulette content generally doesn't require the extra mitigation. And the offensive mana spenders hit at levels 64 (single target) and 72 (multi-target). This means that roulette synching to 50 or 60 content is just 1-2-3 1-2-3 and your two 30 second oGCDs (with a 1 minute oGCD added at level 54+). This is intensely boring, especially in things like alliance raids and trials with massive HP pools.

For comparison WAR gets it's spenders at 35 and 45. DRK at 30 and 40. GNB at 30, 60, and 72.

Why is PLD left adrift for over 2/3rds of the leveling process? Holy Spirit and Holy Circle should both be picked up by level 50 to allow for interesting roulettes.

It's boring because it lost the things that made it less boring. Namely Shield Swipe; a reactionary attack available every 15s when you recently Blocked (Lv30+), an alternate combo with a DoT (Goring Blade before 6.3 rework due to unsuitability to current fight design) and generally having to pick between enmity actions and higher damage actions. Was never the most active prior to Stormblood though.

I agree that Paladin at lower levels should definitely be looked at and have something be done with it because unlike DRK, it has 0 spenders and also only one combo for single target, one combo for AOE and two 30s abilities you use pretty much on cooldown. I would nto make it Holy Spirit/Holy Circle though; I think finally reaching those level thresholds to obtain these actions is part of the experience.

Or in short, rather than "move it down", add or return something to lower levels that got axed. Or make certain actions like Shield Bash actually useful for a change.

Because the developers quite literally do not care about how jobs feel at anything other than max level.

Flash flash flash flash flash

Out of MP. oops. Please give me a moment before the next pull

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Originally Posted by Oizen

Because the developers quite literally do not care about how jobs feel at anything other than max level.

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100% this, why do think the Crystal Tower raids are so loathed? Because it's mindless content due to a lack of engagement from both the non existent mechanics, and like this post, the extremely dull and barebones jobs.

I think it's ridiculous they haven't done something yet, perhaps having high level skills available but not traits that boost damage. Though I'm just throwing that out there, anything to fix level sync feeling like crap

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Originally Posted by E4EO

100% this, why do think the Crystal Tower raids are so loathed? Because it's mindless content due to a lack of engagement from both the non existent mechanics, and like this post, the extremely dull and barebones jobs.

I think it's ridiculous they haven't done something yet, perhaps having high level skills available but not traits that boost damage. Though I'm just throwing that out there, anything to fix level sync feeling like crap

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Jobs are by far the best balanced at level cap. It would be trivial to scale the numbers down to something proper for lower level content without removing any abilities or traits. Removing traits is more likely to reintroduce inbalances.

Job is super boring at 90 after the reworked removed any sort of optimisation and soul out of the job. Job would be miles better if goring blade was a second combo finisher again even if it did something different.

But every tanks got to be 1, 2, 3 "press ur spender" 1, 2, 3 "press ur burst button 3-5 times!" Because any creativity left for jobs is left to DPS and even that's fleeting.

I guess we got bulwark... and divine veil is less clunky...? yay! Funny how early levels wasn't even looked at despite a rework.. guess it was half baked though.

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Originally Posted by Valence

Flash flash flash flash flash

Out of MP. oops. Please give me a moment before the next pull

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i never ran out of mp because of flash. it was o aggro generator, rarely you needed more than 2 per trashpack.

Goring Blade got reworked into Boring Blade meaning we only have a 1-2-3 combo instead of two branching 1-2-3 combos.
That and the general issue the game has in spreading a full kit's worth of abilities over 90 levels.

I can't even begin to imagine how boring some classes must be to new players going through hundreds of hours of gameplay in ARR/HW before they get half their kit and things finally "click".

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Originally Posted by Rithy255

But every tanks got to be 1, 2, 3 "press ur spender" 1, 2, 3 "press ur burst button 3-5 times!" Because any creativity left for jobs is left to DPS and even that's fleeting.

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(Apparently I'm too stupid to put a picture in here, so...)

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...e9afbc138cd05&

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Originally Posted by Burmecia

i never ran out of mp because of flash. it was o aggro generator, rarely you needed more than 2 per trashpack.

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I don't disagree, especially in SB when total eclipse was introduced. In HW in reality, you spammed it a lot more because the job was just garbo.

In ARR/HW PLD used to have access to cure, stoneskin, flash (and even raise outside of combat) to spend mp on. With SB the devs considered the tanks to have too much self sustain at early levels so all of that got gutted along with bloodbath and was never replaced with anything other than clemency/equilibrium at later levels.

I do feel at this point it wouldn’t be a bad thing for PLD to gain access to versions of its spells at an earlier level. Something like first aid > clemency, banish > Holy Spirit. Like others have said, they don’t really care about balance at anything below max level these days so I don’t feel like PLD having access to a pre-50 cure spell would ruin the game.

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Originally Posted by Oizen

Because the developers quite literally do not care about how jobs feel at anything other than max level.

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Watch Dragoons still not have an AoE until lvl 40 after the rework.

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Originally Posted by Kreyd

(Apparently I'm too stupid to put a picture in here, so...)

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...e9afbc138cd05&

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Yes, this is why I'm giving up on healing and looking at tanking. I like responsibility, but 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 just burns you out.

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Originally Posted by Kreyd

(Apparently I'm too stupid to put a picture in here, so...)

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...e9afbc138cd05&

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This isn't even accurate any more the tanks have sunk down, healers remain where they are though lol, I'd say both are almost as poorly designed as each other at this point, just healer issues are way more visible (but tbf healers likely have it slightly worse with one button vs 1, 2, 3.) It's clear that DPS are relatively going to be always at least fun, sure some things get took away but it's never even slightly close to how much tanks or healers have had took away from them without anything else to replace them.

Personally I just wish they gave tank more combo paths (like melees), or just did something more interesting with the design, while healers should get attack Procs & more attacking spells, while making it where you actually have to heal.

Changes like making Paladin have more skills in ARR while needed, doesn't really fix the core of the issue, Healers & Tanks need to be designed to be fun at 90 (or 100 soon) to actually be fun first in ARR.