Certain abilities should be off the GCD

[Tigerwong]

The more frustrating issue is instant casts not being able to cast in the first half of the GCD, you have to wait until the cycle goes through half, then press you instant cast button for it to work.

[MilaSiri]

I'm going to be the oddball and say that shield bash and shield bash are fine as is right now.


At end game (from what I've experienced - Ifrit Hardmode), Tanks are able to hold hate just fine. In fact, you only need 1 PLD to tank Ifrit Hardmode. PLD's stun abilities are the glue to winning that instance.

Before commenting on how things should be adjusted, get to level 50 and experience endgame content to see how the mechanics are utilized.

[fallacy55]

I'm going to be the oddball and say that shield bash and shield bash are fine as is right now.


At end game (from what I've experienced - Ifrit Hardmode), Tanks are able to hold hate just fine. In fact, you only need 1 PLD to tank Ifrit Hardmode. PLD's stun abilities are the glue to winning that instance.

Before commenting on how things should be adjusted, get to level 50 and experience endgame content to see how the mechanics are utilized.

Skill cap for PLDs is so low it doesn't matter. You literally do nothing but hit 1 2 3 and use cooldowns when taking spike damage.

There is no skill required...thats the point. Half of a PLDs abilities are never used because they have no place in your rotation, even situationaly.

[Junk4Brains]

You can spam shield bash right now as much as you want. If it was off GCD and given its own cooldown (say 30 seconds) the skill itself becomes far more of a commodity in that a great tank will learn exactly what they need to use it on and when. This adds depth IMO.

The thing is if you want a stun off GCD and a 30 second timer... WAR is the other way. I don't know why people want thinks so simple and everything to operate the same. I like the fact that the mechanics for both classes are different. And I like the way it is now. With WAR it is easier to use but I can't use it often so I have to make sure to use it at the right time. With PLD it is harder to use but I can use it more often so I can throw out a stun here and there without worrying to much about it.

Shield bash was clearly designed to be ab interrupt skill. It serves no other function outside of that. It's damage is relatively low, its stun is short, it doesn't increase enmity (well it does, cuz damage, but not in the sense of being an actual threat building attack like other abilities...you know what I mean -_-) and it costs more than shield lob. Abilities like this should have their own CD and be useable during the GCD. In fact, many abilities should function in such a way. As of right now the abilities purpose is limited due to priority going to other abilities thanks to the GCD being WAY to long and the fact that practically everything is tied to the GCD. Adding logical choices to abilities creates real depth to a fight. Currently, as much as I am enjoying this game, simple things like this in the battle mechanics I find both boring and extremely frustrating. Simple improvements like adding logical decisions to abilities could go a long way in making things like shield bash more useful and would add more depth to the fights than people would give credit for.

And this is my problem with most people's point of view when it comes to skills. You are so busy focused on the puzzle piece and not focused on the puzzle. If you look at Shield Bash by itself... sure... I can see how you can come to that conclusion. But if you look at how the skill fits in with the entirety of GLD/PLD's skill set you would see a theme. PLD is centered around slowing down the rate at which the enemy does damage and by doing so slowing down the pace of battle in your party's favor. And I don't know what your criteria for advantageous circumstances are but to me a whole 6 seconds of an enemy not doing anything is HUGE. If you can land 1 stun every minute you have effectively cut the enemy's DPS down by 10%. Every 30 seconds....20%. But the really synergy is with Shield Swipe. The time I most often use Shield Bash is RIGHT after the pacification debuff wears off. That creates a 12 second window where the enemy simply can't use any skills. Mitigation is not all about blocking and taking hits. Every moment your enemy is unable to attack you is a moment you're not taking damage.

Shield Bash also means I can be a little lazy with my cooldowns as well as recover from some bad luck situations (For example the healer hitting a lag spike). Sure I can use up a cooldown if I see the boss charging up a big attack, or if they haven't been stunned in a while sometimes I just keep in my rotation and eat the hit if I know it won't kill me. And right afterwards I hit them with Shield Bash followed by a cure if necessary. That 6 seconds is more than enough time for the healer to heal me back up.

Skill cap for PLDs is so low it doesn't matter. You literally do nothing but hit 1 2 3 and use cooldowns when taking spike damage.

There is no skill required...thats the point. Half of a PLDs abilities are never used because they have no place in your rotation, even situationaly.

Here is where I have to kind of agree. PLD has the potential to be a very busy job but not a lot of the content really demands it to be. If you space out your cooldowns enough that usually suffices. PLD is easy enough... and Shield Bash is one of the few things that requires some kind of forethought/focus.

Really its like people want everything to be EZ mode. "OMG I have to put effort and thought into fitting this skill into my rotation and getting the timing right. Please take it off the GCD so I don't have to think ahead and actually have to plan anything." I mean lets be honest, is timing Shield Bash to stun the easiest thing to do constantly? No. But is it really that hard a thing to do? Again no. Stop spamming buttons/facerolling your keyboard. Learn the enemy's habits, slow down a little, and plan accordingly.

This is like Demon's Souls all over again where people were heralding it as the 'hardest game ever'. But really if you took the time to learn the enemies patterns... it really wasn't that true. And yes, most enemies in FFXIV have patterns, you can't set your watch to them but they are obvious enough to become predictable.

I mean c'mon we are the TANKS. We are suppose to be the TOUGH guys. Not whining like a bunch of sissies cause certain aspects of our class take a little more effort and attention than others. Man/Woman up folks, grow a pair, and deal with it. If you can't master a simple thing like Shield Bash what are you going to do when they start rolling out the really hard content?

[Jahaudant]

The thing is if you want a stun off GCD and a 30 second timer... WAR is the other way. I don't know why people want thinks so simple and everything to operate the same. I like the fact that the mechanics for both classes are different. And I like the way it is now. With WAR it is easier to use but I can't use it often so I have to make sure to use it at the right time. With PLD it is harder to use but I can use it more often so I can throw out a stun here and there without worrying to much about it.

You can't use Shield Bash "more often" in either situation since monsters become immune to stun after the 3rd Shield Bash thanks to diminishing returns.

[x-elf]

What would peoples opinion be if when you use shield bash it doesn't reset your main combo line?

[Raansu]

@Junk4Brains

Your post had no logic to it at all.