Quote Originally Posted by ZhangoSqu View Post
I actually did read your post earlier Kiara It was well thought out. I do agree with the points that you made, but would like to point out that your analogy of firearms may not necessarily be appropriate. It depends on a few things--but and most importantly--if magic in Hydaelyn (and Eorzea specifically) is versatile (which it seems to be) the restriction of magic to single or multiple targets is not a result of how a spell functions but rather how it is used. Unlike with firearms whose area of effect (be it single or multiple) is a product of how they function.

Of course my argument for this is no less infallible. The point still being that a firearm analogy is good, but is only anecdotal at best.

I do agree that there are benefits that can be seen by the actions that they are taking--specifically mentioned by you and others, that this may allow the developers to create more unique play experiences based on the sort of spells and actions that are offered to the spell casting classes. But I still think that this could have been done without a removal of AoE toggle--and just a rework of the existing mechanic.

Now, I hope you're right that the battle team has some better ideas than just making some spells AoE and others not. I think that it is important for people to express their opinions on this, as we are, but since it looks like this is happening regardless, we'll have to wait and see what the new battle system is like before judging it. I know that I'm reserving final judgment until after the changes are made, and others should as well, but discourse is still important.

... That and I'm still left feeling uneasy about this change without any further details that would better explain their plans.
Hi Zhango,

Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

Oh definitely, it's one of those things that works, if it makes sense in the "lore" of the world of the particular game. If one can control the magical flow in Eorzea, then wouldn't allowing Red Lotus be toggleable be the same as well? I think it gives a nice freedom to every DoW class, but at the same time, we've gotten used to "Red Lotus" being a single target, and "Circle Slash" being an AOE. I'm fine with either system, but I can see why they may want to try it this way.

And a great point Zhango: Ultimately it would've been great for them to fully explain themselves about this. I feel that sometimes when we get a tiny bit of new information (via the forums), SE may sometimes be doing more harm than good. In this case, it might've been better to not say anything and unveil their full plans for Disciples of Magic (All Spell Changes, All Skill Changes, Job Specialization, the Focus of the Class), instead of just leaking this one bit of information.

Ultimately, we'll see where this goes (hopefully soon).