Job Personalization: Can I Have It?

[SovereignAegis]

You can customize your character now.

Why not remove your stone, be a Lancer, and cross class Skull Sunder and Cure?

That's what you want, right?

Illusion of choice.

There is no choice, those are called unviable.

No one would take a cure that heals for 50 damage into an endgame raid like even NORMAL alexander, even there that'd be a joke. HOWEVER if it healed appropriately and scaled properly with other classes it wouldn't be such a big issue at all, look at Paladin's Clemency. That is FAR from a bad ability.

The problem is 100% scaling.

[F_Maximillian]

As been said the problem with customization is the metagame tears anyone who tries something original a new one. It will either lead to one optimal build, or multiple builds equal in effectiveness/playstyle thus negating the purpose of customization. It's a great idea but it won't really amount to much.

[Asierid]

There is no choice, those are called unviable.

No one would take a cure that heals for 50 damage into an endgame raid like even NORMAL alexander, even there that'd be a joke. HOWEVER if it healed appropriately and scaled properly with other classes it wouldn't be such a big issue at all, look at Paladin's Clemency. That is FAR from a bad ability.

The problem is 100% scaling.

And what do you expect to get from this system being proposed? 90% of these abilities would be useless/underpowered and there will be an optimal build. There is always an optimal build. Why take someone who has anything less?

XI did it, there were optimal builds and you used those builds. Guild Wars, the same. RIFT, the same.

List goes on.


Not to mention Clemency gets three-ish casts off before out of MP, and the interruptions. It isn't bad by any means, but it isn't great either.

[Belhi]

There is no choice, those are called unviable.

No one would take a cure that heals for 50 damage into an endgame raid like even NORMAL alexander, even there that'd be a joke. HOWEVER if it healed appropriately and scaled properly with other classes it wouldn't be such a big issue at all, look at Paladin's Clemency. That is FAR from a bad ability.

The problem is 100% scaling.

That leads into the issue of Balance though. The more 'diversity' in builds and available skills the more time needs to be spent trying to balance all those available builds. And Balance does matter both from a gameplay perspective and to players. Just look at how many people are unhappy with AST at the moment.

There is a time/resource investment issue here too. The more stuff like this they add the more time managing and developing Jobs takes. This grows dramatically the more Jobs they add. There is a trade off. If they added something like this then we would be looking at time taken away from other things. I'd prefer three new Jobs over one that had some variable stat and ability features.

Particularly since in the end the vast bulk of people will end up favouring the 'optimal' build and most variety will go to waste.

[AlphaFox]

As much as I do love the idea and want it, I'd love to be able to pick a Whitemage who specializes over strong potent regens or one who has strong solid heals, or even one who may be a strong attacker with decent both. However in the end, as one person has stated, the optimal build will be found and any who shy away from that would be looked at with raised eyebrows and a strong sense of "Dude....what the hell"

[justinjarjar]

Only if the building did not work like any other game, since as people said the best build is found with maybe one ability you change between one raid boss and the next to deal with one mechanic easier. (which will be given in guides and most people will play that build). Not sure how to make build matter without basically having one job with one set of skills like we have now. (which yes the different jobs are different builds ie healer heals, but sch does fairy/ shields, whm... etc.). So you would have to make builds vastly different but viable, and we are already seeing some not taking X in PFs (which should not exist.. but it does).

[Bishop81]

2. “It would be hard for the devs to do.” More variables would lead to further imbalance, ultimately breaking the game.

False.The challenge would be greater, though I still wouldn't argue this when we have the some of the most talented devs in the world working on this game. There are other games out there with a balanced custom class system in place. There’s no reason SE couldn't do it and do it better!

Really? Given the amount of QQ from raiders about one thing or another about their Jobs? It's pretty clear the game isn't balanced enough.

So long as FFXIV is following in WoW's footsteps of catering to raiders, where raiding is the foremost centerpiece of the game, where everything is designed around raiding ... you can expect the same banal Jobs/gear/items ... etc. because "balance > fun and interesting".

PS: Funny. Raiders don't want to have anything to do with the rest of the game - "mandatory chores" according to them. But raiding inverse affects every other part of the game, gear is boring, Jobs are boring, items are boring ... etc. because "balance".

[Calypsx]

I would rather them just work on adding more jobs instead of this. Any new trait idea here could be used on a totally new unique job in the future.

[ErzaScarlet77]

wouldnt work.
everyone will be expected to spec the way top raiders/general pop specs

also just like someone mentioned, if every specs is equally as good, then whats the point of it?

[Sandpark]

I don't care much if job personalization gets added.You pick your poison. You either advance exactly like someone else that is your class or you become more closely homogenized to other classes. And I prefer being different from other classes more than being different from my class.

The thing I want more than job personalization is combat personalization. It doesn't matter what strengths the enemy has other than physical or magical weakness. What skills I use is not decided by me but a rotation or two that is best in all circumstances determined by Square. What this amounts to is each job rotating the same skills, over and over and over, BORING!

Why not bring elemental wheel back? Skill bloat? Not a problem because it can just be tuned how mudras work and change what hotbars do depending on what is strategized. Blunt, pierce, slash makes no difference because no monsters are weak to one or the other as far as I know. One weaponskill or two is considered the highest damage spike in most circumstances. Why can't weaponskills be more powerful than others in certain cases?

No matter what horizontal stuff gets added, it is pointless because it will still be spamming the same rotation, over and over, dodging AoE. Spamming same rotation. I want more visceral visual cues and less bar watching and circle watching, and some damn carefully chosen timed skills versus repeating a rotation repeatedly.

This feels more like God Of War or Diablo combat to me than a Final Fantasy. Minus that I actually have to dodge sometimes versus steamrolling monsters.