Giving each job a second spec: would it work?

[Delily]

I love the "Arcanist split spec. didn't work!" argument when almost every Savage Alexander group has a SCH - and SMN is widely considered the best DPS in the game atm.

This demonstrates ignorance of the issue. The reason the designers don't like the split is because anytime the class's skills are modified, it will impact both jobs, which occupy 2 different roles. If they boost the potency of a DoT or of Ruin, suddenly SCH becomes the preferred healer because they are strong healers and now they're doing more damage. In effect, the sch hampers the ability of the team to balance the smn with other damage roles.

[Saggo]

This demonstrates ignorance of the issue. The reason the designers don't like the split is because anytime the class's skills are modified, it will impact both jobs, which occupy 2 different roles. If they boost the potency of a DoT or of Ruin, suddenly SCH becomes the preferred healer because they are strong healers and now they're doing more damage. In effect, the sch hampers the ability of the team to balance the smn with other damage roles.

I can buy that it doesn't fit in the vision SE has for FFXIV. They tried it, it didn't fit, they moved on. I don't have to agree, I could wish they explored it more, since SMN and SCH quite simply work, but it's their vision.

What I don't buy is everyone (not necessarily you specifically, just in general) saying it's a failure, or it's too hard, or it's a terrible choice. All of those apocalyptic descriptions.

Numbers is simply what programmers do. I know, I'm one of them. All you have to do is look at Wanderer's Minuet and Empyreal Arrow/Sidewinder to see that. They upped WM and reduced the potency of EA and SW so that even though EA/SW do less damage during WM post-patch, BRD DPS went up overall. They get the numbers, and that's ignoring problem-solving techniques like applying a SMN-specific tweak before tweaking Ruin, to use your example.

Balancing a variable (Ruin, Wanderer's) is not so difficult that it causes undue hardship to developers. It simply doesn't. At the end of the day, they abandoned dual-jobs/specs out of direction and vision, not difficulty.

[Delily]

I can buy that it doesn't fit in the vision SE has for FFXIV. They tried it, it didn't fit, they moved on. I don't have to agree, I could wish they explored it more, since SMN and SCH quite simply work, but it's their vision.

What I don't buy is everyone (not necessarily you specifically, just in general) saying it's a failure, or it's too hard, or it's a terrible choice. All of those apocalyptic descriptions.

Numbers is simply what programmers do. I know, I'm one of them. All you have to do is look at Wanderer's Minuet and Empyreal Arrow/Sidewinder to see that. They upped WM and reduced the potency of EA and SW so that even though EA/SW do less damage during WM post-patch, BRD DPS went up overall. They get the numbers, and that's ignoring problem-solving techniques like applying a SMN-specific tweak before tweaking Ruin, to use your example.

Balancing a variable (Ruin, Wanderer's) is not so difficult that it causes undue hardship to developers. It simply doesn't. At the end of the day, they abandoned dual-jobs/specs out of direction and vision, not difficulty.

You're right. There is very little in the mechanics of FFXIV that are computationally challenging, it's intentionally simple. The issue is how the playerbase will react. As soon as people determine a given job is the best one, overwhelmingly, people will flock to it.