Will Parry become worthwhile in the next patch?

[dragonseth07]

Hello! I've been looking around at PLD gear discussions, and Parry seems to be considered absolute trash, on every class forever. Is this something that is likely to be changing any time soon, do we know?

[Martin_Arcainess]

Yeah Yoshida said that 4.X will bring changes to Parry, god only knows it needs it.

[ADVSS]

Supposedly, they did make big changes to it for HW which inevitably made it even less desirable, so we'll see

[Neophyte]

I don't think they ever stated exactly when, but I think they said, that they would overwork parry in 3.4(?)+ or with the next expansion.

Producer LIVE Part XXVIII Digest (2016/04/12)
0:08:17
Q: Is there any way to add a noticeable utility to the parry stat on tank equipment?

A: As of Patch 3.2 it's possible to meld materia into the new equipment sets, and we're aware that many tank players are not choosing parry when they are considering which materia to meld into their equipment, focusing on determination or critical hit rate instead. I’ve been discussing this with the development team, and they said that the parry calculation is based on a gradual curve, so even if players were to focus on parry, it wouldn’t have any noticeable effect because the rate at which enemy damage is mitigated would not necessarily increase. However, this is tied to large-scale system changes, and while I can't give an official comment just yet, we are looking into whether we can make adjustments in Patch 3.4, when the item level is increased, or around Patch 4.0.

[Nalien]

Just change Parry to Counter already... People don't like Parry because it's purely a mitigation stat, they'll take Critical Hit Rate and Determination over it every time because those stats increase damage... Make Parry into Counter, and it is potentially a solid DPS increase... Suddenly you're not just mitigating 20%, you're throwing out an additional auto-attack... The amount the stat improves rate would still need adjustment, arguably more so with it also providing a light DPS increase, but I just don't think it'll ever be a popular stat without something more...

Arguably that could break tanks somewhat, but after the Vitality/Strength changes... Excuse me while I don't care... Raw Intuition might need an adjustment, would be interesting to see how Counter would function with Sword Oath as well, if that provides an additional 50 potency on Counters as well, then Paladin gets slightly more interesting IMO... Dark Knight wouldn't change much IMO, other than actually having reason to gear the stat...

Would also be nice for "Parry" and Block to not be almost functionally identical... There's an almost arbitrary distinction between the two... I suppose that's another alternative though; Remove Parry from gear, and instead make it an additional function of weapons, the same way Block Rate/Strength is solely a function of Shields...

Itemization is boned in this game whatever they do, though... Stats just don't have the kind of impact that makes specific builds rewarding, none of them do... Itemization is more of a formality in this game, a justification for two pieces of gear with the same item level to exist... People are always just going to pick the best stat, because there is no reason not to... OK, no matter what there will always be a "best" option, but if itemization does its job, and the balancing is tight enough, I don't personally care... It's more about making a build that plays the way you enjoy, but stats here just don't inform gameplay nearly enough to allow for that... They could honestly remove all the stats and just have us chase item levels, and I don't think we'd notice that much of a difference...

[Deathgiver]

The problem with parry isn't the scaling, it's the facts that:

1. It does nothing for you when off tanking.
2. Even when MT it is only effective if you're being hit frequently
3. It only applies to physical attacks

Adding a counter-attack would be a step in the right direction, but still doesn't address the first point. I'm sure there are other reasons that make it undesirable besides these, just the top 3 off the top of my head.

[Jonnycbad]

Parry should do nothing while OTing, as an OT your job is to deal as much damage as possible until you need to either pick up adds or tank swap. Why should there be a side benefit to parrying for when you're not taking damage?

[Deathgiver]

Parry should do nothing while OTing, as an OT your job is to deal as much damage as possible until you need to either pick up adds or tank swap. Why should there be a side benefit to parrying for when you're not taking damage?

Because literally every other stat on your gear offers benefits both when mt and ot. The gains to mt would have to be huge to justify losing a stat that has dual utility.

[Kosmos992k]

I’ve been discussing this with the development team, and they said that the parry calculation is based on a gradual curve, so even if players were to focus on parry, it wouldn’t have any noticeable effect because the rate at which enemy damage is mitigated would not necessarily increase.

I love this quote, the short version is "I talked to the devs and they said that Parry is pointless too."

In the next patch I doubt any major changes, but perhaps in 4.0...

[Remus]

Does this mean Keen Flurry might actually become a great skill for me in more situations? Knowing SE though they would change the skill into something even worse than Keen Flurry.