In 4.0 can we please get rid of caster bars on physical ranged jobs?!

[Lewtskie]

Actually, I can recall there being talk of people genuinely upset that they were adding jumping into 2.0....

Oh, I remember that saltstorm fondly. People started losing their minds in regards to jumping. Threats to leave, doomsayers proclaiming it'll kill the game, that it'll only invite the worst kind of people. Of course this was par for the course in 1.x when all the changes were slowly being thrown in. Hell, there was even a fallout when they started clearing up the momentum with walking/running, lol.

To be honest, I never noticed much of the jumping around like an idiot bards that people mention.. BUT that could be because I was 'the' bard for our static/raid group, and I was pretty grounded. (pun intentional)

As for WM.. I don't know.. I am getting the feeling that any changes now would be detrimental. Damage is done.. we'll probably just have to live with it.

That's because it rarely existed, if even at all. It's just the catch-all justification people use to have whatever opinion, whether they've actually seen this jackalope or not. But you're right, Bard is a shambled amalgamation of a job that just barely managed to get footing after it was beaten with the tinker bat enough times. One more swing could either miraculously set everything into place or collapse the entire thing.

[Khalithar]

That's because it rarely existed, if even at all. It's just the catch-all justification people use to have whatever opinion, whether they've actually seen this jackalope or not. But you're right, Bard is a shambled amalgamation of a job that just barely managed to get footing after it was beaten with the tinker bat enough times. One more swing could either miraculously set everything into place or collapse the entire thing.

I would be one of the bards that jumped around and ran around a lot depending on what I was doing. For example when my brd was level 58 and I got in to Satasha in a leveling roulette with basically no buttons to hit at all, I'd get so bored I'd start jumping and attacking to amuse myself because after getting used to the more difficult buttons, suddenly being without 90% of my attacks left me really bored.

[Lewtskie]

After you're stuck casting and suddenly have all that freedom again, can't help but feel compelled to stretch those legs out. Also, it's Sastasha; nobody cares what goes on during Sastasha. I've literally gone through Sastahsa as a MNK using one hand and sometimes a foot while I ate pizza and watched anime. Had a SCH /follow me once while I was leveling WAR and told me they're taking a nap. But this argument stemmed way when HW first released and WM just being discovered, where apparently in important dungeons every Bard in the game was on crack and needing a to scratch their brain so bad they needed to smash it against the ceiling, or run from the purple gremlins trying to steal their dps. Maybe since I mained Bard during 2.x I just didn't realize it was happening as there must have been some talent that made me on crack as well.

[whiteblade89]

Seeing as I am level 60 with it now and decided to level it through PotD till about 57 id say it does. Its fine as is. :P

This logic is extremely flawed. Potd is a cakewalk compared to just about any other content. The only difficult things about it are the RNG and the possibility of terrible party composition. It doesn't teach you how to play your class properly, it actually promotes bad habits instead. I don't play BRD, but I would take the word of a BRD who leveled by dungeons over the one who did it via Potd. At least dungeons offer a degree of a challenge and an opportunity to actually see the full potential of a class.

[Velhart]

BRD definitely needed a higher skill floor. You can argue if WM was the answer or not, but it's learning curve before 3.0 was much lower than other DPS jobs.

[Khalithar]

BRD definitely needed a higher skill floor. You can argue if WM was the answer or not, but it's learning curve before 3.0 was much lower than other DPS jobs.

I'd rather the complexity be rotational rather than the addition of cast bars. WoW's Hunter class did have 1-2 cast moves over time but for the most part all of it's moves either became instant or one in particular gave you the ability to move while casting it, that class from the very beginning has been a ranged class with no casting bars outside of the occasional channeled ability that you would use. It maintained it's mobility on top of it's dps being good to fantastic, something can be balanced with good dps and mobility without having to give up either. I've heard someone say you can't have both and I adamantly disagree, you CAN have both and still be a competitive class. If you think the class was too simple and needs complexity however, that's a separate argument.

[Velhart]

I'd rather the complexity be rotational rather than the addition of cast bars. WoW's Hunter class did have 1-2 cast moves over time but for the most part all of it's moves either became instant or one in particular gave you the ability to move while casting it, that class from the very beginning has been a ranged class with no casting bars outside of the occasional channeled ability that you would use. It maintained it's mobility on top of it's dps being good to fantastic, something can be balanced with good dps and mobility without having to give up either. I've heard someone say you can't have both and I adamantly disagree, you CAN have both and still be a competitive class. If you think the class was too simple and needs complexity however, that's a separate argument.

It is hard to compare with WoW, because how they approach mechanics and scaling is different from FFXIV. In FFXIV's case, cast bars did most definitely add a layer of strategy that the job needed. I would just argue they needed to let it sit in the oven a bit more with BRD, because it came out not refined like it should. Basically, the idea was solid, it was just not executed well for BRD specifically.

For MCH, they do not even have to deal with cast bars much. You have one for Hot Shot, Lead Shot, and Split Shot. Two are a DoT/Buff. If you are using Slug or Clean Shot on a cast bar, you are playing it wrong. Also being supported by many OGCD's that make everything work together naturally. It is a wonderfully designed job.

[Felis]

Maybe it will be better if the devs change the casting bar into a buff icon that vanish and debuff the bard the moment the bard move before the buff timer is out.
This way the bar is removed without messing up with the mechanic.

[ErryK]

This logic is extremely flawed. Potd is a cakewalk compared to just about any other content. The only difficult things about it are the RNG and the possibility of terrible party composition. It doesn't teach you how to play your class properly, it actually promotes bad habits instead. I don't play BRD, but I would take the word of a BRD who leveled by dungeons over the one who did it via Potd. At least dungeons offer a degree of a challenge and an opportunity to actually see the full potential of a class.

I'd trust a person who leveled via PotD than a person who leveled via FATEs though...

My $0.02:

WM is great, I like it. I've done a few EX Primals with it on and honestly, a good BRD will use WM, a great BRD will know when to switch it off and on. I've only ever raided with MCH, which was my main back before 3.2, but people will complain about not being able to move for the sake of just moving... not for strategy or tactics, but just purely to jump around and run around like a headless chicken, and I'm glad SE shot that down because that was annoying as hell.

[Velhart]

I'd trust a person who leveled via PotD than a person who leveled via FATEs though...

What exactly do you do in PoTD 1-50 that requires a higher level skill of play of your job than a FATE?