stormblood and how you feel for it

[Lauront]

They're currently 2.5 secs, so there's some way to fall between there and 1.5 secs (even higher if you utilise macros due to rounding up)...

How has it dumbed them down in WOW, for instance? I'd like to know.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

They're currently 2.5 secs, so there's some way to fall between there and 1.5 secs (even higher if you utilise macros due to rounding up)...

How has it dumbed them down in WOW, for instance? I'd like to know.

From my understanding, WoW doesn't have rotations. Last time I played, it had skills that you just spammed for the most part, no combos or real combo rotations.

Plus, we already have Skill/Spell Speed, which lowers that, and AST cards. If you tune it for faster early game, it would get ridiculous late game.

[Lauront]

Yeah, priority systems, but it's still a set pattern of abilities you use in a fairly rotational manner...

Also, when I say dumbing down I mean stripping away significant aspects like Dreadwyrm Trance. HW added a fair amount of complexity through having to effectively manage a buff for most jobs, e.g. Enochean for BLM or Dreadwyrm Trance for SMN, which made the jobs significantly more engaging. I found the pre-HW rotations dreadful. The downside was they added a lot more buttons, so I am hoping what they really mean is that they might make the abilities be modified conditionally, dependent on the buff active and thereby integrate some of them. But with such sparse detail, it's up in the air as to what will change.

[jdnyc]

From my understanding, WoW doesn't have rotations. Last time I played, it had skills that you just spammed for the most part, no combos or real combo rotations.

Rift has rotations and GCD is 1.5 for them.

[Kyuuen]

They're currently 2.5 secs, so there's some way to fall between there and 1.5 secs (even higher if you utilise macros due to rounding up)...

How has it dumbed them down in WOW, for instance? I'd like to know.

If you were talking about older WoW; Cata and back, rotations were more common place. Now; for quite a few classes, it's a priority system based on spec, stats, and procs. Which leads more to a whack-a-mole type combat system.

[Reyll]

If you were talking about older WoW; Cata and back, rotations were more common place. Now; for quite a few classes, it's a priority system based on spec, stats, and procs. Which leads more to a whack-a-mole type combat system.

The only thing that has really changed for for the most part has been random proc systems, which honestly, some classes in FFXIV have (see DRG and their combo system). There are still optimal rotations in WoW, they just don't hold your hand and highlight the button for you. For instance, http://www.wowhead.com/fire-rotation-guide is not too complicated of a rotation and it varies depending on the situation, which makes combat a little more interesting and changes things up. That isn't a bad thing, in my opinion.

Skill/Spell speed is pretty useless in this game and should honestly be re-worked. With the server tick rate and latency, the effects are hardly noticeable with cast successes and cancellations. A 1.5 second GCD would make combat feel much smoother and would attract a lot of players since every other popular MMO uses it, but I highly doubt it will happen. That is basically my last bastion of hope for good news to come from Stormblood.

[Stormfur]

I'm eagerly looking forward to it. I love DPS anyway (and tank but I understand it would be hard to add any new classes that don't already do what the current ones do)

They will be reworking the existing classes so I'm interested to see how they will balance them.

I love my dragoon but samurai is exciting. I'm glad it's not a tank. Tanking can be boring at times. I'm hoping 4.0 breaks up the monotony a bit.

I think the story will be the same length as HW but there will be more in the form of unique sidequest options - like Eureka, maybe expansions to Diadem, maybe new stuff with platoons, we will see.

[Lauront]

If you were talking about older WoW; Cata and back, rotations were more common place. Now; for quite a few classes, it's a priority system based on spec, stats, and procs. Which leads more to a whack-a-mole type combat system.

It has a reactive proc-based system, sure, like DRG, but it's hardly "whack-a-mole". Its rotations/priorities feel engaging, IMO. If you average out the abilities you end up using over a fight, it still follows a fairly rotational pattern and you cannot simply randomly spam abilities, per se. WOW has always had low GCDs, even lower when BL/Heroism is active, and even when it was more traditionally "rotational", I have never felt like it lacked complexity. Including when Destruction had a pretty penalising rotation involving Improved Soulfire. The game felt fast-paced. The issue WOW does have at times is that the delta between using abilities optimally and not doing so becomes tiny.

Also, I think it is an issue in FFXIV that some classes are so tightly time-bound in terms of how their abilities use. I prefer playing SMN for that reason, i.e. you have a broad array of abilities and greater control over when to deploy them. DRG? It just felt like being a hamster on a wheel. I don't see how lower CGDs could make it any the worse... but it'd certainly remove some of the clunkiness for an instant heavy job like SMN.

[Arasiel]

As a dps player I'm excited. RDM and SAM are iconic and look very aesthetically pleasing.

Swimming is cool but no underwater combat. So ill just enjoy the exploration side.

I'm excited for where the story may be heading.

Overall I'm excited for somethings but I feel they need to up their PR. Heavensward seemed over the top with info. With a more then double budget increase for Stormblood we are expecting more then a few slides and a trailer.

[Belhi]

It has a reactive proc-based system, sure, like DRG, but it's hardly "whack-a-mole". Its rotations/priorities feel engaging, IMO. If you average out the abilities you end up using over a fight, it still follows a fairly rotational pattern and you cannot simply randomly spam abilities, per se. WOW has always had low GCDs, even lower when BL/Heroism is active, and even when it was more traditionally "rotational", I have never felt like it lacked complexity. Including when Destruction had a pretty penalising rotation involving Improved Soulfire. The game felt fast-paced. The issue WOW does have at times is that the delta between using abilities optimally and not doing so becomes tiny.

Also, I think it is an issue in FFXIV that some classes are so tightly time-bound in terms of how their abilities use. I prefer playing SMN for that reason, i.e. you have a broad array of abilities and greater control over when to deploy them. DRG? It just felt like being a hamster on a wheel. I don't see how lower CGDs could make it any the worse... but it'd certainly remove some of the clunkiness for an instant heavy job like SMN.

When did you last play WoW? In WoD rotation complexity became threadbare. Infact they argued that they had to simplify rotations because if they didn't making more complex mechanics made fights too hard. Take Frost mage. Its basically Frostbolt spam with the occasional Icicle thrown in when Fingers of frost procs with a cd occasionally used on cd.

There is a trade off. Faster GCD would require simpler Job mechanics or simpler encounters. Many endgame fights can already give you little time to respond to mechanics, particularly if you are dealing with multiple mechanics at once.

Regardless, I think it is extremely unlikely that they plan to lower the GCD. They are revamping the system, not completely reinventing the wheel.

I will be disappointed if they make the Empire one-sidedly "evil", particularly after the Regula quest line and considering Ala Mhigo's own background... I want to see one or both of the rebellions fail and/or the Eorzean Alliance have to pay a heavy toll for any victories it achieves.

You want us to lose? You realise "Evil" or no, the empire will be our enemy in this expansion.