Quote Originally Posted by Shurrikhan View Post
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While I agree to an extent, what you are talking about is more of a ground up re-work than a modification... and if FFVIX was fundamentally designed differently then it could be a pretty good system.

The problem is that FFXIV, like most theme park MMOs, is designed around the meta of DPS, DPS, and more DPS*... and as we have already seen with the likes of MNK, PLD, and WHM, it doesn't matter how many options (jobs, classes, selectable skills, etc.) players have, if it doesn't increase the all mighty DPS it's not going to get (widely) used.

The one advantage FFXIV has, at least compared to most other MMOs, is that each job has a very distinct mechanic / playstyle, so even if a job is not 'meta', it still gets used based on personal preferences: e.g. I personally prefer the playstyle of PLD over WAR, and the mechanics of BLM over SCH (but I know others who are the opposite).

If this distinctness was to be reduced, it would not significantly add to the game... Using Bard and Ranger as an example, if Ranger is simply to be the personal DPS version of Bard, then if Bard does not provide more overall DPS it is not going to get used, and if it does, then anyone playing Ranger is going to be told to switch to Bard. And if Ranger is going to be more distinct than that, then why not just have it as a separate, stand alone, job (even if the lore at low levels is connected)?

* This is in comparisons to an FF Tactics style game, where survival can matter just as much, if not more, than DPS… i.e. taking a few extra turns is worth it if you can comfortably ensure (via the use of non-DPS abilities) that all your characters will survive.