Quote Originally Posted by dynus View Post
Don't have access to the Stormblood material yet, but here are my thoughts so far.

- The nerf to Aetherflow isn't that bad with Lucid Dreaming in your kit. Is it annoying, yeah, but hit LD, use Energy Drain, and then hit Aetherflow again and you're good to go.

- The nerf to Bane is more than annoying. It was needed to balance summoner, but it really hurts Scholar's DPS output.

- I barely noticed the cost increase to Aldo until it was pointed out. Annoying, but manageable.

- Lack of AoE hurts. Bane was super useful before, and Miasma II was nice if mobs got close, but with the nerfed Bane and no Miasma, Scholar is lacking in the DPS department.

- No Stoneskin sucks. Period.

- It is really nice not having to stance dance, but I know that made healing jobs for some people. It didn't for me.

- I see no point in having Eye for an Eye in your tool kit. A one in five chance for 10% less damage? I don't see the point. This may change as I play around.

- I'm pretty sure we have the most healing buffs. Largesse and Eos' Fey Illumination, unless I'm misremembering. So that's useful.

- It's nice to still have Ruin II to weave between Broils.

All in all, it's still playable, but it's not the Job I've come to love. It's fixable. A new DoT in a future release, something to fix the Bane nerf, like a trait for Scholar's only (if possible, and I'm pretty sure it is.) And lower the MP cost for Aldo, and I'll be happy.
My thoughts:

- Is MP management doable with LD? Sure. Does it feel like SCH? Not in my opinion.

- Adlo cost increase isn't as devastating when you start to gather more Piety on gear (simply because Aetherflow is restoring 10% more of a larger maximum and is available slightly more frequently overall with Quickened trait). In the low 60s it's extremely annoying if you need to expend any additional effort to help a (bad or average) party.

- Having Eye for an Eye made into a role skill was baffling, especially since it synergized slightly with Deployment Tactics. Granted it usually doesn't proc much except for the tank, but at least the extra frosting was there.

- AST has us destroyed in healing buffs. Fey Illumination is nerfed; Diurnal AST has an equivalent potency boost as their passive, and Noct is at 15% now...and they have access to Largesse as well, of course. WHM lacks either Fey Illumination or AST's Sect passives, but they received some base potency buffs to help compensate.

- Ruin II is garbo unless you must move and have nothing else to cast. It trips the GCD just like Broil but has 130 less potency, so there's rarely a point to using it.