1.20a tomorrow :D

[Rowyne]

Now, we can all argue that there's no TP-free attack ability, which is true.

Okay, now we're on the same page. Don't you agree it's much better to be civil than say someone's opinions are worthless and should be ignored?

This is the heart of the melee combat issue for me.

However, why exactly is that "bad"? Even at low levels, when fighting an even match mob, you need 3 attacks tops to reach 1.000TP, which then can be used to combo into two weaponskills at lower levels, 3 when higher.

I think you just answered your own question. Three auto-attacks before you can do anything. In an MMO, that's an eternity.

I understand what you're saying. That you should be moving and buffing and using reactive skills in the meantime. And now cross-classing isn't an option, it's a must. But it doesn't take away from the fact that melee now cannot actively initiate combat with an attack ability unless you have a level 14 Lancer skill or TP stored from a previous fight. And the reason that is bad is that it makes combat feel non-interactive.

FFXIV does take a different approach when it comes to skill usage. You are not supposed to trounce everything with skills all the time, specially not at the beginning of a fight. Sure, you can burn up your MP as a mage, but you will need to recover afterwards. Melees, however, have to build up a resource beforehand - and then are able to use several skills in succession via combos, before having to rebuff, evade enemy attacks and ready up for another chain.

It's a somewhat different philosophy and surely there will be people wishing for a much faster combat, but then it's a matter of personal taste and not exactly a flaw within the game. Not saying the current system has no flaws, but it's far from being broken and completely dull.

It's certainly a different approach, one that's definitely not for me. I thought combat was too slow before. Now it feels even slower. It's worse than FFXI, and I didn't think that was possible. It's like being stuck in a Goku power-up when I just want to jump into the fray. >.<

I'm happy for the people who like this style of combat. I will, however, be genuinely surprised if it appeals to more than the niche market this game caters to that grows smaller and smaller as time goes on.

My husband and I had been on the fence about subscribing come Jan 6th, but 1.20 was the nail in the coffin. I'll continue to watch the patch notes and hope that the dev team make changes that restore some non-TP active attack abilities. If not, no matter how many good things come in 2.0, it's hard to play if you don't enjoy combat.