Almost every complaint about the ShB job changes could be solved with talents

[GrenGarm]

For a long time, one of the biggest turnoffs for me about this game has been the lack of job customization. I loved having the cross-class skills in the base game, even though every job pretty much had a standard setup for endgame, because it let me play the job the way I wanted to play to a small degree.

Now those are gone, but I think jobs would benefit greatly from some kind of customization. Let's walk through some examples:

NIN
Complaint: Job is too gimped on damage because of Trick Attack utility
Solution: Give us a choice between TA for group content or a new ability that increases our personal DPS when soloing

BRD
Complaint: Identity of the job was lost when the songs lost their group utility
Solution: Give us a choice between songs that provide utility and songs that provide personal damage

MCH
Complaint: High ping means the job is unplayable in certain regions
Solution: Make Overheat a talent and let players choose a different ability with less ping dependence

SCH
Complaint: SCH's identity as a more damage-focused healer has been lost
Solution: Allow players to spec into more damage-based abilities if they want to

SMN
Complaint: Egis feel useless now
Solution: Allow players to spec out of egis if they want to or allow them to spec into new spells that take more advantage of the egis if they like the egis

MNK
Complaint: Abilities like Tornado Kick, the new Six-Sided Star, and Riddle of Fire are unpopular with some players because they are situational or slow down the rotation
Solution: Make these abilities talents and let players opt in if they like them or choose a different style if they don't

They are many other examples.

Sure, high-end raiders will probably need to spec into the optimal talents, but for the rest of us, some job customization could solve just about every complaint that players have about jobs right now. The main problem with jobs (and I think most of them play just fine, but there's always room for improvement right?) is that we can't tweak them in any way to suit personal preference. This feels so weird to me in an MMO that we can't. It's been a staple of role-playing games, let alone MMOs, since their inception.

We shouldn't have to switch a job entirely because of ping depedence or some other controversial aspect. We should be able to tailor the job we love to suit our personal preference. I know this would take a lot of work for Square Enix to pull this off. My suggestion is to only make a new healer job for the next expansion and use the rest of the dev time to implement a basic talent system.

[ColaSama]

*thinking about WoW's talents clusterfuck and the many imbalances (looking at you Surrender to Madness from Legion)*

*thinking about people always taking the most optimal talents anyway*

*thinking about SE implementing a talent system out of the blue after nearly a decade and just after removing the cross job skills (the closest thing of a "talent tree" we got)*

I don't know buddy, I don't think it will ever change. I could be wrong but I don't feel like it will.

[reyre]

For a long time, one of the biggest turnoffs for me about this game has been the lack of job customization. I loved having the cross-class skills in the base game, even though every job pretty much had a standard setup for endgame, because it let me play the job the way I wanted to play to a small degree.

Now those are gone, but I think jobs would benefit greatly from some kind of customization. Let's walk through some examples:

NIN
Complaint: Job is too gimped on damage because of Trick Attack utility
Solution: Give us a choice between TA for group content or a new ability that increases our personal DPS when soloing

BRD
Complaint: Identity of the job was lost when the songs lost their group utility
Solution: Give us a choice between songs that provide utility and songs that provide personal damage

MCH
Complaint: High ping means the job is unplayable in certain regions
Solution: Make Overheat a talent and let players choose a different ability with less ping dependence

SCH
Complaint: SCH's identity as a more damage-focused healer has been lost
Solution: Allow players to spec into more damage-based abilities if they want to

SMN
Complaint: Egis feel useless now
Solution: Allow players to spec out of egis if they want to or allow them to spec into new spells that take more advantage of the egis if they like the egis

MNK
Complaint: Abilities like Tornado Kick, the new Six-Sided Star, and Riddle of Fire are unpopular with some players because they are situational or slow down the rotation
Solution: Make these abilities talents and let players opt in if they like them or choose a different style if they don't

They are many other examples.

Sure, high-end raiders will probably need to spec into the optimal talents, but for the rest of us, some job customization could solve just about every complaint that players have about jobs right now. The main problem with jobs (and I think most of them play just fine, but there's always room for improvement right?) is that we can't tweak them in any way to suit personal preference. This feels so weird to me in an MMO that we can't. It's been a staple of role-playing games, let alone MMOs, since their inception.

We shouldn't have to switch a job entirely because of ping depedence or some other controversial aspect. We should be able to tailor the job we love to suit our personal preference. I know this would take a lot of work for Square Enix to pull this off. My suggestion is to only make a new healer job for the next expansion and use the rest of the dev time to implement a basic talent system.

So Kind of Like WoW?

[GrenGarm]

*thinking about WoW's talents clusterfuck and the many imbalances (looking at you Surrender to Madness from Legion)*

*thinking about people always taking the most optimal talents anyway*

*thinking about SE implementing a talent system out of the blue after nearly a decade and just after removing the cross job skills (the closest thing of a "talent tree" we got)*

I don't know buddy, I don't think it will ever change. I could be wrong but I don't feel like it will.

If people want to take optimal talents even though they don't find them fun, that's their business. This game is not tuned in a way that you would need the optimal build for 95% of content. WoW is a very different game with a far more toxic and judgmental community.

[GrenGarm]

So Kind of Like WoW?

Well, kind of like every RPG or MMO that exists outside of this one, including the other FF MMO (not talents but major choices at least).

[WhimsicalPacifist]

So Kind of Like WoW?

Nay, rather like LoTRO. Which implemented WoW skill trees subsequently alienating a large part of the playerbase and dumpster tiered a main tank class to off-tank status permanently.

[GrenGarm]

Didn't expect so much negativity about the game offering us more choices in how we play. OK then.

[Nyoraii]

Didn't expect so much negativity about the game offering us more choices in how we play. OK then.

I completely agree with you, can't see how having more options would be a bad thing.

I think this is one of the only JRPGs I know that you don't get to choose anything of relevance to your character.

• Gear is useless, it doesn't matter, you just get the one with most ilvl and call it a day.
• No choices in customization whatsoever, m-muh "illusion of choice".

But yeah, like you said, I don't think anyone will listen to you, it's how this game has always been, I'd suggest keeping an eye on upcoming MMORPGs that might be more to your liking.

[GrenGarm]

it's how this game has always been

But it's not. Cross-class skills did offer some amount of choice/customization, even if it wasn't a perfect or robust system.

[reyre]

Didn't expect so much negativity about the game offering us more choices in how we play. OK then.

Becuase its kind of a bad idea, or one that actually ends up being both not necessary and increasing toxicity. Not every game should have the same mechanics implemented. Besides that is not about the game offering "us" more choices how to play, that is about making the game more like other games.