I think Square Enix and/or the DEVs hate mages! (Long post)

[Katt]

I'm kind of sick that Mage players have been told to bend over, grab there knees and to enjoy it.

When the game first started it was workable to level up on your own. The only downside was that we couldn't regain MP like HP, so we had to touch the Crystals or the Nodes, but this was fixed after awhile. But now Mages have been given the short stick for the last few patches and it needs to be fixed! I can barley fight two or three monsters with out losing half my HP and running out of MP! Never mind that Square Enix wants to make it so we cancel the spell we're casting if we go to walk. "What's that... You're running away from the monsters that are attacking you and you're trying to cast Cure, or the spell that would kill them.... Nope that's not good We have to change that. Really?!?

The cost to cast spells have gotten pathetic as well. Never mind that we lost a lot of our spells due to the revamp of all the classes. Below I listed what spells use to cost and what they are now.


Before -------------------------------------- Now
Fire - 10MP --------------------------------- Fire - 294MP
Fire 2 - 20MP ------------------------------- Fire 2 - 504MP
Flare - 100MP ------------------------------ Firaga - 714MP
Blizzard - 10MP ----------------------------- Blizzard - 252MP
Blizzard 2 - 20MP --------------------------- Blizzard 2 - 420MP
Freeze - 100MP ---------------------------- NA
Aero - 10MP ------------------------------- Aero - 210MP
Areo 2 - 20MP ----------------------------- Aero 2 - 420MP
Tornado - 100MP --------------------------- NA
Stone - 10MP ------------------------------ Stone - 210
Stone 2 - 20MP ---------------------------- Stone 2 - 420MP
Quake - 100MP ---------------------------- NA
Thunder - 10MP --------------------------- Thunder - 210MP
Thunder 2 - 20MP ------------------------- Thundara - 378MP
Burst - 100MP ----------------------------- Thundaga - 546MP
Water - 10MP ----------------------------- NA
Water 2 - 20MP --------------------------- NA
Flood - 100MP ----------------------------- NA
Cure - 45MP ------------------------------ Cure - 112MP
Cure 2 - 75MP ---------------------------- Cura - 280MP
Cure 3 - 135MP --------------------------- Curaga - 420MP
Stoneskin - 12MP ------------------------- Stoneskin - 140MP
Stoneskin 2 - 24MP ----------------------- NA
Shell - 9MP ------------------------------- NA
Shell 2 - 19MP ---------------------------- NA
Protect - 9MP ---------------------------- Protect - 224MP
Protect 2 - 19MP ------------------------- NA
Raise - 101MP --------------------------- Raise - 420
Raise 2 - 186MP ------------------------- NA
Rebirth - 231MP ------------------------- NA

Now yes I know that we have a lot more MP now then before and that's great.... If we didn't we wouldn't be able to cast more then two spells before we would have to stop and rest. And yes I know that the MP costs of the spells and how strong the spell is relates to our level. So the higher level you are the more damage the spell does (Normally happens when you level up anyways), and the more MP it takes.

With the new costs and the loss of AoE with the lower attack spells, and heaven forbid that you want to AoE a group of monster. Then we're stuck casting all the Level 2 spells... Or just Fire. So if we're fighting a group of monsters that are weak against Stone, we can only cast Stone 2 once for the AoE, and then move on to other AoE spells as we wait for the recast time to run out. I would love to see the return of the AoE option so we can decide if we want it on or not for ALL OF THE SPELLS, and the MP cost of all the spells to be taken down.

I would really like to hear what other people think on this.

[Coglin]

I think your few months late for this discuaaion.

Anyway, MP cost as you can see, were so low before, it might as well been 0 to cast anything. Now there is a reguirement for MP management and strategy.

[Jennestia]

They don't hate mages, think about it for a second -

If your MP pool sits pretty at say, 2200 MP, why should spells still cost around 10-30mp, especially with passive & stationary MP refresh?

[NoctisUmbra]

CNJ is more than fine as is. THM has some difficulty, but with each passing day players are figuring out how to play the class effectively.

The only thing that changed for mages is that they aren't easy mode to play anymore. One has to be very proficient at multitasking and managing many resources properly. That much should be expected from a mage class in my opinion.

[Estellios]

My CNJ is the best it's ever been. You might just need different gear or more practice if you are going to solo. I do it all the time without issue. If you're trying to AOE nuke things down Stonera has a potent Heavy effect that lands really often if you get even a little bit of PIE and aren't facing things way above your level. With the longer spell distance and the fact that most enemies got their ranged attacks removed you can kite nuke quite effectively.

[CrystalWeapon]

You have to factor in that the spell costs are higher than the previous ones by a wide margin because you're compairing the old versions that didn't scale to the new ones that both scale in effectiveness and cost as you gain levels.

I solo'd / duo'd all but 2 of my levels from 40~50 on thm recently and had no real mana issues unless I was purposely going nuke heavy on the mobs. >.>a The blm in me likes explosions.

After the post about instacast spells, new spells, getting enfeebles back, I think we're going to be fine. They have a vision, and I trust that it'll be alright in the end.

[Katt]

Coglin and Jennestia,

Yes I know that if you stay in passive mode, and don't walk/run around you can regain MP, and that for CNJ there is Blissful Mind and Shroud of Saints. And for THM you have Parsimony. It still doesn't even things out with the MP costs.

And yes Jennestia, I know we have more MP now but the loss of AoE for lower spells still sucks, and the new MP costs are still way to high. Fire 2 went up by 184 MP... How is that fair?

[KamikazeMan]

MP costs have gone up, BUT we have a lot more MP now and spells are, from my experience, more effective. Also, you now gain MP in combat while standing still and there are ways to recover MP. A good mage doesn't have to worry too much about MP. My CNJ seems to have an unlimited supply of MP because I know how to use my CNJ. Don't get too trigger happy, TC.

[Coglin]

Coglin and Jennestia,

Yes I know that if you stay in passive mode, and don't walk/run around you can regain MP, and that for CNJ there is Blissful Mind and Shroud of Saints. And for THM you have Parsimony. It still doesn't even things out with the MP costs.

And yes Jennestia, I know we have more MP now but the loss of AoE for lower spells still sucks, and the new MP costs are still way to high. Fire 2 went up by 184 MP... How is that fair?

The thing is, what "evens things out" is a matter of opinion. Ours disagrees with yours, right, wrong, or indifferent.

Secondly, who said anything about fair? Those who avor any other class can complain about there version of whats fair. Why is it fair that mages can do there damage combos with no restrictions to distance or location in reference to a mob?while the melees have to be the right distance away and in the right spot.

[Altera]

Im pretty sure once we get Jobs abilities. Like BLM Convert, and Bards in groups for MP regens it will level out. I can manage my MP pretty well during the Ifrit battle.

I am ok with how things are now. Cons are great, Thm needs some MP management but its workable. Im just staying calm until I see how the introduction of Jobs will changes things.

As for SE/Devs hates Classes, that reminds me of another MMO I used to play for about 7 years. Oh yes, WoW. And everybody complained that Blizzard hates Palas, Hunters, DKs, etc etc etc once 1 class was harder to play or underperformed.

I severly doubt they hate any specific classes, it just takes a while to balance things out. Every class did just get a complete overhaul with 1.20 remember. Im sure they keep track of how things are working out and will adjust if needed. ^^