Job changes you'd like to see in Endwalker?

[Grimoire-M]

Rather than going specific to any job (as we have dedicated forums for that), I'm going to approach this from a different angle and tackle UI that every job would benefit from seeing.

Party lists showing the last action a player used, even if it was an instant-cast spell, weaponskill, or ability. This would all exist in the same space as the castbars do on the party list, with their GCD and auto-attack timers potentially being included as an option as well.

Heals having some sort of class-specific indicator that indicates who they are targeting, or their placement if AoE. Ideally hardcast heals would sustain this, but instant effects could briefly flash their indicator as well.

The reason I want this is not because I'm unfamiliar with AoE ranges or cast-times on heals or unable to figure out what another player is doing, It's because the average roulette player doesn't know how to figure this out and I'd like to be able to point out obvious flubs in a rotation or lack of (or proper carrying) effort on someone's part without resorting to the thing we aren't mentioning. It would be nice to say "Hey you screwed up X during Mechanic Y, did you need help?" and be able to point to an in-game reference to explain how I noticed without having to explain the aggro list every time.

[Shurrikhan]

Party lists showing the last action a player used, even if it was an instant-cast spell, weaponskill, or ability.

Yeah, I don't understand why it's assumed that we'd be interested in the names of every spell with a cast time, but somehow not in any actions done without a cast time... Or, perhaps it really (sadly) is a matter of a UI being created as if by a checklist of essential incidental elements, rather than what said elements are meant to provide. Wouldn't be surprising if so, but... I'd rather keep some embers of faith.

Aside:

One of my largest regrets in going back to WoW, moreover, is seeing what a good UI looks like -- even if it had to be extensively custom-built -- only to then return to see XIV's one-size-fits-all-approach, and its presently, imo, mediocre results. The existing quality would be pretty darn good as a game default... if it were actually tweakable to better effect later. Alternatively, there's much that could yet be improved that would be an improvement to almost literally everyone.

(Please don't take this as a request for any and all addons, or even addons themselves; I find it annoying enough as is that the net-code or the hyper-rigid boss scripts reveal ability timings to third-party programs. I just want to see more finely customizable UI -- and, ideally, a more comprehensive, intuitive, and/or convenient default state thereof.)

____________________________________________________________________________________


Other thread-specifics:

1. Traits that change Fire 2 into Flare and Blizzard 2 into Freeze. At certain levels those spells aren't even used anymore, but we can't take them off our hotbars because we need them for low level content.

2. Removal of Fluid Aura. It's useless and a waste of hotbar space. Other healers don't have a bind, so SE clearly doesn't even believe they need it.

3. Switch the cooldowns of Scatter/Impact with Veraero 2 and Verthunder 2. Having RDM's AOE rotation flipped from the single target rotation can get confusing. Switching the cooldown will match both rotations and line Jolt > Veraero/Verthunder up with Impact > Veraero 2/Verthunder 2.

4. Remove gauge costs for Onslaught, Hissatsu: Gyoten, and Hissatsu: Yaten. No other tanks or DPS jobs require gauge for their tackles or disengagement skills, so it's silly that WAR and SAM do. WAR and SAM can't even use them without screwing up their rotations and losing overall damage because they need their gauge for other skills.

5. A skill like Bane for BRD, please. It's such a pain to apply 2 DOTs to every single enemy in a pull to increase our song stacks faster and do more damage overall, and it's an ability we've wanted for a long time.

1. I'd really rather see Fire 2 and Blizzard 2 regain a place both within an intuitive, polished rework of BLM's leveling experience and situationally thereafter, and instead trim such abilities as whose sole mechanic involves the player being able to count whether there is (A) a single enemy or (B) more than one enemy. Yes, that includes Xenoglossy. Make it a trait that augments the damage and animation of Flare when there are no enemies in Flare-range of the target.
   
   
2. Again, I'd prefer to see Fluid Aura reworked (to more than bland status-effect utility) rather than removed. Healers are already more than lacking in unique actions; if any of them can be made more interesting and integral, that is the direction I feel we should be going, not trimming out anything that isn't present already on the others.
   
   
3. ...They don't have cooldowns, though? Also, just remove Veraero-II and Verthunder-II. I realize this may sound contradictory to what I've asked in points [1] and [2], but it is not. Veraero and Verthunder's inclusion as first-step actions deny the space for not only more button-efficient designs but also more interesting ones that could otherwise give some decent nuance and unique capacity into funnel or anti-funnel damage capacity. (More on this point on request.)
   
   
4. No. This is honestly one of the few fair cases for "You think you want this, but you don't." At least, if you want them to be actual gap-closers and not used primarily as oGCD damage to be weaved in their appropriate window.
   
   
5. Let's note here three things:

• You are balanced around that time required to spread DoTs. To reduce that opportunity cost involved in augmenting your rate of Repertoire generation would rightly require a decrease in opportunity afforded.
• Your choices in combat are dependent upon distinct opportunity costs and affordances. By compressing both (by making it take only 3 GCDs to apply DoTs to all targets), you diminish much of the distinction between Quick Nock, multi-DoTing, and focus-target damage.
• And that's to say nothing for the potential of applying 700(n-1) DoT potency (840 relative potency, due to traits) instantly; you are in effect asking for a Hissatsu: Guren (850 potency), 2-minute skill from a melee "pure" DPS, to be given to a hypermobile ranged supportive DPS with... what cooldown, exactly?

To be clear, I do agree that Fire 2 and Blizzard 2 need revision. Trimming them, moreover, is a close second to revitalizing them, as BLM is nearing a point of bloat as is. I just would prefer that more buttons come from a space on integral function, which I think F2 and B2 could support, rather than further cooldowns or empty choices (Xeno, etc.).

Similarly, the Bard-Bane seems like it could be a really great idea, so long as it's introduced in such a way that does not diminish decision-making to nearly the same amount as it improves how fluid and eventful the job feels.

[Firework]

@Shurrikhan (It won't let me quote because there are too many characters)

The problem with Fluid Aura is it already used to have more use and they reworked it a few times into what it is now. I don't see them reworking it again to give it back some usefulness, and if they aren't going to change unnecessary skills to make them somewhat useful, I'd rather see them removed to free up hotbar space.

I meant cast times, not cooldowns. Thank you for pointing out my error. The AOE combo currently goes Verspells > Impact because of the cast times, which is opposite the Jolt combo. Idk why they added the AOE verspells in the first place either, but it seems they want an AOE rotation rather than just Scatter/Impact spam. They could at least switch the cast times to match the Jolt combo to make it less confusing.