Quote Originally Posted by ASkellington View Post
Some engagement could be fulfilled if they tweaked things:

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While I agree generally, we can't merely point in a particular direction and expect a net improvement. Let's take some of your suggestions as example:

Fae Gauge acting with more abilities.
At present, the Fae Gauge (like many), is essentially just a way to give a particular ability [A] (granular) charges and [B] begin combat with that ability on cooldown. I can certainly see why that sounds a poor use of a UI element (even while many will be put off by, say, abilities which granularly charge up to a given maximum effect or duration rather than being available only after having fully cooled).

However, consider the function of a broader gauge. A more broadly used gauge, unless UI bloat, attempts to increase conflict between skills. Using A means not being able to use B.

This usually pans out in either of two ways: (1) Situational constraints then determine which of multiple skills --each on, in effect, a shared charge system-- ought be used, giving us the likes of "Use A for 2+ targets; else, B"... or (2) you essentially do exactly what you would have done before, but with a small added degree of trap (using a filler skill when you could and should have instead used a stronger one), and you have a prettier UI element in place of shared ICDs.

That's not to say that gauges are inherently without value; I rather like Kenki, for instance, though I did prefer when it enticed tighter management. They are, however, only a very small addition that has as much chance to go poorly (by reducing the diversity of buttons we actually hit, due to shared resources costs leaving previously "free" abilities now mostly unused) as to go well (by increasing cognitive engagement).

Lilies acting with more abilities and generating blood lilies more often
To a point, that'd be great. I think many MCH players, though, could point out where those returns obviously diminish, making the entire mechanic (Hypercharge, in their case) seem as much an annoyance as an enjoyable feature. Stormblood DRKs could (and did) say likewise in regard to Dark Arts at that time.

Synastry + Horoscope interacting with oGCDs
A scalar (multiplicative) oGCD interacting with potency (flat-value) oGCDs (as with any duration-ed damage buff ever) tends to constrain those potency skills to/around the scalars.

Because healing requirements now are so low that such might result in overhealing anyways, that might not be an issue at present, but if we got what we want also in terms of healing itself being more engaging, that could rapidly worsen the feeling of gameplay as so many skills end up saved only to be used in prescribed bursts for greater total healing over time (with the lulls between those oGCD bursts being taken up by GCDs in a sort of lopsided feast-or-famine bounce between using and banking abilities).

At the end of the day, such comes down to whether you prefer having to time skills A, B, and C, around skill D's empowerment, rather than A, B, C, and D each being useful in their own right. In a DPS kit, I'd say that yes, that's a good thing. But on a healer, I'm not convinced. I was glad to see the likes of Largesse not affect oGCD heals. (Defiance lacking any benefit for oGCD heals, and thus getting relatively less eHP from ability-based healing than any other tank stance, was a separate and obvious issue.)

...Accutally forcing healing archetypes onto healers (WHM burst healer, AST regen etc)

Old cards were engaging. We now have AOE Balance (Divination) so... gib back pls?

Basically, having our healing kits work together instead of being so disjointed one offs. It could also reduce button bloat!
On these, 100% agreed.