The trouble with Job redesigns

[Colt47]

Melees were in a good spot in Shadowbringers, not Endwalker (with the exception of Monk) and job complexity does not equal DPS. All the jobs are similarly easy to play with the one punishing job left being BLM who's not as strong as melees. DRK is also the 2nd easiest tank to optimize.

I wouldn't say BLM is the only punishing job left as dragoon can be punishing along with Bard. The big problem they need to fix is dependency on spell / skill speed materia to align burst windows in rotation. BLM is punishing because the casts are so long without any coverage for drop off due to movement, and even if they fixed that aspect it still would be the most punishing job since because those casts are so long, having to cancel out hits a lot harder to personal dps than other jobs. They are doing that incrementally but there are jobs like DRK that they probably are going to revise at a later point.

Complexity doesn't always net more dps, but it often does since a more complex job is also more complex for the devs to balance, since there's so many variables involved in the output. They could be making a lot of changes to make the jobs easier to balance on the development end.

[elioaiko]

Complexity =/= Feel good to play.

EW AST feels terrible because it's complex for the wrong reasons. Cards are disconnected that they feel like afterthoughts.

I get that people miss pre-EW SMN but I can see why they made the changes they did. They felt like SMN was a mess and felt like they couldn't do more without adding more convoluted filler to an already cramped job. They just elected to axe the old design and do something else.

[Dahlinea]

I get that people miss pre-EW SMN but I can see why they made the changes they did. They felt like SMN was a mess and felt like they couldn't do more without adding more convoluted filler to an already cramped job. They just elected to axe the old design and do something else.

Correction: It's not about like or not like pre-EW SMN anymore. This is more about why the hell SMN is the most simplistic job in the game right now. You choose a summon to go with and you only have 2 obligatory buttons to press and that's it. Where's the rest of the kit? Where's all the oGCDs to weave in? Where's all the flexibility SMN had before? Why the hell 90% of SMN spells are insta cast now? Why the hell change Tri-disaster from pure damage oGCD (since dots are were gone) to a freaking upgrade of AoE spell that you never use? Why Aetherflow was not reworked to be a more dynamic gauge to work with summons instead of being left untouched in that now deplorable state?

There were a lot things to make the rework way more engaging to pre-EW SMNs mains while 'relieving' the job of it's messy gameplay, like you guys like to say.

[butchersblock]

I get that people miss pre-EW SMN but I can see why they made the changes they did. They felt like SMN was a mess and felt like they couldn't do more without adding more convoluted filler to an already cramped job. They just elected to axe the old design and do something else.

and now we're left with what's essentially a phys ranged with training wheels. Wonderful.