Genuine Question about Job Homogeneity

[Shougun]

Thank you for your honest response, and I did check out your other thread!

Please do correct me if I'm wrong, but I got the vibe that the issue is more with content not letting any Job-specific action shine, but wouldn't that be a content issue more than a Job issue?

- Old Castrum Meridianum had the ceruleum pipes we had to blow up, and NIN used to be able to go stealth and blow both up without aggroing anything near the pipes, but barely anyone could do that because everyone would just mindlessly charge ahead and kill everything either way.

- In Haukke Manor, NIN can ignore the entire basement segment with Hide and get the key to enter Boss 2 without fighting a single enemy, but nobody does it.

- Brayflox Loongstop you can sleep the second boss, or the mini-boss that spawns with him, but nobody does it.

- More recently, the turtle right before the final boss in Origenics has a big AOE stomp can be interrupted if put to sleep, which makes RDM the best caster to run that dungeon with.

- DRK's TBN can absorb The Queen's Cleansing Slash in DR, entirely negating the Doom that it'd apply otherwise. SCH/SGE shields will also do the trick.

But that's the issue though. These are the only examples I could think of, all of them can be entirely ignored, and one of them doesn't even exist anymore. Looking it at it like this, the issue feels more with the content being made so all you really have to do is Tank and Spank, rather than having stuff like... "Oh, electricity short circuits this mechanic, so bring a NIN or a BLM" or something like that. Am I somewhat on the right track here?

I think that you came up with a limited list, which I appreciate you attempted to do, is an example of the whole problem though. People are going cross eyed and saying it all feels similar. I wouldn't agree that it is LITERALLY the same, but I definitely am on team "I feel cross eyed". I guess another word is like "growing apathy".


There is also the consequence of actual, number and feature based, gameplay differences being harder to balance (though WoW is not doing terrible right now, with context that each job is pretty different feeling, outside of the bugs LOL). To me if someone was like come up with ONE thing that would make a difference and I'd go.. "I can't" we need a lot of things, and many might feel really small, but as a collection it would be my hope that when you switch jobs, or do some different content, your mind almost gets hijacked. Like I just took your train set and chucked it out the window and gave you a boat, and now you got to figure out how to use the boat. A bit bombastic of a statement lol, but that's the boardroom pitch . That said, even with the potential danger.. at this point I'm leaning into the fire and being like.. "maybe I do want to be burned a little.. just to feel alive!" haha.

Like off hand, right away- there are no role actions anymore. I've eaten them and you don't get them back. Each job, where REQUIRED, will get something unique to them that operates differently, but you four tanks don't all share rampart. That's tasteless (in sense of texture / food). I'm not serving flavorless octopus over here dangit! lol. At this point I'd like to add it's easier to think of criticism, and even ideas, than actually do- so I don't want to give the impression of "its easy".. just that if you say what would you like and I will be like "I've 1,000 minor ideas that you might not notice immediately, but as a unit you would, and 100 major ideas that will disrupt your flow intentionally so that you have no choice but to see them differently (hopefully in a fun way)".

Leeches (SCH) should operate differently than Esuna, even if it's just minor. Like Leeches will apply a buff lasting 30 seconds that every 10 seconds removes a debuff and grants a HoT each time it does so (starting at the cast), you can only have two leeches up at one time (last leech is the one to be moved, if you cast beyond 2 active leeches). Esuna instantly removes two debuffs, and if it crits removes them all.

All healers are not sharing esuna! Why? Because thematically that's boring and every little thing that is more similar than not messes with the idea I am calling texture. I apologize for people who are not following with it, because I am making words to describe my feeling.. So.. my current definition in this usage is probably along the lines of 'mechanics and concepts that apply mental traction to the situation and create unique memories associated to specific concepts'. FFXIV still fun, and insanely pretty (when I was casting spells in WoW I was like "wow.. that fire looks like butt" lol), but 'texture' is my feedback.

Like when you're in the zones attacked by Garleans, we should be able to fix it up as we increase our zone levels, unlocking new merchants and stuff. Just using FFXIV's own example, remember the Shroud fate where when you lost the enemy took over the outpost and when you won you got a little town and vendor? (Which thanalan had too)... Those ideas died there, I would have hoped they not only lived but improved.

I can definitely come up with more ideas, on any topic.. so I don't want to appear lazy when I am swinging this massive brush around screaming texture like a mad man lol.. but I also don't want you to be like "HOLY NO THANKS, NOT READING THAT" as I am common to make in general