My take on why FFXIV PvP is unsatisfactory.

[Reese_Clairdale]

Not sure how new/old OP is to PvP in XIV.

I've been playing since before PvP was implemented, but it didn't really catch my interest until Frontlines was added. My goal with this topic was to strike at the heart of FFXIV combat in general and avoid dwelling on any particular patch for too long. If I recall correctly, 7.1 is the first patch that has implemented such drastic changes to the underlying behaviors of skills regardless of what expansion they come from, which is what prompted me to make this thread.

jobs usually go through a significant overhaul with every expansion where new abilities are added to all jobs. This is true in many other games as well, most notably WoW. Where the class/job identity often changes drastically as a result of new skills being added/removed on expansion launch.

I am very keenly aware of this. The entire reason I finally activated my forum account was to show my disdain and give my feedback on the state of 6.1 Samurai in PvE. I had finally settled on a true main job in 4.0, but this patch, at least for me, finally warped it beyond recognition. The only thing that kept me playing through Endwalker was the 6.1 PvP changes were overall a massive step in the right direction IMO, despite the extra work that was clearly needed to bring Frontlines back to a more balanced state. In regards to WoW, I played from 2004 to around mid-late 2010. I decided to drop the game specifically because they detailed their plan to literally and figuratively destroy the world with the Cataclysm expansion. All I could think of at that time was if they were willing to do that, then they were probably willing to destroy more of the class design and other gameplay aspects as well. As I mentioned in the preface of my original post, none of the games I am mentioning are perfect, but there's still some particular aspects that are genuinely innovative or have stood the test of time, which all games can learn from.

In my opinion, this is healthy for the game. I can't imagine playing PvP with Stormblood actions barely changing 6 years later.

Have to completely disagree here. The Ship of Theseus / Revolving door approach to job design in FFXIV means that a job that is beloved to you one moment can be quickly murdered in the next patch or expansion. This applies to both PvE as well as PvP. All of the drastic changes they have imposed over the years could have been implemented as part of a custom trait system or entire new jobs.