Please let us keep our abilities on sync down

[CuteBucket]

It's already been pointed out why letting us use our full max level kit at lower levels creates problems. But I agree that syncing down feels terrible for the most part. I think, best bet, is that there's a compromise here.

My go-to solution that I've seen shared by others before is this: All jobs should have a workable, comfortable, ideally fun and functional base kit by level 50. That means that the rotation, if the job has one, should feel like it has all of the structure in place, with further levels building upon it. It also needs movement, like a gap closer or opener, and a gauge with a way to spend that gauge. Some jobs have all this at 50, but most notably don't, and it takes until lvl 60 or 70 to even feel like the class is in a basic, playable state. I think this does a disservice to sprouts and veterans alike--it doesn't teach sprouts about their job skills early in the game well at all, and veterans don't want to sync down and be stuck with a job that has 1/4th of the buttons to press.

For some examples off the top of my head: BRD should have all songs by 50, it's very clunky not to have all three. Samurai should have Kenki and their movement buttons at 50. DRG should have its gauge and slightly longer rotation by 50. BLM should have Ley Lines. All tanks should have a gap closer by 50 and a basic burst/gauge spender. All healers should... I don't know, I don't play healers, I'm sure healers could tell you what they need to feel like they have a workable kit though. I gravitate toward certain jobs like DNC and SMN when I know there's a good chance of me ending up in lower end content, because I feel like those classes are at least mostly playable at 50, and most of my friends do the same if given the chance, because we all HATE getting stuck in one of the Crystal Tower raids with a job that feels like hot garbage to play for the next mind-numbing 15-20 minutes.

Redesigning jobs to feel like a solid base kit at 50 and then getting one new major ability button per roughly the next 10 levels would feel much, much better imo, while avoiding the issues with max level damage potentcies leaving sprouts in the dust.

[Striker44]

While I see some issues on DPS skills, the bigger ones I see are on tanks and healers. Say an at-level tank only has Rampart for 20% reduction, while an over-leveled tank also has its 40% reduction. How do you deal with that? If you don't make any adjustments, then it inevitably becomes a liability having the at-level tank, which is exactly the primary goal SE is trying to avoid. If you do adjust it so that the over-leveled tank has to use both of its abilities to achieve the 20% reduction, then what was the point even keeping them both? And that's not even factoring the even higher-leveled tanks that will have their full immunity...

Same with healers. What do you with a WHM that has Benediction vs. one that doesn't? You can't "adjust the potency" of a 100% heal. Either you have it or you don't.

Remember, one of SE's biggest objectives with their system is to ensure that lower-level players (or rather *at* level players) don't get harassed because they're a liability compared to having a higher-level player. Until you can ensure any "sync" system you propose doesn't directly or indirectly encourage this, it's a non-starter.

[Daralii]

For some examples off the top of my head: BRD should have all songs by 50, it's very clunky not to have all three. Samurai should have Kenki and their movement buttons at 50. DRG should have its gauge and slightly longer rotation by 50. BLM should have Ley Lines. All tanks should have a gap closer by 50 and a basic burst/gauge spender. All healers should... I don't know, I don't play healers, I'm sure healers could tell you what they need to feel like they have a workable kit though. I gravitate toward certain jobs like DNC and SMN when I know there's a good chance of me ending up in lower end content, because I feel like those classes are at least mostly playable at 50, and most of my friends do the same if given the chance, because we all HATE getting stuck in one of the Crystal Tower raids with a job that feels like hot garbage to play for the next mind-numbing 15-20 minutes.

I don't play healers much, but they should at least have their gauges and damaging spenders, especially WHM since lilies currently offer nothing but a single target GCD heal until 74(22 levels after the gauge is unlocked). It's hard to say beyond that because they all have what must be at least a bar and a half of oGCD heals, shields, mitigation, buffs, and resource generation with varying degrees of redundancy.

[Deniza]

While I see some issues on DPS skills, the bigger ones I see are on tanks and healers. Say an at-level tank only has Rampart for 20% reduction, while an over-leveled tank also has its 40% reduction. How do you deal with that? If you don't make any adjustments, then it inevitably becomes a liability having the at-level tank, which is exactly the primary goal SE is trying to avoid. If you do adjust it so that the over-leveled tank has to use both of its abilities to achieve the 20% reduction, then what was the point even keeping them both? And that's not even factoring the even higher-leveled tanks that will have their full immunity...

For me I don't see this as an issue, never really did I need many defensives in leveling dungeons. And if I did, I overpulled intentionally, knowing that I need to throw defensives.
Overpulling in FFXIV in higher dungeons is blocked through walls so again I don't see that as an issue. Same goes for full immunity, which all tanks when I remember right already have at lvl 50? So all leveling dungeons above already have those for the tanks, and all dungeons before that already get steamrolled and are no challange to even need it. Besides the one or two odd ones where you can pull almost the whole dungeon, Which is mainly ARR design in dungeons that they fixed in some reworked dungeons already.

Same with healers. What do you with a WHM that has Benediction vs. one that doesn't? You can't "adjust the potency" of a 100% heal. Either you have it or you don't.

As for your Example with WHM, everything below lvl 50 almost only needs one or two Cure II to fully heal a player, yes its not oGCD like Benediction is but the healing required in low level dungeons is minimal to none depending on who is tanking.

Remember, one of SE's biggest objectives with their system is to ensure that lower-level players (or rather *at* level players) don't get harassed because they're a liability compared to having a higher-level player. Until you can ensure any "sync" system you propose doesn't directly or indirectly encourage this, it's a non-starter.

While I respect that, trying to shield new players from harrasment. imO. it is on us.
If the community is truly "the best on the market" this shouldn't be an issue. Help people if they are new to something, have patience. Be kind. Don't be a dick. General things that we can strive for as human beings in all parts that we do, not just gaming. There are countless of examples of people leaving the group if the tank only pulled one pack at a time instead of wall to wall. And in many such cases the tank is the new player. The issue is that some people are just toxic, and restraining everyone to not have all their abilities in low level content, I think doesn't change the toxic people from being toxic. The toxic person always finds innovative ways on how to make other peoples days annoying.

[Daralii]

Same with healers. What do you with a WHM that has Benediction vs. one that doesn't? You can't "adjust the potency" of a 100% heal. Either you have it or you don't.

I don't get why people keep bringing up Benediction as if it's an insurmountable design hurdle. Essential Dignity will almost always achieve the exact same result sub-50 and is accessible at level 15.

[hydralus]

Honestly, even if they let you have all the abilities synced down, it wouldn't make a large improvement for me. Already spent enough time doing my max level rotation that doing it in low level content isn't suddenly going to make it interesting. The only reason I'd touch lower level content is for the rewards and even that isn't sweet enough bait most times.

[Atreus]

Nope. Old ultimates and any sync'd content gets slightly easier each expansion because they do adjust potencies, traits, and other things for lower-than-max level skills. Nevermind new jobs tend to come out of the gate with higher than usual potencies at all levels, like a certain painting job. So yes it does matter if every skill needed a database entry for different level points, that's more work for so little gain. The thought process with MMO is make both throwaway and also some content they can future-proof to some extent like criterion and ultimates and move on.

Okay? Then any argument about a level sync rework affecting "balance" is a worthless argument when the balance, as it stands, is a joke.

[Supersnow845]

I don't get why people keep bringing up Benediction as if it's an insurmountable design hurdle. Essential Dignity will almost always achieve the exact same result sub-50 and is accessible at level 15.

People thinking benediction is a good skill (it’s not) is about the oldest example of “acshooly WHM is a good class” (it’s not) in this game

[VeyaAkemi]

People thinking benediction is a good skill (it’s not) is about the oldest example of “acshooly WHM is a good class” (it’s not) in this game

Well, you see, Bene is bombastic, and people judge things off of vibes 90% of the time(conservative estimate here), it's the same reason high potency finishers became so common, when they can be argued to be bad for the game's health in general, it's also how much on the Blood Lily for Afflatus Misery, when it is a damage neutral skill other than timing it during raid buffs, and even then not a spectacular gain, save for funky interactions in content like Bozja, such as using it under Lost Seraph Strike with a Profane Deep Essence(absolute drug of a combo by the way, your lvl 80 WHM will be pulling numbers that we can't do in normal content at level 100).

[Shougun]

People thinking benediction is a good skill (it’s not) is about the oldest example of “acshooly WHM is a good class” (it’s not) in this game

Reminds me of the people who were trying to nerf Paladin's Hallowed Ground meanwhile Warrior was yucking it up with best damage, best self sustain, going Holmgang back to back on tank busters due to its much lower cooldown xD.