Devolved jobs will kill this game.

[Sani2341]

To the point of sustain changes, didn't both BRD and PLD showcase new group healing actions in the evolved showcase
And DRG got a pseudo invuln.

If there will be more DMG, I doubt it will be healers that get to heal more. And just everyone else getting yelled at for not using their free healing tools correctly.

[StarryVera]

To the point of sustain changes, didn't both BRD and PLD showcase new group healing actions in the evolved showcase
And DRG got a pseudo invuln.

If there will be more DMG, I doubt it will be healers that get to heal more. And just everyone else getting yelled at for not using their free healing tools correctly.

Because frankly speaking, SE doesn't know how to make a support class in the slightest. The reason why healing is so braindead in FF is because of other buttons every other job has, DNC, SMN, BRD, MNK and all tanks, all having party wide heals in their kit in some way is not fundamentally healthy, but its so ingrained in the power fantasy of every job being able to do everything. We can see it in the evolved mode, if they wanted to fix the healing problem, adding MORE support buttons to jobs that are healing is not the way, on top of removing actual supportive buttons that would make the healing problems less apparent, where is Warden's Paean SE?

[Clerith]

I'm also concerned about these changes. Beat 'em ups like Street Fighter also have arcade controls (simple combos with few inputs) – and I've never liked those control schemes.
Even games like Wukong didn't appeal to me much, as the controls felt far too monotonous. (It's basically a three-button game.)
And having fewer skills also means that there's less animation expression (Which they seem to counter by offering different animations for the same ability).

However, I wouldn't mind fewer abilities as long as they have a greater impact on group play (especially in easier content) – and require more thoughtful use of abilities.
For example, what if the tank couldn't survive a tankbuster without the invulnerability ability – meaning they'd be reliant on a healer's support skill in most situations?
And what if the tank had to focus more on its position – when it comes to protecting others from harm or was able to reflect and redirect certain attacks?

It's not that such interactions don't already exist, but in normal gameplay we rarely ever see something like this.
In most dungeons, the tank simply holds aggro, the healer heals a bit while spamming 1 or 2 buttons for damage,
and the dps basically mind their own business, except when there's a stack marker.
The boss mechanics are the only thing that differentiates the fights
– and even these hardly force you to do more than dodge attacks and pay attention to the positions of other players.
That's what's boring.

We need more variety in our skill interactions - especially when playing anything else than a dps.
But even with DPS... let's say a Blue Mage can only have either "Freeze" or "Vibration"
— This would mean that both Blue Mages would be dependent on each other and would have to use their abilities one after the other.
It's nothing complicated - but a fun co-op combo-interaction.
And I think normal DPS gameplay would also benefit from such interactions – with the first spell (in this example "freeze") being assigned to the support DPS.

Sure, it's a bit tricky to balance this and offer different combinations depending on the group composition.
And single player content would also be affected by it.
But such changes would make combat significantly more interesting.

And again: I want to see these kinds of interactions in normal gameplay.
The content that 90% of players play almost daily should feel more varied and rewarding.
If only the difficult content feels varied, but is too difficult and/or time-consuming for most players,
then that is not a good state for the game.

[Slayer25c]

Evolved system is good for controller players we already have too many skills as it is

[Hanzz96]

Well simply put, if they don't rework elements of the game, then healer numbers will keep dropping as they come to understand their role is worthless and they'll either move on to other roles or leave the game entirely. I am saddened that you are probably right, based on their track record. They seem to want to preserve the single player power fantasy at all costs so you will probably be proved correct.

The thing is it's not a healers job to just heal in 14 its a healers job to do dps while sustaining the party. They aren't going to change the way to game works so people can heal bot for this weird class fantasy thing.

If you want to just heal then other mmo's exist but that's not what this one is. FF14 doesn't need to be a different gamr for people who refuse to play it as intended.

[Hanzz96]

Evolved system is good for controller players we already have too many skills as it is

Pretending an mmo that can be played on controller has button bloat is crazy imo

[Bubert]

Damned if you don’t, damned if you do. If everything is boring to you guys then maybe look within yourself. Maybe you are the one being boring and no matter what the devs do it will never ever make you happy. Why people are even paying their sub if all they do is badmouth the game every single day? Do you get paid to do this?! Lol… The expansion isn’t even out yet by the way…

[Hanzz96]

Damned if you don’t, damned if you do. If everything is boring to you guys then maybe look within yourself. Maybe you are the one being boring and no matter what the devs do it will never ever make you happy. Why people are even paying their sub if all they do is badmouth the game every single day? Do you get paid to do this?! Lol… The expansion isn’t even out yet by the way…

I pay my sub because I love savage & ultimate raiding, gpose and roleplaying.

I'm saying Evo looks boring because it's just hit glowing button, anything that was skillful is gone from what they showed and my main was personally gutted in that showcase.

Look at my posts you'll never find a single one with me complaining about the battle system before now because I really do love current jobs. I am usually this games biggest glazer but while change needs to happen I do not think this is the way.

Does that make me love the game less? No.

Also yes the expansion isn't out yet but they showed what they did to get feedback and it's imporant to give it so the expansion doesn't launch like this hopefully

[Clerith]

I also find it worrying because it doesn't seem to address the much-criticized problems, but rather seems to further standardize/simplify things.
But we can't yet say how it will ultimately play – and it's important to know what's being added.
We want new abilities on our way to lvl 110 – and they can't keep adding new abilities without first resolving what already feels bloated or somewhat redundant.
And I believe that support for Switch 2 and Steam Deck also plays a role in this.

However, the fact remains, that most players want a good job identity and jobs that complement each other and play well (in regards to input variety and what they do).
And in that regard FF14 has not gone a particular interesting route.
A healer shouldn't feel like their healer kit isn't much needed in normal play.
And it is also a fact that dungeons feel far too similar in terms of gameplay and how they are tackled.
This too must be addressed in order to further break up the monotony.
Having a bigger choice on what we wanna do for progression is a big help however.

Also, that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to version 8.0 or that I won't find enjoyment in the game.
I play since 6 years - 100% vanilla - and there's still a lot I wanna do.
And it's worth remembering that most players want the best for FF14 – but there will always be differing opinions on how to achieve that. ^^

[RaionKansen]

I was open to the prospect of having less buttons in exchange for more complexity and identity. After all other games such as WoW have shown how that can work. What you showed at Fanfest mortified me and looking at the infographs for how they worked mechanically confirmed my initial impression. Despite repeatedly stating to everyones faces that this is not in fact an easy mode you may be shocked to hear that your players do have the eyes and ears and a brain to see that it clearly is easier in almost every single way. All you've done is replace high execution low complexity with low execution low complexity and add a single token class flavor button. There is simply not enough going on to hold any long term players interest. It's actual braindead phone game slop.

If evolved is implemented with a similar design philosophy to what we saw in Fanfest I will tell you with 100% certainty that you will see a new all-time low in players next expansion.

Why? Because it is boring. People are bored. You have been bleeding players for years because your game has become so godawfully painfully boring. You are accelerating this process by making it even more boring. I really don't know why this even needs explaining. When players are bored they will inevitably leave when they get distracted by something that isn't boring. Boredom goes up. Money line goes down. Do you get it yet? How many consecutive years of increased simplification and decreased players does it take for you to finally connect the dots???

Oh look another person commenting negatively on the changes even though they do 0 high end content.

What do you even know about what's best for the game's battle design?

Its gotta be real easy to be bored when you don't do anything in the game.