Burst - Any Plans?

[Drazzan]

Hello There,

I'm posting to ask if the developers have any plans for Burst. I ask this because when put side by side with the other fifteen minute abilities in this game; it is severely lacking in damage output; even with combo conditions are sufficiently met. I write this because from my knowledge I have not seen anyone asking for a legitimate fix, or buff to Burst; people seem more concerned with yelling about petitions for larger Lalafell busts or something.

Now, before I go into further details about Burst. Let us take a quick look at the other fifteen minute abilities.

Warrior
Mighty Strikes
Guarantees all attacks made with axes will be critical hits.

Paladin
Hallowed Ground
Makes you impervious to all physical attacks.

Dragoon
Dragonfire Dive
Delivers a jumping fire attack to target and enemies near it.

Monk
Hundred Fists
Temporarily increases auto-attack speed.

Bard
Battle Voice
Increases maximum HP of all party members within range and enhances effect of all songs sung while active.

Black Mage
Burst
Deals lightning damage.

White Mage
Benediction
Restores HP of all party members within range.

Now, all of the above bar Dragoon are extremely potent effects. They either last a set amount of time, and considerably increase the effectiveness of a jobs roll for a set period, or they are potent instant activate abilities that can turn the tide of battle. Much like the two hours in Final Fantasy XI, they are important abilities and compliment the skill-set of the job. However; I do not have these jobs leveled, so I cannot fully comprehend their usefulness, but from participating in End-Game events, many are, as aforementioned, used to turn the tide of battle, or to better enhance the effectiveness of a roll.

While I cannot comment on Dragoon's damage (and it may be getting an update this evening); Black Mage on the other hand uses Burst, a powerful lightning spell that outputs a very mediocre amount of damage for the fifteen minute timer. Looking at the damage output of a Warrior or Monk during their fifteen minute ability phase, the damage dealt is much more severe and lasting than that of Burst; Sometimes pushing anywhere between 800 and 1,500; it seems that Black Mage received the short-straw; not just in terms of damage, but usefulness also. Sure it has a nice MP and casting time cost, but it still seems very underwhelming; even when used in part of a combo.

I believe having an ability that better compliments the skill-set and play-style of a Black Mage, making it a pivotal ability to use at an important time, rather than just an excuse for an average piece of damage would be a great direction to go.

I hope other Black Mages can comment on this, and I'd also be interested in hearing how Dragoon's Dragonfire Dive shapes up in it's similar nature.

Much Thanks

Drazzan

[whoopeeragon]

To me, Dragonfire Dive is about equally limited as Burst in terms of usefulness. Being fire-elemental, it doesn't do much against monsters strong to that (cough Ifrit cough) but aside from that, damage isn't all the spectacular either. It's AoE - that's nice. It looks cool - aesthetic appeal. But I can do AoE with Ring of Talons, Leg Sweep, Doomspike....the first one actually seems to me to deal more damage than Dragonfire Dive. That's just my opinion though. Other DRG's may not think so.

[SynysterBlitz]

Are you using Burst at low HP??? I don't see the big deal of fixing it, I burn all my mp and convert at the lowest MP possible. It's not like the 15 mins on the others jobs are godly, the only one that really shines is Battle Voice which you forgot sadly enough....

[Ryans]

I'd have preferred that blm had received Manafont (Ex: Free spell cost for 20 seconds).

If I had my way, Sleep would replace Resonance in terms of level obtained (I know its useful in certain situations but they are few and far between), Sleepga would be obtained at lvl 42 by thm, and Burst would be a 5 minute cooldown that is obtained in place of Sleepga in the blm quest line. That would leave Manafont to be obtained from the last blm quest and it wouldn't take away a pretty nifty spell from blm.

I'd also make Burst cost twice as much as the current MP cost.

[Drazzan]

I have used it at Low HP. But in comparison to the usefulness of other fifteen minute abilities; it seems very underwhelming. It much also be said that other jobs don't have to use it as part of a combo involving convert (which can be very dangerous during Primal Fights) to attain a decent amount of use out of the ability.

Sorry about missing Bard. Knew there was something I was forgetting. Though I had that in mind while writing.

[Drazzan]

To me, Dragonfire Dive is about equally limited as Burst in terms of usefulness.

That is interesting to note. I wonder if they have any plans to buff it during tonight's update. It would just be nice to see all the two hour abilities be on par with one another on their usefulness; as it seems both Dragoon and Black Mage can throw it out when it's available for a small boost in damage, rather than when the situation calls for it.

[Wevlum]

Whilst I do think burst is a bit pathetic as a 15minute ability, I am lolling at the idea of BLM needing a boost of any kind. I do agree sleep should be gained earlier as well as war drum and other aoe hate tools because low level grouping is such an unorganized mess at the moment...that said high level grouping is war aoe->fira.

[Radav]

There have been other threads asking for a re-examination of Dragonfire Dive and Burst. Both received no comment from the devs. Dragonfire dive should at the very least have the elemental aspect removed. There's nothing worse then seeing your dragonfire dive get completely resisted or end up barely doing any more dmg then you can do with ring of talons. The same can be said about Burst. You can do similar if not more damage with thundaga.

It just doesn't seem right that you put a spell/WS on a long CD timer and then have it be no more effective then the regular abilities you can use a large number of times between CDs on your 15 min. ability.

[Drazzan]

Whilst I do think burst is a bit pathetic as a 15minute ability, I am lolling at the idea of BLM needing a boost of any kind. I do agree sleep should be gained earlier as well as war drum and other aoe hate tools because low level grouping is such an unorganized mess at the moment...that said high level grouping is war aoe->fira.

I have to agree that BLM is, and can be very powerful, especially when stacked >.> *Cough* Garuda.

However, I feel as a two hour, the ability needs changed a little bit. In order to compliment spell casting, rather than just being a single spell cast.

[Ryans]

Are you using Burst at low HP??? I don't see the big deal of fixing it, I burn all my mp and convert at the lowest MP possible. It's not like the 15 mins on the others jobs are godly, the only one that really shines is Battle Voice which you forgot sadly enough....

On any end game boss, Burst does a little more damage than a comboed Thundaga and about the same damage if you are comparing a Burst crit and a Thundaga crit (When using Burst with under 500 HP). While the damage is great for the MP cost I think the OP point was that Burst takes a lot of planning to get the full potential out of the spell and, even when executed properly, is fairly lackluster.

To get the full effect you have to:

Wait until you are around 700 MP, Cast Thunder -> Thundara -> Dark Seal -> Excruciate -> Quelling Strikes -> Convert -> Burst

Other jobs just need to hit one button without any real planning. I guess a way to think about it is other jobs have an "Oh shit" button whereas blms have "Shit is hitting the fan, wait 20 seconds for me to set up my combo" button.