2hr Abilites (Yes Please!)? or (No Thanks!)?

[Demacia]

Dang some of you guys are against 2 hours too? Why not just say you don't want the game to ever be fun. Also lol @ saying 2 hours were worthless/underpowered.

[Carmillia]

oh I know i recall several vids on youtube with rdm meleeing maat fight. So it is possible. And also correct me if I'm wrong but... rdms can also use excalibur.... and have also rdms have death blossom a rdm only ws. And rdm AF is based off of a fencer attier. And that the rdm af weapon was a sword... and thet are backline.... ok....
Elitist are those who only think 1 way is the right way, and it their way or the high way.

Yes indeed although Excalibur was to much of a time sink to even think about getting for me. Also RDM can be part of a light SC. We both agree here on that part, I just think 2hr and defined role is not going to change that as we already see that right now in FFXIV (about 'must have' abilities from different jobs). Anyways, back to the topic, I want Ultima spell (cf FFVI) for my conjurer 2hr
I still think that the 2hour downtime should be abled to be reduced by paying some gils to a NPC. Any thoughts about that feature? We need some gil sink and it's a nice compromise between its power and the 'need' of it for some battles.

[Jennestia]

Oh my god... WTF is happening to FFXIV... WTF

It's become the MMO it should have been.

[Sorel]

If the development team does implement a "2HR-like" ability for each class they have to be extremely careful. There are MANY dangers and pitfalls.

1. Abilities from some classes are more powerful/effective/useful than from other classes. This would lead to classes becoming "lol<class-name>" and shunned from parties.
2. Demand for a particular ability creates artificial demand in parties for the class with that ability. Party members would not be chosen for their skill with a class or role (e.g. Summoner), but instead simply because they have that ability (e.g. Astral Flow). If a player has already used that ability, they are no longer useful, and thus removed from the party and unable to get into another party until that ability is available again.
3. Abilities are "too balanced" and become virtually identical. As such, they would not contribute to class-uniqueness, and thus be counter-productive.

The tactical benefits of any additional ability (whether 2HR-like or not) are clear. Having more options in combat is always positive. But the permanent social implications and drawbacks (as demonstrated by the venomous debate of the preceding pages) might do more harm than any temporary tactical advantage that these abilities provide is worth.

I am on the fence, to be honest. If the choice was between "2HR-class abilities" or "constant class traits" like Marauder's Steadfast Stance. I would go with traits, as they would be easier to balance, and have fewer social pitfalls.

An example would be if Lancers had a "Piercing Charge" trait that allowed them to always hit multiple enemies as long as they were in a straight line in front of them. Something like that would add class distinctiveness and tactics (specifically the tactic of maneuvering).

Adding 2HR-class abilities is not as simple as it may seem. Class traits may be the better way to go.

[Mr_Gyactus]

Dang some of you guys are against 2 hours too? Why not just say you don't want the game to ever be fun. Also lol @ saying 2 hours were worthless/underpowered.

the opposite. because I want a game fun, I want useful skill.
If you prefer, 2h skills don't worth the time invested projecting them.
SE can add 2hrs cooldown. Ok, what now? Do I have to wait 2 hours after changing class? of course not, they have to do something like a global cooldown for 2hrs skills.
Do we use them? when something is so rare, we tend to preserve until the last moment, and sometime even after.
This means, if I'm able to explain what I'm thinking, we will not really use these skills properly or, If you prefer, we waste that cooldown. I prefer less powerful skills, but used without an anguish for what happens 30 minutes later (in CD).
And honestly, I prefer mid paced mmo's, where you think a tactic, but still need a reactive action. 2hrs = maybe 3 times in a evening, not enough for a cerebellar action.

[Akumu]

Greetings everyone! We have heard about the possibility on 2 hour ability straight from the development team! Without further ado here's is what Akihiko Matsui, the FINAL FANTASY XIV Battle lead, had to say!

I like they are adding a "2hr" like ability but are also reviewing to see if having it on a 2hr cd is too much. A lot of MMOs give their classes special abilities but at most it's on an hr cd. Realistically I see dungeons lasting about 30 mins(4man) and an hour(8man). If that holds about true then our "special" ability should be 30mins-1hr cd(ranging for each class depending on the abilities effect/impact in battle). Having a 2hr cd just doesn't fit the pace of XIV.

My problem with XI was the abilities were unbalanced for a 2hr cd. Some should have been lower considering their overall small impact in battle.

[Dense]

Anything like a 2-hour ability would help identify classes as well as allow us to assemble teams with a strategy for the dungeon content they are promising.

For those of you vehemently opposing such an implementation (either because it's an instant win [not true, of course] or because you don't like having to see if the timer is ready), easy solution: Don't use it!

I see nothing wrong with adding 2-hour type abilities. It can only add to the fun of the realm, even if they are not particularly useful in 90% of activities.

NIN 2-hour in FFXI was pointless in battle (mostly), but great for blood warping after exp parties - and in .0001% of the time when everyone was dying and you needed just a bit more dmg, you can heal and explode to save the party. The fun is not in being able to do it every time, but when it goes off, wow, it was something to remember.

[Anathiel]

I'm all for 2hr's. But if they put drk back in I hope to god they don't bring back blood weapon. That should've been a regular drk ability with a 15 minute timer and the 2hr should've been a huge boost to attack.

[Jennestia]

I like they are adding a "2hr" like ability but are also reviewing to see if having it on a 2hr cd is too much. A lot of MMOs give their classes special abilities but at most it's on an hr cd. Realistically I see dungeons lasting about 30 mins(4man) and an hour(8man). If that holds about true then our "special" ability should be 30mins-1hr cd(ranging for each class depending on the abilities effect/impact in battle). Having a 2hr cd just doesn't fit the pace of XIV.

My problem with XI was the abilities were unbalanced for a 2hr cd. Some should have been lower considering their overall small impact in battle.

However the opposite end of that argument would be others should be longer because of their near "auto win" button, e.g Astral Flow + Alexander? That should be a 5-hr. Some 2 hrs were more useful in other instances rather than purely a party tactic, but being able to spam one set of abilities for example, people will demand their "useful" 2hr being spammable as well.

It's a slippery slope.

[BlaiseLallaise]

I'm floored that some people trash Kilta for wanting to play the way she wants to, then in the same breath expect her to play the way they want to. Sounds pretty hypocritical to me. And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the FFXIV armory system created to allow people to play the way they want to and break the molds that were in FFXI? That is one aspect of FFXIV that should be preserved.