Musketeer class idea

[GuardianX]

Look closely at the NFC that is fighting the clockworks in the lightening events. It has a gun and a sword. Perhaps it\\'s a taste of the new jobs coming

NPC* mistyped

[DarkStar]

@Bloodclaw: Engineer would be an interesting choice too, though if it wasn't anything at all like Edgar and his Tools in FF6, I'd probably be disappointed for a while. And then I'd play it anyway. >w>;;

@GuardianX: I'm...not quite sure what you're talking about. Are you referring to Lightning? If so, that's her weapon from FFXIII, called a Gunblade, which works by switching between Sword and Gun modes. Would be an interesting option, but I don't actually see that being the Musketeer weapon. Not to mention, if we DID get a Gunblade using class, it'd likely use the Garlean gunblades, and not something from a completely different world, like Lightning's.

Anyway, on-topic, I've made a few more changes, again to Chemist, because attempting to make a Disciple of War healing class that isn't useless is hard work.

Chemist
-Throw Phoenix Down is now a Musketeer class ability
-Throw X-Potion is now the level 45 Job Ability
-*New Ability* Throw Elixir: Heals all HP to the target. Very long cooldown. *This is the new level 50 Job Ability*

Musketeer
-Potshot has been replaced by Throw Phoenix Down.

Once again, all comments and (constructive) criticisms are appreciated. Also, I'm going to be posting another class idea of mine soon, Ronin!

[MartaDemireux]

Haha, seems we're on a similar wavelength! I, too, have been creating a Musketeer > Corsair & Chemist idea, though quite different than yours. I like the base behind your idea it but I'm afraid with indefinite durations the COR would get a little stale in actual gameplay.

I also wanted to say that instead of tossing out some ideas in order to provide a cooldown for Chemist you could also alter some existing ones. For instance one that increases damage dealt by 10% could instead increase Determination by 30% or something. This way damage is increased but it will also increase healing as well.

[Duelle]

The trouble with Chemist is Alchemist is already a Disciple of the Hand (crafting), hence having a Discipline of War Job named something similar would probably just confuse players, hence I don't see SE using such a title even if they actually introduce the Job into the game. But apart from that, I like your ideas, they're really logically thought out.

Chemist to us is アイテム士 (Item-user) to the japanese. There's not much confusion to be had.

I'll give you a slug shot.

I still see healing bullets coming out of that barrel.

[Acaelus]

People spend waaaaay too much time thinkin' about this crap.

[Duelle]

People spend waaaaay too much time thinkin' about this crap.

Seeing that options are (understandably) limited in ARR so far, it's not a bad thing to want more jobs and classes as the game grows.

That said, my issue with Corsair is two-fold. First because Corsair was built on the gambler's mechanics, and as FFXI continued to age the gun became more token and less central to gameplay (until Leaden Salutte and Wildfire entered the game, anyways). The OP's suggestion makes COR pretty much required for raiding, as direct damage buffs of the kind suggested by them are huge. This would not be an issue if we had a 3-tank, 5-healer, 16-DPS raid comp for 24-man raids instead of 3 full parties with two tanks, two heals and four DPS each -- if that had been the case it really would be a matter of balancing numbers and buff potency (assuming we end up getting other jobs that can also cover those spots in a raid). As it is in the OP, we'd get princess CORs a little too soon after liberating ourselves from princess BRDs.

My second issue with COR is more thematic. Because it is a gambler with a token gun, it becomes harder to recognize the job if you were to push it in a different direction. Mechanically you can make it a ranged DPS that focuses on muskets (its parent class being musketeer and everything) but that clashes with what we expect from pirates (which Corsair is another word for). The job could be mechanically-sound but then become iconoclastic.

I get that dressing like a pirate is cool and everything, but without proper context it becomes a guy dressed like a pirate but doing something that clashes with what you'd expect from one. XI had a similar problem since CORs were doomed to sub WHM and spam cures in the content that mattered.

[DarkStar]

@MartaDemireux: Hey there, I've actually found some of your suggestions rather interesting, and reading your stuff is partly what made me decide to finally put my idea for how Musketeer could work down in actual writing. And now I need to look up your idea for Musketeer, if you've already posted it, to see what you thought up.

As for your suggestion, Burst Shot and Piercing Shot weren't utility cooldowns, and didn't really contribute anything to Chemist, if that's what you meant. If it wasn't, a Determination boost would be another way to handle what Power Potion's intended effect is.

@Acaelus: Yes, I do indeed spend a lot of time thinking about this kind of stuff, mainly because it helps the long time spent Shard-Grinding go by a little faster.

@Duelle: Hey there, nice to see some more critique on my idea. :3

I'm not really sure if your second issue was direct at me or not, but as far as the damage buff being 'too powerful', I just made a change where Corsair Dice don't stack, much like Bard songs. Thus, if you wind up with a party that has two Corsairs in it, only one of them will be able to roll Musketeer Dice, while the other will have to do something else, such as Lancer or Gladiator dice.

[Kirosuu]

look at bright side
there are gun based guild flag at limsa (actual building idk where) if you look carefully at limsa city

[Duelle]

I'm not really sure if your second issue was direct at me or not, but as far as the damage buff being 'too powerful', I just made a change where Corsair Dice don't stack, much like Bard songs. Thus, if you wind up with a party that has two Corsairs in it, only one of them will be able to roll Musketeer Dice, while the other will have to do something else, such as Lancer or Gladiator dice.

I understood that dice wouldn't stack. That'd be like the old paladin blessings in WoW.

My comment was aimed at the fact that at the moment we have no job that effectively increases raid DPS. Even BRDs, who are touted by traditionalists as support (when they're clearly DPS) do not; at the most they let the party keep going longer instead of running out of MP or TP. COR by comparison increases raid DPS through +damage and +crit rate. You'd be right to tell me it would take 2 CORs, but I can promise you raids would simply force 2 CORs into their raid comps, specially the guys pushing content on the level of Coil (and before you'd tell me that it would only affect those players, I would remind you that player trends roll downhill the same way some people back away from WAR tanks in stuff like HM Ifrit and Garuda despite Coil being the issue).

There's a reason bard buffs were changed to raid cooldowns rather than perpetual buffs like what your COR has, and why (within the context of modern MMOs, understandably broken) things like Madrigal, March et al are not in their arsenal.

--------------------------

Anyway, as I often counter a concept with a concept, here's something I put together using your design as a base:

Musketeer

The use of firearms requires not only intensive training and a good amount of talent, but also sharp eyes and quick reflexes. It is on these ideals that Limsa Lominsa's Knights of the Barracuda test their recruits, and in turn have within their ranks some of the most talented sharpshooters in the realm. While musketeers generally work in units, they are also trained to work on their own and are more than capable of completing mission objectives laid out by their superiors with little or no help.

The musketeer may be seen as someone who focuses on eliminating their targets quickly and discreetly, but they are also trained for survival in terrains that may not provide them with ample cover. This allows them to be moved between the medical corps and the gunner batallion, depending on the musketeers' own talents and what the thalassocracy needs.

Concept: Ranged attacker with some CC and a minor heal. Think of a trained soldier that knows how to attack, knows how to temporarily hinder enemy advance and knows some emergency medicine that may keep them going a little longer before having to go see a real medic.

Mechanics: Despite being a ranged attacker in the vein of Archer, Musketeer does have abilities that must be channeled before they can be used.

Weapons: The musketeer can equip muskets and pistols.

Abilities
01 Split Shot: Fire two shots for 80 potency per shot.
02 Leg Shot: Places a 80% weight effect on enemy for 18 seconds. Weight potency decreases over time.
04 Hot Shot: Delives an attack with a potency of 60. Places a 20 potency DoT on target for 12 seconds. Can only be used after Split Shot. Gunner: Hot Shot's DoT makes the target Primed for Execution, allowing Head Shot to critically hit.
06 Grenade: Delivers an area attack with a potency of 200. 90-second cooldown.
08 Field Potion: Instantly restores own HP. Cure potency 150. Cure potency varies with DEX stat.
10 Aimed Shot: Delivers an attack with a potency of 150. 3-second cast time.
12 Scattershot: Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to all enemies in a cone before you.
15 Stock Strike: Requires melee range. Stuns target enemy for 3 seconds.
18 Double Charge: Next ability or spell is critical. 2-minute cooldown.
22 Mortal Shot: Delivers an attack with a potency of 200. Can only be used when target's HP is below 20%
26 Adrenaline Rush: Recovers own TP over 15 seconds. 60-second cooldown.
30 Barrage (MSK): The next three shots ignore the global cooldown.
34 Scatterburst: Delivers an attack with a potency of 120 with an increased critical chance. Can only be used after Scattershot.
38 Piercing Shot: Delivers an attack with a potency of 80. Increases damage target takes from your attacks by 10% for 15 seconds. 2-second cast time.
42 Enchanted Ammo: You shots deal an additional 50 potency as unaspected magic damage. 15-second duration. 150-second cooldown.
46 Sludge Bomb: Creates a designated area in which enemies are afflicted with 30% weight. 18-second duration. 60-second cooldown.
50 Leaden Salute: Delivers an attack with a potency of 300 to target and all enemies within 5 yalms. 3-minute cooldown.

Traits
08 Enhanced Dexterity (Musketeer)
14 Quick Repeater: Split Shot has a 20% chance to make your next Split Shot deal increased damage.
16 Enhanced Dexterity II (Musketeer)
20 Enhanced Leg Shot: Your Leg Shot now has a 15% chance to Bind the target for 3 seconds.
24 Sniper Training: Your shots and auto-attacks have a 5% chance to make your next Aimed Shot instant.
28 Incendiary Grenade: Your grenade now sets the ground ablaze within a 5-yalm radius of the target, dealing 30-potency fire damage to all who are in it.
32 Enhanced Dexterity III (Musketeer)
36 Dead Shot: Your Hot Shot has a 10% chance to allow Mortal Shot to be used on a target while they are above 20% HP.
40 Enhanced Barrage (MSK): Increases the number of shots that ignore the GCD to 4.
44 Enhanced Piercing Shot: Increases the duration of Piercing Shot's debuff to 18 seconds.
48 Ammo Reserves: Extends the effect of Enchanted Ammo to 21 seconds.

Musketeer Notes
- I kept the OP in mind and have made adjustments where I saw fit.
- I'm not too sure about the OP's suggested model for chaining gun abilities, but I decided to go with it. I will say that things look iffy if your main combo is going to be Split Shot => Hot Shot, seeing that the latter has a DoT attached.
- Leg Shot's slow effect weakens over time following the "1 tick per 3 seconds" rule. With a duration of 18 seconds, you go from 80% weight to 20% by then time the counter hits 0. To balance out the bind proc from Enhanced Leg Shot, I'd make Leg Shot costly to discourage spamming.
- The idea behind Aimed Shot is that it does heavier damage but has a prohibitive cast time. Sniper Training procs can help a player get around that, but they won't be too frequent.
- There's some random chance in the gameplay for my version of MSK, and I will say I'm not too keen on the idea.
- Keeping the lack of attacks to rotate, I decided to give Split Shot a proc that would encourage the player to reuse it instead of moving on to Hot Shot.
- I also decided to de-emphasize on skill speed, which I feel is unecessary as MSK already has a ranged advantage.

----------------------------------
Chemist

Unlike those who use magic to close wounds, chemists prefer to rely on scientific discoveries to heal the ailments of their allies. Using modified pistols loaded with quick-acting salve pellets, a chemist can easily triage a serious wound while preparing a bigger concoction to fully heal their fellows.

While chemists prefer to enter the field as battle medics, they are also familiar with the use of science as a weapon, and as such have a couple of tricks up their sleeves should the enemy get too close, and their pistols can easily be turned to their enemies should the need arise.

Concept: A ranged healer that uses potions and items instead of magic.

Mechanics: Chemist's main mechanic outside of using TP is that they need to keep Medic's Aim up at all times to heal at max potency. Medic's Aim can be obtained by using Split Shot on an ally (minor heal) or enemy. They can switch to DPS but it requires them forsaking all their healing bonuses and primary heals in order to do so.

Weapons: Chemists favor pistols.

Abilities
30 Medic's Clip: Increases healing done by 10%. Disables auto-attack/auto-shoot. Changes Field Potion to Alchemist's Potion. Changes Grenade to Mega-Potion Grenade. Allows Split Shot to be used on allies. Effect ends upon reuse.
--Medic's Aim: Increases healing done by 5% and decreases the GCD of all healing abilities by .5 seconds. 15 second duration.
--Split Shot (Medic's Clip): Fires two shots that heal target per shot.
--Alchemist's Potion: Restores target's HP. 20-yalm range. 2.5 second cast time. 2.5 second cooldown.
--Mega-Potion Grenade: Restores HP within a designated area and heals party members within the area for an additional X potency every 3 seconds. 9-second duration. 2.5 second cast time. 2.5 second cooldown.
35 Phoenix Pinion: Resurrects target to a weakened state. 8 second cast time.
40 Remedy Dart: Removes a single detrimental effect from target. Requires Medic's Clip.
45 Tranquilizer Dart: Puts target enemy to sleep. Requires Medic's Clip.
50 Megalixir: Restores 50% HP of target and all allies within 5 yalms and allows them to regenerate TP and MP for 9 seconds. 5-minute cooldown.

Chemist Notes
- Assuming that CHM will use TP instead of MP, this would be a fast-paced healer between keeping Medic's Aim up and using your heals efficiently.
- Quick Repeater affecs the Medic's Clip version of Split Shot, giving you some extra healing when it procs.
- Medic's Clip is what allows you to go into healer mode, and the core of CHM's gameplay is built on staying in that mode.
- Because of how Barrage (MSK) works, you could effectively spam Split Shot while ignoring the GCD. Mind you that Alch's Potion and Mega-Potion Grenade have cast times, and since Split Shot's two shots can crit individually you have good potential for burst healing if you were to pop that.
- Between Leg Shot, Tranq Dart and Sludge Bomb, I'd say CHM's also set for PvP, as most strategies involve ganging up on the healer as soon as the battle starts.
- Some tentative ideas I did not implement here include Split Shot having no TP cost while using Medic's Clip as well as Medic's Aim increasing TP regen rate while active.
- I'm not going to lie. I fell in love with the idea of shooting at allies to heal them a while back while playing TOR. The style seems to suit Chemist quite well while also playing on the fact that FFT's Chemist had access to guns.

----------------------------------
Gunner

Limsa Lominsa's Gunner Battallion is comprised of the elite of the elite in the use of firearms. Specializing in long range combat using carefully calibrated muskets, these Gunners have made the difference in helping the thalassocracy protect its territories in post-Calamity La Noscea. While their numbers are few, the support a Gunner can provide to the front lines has not gone unnoticed, and troop morale seems to quickly rise at the knowledge of their presence on the battlefield.

Concept: Long range attacker that focuses on high damage.

Weapons: Gunners favor muskets due to their effectiveness at long range.

Abilities
30 Head Shot: Delivers an attack with a potency of 180.
35 Sudden Shot: Delivers an attack that interrupts target's spell-casting.
40 Combat Flare: Requires Melee range. Light a signal flare in the eyes of the target enemy, incapacitating them for 6 seconds.
45 Lock-on: Guarantees the next shot will hit its target, no matter how far they are. 2-minute cooldown.
50 Marked for Death: Increases damage taken by target from all sources by 10% for 15 seconds. 5-minute cooldown.

Gunner Notes
- Head Shot cannot crit unless the debuff from Hot Shot is up. Ideally You'll want to keep the debuff up at all times while weaving Head Shot into your rotation to maximize damage.
- Sudden Shot gives raids an alternative over stacking BRDs (then again, interrupts should NEVER be a reason to bring or not bring a particular DPS, and depending on how this BRD change works out, it may put them at a disadvantage)
- Lock-on is a throwback to an archer ability in beta that had an increased range over all other archer skills. In this case, using Lock-on doubles the range of your next shot, allowing it to hit the target even if they manage to get out of range. There is potential for abuse in places lik AK where you can pull mobs from far away on the path before the dragon.
- Marked for Death is tentative. What I was aiming for was a raid DPS cooldown. You wouldn't be using MfD at will, but when the raid leader calls for the raid to burn down a boss.
- GUN's set up is where Barrage (MSK) would truly shine, as it would allow the player to take advantage of nearly all procs for a nice spike of damage.

[Kitru]

There's a reason bard buffs were changed to raid cooldowns rather than perpetual buffs like what your COR has, and why (within the context of modern MMOs, understandably broken) things like Madrigal, March et al are not in their arsenal..

It should also be mentioned that none of the BRD's songs are universally useful, like a straight +det, +dam, or +crit buff would be. BRD either helps out healers (with Ballad, since BLM and SMN are both effectively infinite mp), caster DPS (with Requiem; BLM damage is pretty much all elemental and all SMN pet damage is elemental even if all of the SMN's damage is unaspected; it buffs BRD damage a bit, thanks to Windbite and Flame Arrow, but that's not a huge amount), or DoW classes (with Paeon).

The only other class that could be labelled as "support" is SCH, when they elect to use Selene instead of Eos. Selene can buff *either* skill speed or spell speed at any given time (if you're good, you can make sure that one of those two is up at all times) so it's not universally useful either. On top of this, just like with BRDs, using Selene decreases your healing output (Eos packs the +healing buff and Whispering Dawn) so it comes at a cost to your primary effectiveness when you opt to use it.

Using the existing examples of "support" that we've got, there are 3 criteria that it needs to follow: limited uptime, benefit to a subset of total classes rather than all, and it must come at the cost of your primary functionality when it's active. There's kind of a fourth pseudo criteria which is that support isn't a primary role so you must still be a fully functional tank, dps, or healer.

If you really wanted to play up the random aspect as part of Corsair (not entire sure I think that the piratical, gun-using job should lead into what has classically been "Gambler" but whatever), you could have each of the effects provide a static buff to a random subset of classes. The "cost" could come as the dice applying a debuff to you that reduces damage by 20% for 10 seconds after it's used. If you wanted to go the route of multiple types of dice, you could have...

Restful Dice: throws 2 dice that have half of their faces as the DoW symbol and half as the DoM symbol; restores 100 TP and 10% MP to everyone if one of each face is shown, 250 TP if it's double DoW, and 25% MP if it's double DoM
Debillitating Dice: throws 2 dice that have one of the elements symbolized on each of their faces; reduces target's resistance to the damage types shown by 10% and reduces resistance by 25% if they both show the same damage type
Corsair's Dice: throws 2 dice that have each of a sword, a shield, a wand, a starburst, a tree, or a lucky 7; sword increases attack power by 15%, shield increases defense and mdef by 10%, wand increases attack magic potency by 10%, tree increases healing magic potency by 10%, starburst provides a small but visible increase to the limit gauge; if 2 faces show, they increase the benefit by 150%; lucky 7 only works when you get 2 of them but it provides the benefit of all faces as if 2 of that face had been shown
Extra Die (Lv. 50): A long CD ability that causes your next Dice ability to throw an extra die (3 dice of the same face provide no greater benefit than if there were 2 dice showing that face)
The 5th job ability would likely need to be an actual attack.

The BRD construct (which this follows: 3 support, 1 long CD ability that improves those support abilities, and 1 attack) is a pretty good one. You'd need to give the abilities pretty substantial costs (like consuming 75% of your max mp) and/or long CDs, but the randomness of the benefits means that you could get away with them providing more than the other support jobs are able to provide.