Hello, everyone.

I'm here today to talk about the combat system. After playing the 'newly improved' combat after patch 1.18 for a few days now ( as well as doing some of the dungeons,) I have to say I am a bit puzzled. Let me say there are some things I like about the new changes, however that is what makes it so confusing. First, let me talk about the things recently implemented that I do like.

Active Mode - Although it's not a pretty animation, I'm so glad to have this feature updated to move in and out of active mode more smoothly. (No pun intended with the moonwalking, lol.)

Combat Actions - I know this is a very simple title, but I'm not sure how else to really describe this next part. Perhaps it's just me, but I feel like doing abilities and such felt a bit smoother overall. Going when I want something to go, etc (at least sometimes.) Which, I guess, would have to do with the removal of the stamina bar. I wasn't too keen on the removal of it at first, but I suppose if it promotes smoother combat, I'm for it.

MP Costs - This is actually a bit split. I think it was good for them to up the costs of mp to counteract their mp regen they introduced, however, I do feel like the costs are a bit too high, overall.

Some AoE or Single Target Only Spells - I'm okay with this. It's different, sure, but doable. It gives some of the abilities more character as well. I only wish that SE overall didn't completely shift gears from Thaumaturge to Conjurer. I think they should have made them more even. (On a side note, I feel Thaumaturge, Pugilist, and Marauder are being unjustly side-lined.)



Alright, now we are going to get into some parts that I find confusing. First and foremost I think the thing I'll mention first is a bit controversial, but it's my honest opinion and it gets to the heart of my dilemma with the system now.



Auto-attack - I know several people wanted this feature, but I was sort of unsure about it myself. I also am aware this is a bit of combat that is under construction. However, this addition is very contradictory to what the combat is in FFXIV. Right now, battle feels very clunky with this particular feature (as well as some of the movement of the game in general.)

To me, Auto-attack is splitting up this combat. It's trying to be two different kinds of combat at the same time. First, we have active players, that can cast spells immediately, etc. We also have active mobs that are fighting us without the same sort of delayed auto attack that we have. Then we have the auto-attack itself which is a waiting, pre-timed/turned based kind of feature that is contradictory to an active one. It's just very confusing. It's like speed up, slow down, try to do something with the tp, then wait for it to build up again.

The combat to me right now is like a bad mix of something heavily active like Tera or Vindictus, mixed with something trying to be turn-based like Atlantica Online or Wakfu. To me it just feels confusing and not mixed together well enough to be considered a cohesive new battle system. Maybe someone can shed some more light on this for me. Please give me your thoughts.

Claiming - Side-note worthy, I thought with patch 1.18 would also come a better claiming system, at least for instanced events. I don't understand why we can't just claim everything in a dungeon if we choose to. It's our instance, afterall. No one is going to come in and try to steal it from us.

Mob Aggro Range - Maybe some people find this trivial, but I find it rather unfair that some of it is still not addressed. Even when you are yalms away from the target aggroing you and you're running, it can still hit you from an uncanny distance. (Not including running away with your weapon out, which is also very odd that you maintain your hate that way.. -. - )

Again, this is a struggle between and active combat and a turn-based one for me. Active combat shouldn't have anything hitting you unless it's in-range. (Do mobs all still have long-range attacks too? Ugh.) Then turn-based could possibly still be getting hit even if they're trying to run away, but failing to do so. Both of these scenarios are not quite FFXIV. If you are running from a target, you are definitely moving away, however, you still get hit. It doesn't seem right and is again a confusing point of combat.

Enmity - Oh me, oh my...it is really crazy now, huh? I'm not even sure how to approach this particular aspect. Yes, people can manage with this new enmity...but do I think it's good? Eh...I know it's still under-construction, but so is the entire game. I don't feel like it's okay to keep implementing important parts of combat without them really being finished. If they need player feedback to make the combat enjoyably playable, then I think they need to open up test servers before introducing new game mechanics (or altering current ones.)



In closing, comparing our characters to the crazy monsters we have to fight, our characters seem significantly weak. It's comparable to an ordinary (real world) knight trying to fight a huge dragon. lol With this patch, I feel like players aren't as powerful (and regardless how many classes you do you won't necessarily be more powerful in combat), the combat is a tad bit more boring (though our interest is being held by what we are fighting in the dungeons for now), and playing the combat feels a bit clunky and confusing overall.

I like combat that we can enjoy and look forward to taking part in. I'm not exactly getting that feeling with FFXIV at the moment. It feels like a necessary evil. I hope with implementation of skill chains, jobs, and a better battle regimen system ( as well as tweaking of what we currently have) might make the combat more exciting as well as enjoyable. For now, please leave any comments that you have on my topics. Thanks for reading and sorry for the wall of text. =)