Honest question: If every player/class/job is equal,who is unique? (Gameplay topic)

[Aegis]

Design at the time favored stuff taking forever to get anything done. That said, XI got away with a lv75 cap for as long as it did because almost everything introduced at higher levels was basically swap pieces or inventory+1 pieces. That's not good design in the long run between wasted art assets and inventory issues. Both of which XI suffered from.

Not to mention strenuous grinds for stuff in general don't reward anyone, and instead make them think along the lines of "thank god I don't have to do that ever again". Atma farming is pretty much giving people that mindset as well because it follows exactly the same principle.

IF it was such terrible design, how was it SE's most successful game ever? It didn't lose subs for many many years into its lifespan, it has outlasted many games that subscribe to the WoW model (I'm not calling them WoW clones just to head off any arguments). With a glamour system there wouldn't be any more wasted art assets than in thsi game, certainly.

You mean back when the only two skillchains everyone cared about was Distortion and lv3 Light? And lol at you if you couldn't take part in either.

Actually, I found self-skillchaining gravitation (I think it was, it's been a while) into an MP drainkiss doubled my MP intake and allowed me to go between fights without resting on my BLU/THF.

Also, on my first job to 75, one of my most fun memories was closing Darkness Skillchains on Magmatic Erucas with Cross Reaper from the MNK's WS (Howling fist, I think...) for our BLM to Ancient Magic (yes we actually MB'd AM, lol we were noobs) MB.

And were phased out of general gameplay by the players themselves at the first chance that they got.

When the game design changed to favour other styles of play (Merit-pt pulling Colibri and Puks), then favoured compositions and play styles did indeed change. Anyone who said LolDRG on Puks or Colibri was an idiot.

Oh, that thing that got abandoned the moment SA Viper Bite stopped doing ridiculous damage on IT++ targets. Oh and then was expected of DRKs since they could do THF's job better than they could at 60+.

Yes, at that point Thief was given the level 60 ability (forgotten its name) that hugely increased TA damage and made it viable to use seperately to SA. They also got two additional hate transfer abilities also.

Spamming the same four/five songs out of how many that BRD had access to?

March I/II
Madrigal I/II
Minuet I/II
Ballad I/II
Foe Lullaby
Horde Lullaby
Elegy I/II

If you weren't singing these songs regularly you were doing it wrong. The only songs I think I never sang were the Mambos that increased evasion. Even a couple of the Carols were useful in Temenos. On Carby it was nearly mandatory.

Surprise surprise, 2 out of 20 jobs could self-SC. 3 if you count DRG but that was only possible with /SAM and Spirit Surge.

If they all could, it wouldn't be unique, would it? Which is kind of what this thread is all about.

Your examples aren't exactly stellar displays of good combat design.

I think they're better than you're giving them credit for.

But then, I think my experience of XI may have been different than yours. I joined just after ToAU (xbox release) and left shortly after Abyssea.