(Slight) Changes to Job Crystal System

[Dyne_Fellpool]

Maybe if they changed it so all Traits were tied to a Job Crystal, things like this would be a bit more feasible. They could just change the category to be called "Job Traits" for clarity.

If Job Crystal defined all Traits and not just 5 abilities and some invisible stats, the system would be much more flexible.
The problem would be you just wouldn't get any Traits until lv 30... idk, are there any real important pre-30 Traits right now that couldnt reasonably just be bumped to lv 30?


I believe they are just going to move away from the 2-job, 1-class thing though. But who knows.

[Yonko]

Using White Mage as another example:

[White Mage]
30: Divine Seal
35: Regen
40: Cure III (trading from a class ability)
45: Benediction
50: Holy

[Geomancer] (Example Conjurer DPS)
30: Torrent
35: Quicksand
40: Snowstorm
45: Wind Blast
50: Magma Surge

(Geomancer ability names also taken from FFT abilities)

The idea is you are given a much greater toolkit for healing as a White Mage. Geomancer would still has access to Cure and Cure II to assist with healing if necessary, but when equipped INT gear (I assume) and a limited toolkit, it wouldn't be nearly as effective (like BLM with Physick).

1) Your leaving Geomancer with Cleric's stance. Cleric stance means its better to gear MND and switch since you'd get a boost to damage since it gives you a 10% boost to Damage (and a -20% to healing) so all of the Geomancer healing skills are full strength.

2) Why are you removing Presence of Mind? Its not the best skill but certainly has its uses. If you wanted to remove a job skill since its not a "Healing" skill Holy would be the better option but try convincing a WHM to give up Holy. Medica/II are better AoE cures than Cure 3 90% of the time anyways.

[dvoraen]

The main issue I have with the Job Crystal system as it stands right now, is that it doesn't really support role changes in a level sync environment, as we see with Arcanist -> Scholar. Specifically, just let the fairy do the work while the Scholar can just hit Cleric Stance and behave as an Arcanist all day. (This also doesn't get into the ability progression issues, such as the lack of status cure in places like Brayflox's Longstop. Round 1 went to White Mages here by far, until the Antidote change went in.)

What I'd personally like to see, is the Job Crystal basically overwrite the class progression and trait acquisition with its own line. So, to use Scholar as my poster child, you could have something like this happen (traits are in brackets):

1 - Ruin
2 - Physick
4 - Bio
4 - Summon (Eos)
6 - Aetherflow
8 - Energy Drain / [Aetherdam]
10 - Miasma
12 - Virus
14 - [Enhanced Mind I] / (Eos: Whispering Dawn)
15 - Summon II (Selene)
16 - [Enhanced Mind II]
18 - Leeches / Sustain
22 - Resurrection

and so on. I wouldn't personally do it exactly like that, as I consider it more of a bandaid approach, but that's not the point. My point is: mix in the important Scholar healing abilities at lower levels instead of enforcing it to be at the level acquired via the Job crystal. Some abilities (Leeches the big one) should be available roughly at the same time as other classes in the same role, if only so that they're each on a similar level at a given bracket of progression... if that made sense.

[Ravenguard]

1) Your leaving Geomancer with Cleric's stance. Cleric stance means its better to gear MND and switch since you'd get a boost to damage since it gives you a 10% boost to Damage (and a -20% to healing) so all of the Geomancer healing skills are full strength.

Yeah, things like this would definitely need to be taken into consideration.

2) Why are you removing Presence of Mind? Its not the best skill but certainly has its uses. If you wanted to remove a job skill since its not a "Healing" skill Holy would be the better option but try convincing a WHM to give up Holy. Medica/II are better AoE cures than Cure 3 90% of the time anyways.

I'm not suggesting removing it, I would be exchanging it for a skill like Cure III. I think Presence of Mind would still be a useful skill for a DPS Conjurer so having it baseline makes sense (to me). Might you have a different suggestion?

As for Holy, I saw it as too much of an "iconic" White Mage ability to remove from their Job Crystal. Limits Job abilities, but couldn't bring myself to remove it.

[ZodiacBrave]

This topic made me interested and decided to pitch in a few ideas of my own.
Sorry this is gonna be a very long post...

Using Paladin as an example:

[Paladin]
30: Shield Oath
35: Cover
40: Sentinel
45: Spirits Within
50: Hallowed Ground

[Sword Saint] (Example Gladiator DPS)
30: Sword Oath
35: Judgement Blade
40: Duskblade
45: Hallowed Bolt
50: Divine Ruination

(Sword Saint ability names taken from FFT abilities)

Here's my version of the skillsets.

[Gladiator]
38: Sword Oath (swaps with Sentinel)
42: Shield Oath (with Tempered Will)
46: Spirits Within (with Bulwark)

This way, even a normal Gladiator can have much more versatility switching between Sword and Shield, supplementing either Tank or DPS role he may take up. I also decided to give Spirits Within to the class as to let your 2nd Job Sword Saint (?) enjoy an additional offensive ability.

[Paladin]
30: Cover *
35: Sentinel
40: Tempered Will **
45: Bulwark
50: Hallowed Ground

As you see, Paladin will now have a much more defensive set of moves. Much akin to your idea of role based mechanics brought by Jobs. As for mechanics, I was thinking if they could tweak some of the abilities.

* Cover should be a bit more permanent, as a passive until reused kinda thing. That way, PLDs can run near anybody in order to 'Cover' and save their squishy lives.
** Tempered Will, since this will now be Job-exclusive, I'm thinking if they could upgrade it a bit. Why not give the buff to the whole party instead of just yourself? I'm sure tanks are not the only ones who want to be saved from falling off ledges like in the Titan fight.

[Sword Saint]
30: XXX *
35~50: same as you pointed

* As a new DPS job, you might not want to have more enmity than your tank. So a skill (passive until reuse) that trades enmity of weaponskills (Fast > Savage > Rage) with a bit extra damage could really be helpful. Saints can still gain enmity with Flash and Provoke.

If Job traits are to be introduced, they could add a few traits supplementary to the roles on top of the Class traits. Something like Paladins favoring Shield Oath and Sword Saints with Sword Oath.

~~~

Now for another job...

I don't have a MNK yet, but based on their skillsets it feels kinda weird to me that MNK seems to be a bit too similar to how a PUG currently is.
As such, here is my idea:

[Pugilist]
38: Rockbreaker (Swaps with Steel Peak)
46: One-ilm Punch (with Howling Fist)
50: Dragon Kick (with Perfect Balance)

This way, all form-based moves are given to PUGs. Even as classes, they could enjoy an AoE combo of Arm of the Destroyer > (any raptor) > Rockbreaker.

[Monk]
30: Steel Peak
35: Shoulder Tackle
40: Fists of Fire
45: Howling Fist
50: Perfect Balance

This version of the MNK's skillset has all form-based weaponskill removed, and replaced with Abilities not relying on forms and can be popped in-between combos in a similar manner as a Dragoon's Jumps. As a bonus lore wise, Perfect Balance for MNK's gives the skill more context as it will allow the PUGs to master their control of mind and body and allow them to 'transcend forms'.

~~~

For 2nd Jobs of current classes... you already mentioned GEO for CNJ. I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking about that.

For PUGs, I was thinking if they could fill the role of an Evasive Tank. The Tank Job could further increase their evasive maneuvers, giving more importance to skills like Featherfoot and Haymaker. Their enmity source could come from changing forms, however that might happen. Job traits may improve Fist of Earth and Fist of Wind, giving them enmity boost or evasion boost whichever the PUG needs more. They could get GLA and ROG as cross-class skills especially Flash, Provoke and Perfect Dodge. (Bonus that this may be the first Job that can equip ROG skills)

For the Archer's potential second Job, we differ in ideas for it could potentially be.
Basing on other games WoW, Guild Wars, Dragon Age and many others, Archers and pets seem to be quite inseparable,
so why not give Archers a Job that lets them have their own pets?

[Ranger / Beastmaster / Hunter / Animal Tamer]
30: A skill that calls the pet
35 ~ 45: Skills that affect you and your pet, or possible offensive skills
50: A skill that invokes a pet to do a cool move (much like Enkindle)

For cross-class skills, ARCs may get skills from ACN. Aside from Physick, Virus and Eye for an Eye, they could get Sustain and Rouse, cross-class skills exclusive to their new job kinda like Cleric Stance for SCH.

As for what the pet can do, this is where we might get issues. Unlike ACNs, which have weak Ruin spells, their pets compensate their supposed lack of DPS (?). ARCs alone already have a crazy DPS, so having a DPS pet might give them too much of an advantage in the damage department? Having a healer pet might make them too similar with SCH, and a tank pet make them similar to SMN.

[AniCelestine]

One concept I was brainstorming was a Ranger Job Crystal for Archer. To make this happen they would need to nerf Archer's innate skills slightly, and then rebuff them through the 5 abilities granted by the Ranger Job crystal. This way, if you required utility and group buffing, you can assist your team through your songs as Bard at the cost of damage. However, if you need more DPS (or already have a Bard in the group), you are able to equip the Ranger Job crystal and Pew Pew away for more deeps!

There is no need to change anything on the class, just one thing I'd find overpowered with this is the ability to move and shoot, so either make a skill that can only be activated while not moving, whihc increases dmg dealt and then when the player moves that "stance" drops and dmg dealt is lower, and then again once you stop moving you can activate it, wouldn't make it too much of a "LOL BLM NUB CNT MOVE AND I OUTDPS U EZ!" . Bard's lack of damage comes from their Weapon Damage on their bows. compare other physical DPS ilvl 110 WD 51 to Bards ilvl 110 WD 46

1) Your leaving Geomancer with Cleric's stance. Cleric stance means its better to gear MND and switch since you'd get a boost to damage since it gives you a 10% boost to Damage (and a -20% to healing) so all of the Geomancer healing skills are full strength.

There is no way you could gear up MND gear, if GEO used same gear as BLM/SMN does. Unless ofcourse you want to run in ilvl 55 gear, which is the highest to have both, mnd and int. So no problem there. Allthough GEO would need it's own class rather than branch off of CNJ, imo

2) Why are you removing Presence of Mind? Its not the best skill but certainly has its uses. If you wanted to remove a job skill since its not a "Healing" skill Holy would be the better option but try convincing a WHM to give up Holy. Medica/II are better AoE cures than Cure 3 90% of the time anyways.

Personally I don't use PoM at all, unless I holy spam. So imo PoM should be transfered to CNJ and Holy kept on WHM because it's pretty much WHM-specific spell in other FF's, no? Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Ordoric]

black mages need to gain stone <quake> aero <tornado> water <flood> let them change some wording

"Astral fire" enhance potency to
Aero dot
thunder Dot

"Umbral Ice" lowers potency adds additional debuff to
stone bind
ice heavy
water slow

[VanilleFang]

A DPS mage class with Cleric Stance? No thanks.

Sure it would be an INT based class, but I'm sure someone will find a way to abuse this.

[Verlyn]

A DPS mage class with Cleric Stance? No thanks.
Sure it would be an INT based class, but I'm sure someone will find a way to abuse this.

There are already instances where Cleric Stance can be rendered situationally unusable (frontlines) and where abilities can be changed to fit a job (SMN/SCH). So Cleric Stance is literally a non-issue. It can be changed or removed from GEO.