(Slight) Changes to Job Crystal System

[Ravenguard]

What is Sounded Like (too me anyway) you were saying in the First Past was that the Classes should become More Role-Neutral and the Jobs should be what Defines them... That Doesn't Work for me. If they Did that people would play The Classes they Want Yeah.. But they'd Also Assume that they Can Tank as a Black Mage as they don't have too Worry about it as a Thaumatage...

Sorry for the confusion. Role-Neutral is a kind of a good way to describe it, however this isn't quite what I ment.

Using BLM as an example (though arguable they are a more "locked-in" class as far as their abilities/rotation), the idea would be to have their Job crystals contain more DPS-focused abilities and buffs (Like Flare and maybe Fire III / Ice III / Thunder III) to expand how they DPS and play, and not so much what they current get (Apocatastasis, Freeze, Manawall) as these provide great utility, but don't excel their DPS or change their rotation in any way. If you were to give them a second Job Crystal (another DPS crystal I guess?) they would still feel and play almost identical to Black Mage (minus Flare).

A better example is trying to give Warrior or Paladin a DPS crystal. They have many defensive abilities innately, that were they given competitive DPS to current jobs, they would take substantially less damage and require less healing at the same time (with Warrior arguably less so).

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!

[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.