[dev1033] Class name changes -> Specialization/Talent Trees Into Classic FF Classes

[Onisake]

It's an interesting concept. but there are several things i don't like.

#1 i don't see any remedy for the guild mark system already in place. i think this should be implemented.

#2 i don't see the point of a spec tree because of #1. you could accomplish specialization of Glad within the glad-mark system and make glad unique. the way you have your system, glad will become obsolete, and you are forced to essentially become pld or drk because those skills will be 'better' it essentially makes glad worthless. i don't like that idea. maybe you buy all your pld stuff at the glad guild as a subset. you have to have used so many marks to unlock def+10% or w/e.

#3 with the armory system as it is, each class needs a unique weapon. glad can already equip sword and shield. what will paladin equip? what if i want to play glad instead of paladin for some reason? for some jobs this is easy to remedy. samurai, ninja, cannoner, drk, etc. but thief, dragoon, and paladin all use weapons already in place. i guess paladins would have to use hammers. and monk may use bo or something. it just seems too complicated if i want to switch from pld to drk. i need to unspec pld, respec drk. blah, blah. you could add in 'saved specs' but then that's just a band-aid. it makes more sense to have a 'middle ground' tank (glad) a full tank (pld) and a full DD (drk) someone can choose from. say we're doing an event similar to limbus. i want to bring my glad because it's better DD than pld, but still allows me to tank, unlike drk. but then we get to a boss, maybe i need my pld now. it helps to diversify smaller groups without the extra menus.

Keeping in mind we have a primary goal of class uniqueness, i don't see a big difference between glad and pld. we want to make them truly unique, not just a better version of the other. drk is very different from glad, that one is obvious.

but there will be some problematic classes. pug from monk. pld from glad. lancer from drg. MRD from War.

another big difference i feel, is for some classes like Samurai. for those of us that know better, the Katana is an important symbol of the samurai. but the primary martial art in Fuedal japan was not swordplay, but archery. a peasant can swing a sword. but only a real samurai could shoot a bow. If you're familiar with the Japanese bow you know what i mean by this. it's not as user-friendly as an occidental bow. you could spend decades practicing, and never really quite figure out how to hold the bow properly. not that the class needs to be historically correct. but when i think of Samurai, i think of katanas at your waist and a yumi on your back. of course every class can equip a 'sub-weapon' but it becomes complicated if SE decides to go a more accurate route and give samurai both bow and katana.

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Rather than expand into 'tech trees' and add a new element. i'd rather see an expansion of the guild mark system. it would also allow you to keep glad unique from pld and drk. keep pug unique from thief.

this would eliminate a couple of problems.

1) you don't have to respec from one job to go back to base or a second split from the base. there is no split. you just switch jobs.

2) you have a 'merit' system in guild marks. and you can gain paladin abilities by playing paladin. rather than respecing glad. and it eliminates an earlier comment about being able to spec into ninja without ever playing ninja.

3) more in-line with what's already in place and works to fix a system we have that doesn't really do anything. marks.

Do we really need to copy something else? we have somethign in place already that could work for this. no need to make it more complicated than it needs to be.
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I can appreciate ideas to help, and honestly it's a well thought out and discussed plan.....but....the major issue is:

What you list as your MAJOR PROBLEMS, some of us see as MAJOR AWESOMENESS!

1. I don't want a predefined role, I want to make my own character. Sorry being cookie cutter isn't fun for everyone.

2. Being a mix of what you want is fun for some players. It allows them to create their own vision of their character tailored to their own play style that they can mesh with like minded players. (and form a linkshell etc etc etc.)

you're in the minority. the current system encourages wide-spectrum leveling. IE if you want to be really good you can't specialize. the most powerful 'classes' are the ones that can use every ability right now. which doesn't make a lot of sense. it's not so much we want something cookie cutter, but we want something unique.

Right now, the end-all-be-all DD Class is archer. if you want to be the top DD, you need to level archer. end of story. but not all of us 1) like ranged classes 2) play with the 'lets pwn some noobs' mentality present in gaming nowadays.

even if you don't 'want a predefined role' you are filling a pre-defined role. or you're not doing much of anything at all in the party but leeching. think of RDM From FFXI. rdm could DD, burst, tank, heal, buff, enfeeble. not as good as some other classes, but it could fill any of those roles. there are glaring weaknesses in a rdm who tried to fill all those roles at the same time. specialization is needed. pre-defined roles are needed.

it's not so much about what you want, as to what the game needs. you are in the minority as far as mentality for playing a game. you need to accept that and realize what really needs to be done.