Break the Trinity System Please

[Tupsi]

If true support is anything like BRD or RDM played in FFXI, no thanks. That is the height of boring/no skill play. Buff > Buff > Buff > Debuff > Debuff > Buff > "WHAT ARE YOU DOING STOP TRYING TO MELEE" > etc

I don't think you ever touched XI if you threw RDM into the "true support" category lol.

[Duelle]

I don't think you ever touched XI if you threw RDM into the "true support" category.

And I'll question your playing it if you actually refute the fact that the playerbase used it as nothing but pure support. The five cats soloing bosses and thus making everyone else hate us notwithstanding, of course (AKA "WTF y ar u aksing for melee buffs & fixes for ur job?!?!?!? go solo sky gods trollololol").

Bard should be a support class, but the ballads feel like more of a joke nod at support than real support.

Our bard is a DPS with utility cooldowns. Much like an enhancement shaman but requiring even more situational awareness since BRDs are supposed to know when to turn on the songs and when to turn off to go back to their full DPS potential. We got a much better deal out of the proceedings with things as they are.

Given that content in this game is essentially 4 or 8 person groups though, could a support job adequately depose a DPS in 4-man content? If they can, then aren't they greatly overpowered in 8-man content? I could see them fitting them into 8-man content easily enough and balancing that properly, but when you have to remove ~40% of your damage for support (in 4-man content assuming tank is 20% and DPS are each 40%) then that support has to pick up that 40% somehow or else nobody's going to bother.

The thread on the "other systems" subforums pretty much covers this. Support ends up being either worthless or mandatory for any hard content. You can't measure this by percentages to contribution because there are other factors that need to be taken into account. Including but not limited to class synergy and encounter design. Not to mention that no amount of buffs and debuffs are going to make up for that portion of missing damage. Buffs that end up making up that missing damage end up being overpowered, same thing for debuffs and so the cycle continues.