Quote Originally Posted by Cynfael View Post
The issue with increased randomization in fight mechanics is that sheer luck becomes nearly as important as player skill. Fights are designed currently so that almost anyone can complete them if they attempt to learn; they don't have to rely on pure twitch + favorable RNG to succeed.

I'm not suggesting that some unpredictability can't make things fresh and fun, but it's a mighty fine line.

Not really. SE currently designs fights so that you only ever deal with one or two mechanics at once, but failing to do those mechanics properly will almost always result in something catastrophic. Most MMOs have many mechanics in tandem, but one mechanic being done improperly is just very bad, rather than a nearly guaranteed death/wipe. Because of this, they can make mechanics for healers to deal with healing-wise, rather than healers just playing the role of an extended health bar. It's why so many people struggle on the Vault final boss, it has multiple mechanics happening in tandem with semi-randomized damage. Many healers aren't used to this in FFXIV, and they simply can't handle it.