[Feedback] Character Development and Builds

[Jonnycbad]

Ffxi had merits/job points and subjob system which allowed huge flexibility and unique gameplay tactics....unfortunately, this led to huge problems with job balance for the last 12 years and had things like white mages tanking the hardest bosses by exploiting ninja spells or bard songs, etc. ffxiv uses a trinity system where there's verrrrrrrry little flexibility but balance is so much better because of it. If you want customization and flexibility, prepare to sacrifice balance and harmony.

[Reynhart]

Additionally, these new options would swiftly become meaningless, as ones which are clearly optimal end up soon becoming the only accepted setups in end-game compositions anyway.

If you play in Duty Finder, people will take what you are
If you play with your friends, they'll take you like you are...or you'd better change friends.
If you seek in Party Finder and people scold you for not being a perfect min-maxer instead of wanting to enjoy your character, run away from them like plague.

This concern is pure nonsense and it's sad to see it every time some unique feature are asked.

Ffxi had merits/job points and subjob system which allowed huge flexibility and unique gameplay tactics....unfortunately, this led to huge problems with job balance

Even without merit or subjobs, jobs aren't even close to be balanced in FFXI

[Jandor]

It's not like builds would mess up the DF either. Take Paladin for example, you give it a core of tank skills that it always has but then you can build it's optional stuff around say shields, heals, debuffs, buffs, damage, etc.

It's a tank, it's tank kit is balanced to perfection, it's skill trees are not mathed out because which build you want will change depending on the other 7 people in your group.

[Nurvus]

Guys, there's a popular game that came years before FFXIV that launched with 9 classes, 3 specs per class and at least 2 viable ways of competitively playing each spec.
Nowadays it has 11 classes, 3-4 specs per class and 3+ viable ways of competitively playing each spec.
So it launched with over 50 and today has over 100 ways to competitively play a character.

No one here is asking that much for FFXIV, but there is currently only 1 way to competitively play each Job. That means 13 total builds in the game.
This game has a lot of stuff to "unlock", but it would benefit greatly from having variety for those that unlocked everything.

And unlike some are trying to claim, it is not hard to balance a few variations in builds.

[uryu17]

Happy I found this thread. We need skill trees period. every good MMO has one. Wow, Everquest 2, swtor, blade and soul,lol. It works and anyone who says it doesn't is lying to themselves, don't know whaT there talking about or don't like change. I'm not saying it has to be just like a skill tree or a trait tree, call it whatever the heck you like lol. For those who say it's too late, thats not true... Everquest 2 got it introduced to the game in an expansion, it also helped the developers later on in the games life.

[uryu17]

Allowing them to imp-lament and update your Characters abilities and traits without having to increase the level cap, do to the numbers getting to high and too long to calculate thus slowing the level increase and increasing the lifespan of the game, while making the game more enjoyable. For those that say you will have a set skill tree I have yet to find a game where you needed a set skill tree In order to get into a party, also how are they going to know what you speced for. They can't see your UI...we have rotations that people think are the best already, but I have yet to be told " you need to have this specific rotation or you can't join the party." People simply want you to be able to complete the content they don't care how you do it.

[uryu17]

If I'm a Bard and decide I would like to change my spec in order to do more dps and get the same result(my way not SE way, set rotation) , I don't see the problem. I would like, no I would love to have more control or rather freedom of how I play my character.I think a lot of people would love this but I to am not sure if this is something SE would consider.If they do say yeah we will not see it for a while hehe. I hope you keep these type of post coming maybe they will see it and change their though process.

[Nurvus]

uryu17, ofcourse.
Some people here defending it's hard to balance - it's not.
It's just sacrificing utility, etc, for pure damage.
It could even be a different Job branching off Archer - Marksman. Many options.
Marauder should also get a damage based alternative, either through trait/ability/cross-class customization, or as a new Job (Berserker, or something).

[Nurvus]

Happy I found this thread. We need skill trees period. every good MMO has one. Wow, Everquest 2, swtor, blade and soul,lol. It works and anyone who says it doesn't is lying to themselves, don't know whaT there talking about or don't like change. I'm not saying it has to be just like a skill tree or a trait tree, call it whatever the heck you like lol. For those who say it's too late, thats not true... Everquest 2 got it introduced to the game in an expansion, it also helped the developers later on in the games life.

Sorry although customization is needed, it has nothing to do with the addition of skill trees.
Even Diablo 3 has more customization than SWTOR.
WoW's current Talent system offers more customization than Skill Trees ever did.
Skill trees inevitably offer a lot of fake choices.

Final Fantasy can have all the customization it needs without cloning WoW.

[uryu17]

Sorry although customization is needed, it has nothing to do with the addition of skill trees.
Even Diablo 3 has more customization than SWTOR.
WoW's current Talent system offers more customization than Skill Trees ever did.
Skill trees inevitably offer a lot of fake choices.

Final Fantasy can have all the customization it needs without cloning WoW.

Why do you guys keep comparing skill trees to wow? I have never played wow lol. Ok I tried it and the art style was lame so I left. Everquest 2 did a great job with the skill trees and traits. Also I'm not saying copy aNd paste Or anything. I'm saying put something in that will allow us to play the same class but with different choices. Skill tree from my experience would be the best choice. One other game that did a really really good job with skill tree is eso.