How would you feel if they scrapped the current "classes"?

[Kimahri]

I think weakening everything cross-class across the board along with AP fixes (Say if Cure III used like 7 AP and healed for like 300HP would it be worth it?) and adding more traits (One with nature II & III for example) and job traits (Paladin, White Mage, Monk etc.) to get more spesific with your role and adding skills only for them would make them feel more unique. Like this you could be something like Mystic Knight with all three(or more) One with natures and be almost as good ST (Aoe should be left for magic classes alone) elemental nuker as CON and have your cool Mystic Knight/GLA skills but you couldn't really use anything else efficiently.

Yes. It will still be worth it. No matter how much AP is used for cross classing, it will still come down to what's the best possible abilities we can setup. This will not solve the problem. You're still going to see the same abilities for everyone to use down the line, which in turns makes the classes not unique at all. Just another copy-cat scenario. That's basically everyone being Paladin on XI that could cast cures, buffs, debuffs, and songs while still tanking and being a heavy DD.

That's the reason why you seen so much variety on FFXI. Well let's face it more DD than anything else, really. But it still had more variety any way you looked at it. A Dragoon was known for it's Dragon & Jumps. Samurai was known for it's amazing Store TP and Weaponskills. Dark Knight known for it's shear verocity and absorbing stats.

Now even though in FFXI you could use a certain amount of abilities by subbing that said job, you were still limited to just picking one sub job. Now I'm not saying this would be a good idea. It might help, actually. But I would like to see being able to pick other abilities besides from just one job. Not ALL the abilities though. Just the one's that wouldn't make or break the uniqueness of each class. Besides.....What fun would it be to me that I level Marauder just to slap it on another class in order to make that class better than Marauder in every way?

[Arturia]

I don't so much care if they replace the jobs, so much as they need to simply... feel different. One melee class honestly feels the same as the next, what the original dev team failed to achieve with the current class system, is diversity in play style.

Whether they re-do the current classes, add new, or completely replace those in the game now... I'm fine either way, I'd just like there to be some significant difference in how each one plays.

[AlexiaKidd]

I don't so much care if they replace the jobs, so much as they need to simply... feel different. One melee class honestly feels the same as the next, what the original dev team failed to achieve with the current class system, is diversity in play style.

Whether they re-do the current classes, add new, or completely replace those in the game now... I'm fine either way, I'd just like there to be some significant difference in how each one plays.

I think the main problem with the classes all feeling the same has to do with their attempt at balance. As you can freely add any ability from any class pretty much, it does not leave a lot of room for unique abilities as they need to maintain the balance. If they all had some great unique skills and abilities then everyone would level everything to add those abilities to there "unique" character, which the irony is that it wouldn't be unique because everyone would do it ^^

[OmegaNovaios]

I feel that having the option to add in any action you want to any class is awesome for making your own class however I have a personal opinions that can be improved upon. If I want to heal it is obvious to go with either THM or CON because they can AOE spam and there is generally no concern for MP especially if you Siphon MP or Stygian Spikes. However, for a tank curing yourself with Stygian Spikes there is no concern for MP either and the cures are the same as if you have 1 healer role in your party minus the convenience of curing other members in your party easily due to AOE. Thus since there is no concern for MP on DoW or DoM this gives DoW a huge advantage since they have so much more HP in solo or party play with any 2 Cures to spam + Stygian Spikes + THM, CON, GLA, PGL traits. With this setup you can cure yourself just fine on any mob as DoW or DoM assuming you don't get "1 Shot" which is much more likely to happen to a mage class not because of damage taken but because of HP max.

Also, debuffs are not very significant in leves/behests because mobs die too fast making if more worth while for THM to nuke which IMO THM is the weakest DPS with any cross class ability setup thus IMO making THM insignificant in these situations and not very fun to play, which seems to me leves/behest is the core of play ATM. However I do find THM AOE cone much easier for AOE healing than CON due to range which is interesting because at first I interpreted CON as being a better healer before I tested it myself.

My general point here is you can do the same thing on any class (minus AOE spells for DoW or minus HP for DoM) which I love being able to build my own class, but in most situations I find HP is better than being able to AOE spells thus making DoW with cures much more effective game play overall since I generally die less since I'm less likely to get "1 shot" which is the only issue I have playing any role.

Now with that said I find being able to combine any skills awesome because I can make any role I desire, but being able to do the same general thing on every class somehow nullifies that feeling. I feel there should be many more advantages or disadvantages to which class you choose, but then again that would make each class fall into a specific role and very hard to make a solution for balancing it to not be this way so I propose adding in new actions that are class specific like LNC Speed Surge and Life Surge as well as adding in the ability to choose "subclass" similar to FFXI but with the current armory system thus adding in more customization while still making it possible to fill other roles more easily. Adding in the option for 2 subclasses would enhance the ability to fill other roles as any class even more easily while still giving advantages/disadvantages to action/trait setup.

[gifthorse]

I think the main problem with the classes all feeling the same has to do with their attempt at balance. As you can freely add any ability from any class pretty much, it does not leave a lot of room for unique abilities as they need to maintain the balance. If they all had some great unique skills and abilities then everyone would level everything to add those abilities to there "unique" character, which the irony is that it wouldn't be unique because everyone would do it ^^

Yeah or they could just empower/nerf said abilities depending on your specialisation...

[Skeeter]

I would much prefer more traditional classes.

[gifthorse]

I would quit if they scrapped the armory system.

[Jasmine_Aurelia]

Posting my reply to another thread because it defines how I feel about scrapping the current system:

Having just read your post I am still afraid (of the class Uniqueness Idea), because I don't care about what you seem to care about, I want to be able to define my own role and class. As it is, it is possible to essentially make your own class by combining different abilities. What you are describing would make this MMO exactly like every other MMO... I want something different. I don't want to be forced to play a certain role just because I'm holding a staff or a sword or something. I like the idea of being able to buff and heal while holding say a spear, and still be able to dish out decent damage.

The reality is that the "best" abilities of each class are very subjective, and you will never be able to equip every good ability all at once. Furthermore, you're forgetting that different weapons have different inherent bonuses... you aren't going to to throw a fireball as well while holding a sword as you would while holding a staff that grants a boost to your magic attack stat and MP. Similarly, using gladiator skills isn't going to be as effective while holding a staff as it would be while holding a more physical weapon like a sword or axe.

What if I want to play mainly a spear wielder who can buff on the side? What if I wanted to be an archer that can heal? What if I like the idea of an axe wielder who can cast debuffs and attack spells for extra DPS? In your cookie cutter class system, a lot of these things would end up not being possible... just like all the dozens of other MMOs out there. Why can't you define your own role when given the chance instead of complaining that you can? I LIKE the idea of FF14 being different... of it NOT being exactly like every single other MMO out there. I like the idea of it even being unique to its predecessor, FF 11. Every Final Fantasy has been unique from the one before it. I'd like to keep it that way. I also like being given more options and more ability to customize my character, instead of being forced into a cookie cutter role.

Also... if someone wants to play a pure class... why don't they? You can still just equip your class skills and equipment and play a class as that class. There is nothing stopping you and it's an entirely valid way to play in fact... but why do you want to force that on others? I happen to like things the way they are, and I'm terrified of them taking the part of the game that I love the most away.

[gifthorse]

Posting my reply to another thread because it defines how I feel about scrapping the current system:

Having just read your post I am still afraid (of the class Uniqueness Idea), because I don't care about what you seem to care about, I want to be able to define my own role and class. As it is, it is possible to essentially make your own class by combining different abilities. What you are describing would make this MMO exactly like every other MMO... I want something different. I don't want to be forced to play a certain role just because I'm holding a staff or a sword or something. I like the idea of being able to buff and heal while holding say a spear, and still be able to dish out decent damage.

The reality is that the "best" abilities of each class are very subjective, and you will never be able to equip every good ability all at once. Furthermore, you're forgetting that different weapons have different inherent bonuses... you aren't going to to throw a fireball as well while holding a sword as you would while holding a staff that grants a boost to your magic attack stat and MP. Similarly, using gladiator skills isn't going to be as effective while holding a staff as it would be while holding a more physical weapon like a sword or axe.

What if I want to play mainly a spear wielder who can buff on the side? What if I wanted to be an archer that can heal? What if I like the idea of an axe wielder who can cast debuffs and attack spells for extra DPS? In your cookie cutter class system, a lot of these things would end up not being possible... just like all the dozens of other MMOs out there. Why can't you define your own role when given the chance instead of complaining that you can? I LIKE the idea of FF14 being different... of it NOT being exactly like every single other MMO out there. I like the idea of it even being unique to its predecessor, FF 11. Every Final Fantasy has been unique from the one before it. I'd like to keep it that way. I also like being given more options and more ability to customize my character, instead of being forced into a cookie cutter role.

Also... if someone wants to play a pure class... why don't they? You can still just equip your class skills and equipment and play a class as that class. There is nothing stopping you and it's an entirely valid way to play in fact... but why do you want to force that on others? I happen to like things the way they are, and I'm terrified of them taking the part of the game that I love the most away.

Me too. I will quit so fast if they dismantle this system and force roles upon us like we're some idiot FFXI players that don't know any better.

[Kimahri]

Me too. I will quit so fast if they dismantle this system and force roles upon us like we're some idiot FFXI players that don't know any better.

Gifthorse let me tell you something. Who cares about you? I will play this game regardless of change. The only way I'll quit is what I typically do with ANY game. I beat it, or just grow tired of it.

Now I remember seeing a post about how a class is a "weapon's specialist" and I say fuck being limited to one damn weapon. What the hell was so damn wrong with wielding different weapons? I loved the fact that a Samurai's main weapon of choice was a Great Katana, but yet I could equip a Polearm or Bow for certain tasks. Let me wield a couple of axes on my Marauder again. Hell, give me a Great Sword for my Gladiator.