Quote Originally Posted by Bayohne View Post
Hey all you CNJs! The team is planning for a full revamp of all actions in 1.20 and will be looking into adjusting things like the amount of enmity gained from cures. So please feel free to provide more feedback and I'll be sure we pass along your thoughts!
Hi Bayohne & Yoshida-san,

Here are my thoughts on Conjurers and spell-casting right now:

  • Spell Resists (Partial Resist / Full Resist): I realize that Tanaka may have been trying to build in some method to "balance" Magic in the original system, and have something similar to Disciples of War (with missing attacks), but Spell Resists happen far too often and really feel punitive and overly punishing.

    Mages have Casting Time (already a penalty compared to Disciples of War), their Spells take MP (that takes time to regenerate), so when you finally get a spell off, and it gets Partially Resisted or Fully Resisted (a common occurrence during grind parties, for example), it feels really frustrating.

    The worst example was a R50 friend of mine who tried a fully buffed (Dark Seal II, Profundity II, Bloodrite II +) Ancient Magic Tornado on a Level 1 Star Marmot and... it missed. (This was before 1.19.) As a Final Fantasy fan, you'd expect launching Ancient Magic against weaker enemies to generate stuff like "9999" damage (or at least do something decent). This is just ridiculous.
  • Increase Buff Duration Time (Protect, Shell, Shock Spikes): The current Duration Times are far too short (I realize it keeps mages "busy" doing something), but it feels like it's a constant cycle of getting Buffs on and before you know it, you're back to rebuffing the group within minutes.
  • Increase Buff Effectiveness (Protect, Shell): Early on in the game (month 2 or 3?), under Tanaka's reign, they nerfed Protect and Shell to be far worse than it used to be. It seemed to be almost useless compared to the protection it used to offer early on, or compared to Protect and Shell in FF XI. Please make Protect II and Shell II feel like they're worth casting.
  • More Effectiveness with Tier II (and eventually III, IV) Elemental Spells: With the current calculations for Elemental Spells (like Fire I vs. Fire II, etc.), it's oftentimes better to cast Tier *I* Spells over Tier II because they are faster to cast, have smaller cooldowns, and are cheaper (MP), and do similar damage (depending on the enemy) at times. During some farming situations / grind parties, I can land more Spell Damage on Tier I (including Critical damage), faster, than Tier II spells.
  • Faster Casting: Originally the casting times were a bit long, but manageable. But with this latest patch 1.19, it feels like Spell Casting is taking even longer than before. It *feels* like a slow, languid experience in battle (when I play mage). Playing any Class / Job in the new Final Fantasy XIV should be a fun, exciting experience. Casting Time (and lack of queuing the next Spell) really adds to this bad feeling, IMHO.
  • Ability for Mages to Participate Effectively in the New Skillchain / Battle Regimen 2.0 System (coming soon): Here's to hoping the new Skillchain / Battle Regimen System is a more free-form, fluid, dynamic and real-time Combo System like Final Fantasy XI's Skillchain (Renkei) System, where Mages can take on Magic Bursts to the end of Combos for bigger damage and bonus magic damage. This will definitely add some excitement and fun to mage classes.
  • New, Standout, Awesome Magic Effects: Right now, most of the spells that Conjurers cast are pretty generic, bland looking visual effects. I realize we're not at "Tier IV" Spells yet, but the look between Fire I vs. Fire II is pretty uninspiring. It's just bigger and kinda formless / "blah."

    This is especially true for Ancient Magic (Tornado, Burst, Flare, etc.). These are hallmark, big Final Fantasy Magic Spells and in this game, their Visual FX and look and feel and pacing are just terrible. (The damage is finally improving a bit in 1.19, but they are still not very impressive from an overall production value standpoint.)
  • Curative Magic Cost: I'm fine with the cost and changes to Cure I, II, III / Curaga in Patch 1.18 (the big MP cost change, separation). This is just a note to hoping that the White Mage Job *reduces* MP Cost for Cure Magic and adds other benefits. This would really make the White Mage Job stand out and players can then appreciate and understand why on a "generic / basic class" (Conjurer) that Cure I, II, III, Raise I, II cost so much, but on White Mage, their MP Costs and Casting Times are reduced greatly.
I hope we get a good revamp of Conjurer in 1.20!

Thanks!