The Bottom Feeders: Moves You Never Use and Why (Ver. 3)

[Februs]

I posted a similar thread over on the Tank forums, and I was surprised to find it was bringing in responses from other Job’s. So, I figured I might as well post a duplicate thread in the Dps corner for you guys to take advantage of.

The idea for this forum is:

• 1. To post moves that you never, rarely, or just not as frequently use.
  
  
• 2. Why you don’t use them often
  
  
• 3. and what might be done to improve their usage (this could be anything from SE implemented changes, to Hotbar suggestions or situational usages that other people may not have thought of).

Some things to note in advance:

Just because you don’t use a move frequently does not mean that it is inherently “bad.” Doom Spike is not used very often in the Drg line up. It doesn't have a combo bonus, and is situational for Trash pull's on multiple mobs. That being said, it is a great AoE move when buffed appropriately and used sparingly between rotations for moves in a Drg's skill set, and is actually in indespensible part of a Drg's AoE rotation. It’s just not used as frequently, and is often ignored in boss fights (even ones with adds) because Drg's excel at single target dps.

The idea is not only to list the “bad” moves that require SE’s intervention to “fix” (though you might, if there are moves that require it). Any moves that you do not use regularly are fair game. The idea here is to help one another. If someone lists a move they don’t use a lot, it could be because it sucks, or it could just be that they are under using it. At this point, more experienced players should step up and list ways in which they might get greater use out of that move. To that end, do not be afraid to ask questions about moves you might feel you’re not using to the best of their utility.

Also, “HAR HAR. GIT GUD!” Is not a helpful response and makes you look like an ass. If you don’t have something useful to contribute, then don’t.

I don’t know how useful a thread like this will be over here on the Dps forums, since you guys tend to have very strict rotations, but I got some interesting responses from some of you in the Tank version, so I’m curious to see what you guys come up with.

[MrCookTM]

Geirskogul is kind of a bad example, since it's a staple part of the drg rotation and is used every ~20 seconds. That's 600 potency a minute on single target and a lot more if there's something to aoe, it's hella good and used very often. ^^ You might want to change your example to something else, more appropriate. But that's just a sidenote.

As a nin, I like perfect dodge to be changed. Ever since they "nerfed" it in 3.0, it's rerely used and while it has it's uses, it's still kinda like whatever, it doesn't make that big of a difference. Maybe give it like a mantra'ish aoe effect, so that not only you get the damage reduction, but also players close to you. Since nin is already the most utility oriented one of the three melees, I think it would kinda fit it's gameplay. Just an idea, maybe others have better ideas. It's just not a very useful skill as it is now.

[MagiusNecros]

^I share your sentiments with Shadeshift. Just like how I feel Manawall should still negate 2 physical attacks. Main use of my shields is Unsync'd dungeon runs where I see a shit ton of 0's.

BLM

Thunder 1 - I generally use Thunder 2 for all my Thunder needs and use T3 on proc.
Sleep/Lethargy/Freeze - Useless in endgame content. Bonafide PvP only skills.
Blizzard 1 - Only used in Pre 50 content. Or a colossal fuck up on mana management.
Blizzard 2 - Why would I use this over Fire 2? A up close PvP bind spell. Woohoo.
Apoc - Rarely used and used when I expect a unit to take heavy magic damage. Long cooldown. And other BLM's can't stack it.
Physick(CC)- Early game it's great. Otherwise you can take it off your hotbar. Combine with Sleep for massive effect. I do it for easy fates too.
Convert - Only used for Double Flare or extending Fire 4 chain. I feel cooldown needs to be shorter. Like half as long. Recast timer shared with Transpose is preferred.
Surecast - Do I even need a reason?

[Sunako]

Physick for SMN. More gear = worse it scale. Weapon damage and determination alone do not increase enough healing done. It heal probably 100 more than in lvl 50 and hp is like 3x higher.

[cgbspender]

Bard - Swiftsong. I could just as well have a song that makes the weather rainy, I couldn't care less.

[Februs]

Geirskogul is kind of a bad example, since it's a staple part of the drg rotation and is used every ~20 seconds. That's 600 potency a minute on single target and a lot more if there's something to aoe, it's hella good and used very often. ^^ You might want to change your example to something else, more appropriate. But that's just a sidenote.

That's actually kind of the point. Geirskogul is an amazing ability, but it still is not used as often as the other two tier 4 abilities that are opened by Blood of the Dragon... However, you are correct that it is not a situational move and averages a regular usage as part of the Drg standard rotation. So, I changed the original example to Doom Spike, as it is a situational move and used far less frequently by comparison. Still, probably, not the best example, but it will do.

[AskaRay]

Bard - Swiftsong. I could just as well have a song that makes the weather rainy, I couldn't care less.

At least I use Swiftsong sometimes unlike Wide Volley which is trumped by Quick Nock in literally every way
(except for lazy people who don't want to take three steps to position themselves correctly)
(that's not an excuse by the way)

[Viridiana]

Hide: I've never used this outside of class quests, I don't think.
Sneak Attack: I've never intentionally used this in a fight.
Hyoton: Arguably has use in PvP, but I don't PvP, so...

[twoheadedenby]

Shadowbind - I don't think I've ever even used this in solo PvE because it has so much less utility than BRD's ability to naturally kite without any DPS loss. The odds of needing to use it in any situation where Sleep, Heavy or Stun would have the same net benefit are too low to warrant including it on your hotbar.

The Wanderer's Minuet - Obviously not a useless skill, but no amount of extra DPS is worth suffering that.

As for Swiftsong, I use it all the time for running back to boss rooms after wipes or moving about towns quicker, it's a perfectly fine nice bonus for playing ARC, and getting players ready for the transition to BRD. And there's no reason or need to keep it on your combat hotbars, so it's not even a source of bloat.

[AskaRay]

The Wanderer's Minuet - Obviously not a useless skill, but no amount of extra DPS is worth suffering that.

"Useless Skills" not "Skills you personally hate and don't use, thus gimping yourself"