Translation of 3.2 Notes by BG

**Februs** · 02-19-2016 03:42 AM

Originally Posted by SpookyGhost

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...terview_recap/

"Much better"? Glad to see that they're still clinging to that ridiculous notion that Pld Defense is somehow superior to the other two tanks, despite the fact that it has been proven several times over that it is not. I wish I could say I was surprised, but they really like those blinders that they have on.

It's comments like these that make me less optimistic about the changes, because they make it sound like they're saying "we're not going to change anything that the community has been asking for because we have our heads in the sand and have failed to notice that Pld is not working as advertised." The only hope I have at the moment is for the supposed changes they are making to Pld's "more difficult to use" CD's. In the last live letter they said that they are making changes to a few job actions. If those changes really do put Pld ahead of the defensive curve, then this comment will make sense. However, if they don't, then this is nothing more than a wet noodle excuse.

The thing that worries me most is that I still have not seen a single comment from SE concerning Pld's abysmal TP consumption. They've mentioned stances, changing a few moves to make them easier to use, and dmg increases (kind of), but they have not said a word about the single most pressing issue to Pld's, which is TP management. Someone, please tell me I've missed this somewhere, and we'll be getting a fix.

**Syzygian** · 02-19-2016 03:52 AM

For me, the single most important part of this patch from a tanking perspective, outside of the VIT/STR thing (of course), is seeing if whatever they do to PLD and DRK will make the two of them together a viable and perhaps even optimal (for certain encounters) tanking comp, instead of having to duke it out for the scraps from WAR's table every single time. IMO if WAR still has a guaranteed reserved seat every single time without question SE hasn't really changed a whole lot between the 3 tanks' dynamic, other than perhaps putting DRK and PLD even more at odds with each other.

**Launched** · 02-19-2016 05:12 AM

So if DRK/PLD stances are getting buffed to be off-GCD, who wants to bet that Defiance won't get the healing received buffs it needs to match the new Shield Oath/Grit?

**Syzygian** · 02-19-2016 05:26 AM

Originally Posted by Launched

So if DRK/PLD stances are getting buffed to be off-GCD, who wants to bet that Defiance won't get the healing received buffs it needs to match the new Shield Oath/Grit?

Did that discrepancy ever make a difference outside of a calculator?

We don't even know what DRK/PLD are getting and already WAR buffs are being requested? ._.

**SpookyGhost** · 02-19-2016 05:31 AM

Originally Posted by Syzygian

Did that discrepancy ever make a difference outside of a calculator?

We don't even know what DRK/PLD are getting and already WAR buffs are being requested? ._.

The main problem is if both Grit and ShO come off the GCD, as that would be an instant 20% damage reduction (or increase to eHP if you want to view it that way) compared to Defiance which doesn't give you the immediate benefit of the bonus HP when triggered, costing either a healer GCD or a healing CD (SW/Equilibrium) to circumvent. This is coupled with the fact that healing abilities aren't affected by Defiance's healing%+. So, basically, there will need to be general adjustments if they choose to go that route - I wouldn't mind it, though, personally.

**Syzygian** · 02-19-2016 05:37 AM

Grit/oaths moving off the GCD by itself does not imbalance the stances. They still cost considerable MP and whatever healing WAR misses out on is more than made up for and then some by their very powerful self heals. This design is what lets WAR solo old content in the absense of a healer. They survive longer without healing. That buff to defiance is not necessary.

People have been saying bring DRK and PLD up to WAR's level for ages now, and now that they are getting buffed, (but by most people's assumptions, not enough to threaten WAR in any fashion), people are worried? O.o

**SpookyGhost** · 02-19-2016 06:04 AM

I don't really have the energy to go through this so I'll just personally concede.

However, I'd like to note that there's nothing wrong with having a worry - do you want balance? Because it seems like you do. So naturally, you want them to neither over-buff PLD/DRK nor under-buff them. You want everyone to be on a nice even playing field and allow for all tanks to be able to work together. So if something seems like it may affect the balance or create a disparity between any of the 3, you naturally worry, as that would cause imbalance.

**DBelmont** · 02-19-2016 06:28 AM

Grit/oaths moving off the GCD is a luxury that should have been there since 2.0. There are tons of ways to balance classes but if you add handicaps to some, it's not really the best way to balance things and design a game. It's an understandable side-effect of going Grit to have some MP taxing but costing a whole GCD compared the WAR stance dance is unfair in an endgame where tank dps is meaningful while tanking is still a thing.

**Syzygian** · 02-19-2016 06:29 AM

Originally Posted by SpookyGhost

I don't really have the energy to go through this so I'll just personally concede.

However, I'd like to note that there's nothing wrong with having a worry - do you want balance? Because it seems like you do. So naturally, you want them to neither over-buff PLD/DRK nor under-buff them. You want everyone to be on a nice even playing field and allow for all tanks to be able to work together. So if something seems like it may affect the balance or create a disparity between any of the 3, you naturally worry, as that would cause imbalance.

Here's the thing... and I'm gonna be brutally honest with my outlook here while trying to step on as few toes as possible...

WAR has been nearly guaranteed a raid slot for the past 2 patches (not counting pre-3.0 since there were only 2 tanks). DRK/PLD comps that do well enough to be notable are nearly unheard of.

Given that fact alone, I don't think WAR needs buffs. At all. Look at some of the things WAR has been able to pull off- does anyone really think that they'll be dethroned by a kink in Defiance (which so many WARs infrequently use anyway)?

If DRK and PLD are buffed to the point where someone has to think longer than a few seconds about whether or not to bring one of them over a WAR, I think that's good. I can't help it, I don't like the smugness that (some) WARs have about their guaranteed spot in raids and fancying themselves as the glue around which a group is built and the unequivocal best job in the game, and the other tanks being 2nd- and/or 3rd-class citizens. It feels toxic to me. As long as WAR is still in 2 out of 3 raid compositions nothing of value was lost, but in that remaining 1 out of the 3 we'll be able to see what the new DRK and new PLD can do in a group together.

This is what people wanted - don't nerf WAR, buff DRK/PLD. If they buff them to the point where WAR is not a fixture in every raid group, so long as WAR is not UNDERpowered (and lol @ the minor Defiance discrepancy making/breaking that distinction) I don't see the problem. Every tank will have to try out and earn their raid slot equally. If some WARs are bitter about that I honestly cannot relate.

WAR is so far ahead of DRK in OT design, and ahead of PLD in MT/OT design and DPS, that both jobs have a *considerable* gap to close before a WAR main would need to worry, and I don't think anyone could be justifiably convinced at the present moment that the incoming buffs are going to fully close that gap, let alone overshoot it.

**SpookyGhost** · 02-19-2016 06:55 AM

Originally Posted by Syzygian

Given that fact alone, I don't think WAR needs buffs.

I think you might be misunderstanding something here, I'm not 100% sure based on this post. PLD isn't just getting one buff, they're getting several. DRK, already, is very very close to WAR on top of having it's own niche in magic damage reduction, and is apparently seeing upward adjustments as well. They could easily go too far - and that would be fine, if WAR is also adjusted to compensate. They could definitely reach a balance without any overshooting from where WAR currently stands, and from the sounds of it (with them saying that only PLD and DRK are getting adjustments) they have. But, basically, they could easily overbuff PLD/DRK and, if that were to happen, we'd need to bring WAR up. We want an even playing field. Hopefully that means no WAR buffs as I think WAR is fine as it is and that the other 2 should be exactly where WAR is now, but if they do go over then it's fine - as long as we end up leveled by the end. Yeah? Yeah.

e: I think you think there's a bigger disparity between WAR and PLD, and WAR and DRK especially, than there actually is. They could give PLD/DRK Eye and that would immediately solve a lot of issues and allow them to work together. It's not as complicated as it seems and they could super duper easily overshoot it. I hope they don't, but y'know, could happen. Regardless, though, they'll do what they do and there's nothing we can change about that until after the patch comes out and we're free to complain to our hearts content. Or praise. Hopefully praise.

Thread: Translation of 3.2 Notes by BG

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