New Job Framework: Geomancer (Suggestion)

[Brightshadow]

Made some big changes to the support of GEO please check it out will list changes here.

GEO 1.0 Changes:
1.) Added Light and Dark Properties to the spells that use the terrain/environment because there are many situations where there are no other elemental properties present. In addition I don’t want Klimaform to be required but rather function similar to Astrologian Redraw where you didn’t get the element you wanted but you can attempt to change it to your benefit.
2.) Widened Compass: Changed to function with the new debuffs.
3.) Klimaform: I noticed I made an error in Klimaform where you would get a buff from just using it that wasn’t the intent. Instead I made it so if Klimaform gives you the opposite elemental properties you would get the accuracy/critical cast bonus for getting lucky. You shouldn’t be using Klimaform everytime it’s a tool to attempt to get the elemental debuff you want up. For instance let’s say you are in ice terrain and you don’t care for the magic defense down option you would use Klimaform to attempt for better weather options, and the good news is you can never get the same weather as the current environment.
4.) Focalization: has gotten a big buff, now it functions like foe requiem and it has double the potency of foe requiem due to Cooldown so it’s a good DPS Cooldown that benefits them and any other caster.
5.) Airbender: was supposed to be for single target AOE’s like garuda wind strike on healers, or marked AOE’s; however, I think it could function for raid attacks so I changed the focus of it, but you still literally have to be on top of the GEO to benefit from it. Soothing Waves received a similar change.

Feedback Response:

I think one of the main issues is the use of elements and your inability to control them.
The only jobs who would benefit from Focalization is GEO, WHM, BLM, and SMN's Pets, and even then BLM and SMN wouldn't really work well together during boss fights, seeing as BLM will want Fire and SMN will want Wind for Garuda. I might recommend instead of lowering an enemy's elemental resistance, maybe grant debuffs the whole party can use? Like Fire could increase damage done onto the target, while Earth could decrease the damage the target could deal, etc.
The weather system wouldn't work well either because what would happen if you got an under-used element like Water, Earth or Lightning? The only jobs that have those respective elements are WHM (with Fluid Aura and the Stone-line of spells) and BLM (with the Thunder-line of spells). I would suggest maybe making an ability that lets you control what element you currently have and maybe cycle through them.
Airbender's description confuses me. It will protect partymembers with in the AoE but not from Raid Damage? So it won't protect from AoEs? That's kind of the main reason we have those bubbles in the first place, seeing as the only partymembers who get attack regularly are tanks.

Geomancer in Final Fantasy have really never had control of the elements but rather have used the elemental properties they have been given and make the best out of them. Klimaform is their attempt to control the elements but in a controlled fashion. As for other comments major changes have been done to their debuffs and airbender. Now GEO can benefit melee's and tanks but they are still at heart a magical support that benefits mostly mages.

Black mage and Summoner already both "excel at AoE" damage. I don't know what adding a "weaker" caster dps brings to the table at this point. I see it, as you mention, fits more of a support/dps caster role which would be a nice alternate option to have for those that enjoy those, albeit limited, aspects of Brd/Mch. It's always nice to have more flavors as long as they bring unique texture to the game.

I'd much rather see an introduction of hybridized character archetypes at this point as opposed to this idea. Things more in the vein of Rdm or Blue mage but I realize they don't really fit this game's design as well as they did other games where freedom of approach & tactics could be individualized based on what classes/jobs you brought to get content done. Sorry for that tangent.

I think your idea for the class is a solid interpretation of it into the XIV gameworld and would give an more "mage~y" feeling support/dps, but doesn't strike interest in me personally.

Edit: Note that certain elements would be rather lack luster from a "support" view point in that they would only be buffing the Geomancer itself or perhaps little used spells such as Fluid Aura or Thunder and what not. Seems that the support would be situational at times which would leave just the lower dps aspect of the Geo behind which might make it less desirable among certain portions of the playerbase.

Edit 2: Oops someone beat me to mentioning the failings of the situational elemental support thing, my bad!

They will excel more at AOE than BLM and GEO due to having a rotation based on AOE casting, and ES spells like Quake, but BLM will still be darn close if not better with Fire II / Flare due to their astral fire buff the main idea for GEO is to be a caster/support that doesn't enhance in a traditional way think of a saboteur from ff13. And your right the support was lacking I completely forgot about foe requiem.

So three major things:

1) Elements have been relevant in FFXIV since, well....never. A vestigial system leftover from its ancestor game. Unless there is anything that distinguishes those elemental attacks other than element (i.e. one having a dot, one being an aoe), then the element theme is pretty much pointless from a mechanical standpoint. Even the elemental vulnerability trick seems pointless when we have a skills that create vulnerabilities for ALL elements in the forms of Foe Requiem and the Promoted Bishop Turret.

2) If they can only control the elements around them, wouldn't that only make them a geokinetic? Wouldn't it make more sense for a geomancer to be able to create the environment of their choosing rather than being forced to the environment they're stuck in?

3) I'm still not really seeing the support factor as much compared to summoner (eye for an eye, resurrection) and if it's supposed to do less damage than summoner or black mage on single-target, then it doesn't seem like there's any point in bringing them to most endgame content. It would need something to make it viable for those circumstances, whether it be more single-target damage or more raid utility.

I do like the idea, but unfortunately it seems more like a testament to how unreasonable it is to expect certain ideas from FFXI to work in FFXIV. Keep working on it though; we need more casters.

Klimaform is only for the Geomancer because it doesn't really do nothing for other jobs its a proc system that changes the properties of your attacks and honestly we already have enough lag with sacred soil, AST bubble, WHM bubble, and BRD fire arrow do we need big flashy bubbles to lag parties even more? think about it imagine a 24 man raid with 18 GEO the lag will be unbearable thus the bubble is small and only on the GEO.


And GEO is really only like 10% weaker than BLM and SMN and the only reason is due to their combo requirement which was made to make them a different type of caster. In reality they should be pretty much on par with BLM/SMN similar to how AST is pretty much on par with WHM/SCH and offer their own little niche with their support role. If I added buffs like AST that would require casting it would have destroyed their DPS because they would have to stop their rotation to cast a buff this doesn't affect much a healer but it would a DPS.