Thread: Dev Request for 4.0: Get rid of cast bars on phy range

Originally Posted by Brian_

Except BRDs aren't on the lower end of the stick in terms of DPS. They weren't in 2.X. They aren't in 3.X. Aside from a few lulls (where it wasn't so much that BRD was bad, MCH was just better), BRD has always been one of the best jobs in terms of DPS.

If you talk to SMNs they will say SMN has good DPS, if you talk to MCHs they will say MCH has good DPS, if you talk to NINs they will say NIN has good dps, and so goes the list.

Then who is the lowest DPS? Could you rank all the DPS classes?

Originally Posted by alimdia

If you talk to SMNs they will say SMN has good DPS, if you talk to MCHs they will say MCH has good DPS, if you talk to NINs they will say NIN has good dps, and so goes the list.

Then who is the lowest DPS? Could you rank all the DPS classes?

Except I am not basing this off of opinion. I'm basing it off of facts and data. Take a look at fflogs since Gordias. BRDs are not the worst DPS class. This tier, most speed-run comps that are optimized for DPS bring BRD over MNK, BLM and SMN. If you want 2.X data, take a look at the FCoB leader board from DnT. BRDs were pretty much on par with the other DPS jobs BEFORE factoring in foes.

Hm, I am fine with bowmage (even if using bloodletter is super akward in some cases), but I wouldnt mind if they changed it or removed it....
What I do wish is MORE SONGS for bard and more song abilitys. I started playing brd because its a BARD and not just a guy with a bow.
Its disappointing that we dont have a bigger selection for songs which buff our party. Maybe we could even get songs which do dmg who knows! I wanna be a bard.

People like to pretend they were running all around dodging stuff before WM, but they weren't. I still see bards who never move in low level roulette, and i often see bards who stop attacking when they move in low level roulette. They're still pretty mobile even with WM, as their cast times aren't as long.

It makes way more sense that you aim first before shooting for more powerful attacks.

So much hate for WM/GB... Makes me wish that it had been there since level 1. But, I suppose it's to be expected. People complain about Enochian, and Blood of the Dragon too. Always seems to be "But muh level 50 playstyle!" News Flash. We're not 50 anymore. Things have changed. ALL of the DPS got new class redefining abilities. Not just Bard/Machinist. Monks now have Chakras to manage while not able to hit the boss, Summoners have Dreadwyrm Trance. Ninjas can refresh their buff with a combo, instead of burning a Mudra. Black Mages have Enochian. Dragoons got Blood of the Dragon. Bard and Machinist are not special. They got adjustments as well. Either you like it, or you don't. And I'm sorry if you don't like it, but this is the way things are now. Bards and Machinists cast. And it's perfectly fine, once you actually figure out how to work with it, instead of covering your ears whenever someone tries to tell you that, and screaming "I DON'T LIKE IT! I DON'T LIKE IT!"

Originally Posted by Velhart

MCH here. I think the cast bar for this job in particular works just fine. I can still maneuver as long as I learn the boss mechanics and know how to time my casts. Not to mention all you do technically cast is Split Shot, and then Hot Shot+Lead Shot every 30sec.

I can understand that the WM doesn't work as well for BRD, which I don't think needs to go away, it only needs to be readjusted so it doesn't feel so clunky on the job.

Adding a cast bar to abilities actually required BRD's increase their skill level and actually take more consideration to their placement. BRD use to be the go to job for players during ARR because learning it was easy and did not take much to learn the rotation in comparison to other jobs and you had to take no consideration to your environment to the extent a melee or magic caster does. Adding WM actually now actually puts you in line with other jobs in terms of a skill roof.

On MCH I love that I have to take consideration to what is around me, time my shots right around the boss mechanics, and be as efficient as possible in the process.

If anything the support abilities on both jobs should be better balanced out.

Pretty much this. BRD was the Beast Mastery Hunter of 2.x and when it changed to require a modicum of self-awareness and planning people wigged out. While I don't deny that there are aspects of Minuet that don't seem to be integrated well (hellooooooo, how it interacts with Bloodletter procs!), I can't help but roll my eyes at all the "bowmage" and "bow BLM" hyperbole.

So what I'd like to see is Minuet for BRD adjusted a bit, so the GCD clipping from their 2.x rotation doesn't occur, and tbh maybe a better animation because I think the standing-there-with-your-bow-to-the-ground-and-particle-effects instead of actually raising your bow and drawing it back while charging is kinda stupid looking. Minor QoL stuff, not the removal of the ability entirely.

So I get why WM and GB exist, but what I really want to know is why they're optional buffs rather than just something stuck down as baseline. Honestly, if it's something you won't be switching off and on throughout a fight (maybe like it might've been intended to), then why bother having it as an active ability and just make it a passive effect?

The biggest I think is in the design factor. Since MCH (which I still have collecting dust) was initially designed with GB probably in mind, it feels a lot better and there's more to work with in regard to that buff. On the other hand, WM for BRD just feels like it was tacked onto a system it wasn't really designed for. It just felt like a reminder to me that people who started off playing BRD did so because they prefer having that mobility rather than just the thought of having to sit there to cast "spells".

Lastly, as someone who mains a caster, I don't understand this whole "impactful" claim for those buffs. Having leveled both BRD (which I don't mind playing) and MCH (which I hate for a number of other reasons), I've always felt like that was just an illusion caused by having cast times that initially decreased your overall dps. Not to mention that if I wanted to play a dps with cast time skills that felt impactful, I'd just play an actual caster.