Split Shot => Split Shot => Split Shot...

[Samsta]

Yeah, but they need to understand that they will have good and bad rng in fights and that can't be helped.

[Kryzen]

Yeah, but they need to understand that they will have good and bad rng in fights and that can't be helped.

very true. I think SE should just remove the probability mechanics and adjust the damage accordingly, if at all. It really would make the class feel much nicer outside of cooldowns.

[Hyrist]

very true. I think SE should just remove the probability mechanics and adjust the damage accordingly, if at all. It really would make the class feel much nicer outside of cooldowns.

You're not familiar with the Skinner box, I take it. This is the rare situation of skinner-boxes being used correctly. While the advent getting good RNG feels good, having it being used as a challenge point, and not a simple reward point, actually forces adaptation in what would otherwise be routine play. Maybe you were waiting on a proc to get enough mana for a full combo between the phase change, but now that proc didn't come. Now you have to decide if you've enough time for another spell, or do an partial burst before your window closes on you, or to simply hold it and use it for an opener.

Here, the random reward adds an element of unpredictability to something that would otherwise fall to the routine, and lost its novelty more quickly - especially seeming every other combat mechanic outside Job Mechanics has a very limited amount of Randomization added to it. Each fight is heavily scripted to flow a certain way you're supposed to follow and once that fight is down, the farming will quickly become monotonous. It's these small chaotic elements that will help keep combat engaging long after the fights themselves lose their natural retention.

You may say you want something mores standard, but the numbers don't lie. Skinner-box mechanics keep people hooked longer, even if it's seen as a cop-out. The fact that they're beginning to take out of reward systems is a good step. But I don't think it needs to be removed from combat mechanics - as right now they're the only thing keeping combat from very quickly becoming monotonous.