QoL Request for BLM - Stack Refresh Improvements

[Kenji1134]

Short Version:
Personally what I'd like to see mostly as a BLM QoL is something other than Transpose to salvage AF/UI/Enochian during boss mechanics.
Due to more bosses becoming untargetable, or preventing actions for 4-6 seconds at a time, it becomes very difficult to maintain our stacks, and we are disproportionately punished for losing them.

To alleviate this, I propose a few options:
1. Easiest fix that looks like a buff would be to increase AF/UI durations to 20s, keep Transpose as is. This gives us more breathing room for times when you cannot perform a rotation.
2. Reduce the CD on Transpose to 3-5s, so we are not trying to catch that last second of AF/UI to maintain buffs.
3. Reduce the CD on Transpose to 10s, have it be OGCD but trigger a single GCD, and when switching, have it maintain stack size. The GCD cost makes it less appealing than B3/F3, but it can be used to salvage the rotation without forcing a slow cast. Lastly the 10s refresh gives a much bigger window to actually use it in a tight spot.
4. The last option would be to add a new OGCD ability which simply increases the time on AF/UI by 10s, and can push past the 13s current duration. Give this ability a 15-18s refresh so it cannot be used indefinitely (you lose 2-5s from your buff each time), and call it a day.

Reasoning (Long Version):
Here's the thing, as many people have noticed, the timing of effect calculations has changed.
For instance, when casting F1, about 0.5s BEFORE the cast finishes, you will get a FS proc if it does proc. Before you saw the proc just after the cast HIT, so even longer after it ends.

Well this timing change also works on Astral-Umbral and Enochian.
When it shows 1s, it is actually <1s, and the buff no longer snapshots your stats anywhere during the cast. So if you have AF at 3s, you cast F1 with a 2.4s cast time, it is quite possible that your AF is really at 2.3, so you will lose AF+Enoch just before the cast finishes.
If you were to have the same thing happen using B3 or F3, then it looks like Enochian "mysteriously" fell off. But really the mis-representative timer finished a split second before your cast landed... Also can anyone tell me why with this new timing scheme, the game still checks to see that your cast hits AND does damage before applying buffs? That is yet another delay which acts against the AF/UI timer.

So where does all of this come into play as QoL versus a "buff"? - Boss mechanics.
There are a lot of bosses especially in the low 60s dungeons, 1 expert, and now 1 in Omega, who either prevent you from executing actions for ~5 seconds, or leave you with no targets for 10-20 seconds.

As a BLM, if my stack is at 8s, and I am hit with a forced action mechanic for 5s, then I have <3s until I lose my stacks and Enoch. What are my options?
Use F3/B3 to cut my rotation early (probably lose T3/B4 in Umbral, or cut Fire cycle short), Transpose to immediately regain some level of control but have to slow cast B3/F3 to get going again, or Swift/Triplecast if it is up.
Failing the above, I will lose my buffs and Enochian, if I am lucky I have Enochian available and only need to slow cast B3 to resume the rotation. If not, I am locked out of B4, F4, and Foul... I might as well actually be lvl 50 with that loss in damage output.

All of this comes down to how BLM started out "braindead easy" in 2.X, until people realized that excessive movement crippled your dps, and BLMs had to master the mechanics and timing of a given fight to stay competitive.
In 3.X BLM became more complex with Enochian, longer cast time spells, and no automatic AF/UI refresh. With more buffs came more firepower, and a steeper penalty for losing said buffs.
Now in 4.X, BLM got yet more firepower (almost all of it at 70 with aoe nerfs on the side), which makes the penalty for losing said buffs steeper still.

It'd be like telling a SAM, if you disconnect during your Gekka combo for more than 2 GCDs or are casting any Iajutsu and are forced to move, you will lose all of your self buffs, Sen, and Kenki! - That is the degree of punishment a BLM suffers if they make a mistake and are unable to refresh their buffs.
To counteract this, something must be added to let BLMs refresh or extend AF/UI without penalty (Transpose is a penalty, you lose 2 stacks). We are already punished by movement in that if we are moving, aside from Swift and Triple which adds up to 4 casts every 90 seconds, we are doing ...what, 40 pot/tick? Or Scathing for 100 pot at 80% the MP cost of an F4? Again, 100 pot vs 468 pot... not exactly a wise tradeoff.

So, all ranting aside, in the world of DPS, while BLM may be on the heels of SAM (The SE-Appointed DPS King) on a dummy parse, the sheer amount of movement, loss of target, and loss of actions mechanics on bosses exasperates the already steep penalty that BLM suffers for losing its buffs.
This is also why RDM gets a lot of flack from BLM players. To a BLM, RDM gets a free Swiftcast every time they use Jolt (240 pot), and can follow that up with an instant attack for 300 pot, with a 50% chance to unlock a 270 pot attack. Repeat a few times, then dash in for 210-290-470-550... So assuming equal gear and buffs, it is true that these potencies are lower than BLM's maxes (assuming AF3 is still +80%) wherein F1 = 324, F3 = 432 and F4 = 468. However RDM does not have a down rotation, where BLM's potency drops to 168 for B3(AF3), 390 for T2, 260 for B4, and again 168 for F3(AF3). But that max performance only manifests itself when a BLM is allowed to turret for a while. Throw in any interesting mechanics, and RDM's Dualcast and high mobility melee combo give it a significant advantage... while a BLM is likely to end up dropping their buffs along with about 50% of their outgoing damage for a good 10 seconds. RDM and SAM... just keep chugging along.

So, after all that, I would like to reiterate. I am not requesting any nerfs to RDM or SAM. Nor any potency buffs of any kind to BLM. All I ask is that BLM be given a means of dealing with the mechanics that you the devs have added to the 4.X dungeons and raids, without having to make difficult choices such as "do I Transpose and lose 25% of my dps and 7 seconds", "should I burn Swiftcast now to save my stack and not have it for the next mechanic?", and "damn, lost my buffs, there goes half my dps for at least 10s".