Quote Originally Posted by Wavaryen View Post
That is pretty much the normal now. Many MMOs are doing this, it is not about difficulty it is about the class flavor. I mean what more do you want?
Many MMOs aren't doing this and it remains to be seen whether FFXIV is doing it. All Yoshida said was "We will be scaling down this factor". That's not equivalent to relegating job difficulty to a complete irrelevance.

What is true is that other games (WoW basically) have found it convenient to shift the skill gap from class complexity to encounter complexity (conveniently hidden behind multiple difficulty modes). I find that lamentable, but it is what it is.

However, the core concept of higher difficulty carrying a greater reward is obviously alive and well. Talent choices in wow are clearly balanced around the idea that the more complex talents (adding skills to the rotation/high-risk high reward type options) have slightly higher throughput if used correctly.

I admit my immediate reaction to this live letter statement was disappointment. On reflection, I hope that SE recognise that caster balance needs addressing and will make changes in 4.1 or 4.2.