Homogenization and Job Identity - Are they mutually exclusive?

[Kabooa]

Homogenization is the idea that you give up your class uniqueness in order to gain equal footing in objective power. This happens largely due to your playerbase insisting that they need to be as viable as the other guy despite their own class's strengths or weaknesses. In some cases the changes are good (2.0 Warrior to 2.X), in some cases the changes are neutral (ARR Dragoon to HW Dragoon) and in some cases the changes are negative (ARR Bard to HW Bard)

What we saw in Stormblood was the Homogenization of a 'role'.

Tanks are tanks, melee are melee, casters are casters, and so on. They all must fit within the boundaries of that role to complete the content they aim to do. However

A Black mage does not play anything like a summoner or a Red mage.
A monk plays nothing like a Ninja
Bards do not play like Machinists
Warriors do not play like Paladins or Dark Knights


This is important. All classes are competitive within their role, but none are required to absolutely do content as it was balanced (Day 1 pushing content with no gear is not 'as balanced' when it comes to Savage).

The old paradigm of "Paladin is the most durable thing ever" went in the same vein that "White Mage is the healer, Scholar is the DPS support" went. As more jobs get added, it's the -role- that they are balanced around. Individually, they will all have something that makes them different. (Cards, Faerie, OGCD use)

[RiceisNice]

This is important. All classes are competitive within their role, but none are required to absolutely do content as it was balanced (Day 1 pushing content with no gear is not 'as balanced' when it comes to Savage).
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This is the key point right here when job design is to be considered. 4.0's state of balance was nowhere near as bad as 3.0 for MCH/BRD/AST or 2.0's WAR, and for the most part were perfectly feasible to bring into content (in MCH/BRD's case, they got their changes as early as 3.01, before Savage even came out (and ASTs had to wait until 3.07)



The current situation for example right now, MCH's inherent issues is not the disparity between itself and it's counterpart (the BRD), but that the job at the time is rather unrewarding for utilizing it's mechanics properly (overheat), was overly punishing and now really doesn't have a coherent gameflow after heat adjustments. I still played MCH out of preference over bard, and was fully capable of clearing O1s last night (with a group that's also carrying a scholar and monk, two classes whom get quite a bit of flank for apparently being not-so-go)