As Stormblood starts comes to a close and we prepare to move on to the next expansion which will probably get revealed at the fanfest in a few months, I've been thinking a lot lately about the combat system and some of the moves that we have. Specifically I was looking at the base melee classes especially with their combo systems and where the game could go next moving forward.

Now my main is Paladin, I've been playing it since I started the game and as we prepare to move to 80 I've been looking at our base combo along with the current base combos for all the jobs. It's got me thinking something: at level 80 (assuming that is the new level cap) do I really want to spend another 10 levels doing the same combos with the same old animations?

Staying on Paladin specifically, Royal Authority and Goring Blade can stay as they were added in Heavensward, but I really want to see some sort of new melee attacks as part of our base combo rather than just the same ones we've been using since level 1. I also understand that not everyone would be fond of new animations and prefer the old ones so I'm suggesting SE give us the option to alter some of our attacks and their visuals. But I'm also confident that I'm not the only paladin that would like to start my combos with something besides fast blade!

I also would want these theoretical new animations to only be for the higher level characters. It makes sense that a low level gladiator still learning their trade would still be using fast blade! But a level 80 paladin after facing everything we have thus far? I feel as though they'd develop more powerful and more advanced sword techniques to use specifically on their enemies... that is to say something besides the attacks we got in HW!

On a gameplay level, it's also a way they can give us new attacks without causing more button bloat. Simply replace some of the lower level combo starter attacks with new fancier moves that could have some sort of secondary effects or higher potency as well.I also believe it would be thematically appropriate as well since, traditionally, in final fantasy games as you learn newer and stronger attacks and face stronger enemies, you stop using the simpler/weaker ones.