A QoL/Balance Shortlist for DPS (Tanks/Healers only as additional context)

[Kabooa]

As I said before, I don't expect the changes to be all that significant to gameplay (though, again, I do imagine what change there'd be would be beneficial). But, there is no change more easily accomplished than number-tuning, be it to potencies or buff percentiles. In terms of implementation, only one design change contains a significant hurdle -- the unpaired UI tick. I'll admit the changes seem perfectionistic -- they are, since I am -- but I think we can at least agree that there is no benefit to the current wonkiness of the UI/AF systems (save perhaps the 40% first tier on AF, which makes the Fire-obsession more obvious to a narrow band of players who can understand numbers on screen and change accordingly but cannot read tooltips). And its being made intuitive is a mere number entry each for a small span of tables.

And I'm saying that other than the much shorter list I just pointed out, the rest of it really has no impact.

You don't have to adjust AF, because we don't make any considerations other than MP cost in regards to our AF/ UI states, which didn't really change.

You don't have to adjust AF to try and curtail Black Mage. You just reduce F4 potency.

You don't have to heavily rework the current MP Schemata. UI ticks does that alone, but then, so does "No mp cost in Ice" that's been brought up here and there.

You don't have to make the AF/UI notches more 'intuitive' because they are already intuitive. 1 is for emergencies, otherwise always be max.

That's what I'm telling you. You don't have to do a majority of this, because two changes nullify the need of the rest. That's it. That's all. Don't make a change for the sake of making a change.

a 3% F4 nerf and a UI tick accomplishes everything your list wants to. It lowers the top end damage, which in turn squishes the damage range closer together, and the UI tick solves every single MP issue.

[AppleJinx]

I just want blood of the dragon button to be lit back up during a life of the dragon window again. It would instantly fix any skill speed memes.

[Shurrikhan]

I just want blood of the dragon button to be lit back up during a life of the dragon window again. It would instantly fix any skill speed memes.

Hmm, I've not run into any issues with BotD during LotD personally. Could you describe these issues, and what impact Skill Speed has on them?

[AppleJinx]

Hmm, I've not run into any issues with BotD during LotD personally. Could you describe these issues, and what impact Skill Speed has on them?

You used to be able to hit botd during a life window and you would be reverted back to botd state but they changed that because apparently too many people were hitting it by accident.

Now for drgoons you want to do delayed life on most fights, which is entering your first life window at around 1:1x into the fight instead of 0:4x so 2/3 of your nastronds can catch the b4b and trick attack buff and you also set yourself up to catch most other raid buffs during your life window for the rest of the fight.

For delayed life, you would usually have your 3rd nastrond and the 1st nastrond of your next life window be under b4b buff, which means you would be doing a "double life". This means entering life of the dragoon back to back as soon as geirskogul is off cooldown. However, if your gcd falls between a certain range (I forgot but you'll know when it happens to you), you wouldn't be able to pull this off since your 4th and 5th hit, which extends your botd timer, would go off right before you exit the life window and you almost never want to enter a life window with less than ~23s left on your timer since you wouldn't have enough time to use 3 nastronds that way.

Since geirskogul and jump has the exact same cooldown, you also wouldn't want to keep the difference on their cd for more than 3-5s away from each other since you'd be entering suboptimal life windows that way and you'd also lose out on a lot of usage of geirskoguls in the process. Your life window is effectively useless once you have fired off 3 nastronds. So if I were allowed to exit that window any time I want by pressing the botd button say, right before my 4th or 5th hit, I would have enough timer to enter another life window right away without having to worry about forcing a clip due to having too little time on the timer or straight up not having enough time to use a third nastrond.

[Shurrikhan]

You used to be able to hit botd during a life window and you would be reverted back to botd state but they changed that because apparently too many people were hitting it by accident.

Now for drgoons you want to do delayed life on most fights, which is entering your first life window at around 1:1x into the fight instead of 0:4x so 2/3 of your nastronds can catch the b4b and trick attack buff and you also set yourself up to catch most other raid buffs during your life window for the rest of the fight.

For delayed life, you would usually have your 3rd nastrond and the 1st nastrond of your next life window be under b4b buff, which means you would be doing a "double life". This means entering life of the dragoon back to back as soon as geirskogul is off cooldown. However, if your gcd falls between a certain range (I forgot but you'll know when it happens to you), you wouldn't be able to pull this off since your 4th and 5th hit, which extends your botd timer, would go off right before you exit the life window and you almost never want to enter a life window with less than ~23s left on your timer since you wouldn't have enough time to use 3 nastronds that way.

Since geirskogul and jump has the exact same cooldown, you also wouldn't want to keep the difference on their cd for more than 3-5s away from each other since you'd be entering suboptimal life windows that way and you'd also lose out on a lot of usage of geirskoguls in the process. Your life window is effectively useless once you have fired off 3 nastronds. So if I were allowed to exit that window any time I want by pressing the botd button say, right before my 4th or 5th hit, I would have enough timer to enter another life window right away without having to worry about forcing a clip due to having too little time on the timer or straight up not having enough time to use a third nastrond.

Ahh. I hadn't started playing Dragoon seriously until after that change and hadn't noticed. Could we end the window immediately upon the third Nostrond by default then, adding what time remains on Nostrond to the 20 seconds of reverted BotD, for a minor output gain without breaking timing alignments in other ways?

[Kabooa]

Ahh. I hadn't started playing Dragoon seriously until after that change and hadn't noticed. Could we end the window immediately upon the third Nostrond by default then, adding what time remains on Nostrond to the 20 seconds of reverted BotD, for a minor output gain without breaking timing alignments in other ways?

IMO it's a great spot to reintroduce the timer reduction Goggleskoggle used to have via some sort of ramp up ability. One that either gains power the longer Life of the Dragon is active, or per Nastrond use in the window.

Gains potency via one for conditions above, then converts the remaining timer in Nastrond into additional bonus damage upon use.

[Shurrikhan]

IMO it's a great spot to reintroduce the timer reduction Goggleskoggle used to have via some sort of ramp up ability. One that either gains power the longer Life of the Dragon is active, or per Nastrond use in the window.

Gains potency via one for conditions above, then converts the remaining timer in Nastrond into additional bonus damage upon use.

To be clear, I didn't mean that the use itself would be an output gain, just that getting back to an effective Life of the Dragon (or, better put, your next three uses of Nostrond) sooner, or just the added QoL there, might be a faint output increase?

Your idea there would work nicely too, though I'd have to tune the duration->potency conversion for the final hit. Not looking for any noticeable buffs; just polishing what needs it.

I mean, if I had my druthers, I'd turn the whole phase into the like of WoW's Insanity mechanic, whereby you get increasingly stronger but it drains increasingly quickly, with Nostrond and Life Surge both at their normal CDs, but able to be accelerated at cost of Life of the Dragon duration (Life Surge now Crit-Direct Hits to be comparable to Nostrond in single-target). You know, one of those gambit-and-gambit white-knuckle phases? I like those. But I doubt many a DRG player would, and DRG's among my less played jobs, so... I'm trying to restrain myself. In a 5.x ideas thread, sure. Here? Trying not to...

[Grimoire-M]

I mean, if I had my druthers, I'd turn the whole phase into the like of WoW's Insanity mechanic, whereby you get increasingly stronger but it drains increasingly quickly, with Nostrond and Life Surge both at their normal CDs, but able to be accelerated at cost of Life of the Dragon duration (Life Surge now Crit-Direct Hits to be comparable to Nostrond in single-target). You know, one of those gambit-and-gambit white-knuckle phases? I like those. But I doubt many a DRG player would, and DRG's among my less played jobs, so... I'm trying to restrain myself. In a 5.x ideas thread, sure. Here? Trying not to...

If any class in this game should be getting anything close to the insanity mechanic in this game it should be SMN with chain Akh Morn bahamut windows.

[Shurrikhan]

If any class in this game should be getting anything close to the insanity mechanic in this game it should be SMN with chain Akh Morn bahamut windows.

The skill-gap and inflexibility once you can chain windows together, while disgustingly beautiful, tends only to allow balance at the top end of play while screwing those below, though. But you're right, those are prime candidates for an actual accumulating haste mechanic or the like. Though... then again... if you just let Black Mages basically turn themselves into Niffin or Revenants or whatnot with overuse of a revised Enochian mechanic... Idk, a fire mage burning themselves alive yet feeding off fire damage dealt seems pretty fitting, too. But, again, I digress.

[Mansion]

So. Please now re-do all this with that new MP only gauge in mind.
;D