Thread: 5.0 Combat changes: What do you expect?

I try to temper my expectations. They've been pretty vague regarding battle system changes so I don't want to fall in love with any ideas born in my head, only to find out I was completely off the mark in May.

But what I'm hoping for is that the MCH rework they announced a while ago will do something to fix its clunkiness, ping-reliance and how hard it gets punished for any interruption in uptime. Like... come on. Wildfire is both too short to be reliable with even the slightest amount of lag and too long not to get screwed up by bosses deciding to invuln/phase/disappear before it detonates. Every fight has different timings for those moments, and knowing that one is coming up soon doesn't make the awful feeling of having to hold back our only significant way of contributing personal damage feel any less awful. Nobody else has an attack with (effectively) over 10s cast time...
And even if MCH is not supposed to be dealing consistent damage, then it must at least be able to match BRD in the support department.

Ahem... I should probably stop going before it turns into a rant. Moving on...

I hope role actions take an axe to the face. There are so many that would be better served merged into job-specific abilities instead of existing as separate buttons. Like... Diversion. Why isn't it a secondary effect of Embolden for RDM? Why does SCH/SMN have to have Lucid Dreaming when it could simply have more MP return on Energy Drain/Aetherflow instead? And why does Protect even need a button to cast? It might as well be a passive aura for all it does. Ugh!

But really my main reason for disliking them is how many hotkeys they take up. Their existence will one day cause me physical injury as I try to twist my fingers in ways they were never meant to bend.

Also, one little wish I have is gear consolidation. The 4 melee DPS do not need 3 gearsets between them. I wish left-side gear classification would match the way accessories are organised (Maiming + Striking = Slaying, Scouting + Aiming = Aiming)