Warrior Rework Idea

[Kalise]

Edit: 1st April Update:

Changed some existing skills and mechanics. Added new level 70-80 skills.


So, due to playing some more Eureka, I've had some time during this engaging and fun content content to think about ShB and job overhauls/reworks. Today I would like to share what I've got so far for the job Warrior:

Role Actions:

Not exclusive to WAR, but I envision a change to Role Actions which I'll highlight here.

Rampart - Has now been turned into job specific variants that provide a similar effect. For WAR, it is now Thrill of Battle for 20% max + current health. Still retaining 20s duration and using Rampart's 90s CD.

Low Blow - Removed

Provoke - Removed. Instead the effect has now been folded into the Tanks ranged skills Tomahawk, Shield Lob and Unmend. These skills are now oGCD, have only 50 potency and cost 20% max MP. In addition, these skills have their range increased to 25y up from 15y.

Convalescence - Removed. Tanks now gain access to a self sustain cooldown in its stead.

Anticipation - Tanks now get a high level trait to upgrade Anticipation into a unique job specific variant. For example, WAR traits into Raw Intuition and PLD traits into Bulwark.

Reprisal - Cooldown reduced to 45s down from 60s

Awareness - Removed.

Interject - Now causes 1s Disable effect. Preventing the use of Spells or Actions. Does not suffer from Diminishing Returns. Effectively, it becomes an interrupt that works on all interruptible enemy actions (I.e. Ones that can be Stunned/Silenced). Cooldown reduced to 15s down from 30s.

Ultimatum - Can now be cast while targeting an ally to affect the area around them.

Shirk - Unchanged.

Leveling:

New skills highlighted in bold.

1 - Heavy Swing
4 - Skull Sunder
6 - Berserk
8 - Thrill of Battle
10 - Overpower
12 - Interject
14 - Butcher's Block
15 - Tomahawk
16 - Crushing Strike
18 - Maim
20 - Mighty Cleave
22 - Ground Shaker
24 - Anticipation
26 - Bloodbath
28 - Storm's Path
30 - Mercy Stroke
30 - Defiance
32 - Reprisal
34 - Smash
35 - Inner Beast
36 - Fracture
38 - Storm's Eye
40 - Unchained
42 - Holmgang
44 - Ultimatum
45 - Steel Cyclone
46 - Vengeance
48 - Shirk
50 - Smite of Rage
50 - Furious Guard
52 - Deliverance
54 - Fell Cleave
56 - Raw Intuition
58 - Equilibrium
60 - Decimate
62 - Onslaught
64 - Upheaval
66 - Fractured Earth
68 - Warcry
70 - Inner Release
72 - Furore
74 - Deep Wounds
76 - Inner Calm
78 - Magic Counter
80 - Tectonic Fissure

Skill Updates and Changes

Here is where I will cover all of the changes to existing skills as well as detail new skills.

Defiance, Deliverance, Beast Gauge and Spenders:

The largest overhaul is to do with the job gauge mechanic as a whole as well as stances.

In this idea, WAR no longer has stances at all. But instead uses a dual Gauge system.

Upon learning Defiance at level 30 with the Warrior job, you gain access to the Defiance gauge. This is filled up by using certain actions.

Filling Defiance gauge grants passive increases to parry chance, up to a maximum of 10%.

Defiance gauge can be spent on using Inner Beast, Steel Cyclone and Furious Guard.

Similarly, upon learning Deliverance at level 52 you gain access to the Deliverance gauge. This is filled up by using certain actions.

Filling Deliverance gauge grants passive increases to critical strike chance, up to a maximum of 10%.

Deliverance gauge can be spent on using Fell Cleave, Decimate and Upheaval.

Aesthetically, the two gauges will sit one on top of the other inside the Beast Gauge UI element. With Defiance being the current yellow/orange colour and Deliverance being a blue colour.

On player models, upon reaching 50 Defiance, the current orange graphics appear on your character. Upon reaching 50 Deliverance, a new blue coloured graphic will appear (I'm thinking something like swirling blue flames - Akin to the ones used at the end of the current Deliverance animation after the orbs have entered your body, just blue coloured)

Now, going through the list of changed/new skills by level:

Heavy Swing - Generates 5 Defiance.

Skull Sunder - Can no longer be put onto action bars. Instead, Heavy Swing automatically transitions into it as you progress the combo. Generates 10 Defiance. Additionally, restores MP.

Butcher's Block - Can no longer be put onto action bars. Instead, Heavy Swing automatically transitions into it as you progress the combo. Generates 10 Defiance. Additionally, grants a buff reducing damage taken by 10% for 30 seconds.

Thrill of Battle - Cooldown reduced to 90s down from 120s.

Crushing Strike - A new skill. Functionally identical to Heavy Swing in terms of potency. Generates 5 Deliverance.

Maim - Generates 10 Deliverance. Cannot be placed on an action bar. Instead Crushing Strike transitions into it.

Mighty Cleave + Ground Shaker - Cannot be placed on an action bar. Instead, Overpower transitions into them. Mighty Cleave is a 180 degree cone (Semi-circle in front of you) and Ground Shaker is a PBAoE strike.

Storm's Path - Generates 10 Deliverance. Cannot be placed on an action bar. Instead Crushing Strike transitions into it. Heals for 50% of the damage it deals. Now also applies a buff increasing damage by 10% for 30s (Instead of Storm's Eye)

Mercy Stroke - 15s CD skill that deals bonus damage to targets below 50% life. Deals double bonus damage to targets below 20% life. Heals for 20% max life on a killing blow. Costs 20% MP

Smash - Functionally identical to Crushing Strike.

Inner Beast + Steel Cyclone - Heals for 100% damage dealt and applies the buff "Defiant" increasing max health by 10% for 30s. Costs 50 Defiance.

Fracture - Cannot be placed on an action bar. Instead Smash transitions into it. Leaves a DoT effect lasting 15s on the target.

Storm's Eye - Cannot be placed on an action bar. Instead Smash transitions into it. Now grants a buff increasing Critical Strike Chance by 5% for 30s

Unchained - Now increases the enmity generation of all actions for the duration.

Smite of Rage - 30s CD skill that deals high damage and is always a Direct Critical Hit. Costs 20% MP

Furious Guard - Causes the next attack against you to deal 20% less damage before mitigation. After which you perform a counter attack dealing damage equal to the damage prevented up to a maximum potential damage of X potency (Increased by max health increase effects). oGCD with 15s reuse. Costs 25 Defiance.

Fell Cleave + Decimate - Costs 50 Deliverance.

Raw Intuition - 100% parry chance on attacks from the front. 30% increased parry chance on attacks from other angles. No longer forces critical hits.

Equilibrium - Now always heals and restores 20% MP.

Onslaught - Cooldown increased to 30s. Potency reduced to 50. Now costs 20% max MP

Upheaval - Now costs 25 Deliverance (Potency adjusted accordingly)

Fractured Earth - Trait - Causes Ground Shaker to refresh the duration of Fracture on targets it hits and also spread any existing Fracture effects to targets hit.

Warcry - Replaces Shake It Off. Now is a 120s CD skill that causes self and all party members damage and healing skills to hit for maximum values for 20s

Inner Release - Now increases Gauge generation from skills by 100% instead of making gauge spenders free.

Furore - 30s CD skill that deals high damage to targets in an area around you and stuns them. Costs 20% MP.

Deep Wounds - Trait - Increases the duration of Fracture to 30s and causes Critical Hits of its DoT effect to generate 5 Defiance and 5 Deliverance.

Inner Calm - Provides a Heal over Time effect that is empowered by consuming CD buffs (Thrill of Battle, Vengeance, Inner Beast)

Magic Counter - Trait - Allows the parrying of spells.

Tectonic Fissure - Deals massive damage in a line before you. Dealing X potency to the first target, 10% less for the second, 20% less for the third, 30% less for the fourth, 40% less for the fifth, and 50% less for all remaining enemies.


Combat:

These changes serve to make combat focus around leveraging your 4 combos and gauge skills. Each combo only requires 1 button to transition between all 3 skills (Heavy Swing > Skull Sunder > Butcher's Block. Crushing Strike > Maim > Storm's Path. Smash > Fracture > Storm's Eye. Overpower > Mighty Cleave > Ground Shaker). Each combo also provides some additional effects that you want to maintain or situationally use.

After each combo, you generate 25 of a gauge, which is half the necessary amount to use a spender (Or in the case of Upheaval/Furious Guard, the exact amount) allowing you to rotate their usage between normal combos. During Inner Release, you generate enough gauge to use a full spender each rotation. In addition, after getting Deep Wounds, your Fracture DoT will be able to generate some Gauge.

In addition, you now have 4 additional non-combo skills (Mercy Stroke, Smite of Rage, Furore and Tectonic Fissure) to use when they're available and can ideally save them for during CD burst phases.

Warcry provides some unique utility to WAR, allowing them to remove the damage/healing variance of skills temporarily slightly increasing the parties output.

Without a stance to provide passive Enmity boost, WAR instead relies upon Unchained to allow them to temporarily amp their enmity generation, allowing for them to pull or to generate spike enmity without losing DPS. With the downside that it's not always readily available.