Loss of drain on Blm...really?!

[Waterdesk]

Drain should return. It has its uses for those who liked it, and the people who don’t like it can always just remove the ability from their hotbar.

[TurtlesAWD]

The removal of skills that fall outside of use in an optimized rotation limits the creation of gameplay content to that which can be handled only by an optimized rotation. This has a streamlining effect on the challenges and experiences players have access to, and taken too far, can lead to all classes losing their class identity and feeling like they're all functionally the same. As I understand it, a certain other MMO has been struggling in this regard for a couple expansions after stripping out significant numbers of skills and talents from every class.

A sufficiently complex RPG world should have room in it for spells that have suboptimal damage utility but do something unique from the other spells a class can access. I likely don't speak for everyone on this but personally I really enjoyed the Logos actions in eureka for introducing exactly this - a wide array of utility skills which allowed playing a familiar class in new and interesting ways.

To compare to another IP, the reason games like Morrowind and Oblivion are memorable to such a huge audience has a lot to do with their inclusion of a magic creation system that's fundamentally broken, both in its capability to create entirely overpowered spells, but also in its ability to create things that are hilariously bad. Players remember the scrolls that let you jump super high but don't last long enough to survive the landing, for instance. Nobody remembers creating a fireball that does a thousand damage.

[Kabooa]

Players remember the scrolls that let you jump super high but don't last long enough to survive the landing, for instance. Nobody remembers creating a fireball that does a thousand damage.

But every player made the townwide fireball.

Only a few bothered to make a super jump suicide.

[Archwizard]

-snip-

Right. There's more to a class' or job's identity than simply their stat totals. It's the sum total of all the things they can do, even the ones that either are niche or don't seem to have practical applications to combat whatsoever. Just look at, say, Sleep and Repose for instance.

I mean hell, people keep on begging to see a "real" Time Mage (in spite of AST), even though it's agreed CC effects are pointless in group content (so things like Stop, Slow or Zero Gravity would have no value) and many jobs want to avoid Speed buffs so they don't clip GCDs or overspend MP.
That leaves... what, combat Peloton?

Furthermore, let's touch on access to Raise skills. RDMs have low value in farm content due to the hit they take to their damage in favor of access to quick Raising, which becomes obsolete after a certain stage of progression (eg when people stop dying) -- meaning we already have a full job designed with a skill that ideally isn't ever to be used in mind.
A practical skill at that, not just flavor, but a complete emergency tool. SMN likewise has the same skill, albeit less ease of use so it doesn't hamper their performance much.

So to dismiss Drain on the grounds that it wouldn't see much use in a raid is complete nonsense.

[Seraphor]

Not to mention Convert > Manafont means we're in credit in terms of HP management.

I'm quite happy to not have a healing skill to worry about, in addition to Manaward as well.

[Typhoria]

If people have that much of an issue not having it... I don't see why Scathe couldn't be remade to Drain. Keep the instant cast/20% thing and add a small HP recovery. That way the flavor is preserved without much of a drastic change.