Vote for GNB Sounds

[Kyser96]

Absolutely yes.


The current sounds are actively turning me off from playing the job, even though the job itself is really cool.

[MerlinCross]

Only reason I'm going to play GNB is after I get the blunt PVP weapon as glamour.

[Brotein00]

All the complaints about not being able to hear abilities during a raid or trial; that's how its always gonna be with every other class firing off abilities and the bosses themselves. Also the sounds literally have no impact on gameplay so I still fail to see what the deal is. Unless every weapon swing sounded like a rubber chicken squack, I don't see the need to change. GNB gameplay is fantastic and to shelve it because of sounds is very strange.

If they did change the sounds back, great glad they read these small threads written and read by a small yet passionate subsection of the playerbase. I would have no issue if they reverted the sounds even though I like them now because I play GNB for the class. Not for its sounds, not to be able to hear it during a savage eden run (because lets be honest, hearing the majority of your skills go off in a fight isn't really what you are there for), but for the amazing gameplay and class design of the GNB.

Change the sounds, don't change the sounds; whatever but don't let sound files prevent you from enjoying the wonderful class design that is GNB.

[Miziliti]

I didn't play GNB until after the sound change. I'm pretty sure the current sound effect of my 123 combo sounds like I'm using a wooden plank and swinging at air. I couldn't hear a single blade cutting sound, and it feels weird. I had to go back to job action trailer to double check the old sound effect. My god this is the most bizarre sound effect given to a blade weapon.

[Valic]

All the complaints about not being able to hear abilities during a raid or trial; that's how its always gonna be with every other class firing off abilities and the bosses themselves. Also the sounds literally have no impact on gameplay so I still fail to see what the deal is. Unless every weapon swing sounded like a rubber chicken squack, I don't see the need to change. GNB gameplay is fantastic and to shelve it because of sounds is very strange.

If they did change the sounds back, great glad they read these small threads written and read by a small yet passionate subsection of the playerbase. I would have no issue if they reverted the sounds even though I like them now because I play GNB for the class. Not for its sounds, not to be able to hear it during a savage eden run (because lets be honest, hearing the majority of your skills go off in a fight isn't really what you are there for), but for the amazing gameplay and class design of the GNB.

Change the sounds, don't change the sounds; whatever but don't let sound files prevent you from enjoying the wonderful class design that is GNB.

We've already had this talk on how sounds in fact DO affect gameplay. People go off audio cues and also gain what is known as "game feel" (google and read some novels on the theories around it). I'm not even going to jump into that again or I'll be 5 paragraphs deep with a response again. Short of it is, they DEFINITELY DO affect how someone plays the game. You can tell what your job usually is doing as for effects/sounds, I personally can hear my loud explosions as a BLM, I hear the sharpness a red mage casts with, I can tell between a WAR/DRK/PLD slicing with their weapon... GNB? It meshes into all of it and I cannot tell it in anything. It's not distinct anymore, and it's combo sounds are all too similar to where I get lost in my own rotation and have to check my hotbars(something we were meant to remove in SB hence the job gauges being added).

I don't like sounding like I'm hitting with a baseball bat when I'm using a BLADE. It's that simple really, and if you don't understand, that's fine but there's a good amount that do get it and is very well enough to turn them off the aesthetic and joy of GNB. I personally don't feel good doing my combo anymore, its not satisfying, it's just as "regular" as everything else in our blunt and crappy sounding kit atm, there's not too much joy in it by that point. The class INCLUDES the sound effects, the visuals, the mechanics. They screwed with the sounds, it's believe it or not... something people like to feel in their gameplay when they pick a job. As I also have been doing eden savage, I hate that I sometimes get lost because I can't hear the distinct slashes anymore I used to, but instead muffled explosions that meld into every other damn explosion in the instance. I had an instance today in E1s where I had to double check myself because I thought I was a GCD behind in my continuation combo.... That's not a good thing. Audio cues are a great aspect of game design, and messing with them can be trouble for some if not most.

As for the small portion of the playerbase? There's actually more forms of media and lots in game who share this opinion who don't frequent these forums. Even more amazing is how many accounts have been made SPECIFICALLY to come here to ask why this change was even warranted and why it NEEDS to go back to what was originally given to us and shown in the trailer(s).

There are jobs people will avoid because the aesthetic isn't satisfying to them (graphics or sound quality). I'd argue a LOT of players do this in fact and is why half of them even pick the jobs they enjoy the most.

[Yin111]

All the complaints about not being able to hear abilities during a raid or trial; that's how its always gonna be with every other class firing off abilities and the bosses themselves. Also the sounds literally have no impact on gameplay so I still fail to see what the deal is. Unless every weapon swing sounded like a rubber chicken squack, I don't see the need to change. GNB gameplay is fantastic and to shelve it because of sounds is very strange.

If they did change the sounds back, great glad they read these small threads written and read by a small yet passionate subsection of the playerbase. I would have no issue if they reverted the sounds even though I like them now because I play GNB for the class. Not for its sounds, not to be able to hear it during a savage eden run (because lets be honest, hearing the majority of your skills go off in a fight isn't really what you are there for), but for the amazing gameplay and class design of the GNB.

Change the sounds, don't change the sounds; whatever but don't let sound files prevent you from enjoying the wonderful class design that is GNB.

As an acknowledgement, I understand you don't hold audio in high regards, so you fail to see an issue. But it is my hope here, to explain to you what people normally expect from a game and the effects of such. Remember, that everyone has different values, video games are built around those said values.

You are correct in some ways but not at the same time. I'll try to explain in a understandable way. Within a dungeon, raid or trial, every job will have their sound mixed in with other sounds, you would not be able to hear in fine detail the complete sound the job makes. That much is true, however every Job, while they do lose clarity in sound, always have a prominent SE that donates to this job being present and doing a particular action. For example, the Dragoon's 3rd combo which sounds like a passing jet, the three punches from a Monk's boot shine, the thunder sound from a Red Mages's Ver Thunder. I may not hear the impact the Dragoon makes at the end, nor the whoosh from the Monk's Boot Shine during the animation, or the casting of Ver Thunder before it fires off. But every Job's actions has a distinct and prominent sound that even in the midst of combat, can be heard clearly which adds to the feeling or the rush of gameplay.

But what defines gameplay? Mechanics, visual cues, audio cues, story? All of them actually. You see video game, and much of visual media, is built around 4 core pillars. Visual, audio, story, and mechanic (for games)/flow (for other medias), for this purpose, I'll only focus on video games and I will primary exclude story as it's not really relevant to this discussion.

If I were to make a game, I need to consider those core pillars. The story should be engaging, the visual presentation should match the story's tone, the audio presentation should match the visual presentation, and the mechanic should be intuitive/engaging that players would not feel off put. If I don't want a story, and instead I want a sandbox or arcade shooter, then I need to make sure the other three pillars are up to the task of player retention. These is the basis of what people expect from a game. Naturally these element heavily effect gameplay. Gameplay can be gauged by the players satisfaction and engagement to the said game, this is why people engage in "fashion wars". Being able to look and sound the part for your personal gameplay, effects gameplay. One example is that people tend to buy a game if a famous voice actor/seiyū is voiceing a character, it add to the gameplay that someone they like is voicing a character in the game.

For example,

If in my game, I have a Character who is visually and audibly stunning (think of heroes and their powers) but have poor mechanics, then I won't be able to retain players easily. But the opposite hold true however, If I had amazing mechanics but the character is visually and audibly repulsive (think of a 500lb guy with barf on his shirts, and the sounds associated) then I still would not be able to retain players. Now another example, I'm making a game about bloody vengeance, and the graphic style is baby chibi with realistic sounds, and good game mechanics. Even so my game may not sell all too well, I have great mechanics and audio, but visually it is not appealing to the game. Now lets say I have the same game, have a serious stylization, say "Max Payne" or "Hitman", but all the sound is from a kids show. Again it would not be appealing, this is because there is a specific interrupt that brings people out of the game. You yourself recognize this in some capacity with the chicken sound comment.

People hold the pillars in different orders and priority. Some people can play a game with a bad story or the lack of one, others could play a game thats in pixel 2D. Yet at the same time, there are also others who can not handle the lack off or a bad implementation of one of those pillars. Where you can brush off the audio issue, others can not, because it effects their gameplay. Sure, you can tell some one to play the Job regardless of sound because it has good mechanics, but thats like telling someone to eat teriyaki and mayonnaise roasted roaches, dogs or cats because they tastes good.

[Valic]

but that like telling someone to eat teriyaki and mayonnaise roasted roaches, dogs or cat when they don't want to, even if it tastes good.

Man of culture here. No really though, he's absolutely correct in his disclaimer for what I said. Heck, I even played a 2d MMO and loved it's story, visuals, mechanics, and sounds. I'd rather not name it but it was a beat em up mmo, prolly won't be hard to find. Mechanically you could input combos like a street fighter game, customize them too, every hit, impact, sound, fist, fireball, crunch, slash, anything you played had a good "OOMPH" to each attack. The story was interesting enough and developed over time to be better and better and adjusted by patches/content. The music was fast paced and set the mood to pump you up to beat up dungeons and visually.. for a 2d game.. was not at all bad really. Though comparison of 2d to 3d can't be told good vs bad, that's more like saying modern art vs contemporary art... They're both still the same concept, just a different format people enjoy. By the end of it, things have to mesh and feel good. For me,I like a balance... I can deal with certain things not being 100% perfect or if other bits outweigh other areas... In this case, I find the sound not just "a little lackluster". The sounds just don't quite match the hits or the job's actions to me, and it's a large enough change that it throws me off immensely of playing the job. Mechanically? Perfect to me. Visually? Could be a bigger blasting zone or a lil bit more flourish in some areas but I really can't complain. Story? It's job quests felt meh, but I'm okay with that considering all else is fine. Sound?.... ehhhh... it's like a pool noodle hitting cardboard, it's enough to tell me I'm not really "feeling" my hits.

[Fenrir-Sin]

Voted yes! The new effects sound like I've not been sharpening my blade :\

[Deithwen]

Please SE, bring the old sounds back, or at least let us choose. The current ones are terrible!

[Valic]

I'm honestly glad to see the vocal group of this, not just the poll. On the outside it just looks like a bunch of numbers rather than how many people genuinely don't like it and can say why it's off. Gives the poll some realistic idea of why people vote what they vote than just a chart of "yes/no".