People wanting a support class. Why?

[Driavna]

The thing about supports in this kind of game is: will become mandatory or you will be better off with a regular "real" class. I guess SE can add one more party slot and force a support class in every group, that way a new class could be added and bard/dancer transform into true supports.

Personally, I don't think is worth it. Also, no matter what, if the class do damage people will want that you contribute to the max of your ability.

[HWalsh]

I guess SE can add one more party slot and force a support class in every group, that way a new class could be added and bard/dancer transform into true supports.

Keep the party slots the same, just make it:

1 DPS, 1 Tank, 1 Healer, 1 Support

Or

2 DPS, 2 Tanks, 2 Healers, 2 Support

[Wanzzo]

Support jobs will allow each job we already have to focus on different things since they will get spell/skills reduced by them. In the space, they could do more job specific skill/spell simplifying them to use for their each role allowing them to focus on unique features for each job. Like, no more all healers doing the same type of buff/debuff and being useless when used togheter.

As a support, all things like: buffs, debuffs, pull, push, etc, would create crowd/ground controllers and more ways to accelerate or change the combat.

Mind that now we have in a 4 members party: 2 DPS, 1 Tanker and 1 healer. Introducing support role, it would be like: 1 DPS, 1 Healer, 1 Tanker and 1 Support. The team, as a whole, could become less efficient and slower to finish duties. Unless, the buff/debuff and other control tricks of the support compensate that 1 dps missing...(hard to believe)

Though, if they do things like that, then I'll be really -supportive- for this "new" role! But its quite improbable since they'll need to revamp a lot of classes/jobs since ARR (including descriptions, quests and so on).

Archer/Bard and Arcanist would perfectly match for the role since the begining. Archer would be that keen eye who see and hear every movement of the enemies and do shots focused more in the exact point of impact than brutal force. And arcanist IS PURE support when we read the description and go through the class quests ("strategy is a weapon to change the will in to the desired reality" - or something like that).

[linay]

I don't care either way, but if the job has support abilities, I prefer abilities that do not require a specific target during combat. Support abilities should either buff party members and/or debuff enemies over a designated area. That's why I'm mostly glad about how dancer turned out; the partner mechanic I can tolerate due to thematic reasoning (and it doesn't require targeting during combat), though I'd still prefer it gone.

[Allooutrick]

I think a support class could be amazingly fun. Like if they made dancer a support the rotation could use dances to maintain the support effect chosen, switch dance styles to change the effect, and have a simple dps rotation for solo content.

[SturmChurro]

An actual support class probably would never work the way this game is designed unfortunately. All that really matters is DPS (talking about support abilities that increase it), and some mitigation.

[Aladire]

Did't Yoshida say they would never implement a true support role such as bards in FFXI because they feel that if they balance it right, then it would be of 1 of 2 things:

1. It would become a required class as the debuffs + buffs would make it easier for people to survive screw ups.

OR

2. That it would make the dps you do have become more responsible because if they fail at something and mess up the rotation, then that is more dps loss than not having the buff and another dps player with you.

[Xatsh]

Pure support or CC classes would never work in ffxiv due to the game design. They would have to up min party size to 5 to even attempt to do it. And yes Support would be a required class to have if they did it correctly.

Dnc in FFXIV is about as good as we are going to get a dps/support hybrid more or less.

As to "why?" it is a major archetype in mmos. You have basically 5 archetypes: Damage Dealer, Healer, Tank, Crowd Control, Buff (Support - depending on the game sometimes lumped in with CC). It wasn't until the WoW style mmo came around that the last 2 archetypes started going away or being combined with others.

Alot of people enjoy that kind of class. The ability to make the party stronger and more efficient was both enjoyable and important back in the day. Example Brd in FFXI increased everyones dmg output significantly, Reduced the tanks dmg taken significantly, worked as a battery keeping the mages mp up so there was no downtime, CCed packs incoming mobs so quicker kills and larger pulls were doable. Thier dmg output was well non-existant though. Rdm in FFXI was a support/CC hybrid class as well. Subpar healing, really subpar dmg. But best CC in the game with the ability to support heal, Haste to increase dps dmg, and refresh to keep everyone's mp topped off.

Back in the day in FFXI the setup for a standard party was Tank or War/Nin, Healer/Rdm, Support, Dps or support, Dps, Dps. In raids it was (Party 1) Tank, Tank, Healer, Rdm, Support, Support (Party 2 and 3) Dps, dps, dps, dps, Rdm/support, Support. No possible way to make it work in FFXIV's 4 man parties. In raids or 8man parties it very well could work... but would not work with the leveling aspect of the game. Example, Can you imagine soloing on brd if all they had was a dagger and auto attack + say a 100dmg a tick song debuff for dmg output.


Honestly it is a problem with the whole genre, with everything being homogenized. Support and Crowd Control classes were a good aspect of the game back in the day.

[Barraind]

Support and Crowd Control classes were a good aspect of the game back in the day.

they were more than that.

Crowd Control (be it rooting things, slowing and debuffing them, or hard CC's) is the third leg of the holy trinity


With the move away from more tactical approach of MMO's to a twitch based approach, it becomes harder and harder to utilize those aspects.

You cant really take 6 GCD's to debuff and slow 3 things, because at least one of them is probably dead by then.

[Gurney]

One of the fastest ways to get into a HNMLS back in 11 was having a BRD to 75 and knowing how to properly play the job. If you had a COR leveled and the dice for the rolls almost always needed in a PT was another way to get in. COR could do both DPS and Support at the same time. But 11 also had sub jobs which could change what you did also. RDM for example. Stun cannon was RDM/DRK, Refresh battery RDM/WHM, Nuke/Enfeebles RDM/BLM, if you were going to solo RDM/NIN. You also needed different gear sets for those setups also.