Paladin Updates

[Firon]

It is indeed in FFXI... and it was lazy in that
but it is not in all RPGs... not even all JRPG's...
Dlvl does not appear anywhere in the FFXII damage formulae
Theory debunked

Dlvl is indeed garbage and XI did not use it correctly

Rydin yes it does let me prove you wrong right now. this is a FF 12 damage formula right here.

Bows, Daggers and Ninja Swords: These depend upon speed and strength. These can give you an edge in battle in earlier levels because the speed stat grows very slowly in comparison to everything else.

DMG = [ATK x RANDOM(1~1.125)]- DEF] x [1 + STR x (Lv+SPD)/218]. what that means is since you don't gain lot s of stats in FF 12 you get damage Bonus from your lvl's, and guess what the higher lvl you are over a lower lvl monster the harder you rape them.

[Treach]

How is PLD supposed to use heavy or dps darklight gear? Only piece they can effectively wear is the heavy gloves due to the bonuses on AF body, legs and stacking -cure potency just seems like a really bad idea.

[Arcell]

How is PLD supposed to use heavy or dps darklight gear? Only piece they can effectively wear is the heavy gloves due to the bonuses on AF body, legs and stacking -cure potency just seems like a really bad idea.

More enmity and defense instead of cure potency, enhanced skills, etc... It's all about what you currently need. You have to make sacrifices somewhere if you really need the enmity+ and whatnot.

[Skies]

dLVL is not in fact garbage. It's an easy and streamlined way of adjusting difficulty without requiring extreme micromanagement of monster attributes.

The only problem here is that XIV's dLVL grows exponentially in important, and by exponentially I meant it's a factor of 10 or something (that was a hyperbole, btw), and in fact, EVERYTHING seems to work in an exponential manner in that you only see any actual gain on things that are almost or directly at whatever soft/hard cap exists. Check master Kaeko's blog and you'll notice that trend.

If they could cut down on the importance of dLVL or, more importantly, make it more linear rather than exponential it'd be better. Hell if you check out Kaeko's research on blocking, you get roughly a 60% damage decrease each Block on something your level (depending on shield attributes) and on stuff like Ifrit and Moogle that hopelessly outlevel you it goes down to god-damn 12%. It'd be cool if it was down to 30%/40% since it's almost 10 levels above, cutting down effectiveness by 50%, but making it almost 1/6th for eight levels?

[Rydin]

dLVL is not in fact garbage. It's an easy and streamlined way of adjusting difficulty without requiring extreme micromanagement of monster attributes.

The only problem here is that XIV's dLVL grows exponentially in important, and by exponentially I meant it's a factor of 10 or something (that was a hyperbole, btw), and in fact, EVERYTHING seems to work in an exponential manner in that you only see any actual gain on things that are almost or directly at whatever soft/hard cap exists. Check master Kaeko's blog and you'll notice that trend.

If they could cut down on the importance of dLVL or, more importantly, make it more linear rather than exponential it'd be better. Hell if you check out Kaeko's research on blocking, you get roughly a 60% damage decrease each Block on something your level (depending on shield attributes) and on stuff like Ifrit and Moogle that hopelessly outlevel you it goes down to god-damn 12%. It'd be cool if it was down to 30%/40% since it's almost 10 levels above, cutting down effectiveness by 50%, but making it almost 1/6th for eight levels?

Or it could be completely dependent on stats... in which case getting a new piece of gear would be so much more rewarding

[Peptaru]

That formula doesn't decrease (edit: or increase) your damage based on enemy levels, it just makes you do more in a natural progression of ability that is gained with levels. It wrecks enemies that are low level because they have lower stats when compared to mobs of your own level or higher. There is no part of that particular formula that increases damage based on your level vs the mob level (that's what dlvl is). This weapon formula does more to mobs that are lower because their stats won't keep up enough to mitigate the damage.

Tl-Dr: Try again.

[Arcell]

^Pretty much this. Dlvl= Difference in level. The FFXII formula simply boosts it based on your level, not the difference in level between you and your enemy.

While I agree that the effects could be toned down, they could just as easily not use dlvl. There are dozens of other ways I'm sure they could do it and produce satisfactory results.

[waldo]

So, would you rather have cobalt chest stacked with hp Materia and a mage willing to use sacred prism + sangiean rite? Or use that AF with crap stats and cover on your own?

I'll keep my competent Mage thank you.

[Alerith]

So, would you rather have cobalt chest stacked with hp Materia and a mage willing to use sacred prism + sangiean rite? Or use that AF with crap stats and cover on your own?

I'll keep my competent Mage thank you.

I'd rather use the AF body for MP restore. Still shouldn't stop the SP+SR. If you can constantly replenish your MP, you can keep your own HP at a reasonable level and save the mages MP for "Oh shit" moments.

[Alerith]

Wait, wait, wait. What if we're looking at this wrong?
Instead of "WAR multi-tank, PLD single tank", let's look at this another way it could be done.


What if a PLD was so self-sufficient, you didn't NEED a WHM to look after it? What if the damage it took, and it's abilities and cures, were enough to keep ITSELF alive in any situation?

I'm being serious, as this could be balanced properly.

WAR excels and dealing damage while tanking, right? So it's ideal when you don't mind bringing a spare mage, or your only WHM doesn't mind looking after the tank and the party.

Now why can't a PLD excel at taking minimal damage and keeping itself alive so you can either A) Replace a mage with a frontline class or B) That single WHM can focus exclusively on the party unless you have a major "Oh shit" moment. The drawback would of course be that PLD deals absolutely crap for damage.

If it was implemented like this, instead of an answer to the WAR, then I could see two very distinct differences in tanking.

WAR - Damage tank that requires mage attention.
PLD - Mitigation tank that doesn't need mage support, but deals minimal damage.

How to do this? Well, I'm no game designer so I can't say exactly if these suggestions would break the job, but it's better to think of ideas than to sit idly by.

Aegis Boon - Make this a 20 second buff. Instead of automatically blocking the next physical hit, it activates during a shield block. Damage taken from the attack is cut in half instead of nullified and you and party members in range restore HP equal to half the blocked damage. Stack with Divine Veil for maximum effect.

Bring back "Obsess"- This ability increased your defense against one target while reducing it against another.

Make Defense worth something - Pretty self explanatory. Sure, WAR can wear the same stuff PLD can for the most part, but PLD should have a naturally higher defense.

Change one more part of Divine Veil - Instead of Regen, make it so that when a PLD is cured, it heals nearby allies as well. Make PLD a pulsing beacon of healing.

Give PLD Defender. - I still don't understand why we don't get this. Do you WARs even use it? >.>

Allow us to parry with our sword, even if we have a shield equipped. - Give us some defensive swordplay! An ability like "Riposte", a reaction ability usable only after parrying an attack, that deals light damage and combo's with Spirit's Within.

I'm really tired. I'm sorry if some of these sound gamebreaking or unreasonable, but if we just overboost PLD's survivability and leave it's damage at the low end, then PLD makes huge leaps in practicality and WAR doesn't need to be nerfed.