JUST FOR DISCUSSION: How would YOU make BLU a normal job with rotation

[Nighthawky2010]

I was one of those who was excited about BLU when it was announced & made itS appearance but that died after a few weeks. With the upcoming BLU content, personally its MEH for me.

But thot has come across my mind & probably a few others, how would I make BLU a full normal job, what will it rotation be with so many skills/abilities that are learned.

1. I would make BLU's wand...A WEAPON...instead of it being glamour.
2. Like RDM, give it some kind of BLU meter/gauge, when the gauge is fill, powerful moves that were learn can be executed.
3. Like other jobs, BLU has to be give basic moves to form a rotation to fill the BLU gauge. I know Water Cannon would be one of those moves
4. Like RDM a standard AoE Rotation needs to implemented to fill the gauge.

With 49 spell/abilities/skills (whatever..lol) & probably another 49 when you get the BLU update..what would be standard attacks, utilities, weaponskills, that will be used in parties.

Again, just a discussion...How would you do it?

[Vidu]

1) Adding more required skills that are required to progress the BLU-questline, to ensure everyone has a certain "standard"-kit, like every other job. Since other jobs just learn certain skills while leveling up and not needing their jobquest to learn everything, bluemages should get more skills from or for jobquests - either by them outright saying "In order to accept the next quest you need to reach level X and learn skills Y, Z and A" or by them just teaching you 2-3 new skills each quest.
2) Keep BLUs access to the DF limited until a certain point, maybe level 30, so the game has time to build up a proper toolkit for the job.
3) Make certain skills solo-play or arena-only - mostly things that instantly kill enemies (since they wouldnt/shouldnt work in duties anyways), that are to strong on the tank or healer front or skills that have a really low-learnrate, like the primal ones (this is to ensure that a bluemage wont get kicked because they dont have this certain rare spell)
3.1) As an alternative to my last point, to still keep the feeling of using such an epic spell: I like the idea of filling up a BLU-gauge and would propose that ones its filled up you can use one of those "special skills" - they would all be the same in terms of damage-output, but with different animations. Using the BLU-skill-menu you pick the one you like best and take with you into the fight. During the BLU-questline you should learn one of those skills for sure so you'll have access to this move but if you want you can farm the other ones for "show off".

I dont think that BLU would need a real rotation and could imagine it more working like bard - having several dots or debuffs you want to keep up and then single-target and AoE-skills.
I could see using a "skill-glamour"-system here aswell by giving the job certain skills that do pretty much the same (maybe with minor differences - 100 potency for 100MP for one skill and then 110potency for 150 MP for another one - just real slight variations that dont matter in the long run of a fight) and letting you pick the one you like best, either gameplay-wise or in terms of animation.
The quest will provide you with a "base-set", but you can get a slightly different ST-spell from another mob.
While I know about meta and usually speak out against customisation, because I dont really see it work in an envoriment where everyone just follows the meta anyways, I could see it work here given that:
a) the differences are mainly the animations, with only the slightes variation in skill-effect
and
b) your choices are being limited to pick one of the ST-skills, one AoE, one DoT etc. - instead of loading your hotbar with 3 STs and ignoring the rest.

[AnimaAnimus]

Would love to see them make it more interesting and make it an all-role job. Spell sets for tank, healer and dps roles, kindda like stances where your choice effects your spell set, but it becomes unchangeable in dungeons or while waiting on queue. 3 birds, 1 stone.

I would also love to see them keep learning magic as an essential part of the job. If a player does not want to put in the effort to learn a spell and is therefore excluded from content, that is on them. Having a job that takes more than just "learn how to push these three buttons in this order" would be amazing. And if you think about it, them saying they cannot make it a standard job because some players cannot take the time to learn a few spells, could be taken as insulting. Not having time is one thing (good thing you have 17 other jobs to choose from) but this comes across more as "our players are too lazy to do anything extra".

Just 1 job, that's all I ask, that is more interesting and involves more than just dungeon spamming over the course of leveling.

[rachcouture]

Who says a job needs a rotation?

[linay]

Who says a job needs a rotation?

It needs something to justify acquiring and using multiple abilities, especially if the acquirement process is left to the player to do manually, such as the case with Blue Mage.

[rachcouture]

make it a jack of all trades job. give it 3 stances. 1 stance would be for dps, 1 for tanking, 1 for healing. all skills would be useable regardless of which stance you're in, but they would have an increased mp and decreased potency, and possibly even cast time if you're not in the correct stance for them.

Yes please. That'd be amazing and a breath of fresh air for this game's class design.

It needs something to justify acquiring and using multiple abilities, especially if the acquirement process is left to the player to do manually, such as the case with Blue Mage.

Okay, but adding something as mundane as a rotation in a game that has too many of them isn't going to do it.

[linay]

Okay, but adding something as mundane as a rotation in a game that has too many of them isn't going to do it.

Too many? Irrelevant. Each job is only concerned with its own rotation, not any other rotation.

[ReiMakoto]

Who says a job needs a rotation?

You realise by definition that any optimal way to play a class is in fact a rotation, like you could have a class that picks skills on a fight by fight basis with a priority system and it'd still have a rotation unless the class was literally pure rng

[linay]

You realise by definition that any optimal way to play a class is in fact a rotation, like you could have a class that picks skills on a fight by fight basis with a priority system and it'd still have a rotation unless the class was literally pure rng

Even pure RNG is still a rotation; bard comes close to that. A rotationless job system would require no synergy between abilities as well as no limitation in ability usage. Even putting a resource, like a cooldown or MP, can tempt you to use another ability, and you've got a rotation as soon as you use two or more abilities in combat.

The tab targeting game that comes close to not having a rotation for me is playing SWTOR in story mode where you can be at max level and just spam literally one offensive ability for many fights while your companion keeps you alive.

[ReiMakoto]

Even pure RNG is still a rotation; bard comes close to that. A rotationless job system would require no synergy between abilities as well as no limitation in ability usage. Even putting a resource, like a cooldown or MP, can tempt you to use another ability, and you've got a rotation as soon as you use two or more abilities in combat.

The tab targeting game that comes close to not having a rotation for me is playing SWTOR in story mode where you can be at max level and just spam literally one offensive ability for many fights while your companion keeps you alive.

Im talking like pure random though is the only way to literally not have a rotation, as it like youre basically just playing bop it the class, even spamming one skill over and over is a rotation, and bard is priority based.