Thoughts of Samurai Changes

[Shurrikhan]

So Shoha 2, the Meditation spender that deals AoE damage, does not give Meditation stacks a proper use in AoE situations, but a Meditation spender that deals AoE damage would give Meditation stacks a proper use in AoE situations. I don't really need to read the rest of your post if that's how you start off.

Having a second Meditation-spending button with does not, itself, give your Meditation stacks a proper use in AoE.

Having a Meditation button (whether or not it be the only button） which contributes to your AoE damage (ostensibly) gives your Meditation stacks a proper use in AoE.

You're conflating button-count with function. They're not the same thing.

The only thing that the second button adds, in terms of gameplay, is that you count whether your enemy is singular or plural... and it comes at cost to a deeper mechanic (enemy HP management / compensatory focus damage) at that.

Shoha 2 as a separate button (rather than a trait) is not worth the added real-estate it takes up.

[Kolsykol]

SAM already plays well and it just seems better to me.
However part of me is also disappointed that it's more of the same instead of something a bit more new.

It's not bad or anything it's good, but just not super interesting.

[cRank0611]

I would love to see that Ikishoten turns into the Ogi Namikiri combo after the activation, so I won't need an additional button for Ogi Namikiri.

If they could make that change, that would be perfect!

[Ryaz]

So, it looks like the new ice AoE, Fuko, isn't adding an extra step to the rotation for no reason. It actually replaces Fuga instead, so we'll have 3 circle AoEs instead of a cone plus 2 circles.

Job upgrades for those who want to take a look:

https://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/jobguide/samurai/

[Shurrikhan]

So, it looks like the new ice AoE, Fuko, isn't adding an extra step to the rotation for no reason. It actually replaces Fuga instead, so we'll have 3 circle AoEs instead of a cone plus 2 circles.

According to the updated job guide, there is no Ice AoE. Fuko does not grant Setsu nor any other Sen. It just increases Fuga's potency by 20.

[Ryaz]

According to the updated job guide, there is no Ice AoE. Fuko does not grant Setsu nor any other Sen. It just increases Fuga's potency by 20.

Yes, I'm aware. I said it's a Fuga replacement. It's the ice-based aoe we saw from the trailer graphics-wise. I never said it grant's a Sen. People were originally thinking it was going to just be another AoE step with more button bloat. At least we won't have to aim the cone anymore.

[Shurrikhan]

At least we won't have to aim the cone anymore.

That and moving back and forth to position between Fuga and Mangetsu/Oka was... literally the only thing keeping AoE spam interesting for me.

[Gemina]

That and moving back and forth to position between Fuga and Mangetsu/Oka was... literally the only thing keeping AoE spam interesting for me.

You're not losing a whole lot then. I would even wager the QoL gained for players who despise having to do this is greater than the engagement lost from no longer having to do it lv86 onwards.

[Shurrikhan]

You're not losing a whole lot then. I would even wager the QoL gained for players who despise having to do this is greater than the engagement lost from no longer having to do it lv86 onwards.

So the value of losing engagement to those who don't like doing things is greater than the value of engagement lost to those who do? Hrmm. Even if that were the case, I'm not sure that's a design principle we should be favoring.

[Gemina]

So the value of losing engagement to those who don't like doing things is greater than the value of engagement lost to those who do? Hrmm. Even if that were the case, I'm not sure that's a design principle we should be favoring.

You realize you're making a pretty big deal out of something very minor, correct? The negative impact of this change is quite literally next to nothing, and will likely just translate to less damage lost over the long term across the playerbase.