Why can classes still queue for high-level content in Duty Finder?

[MellowMink]

I decided to post this under "Other Battle Systems" since this is a general issue with all combat classes rather than just a specific role; a mod is welcome to move this though if I'm wrong, and thanks in advance. Do note that this is specifically referring to classes, as in the weaker versions of certain jobs that don't have job stones equipped.

It doesn't happen often, but I occasionally see thaumaturges, conjurers, and other classes with the rest of a Duty Finder team during higher-level content; this usually happens with alliance raids from my own experiences, but it's possible for that to happen in other areas too. Almost every single time when the player decides to type in chat, this ends up being a mistake that the player notices, and they either have to leave the instance early (thus incurring a penalty and leaving the rest of the party temporarily missing a player) or they end up sticking with it the whole duty (which objectively puts the party at a disadvantage compared to if the person was playing a job instead).

While this can initially be an amusing problem to run into, it stops being funny after the first or second time it occurs, and regardless of whether it was accidental versus on purpose, it begs the simple question: Why is any class able to sign up in the Duty Finder for content that's at level 30 or higher? I can see some people in Party Finder having class runs as a personal challenge, but it's annoying and unfair to others in Duty Finder when there are significantly less actions available to any members within the group.

And in case anyone thinks that it may due to spaghetti code reasons, I would like to point out that the system is already able to restrict certain jobs since "limited jobs" like Blue Mage are already locked from many Duty Finder instances unless they either play by themselves or with a pre-formed party via the Party Finder, so I don't buy that this couldn't simply be expanded to disallow classes as well, with the exception of allowing classes for content that's below level 30 of course.

Thanks a lot to any developers and designers who read this; your time is extremely appreciated.

[Burmecia]

I don't know, but I appreciate the freedom to choose.

[MrMagic]

I don't know, but I appreciate the freedom to choose.

It’s just a pain when they choose a role that takes longer to replace.

[Iscah]

I assume the duty finder just isn't built to filter specific classes by specific levels. Perhaps a long hangover from the time when the level cap was 50 and the differences weren't as stark.

An easier approach to locking them out might be just stop letting classes equip gear above level 50 so they can't meet the ilevel requirements for higher content.

[Voidedge_Ragna]

I assume the duty finder just isn't built to filter specific classes by specific levels. Perhaps a long hangover from the time when the level cap was 50 and the differences weren't as stark.

An easier approach to locking them out might be just stop letting classes equip gear above level 50 so they can't meet the ilevel requirements for higher content.

Bluemage is restricted, I'm not sure if this working the same way but honestly after you hit Braylflox the game should not let you progress as a class, the idea with the job only gear makes sense as well actually. If you want to use classes, go full premade like blues have to, else i boot you out the door if you queue as a class in 50+ because in 99% of cases its a deliberate choice. However this seems to be relatively rare on at least chaos.

I actually hate that SE on twitter posted "haha did this ever happen to you" regarding missing a job stone ... because they shouldn't even make it an option. Players who believe its a "challenge" to run to lv x as class don't realise that their not having the challenge but everyone around them who has to carry extra.

No amount of "i want to play this way" outweighs missing half your toolkit in group content.

[Kemiko]

I've not honestly done a "all classes" run since ARR and back then, the cross-class system - assuming you put the work into it - was far, far more robust than the role system could ever hope to be. So while you were missing some powerful abilities or spells, the sheer diversity in your toolkit did help to make what you lost seem less harsh. This was a little over six years ago, however.

Since that time, what a class actually gives you has been trimmed and removed overtime to the point where it's laughable what you actually acquire from classes today. Today, going into 50 content as a class leaves you worse off than it did six years ago. Going into anything beyond 50 as a class is far, far worse.

[Jandor]

I've not honestly done a "all classes" run since ARR and back then, the cross-class system - assuming you put the work into it - was far, far more robust than the role system could ever hope to be. So while you were missing some powerful abilities or spells, the sheer diversity in your toolkit did help to make what you lost seem less harsh. This was a little over six years ago, however.

Since that time, what a class actually gives you has been trimmed and removed overtime to the point where it's laughable what you actually acquire from classes today. Today, going into 50 content as a class leaves you worse off than it did six years ago. Going into anything beyond 50 as a class is far, far worse.

We did some Alex stuff as classes back in HW for the fun of it, saw some class clears of savage too at the time.

Be nice if that sort of stuff was still possible, but seeing as it's not they may as well be barred from higher content.

[NobleWinter]

I cleared Copied Factory with an Alliance Raid of only Classes. We also did the entire thing walking. I actually dodged every mechanic locked to walk mode and it was wild. I played the only Rogue in the Alliance and I couldn't hide in combat so they let me be the first to attack the bosses when possible to use Trick Attack. It was probably one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had. I'm sure many people get annoyed seeing classes show up in Duty Finder but most casual content isn't so hard you need to worry about it. If they show up in an Extreme Trial or Savage Raid that would be a whole other story tho.