Machinist needs some reworking

[Atmaweapon510]

On the note of making Machnist the APM job, it should probably be through a passive like Greased Lightning for a 20% cast time reduction while Hypercharge gives another 25% cast time reduction. This would bring MCH to a 2.0 base second apm while keeping the 1.5 second Hypercharge window except that skillspeed affects your Hypercharge windows .

On a side note, stuff like Hypercharge and Lemure Shroud could probably be both converted into 40% cast time reduction as they are now. In fact I don't know why they keep devaluing skillspeed/spellhaste by setting certain abilities to specific cast times, I would love to play faster versions of jobs other than BLM.


As for melee chainsaw in that other post... this is what I mean by Machinist's rotation being inflexible. Unlike SMN who rearrange where their melee phase is, Machinist's optimal rotation is set in stone from the start of a fight. A melee phase would feel novel until the point that boss mechanics force you to drift from your rotation and you forever hate it from there on out. It could be fixed with charges on all tool weaponskills like Air Anchor/Drill, but then we run into the problem where there's almost no skill expression with MCH, hence why it needs a rework for a different form of skill expression. Yeah, the only way for MCH to get a melee chainsaw phase and not hate it is a rework and it's actually one of the reasons I strongly feel like MCH needs one.

[Rankina]

I wonder why we are still not able to pilot AQ and control all his actions (and maybe some more), kinda like the reaper transformation. It would be way more fun than just press a button and forget the whole thing.

I just got the dumbest idea reading this, where at 86 you replace (Or add, keeping a 50 Battery Gauge requirement for Queen, 100 for the suit) Queen with a similar-looking Exosuit. Drill/Chainsaw/Air Anchor are still useable to minimize drift impact on using it. 1, 2, 3 do your normal attacks that the Queen would do, but at a higher potency, while Pile Bunker/Crowned Collider are usable on CD at level 90, maybe twice per summon if you save to 100 battery gauge. I have the dumbest grin on my face, imagining a MCH beating the crap out of a boss with a mecha.

And imo, just make Flamethrower a single target DoT with higher potency than Bioblaster, and make the two share a cooldown. Yea, it's boring but I don't know what else to do with it, other than having it generate Heat.

[Jirah]

Never thought about Air anchor and Chainsaw being Drill II and Drill III, which is sad in some ways but it has distinction, paper thin distinction.

Realistically I highly doubt MCH will get a rework, the bigger outrage rn is SMN dense rotation and their isnt a big enough audience for a rework for it. Im aware MCH mains are pissed at their dps but thats shallow talk and theyll move on to other jobs if they care about numbers so much.

also APM is the biggest façade of gameplay in ff14, mixed with shallow kits people are essentially asking for a job where u spam buttons and if ur asking for APM jobs to be shallow and simple your asking for a Oxymoron or a kit that will not age well

also also MCH mains so far have the, lack of better terms, the dummest ideas to evolve the job with talk about "give us enshroud but its a exosuit, give us a defib, give us healing bullets, give us melee Chainsaw somwhow, give us en avant, make us OP, give us close postion like buff" taking the piss to a whole new level. or the few that remained with the job and didnt move onto Summoner or Reaper as most fad jobs tend to attract. If you want it simple sure go ahead and wish for a job that doesnt evolve what so ever, but wishing it to be as varried as freaking blue mage is beyond ridiculous. May sound mean but just saddned to see what has become of MCH mains

[Atmaweapon510]

Don't knock the fantasy of a melee Chainsaw phase, current Machinist is based heavily on nostalgia for FF6 Edgar, whose chainsaw had him jump on top of an enemy and spin wildly around with it for absurd physical damage by the point you first get access to it (or don a hockey mask and go into horror slasher movie mode to inflict instant death.) Aside from that, melee chainsaw is also born from a want to spice up mch's rotation.

[CKNovel]

The hockey mask can come with the AF.

RDM got a bit more flexibility for its melee phase, MCH could have some flexibility too.

A lot of people are asking for a chainsaw melee phase and few are against.

[Sorzai]

Well I for one am against having a chainsaw melee phase, i don't want to play another RDM style of gameplay. if you want something like that then go play RDM then. I also dislike the current iteration of MCH, i absolutely hate the heat blast spam.

[MagiusNecros]

MCH is currently Edgar Figaro lite. I'd much rather we have a mish mash of Edgar, Barret, Irvinne, and Mustadio.

I think the emphasis on Edgar tools is good but clearly some of these gadgets are underwhelming such as Flamethrower which not only requires an upgrade(upgrading it into Barret's Catastrophe would be a start and just turning it into a channeled line AoE would be fine IMO) but also needs a severe potency boost to even consider using and if you do use it it's far better to pair it up with Bioblaster. Flamethrower also needs a ST equivalent. Bring out the Heavy Machine Gun and call it a day for the Barret Ungarmax feels.

Wildfire bomb is much too weak for being a 2 minute CD and either needs charges or needs to be changed into something else.

Queen is garbage especially in multi target fights where it just does what it wants and you have no control over it. It would be far better to just replace it with Satellite Laser for on demand burst damage.

I'd much prefer a Battery Gauge, Heat Gauge, a gauge that charges up over time to let you use powerful attacks as well as bringing back some interaction with an ammo system. Even a Gauss barrel phase without the actual barrel with cast times for uunga buunga damage would be welcomed I think. But it has to be satisfying to use. Like a rocket launcher or a Sniper Rifle.

As it stands Machinist overall is a braindead job class that wants to be a ranged Fell Cleave Warrior with bottom of the barrel damage.

Those requesting that MCH simply mimic Reaper Enshroud just serves to strip MCH identity and I feel is not the answer.

Furthermore on a aesthetic note there really is no reason why our lunchbox doesn't have different designs/models given both Samurai and Red Mage have different sheathes and crystal catalysts respectively.

Have a feeling that meaningful changes will only take place once they add a "Pirate" job focusing on pure gunplay and abandon MCH with it's variety of "Tools" that the Warrior steals from Stephy boy in Ishgard.

[iiTzSeb]

MCH could keep its current kit, it just needs more damage.

There's literally no other purpose to it existing except to be on a teamcomp, capture raid buffs, then pump out damage.

Problem is that even among the phys-ranged it doesn't FEEL like how SAM/BLM feel among their categories. Mostly because most groups relegate the phys-ranged slot STRICTLY to a support ranged (BRD/DNC) and have their selfish DPS be SAM or BLM if they're even taking one.

With MCH not even being remotely comparable to SAM or BLM in overall damage output, the job finds it hard to fit a niche. Sure it's GREAT damage for a ranged slot, but the ranged slot is also considered a support slot nowadays less than it's considered an actual DPS slot.

Bring MCH's DPS up to be around that of the other 2 selfish DPS so that it can ACTUALLY be something noteworthy and not just "well it fills the slot and gives us a 1% boost I guess."
(Also with how MCH has the second highest APM only behind NIN it should EASILY be higher on DPS than where it currently is)

[Anhra]

MCH, doesn't even plays like a marksman that is suppoest to use a Gun with Gadgetlike Tools and Weaponry. It plays like a Melee DPS at range with its focus on Rotations.

I am not saying that the Job isnt working, it is by any mean, alot better than it used to be in Stormblood, but it still is not a "Gunner" Class. It doesnt have any form of Ammo mechanic to work with, or any impact on powerful Abilities aside of huge damage numbers. If i had to make suggestions, they would be kind of like this:

First of all, MCH should get (along with all Phy. ranged dps) a GCD of 1 or 1,5sec GCD for all Weaponbased Abilities and Skills.
What i mean with "Weaponbased Abilities and Skills" is the literal sense, Skills that involve using your Gun.
In order to compensate for the short GCD; there wont be ANY auto attack.
Also, no off GCDs here (aside from self Buffs).

Overhear Gauge now works in a way that the more you use your Weaponbased Abilities, the more it builds up heat (some build up more than others), if you reach 100 Heat, your Weapon overheats and gets "jammed" for 10-15sec (Barrel stabilizier reworked in a way, where it can cure the jammed effect, but has a 120 or 180 sec CD).

the Heat buildup in the Gauge, depletes every 3-5sec by 10 when you dont use Weaponbased Abilities and specific Skills will require you to reach a certain amount of Heat in order to use them (for example, Wildfire requiring to have at most 20 Heat. But in order for compensation, there should be a new Skill which i will just call Reload, which resets Heat to 0 and is on GCD).

Weaponskills having Telegraphs. Instead of the usual 1-2-3 Skills which we have as a combo, those will be seperate Skills which are used for directional Shots (as a Line AoE that has a "casttime" of 0,25-0,5sec. One shots in a straight Line, hitting everything with a piercing shot, one does a regular Shot at target and another does a Line behind you. Spreadshot will be removed and straight up, replaced by the Shotgun which will attack in a Cone infront of you and also knockback on regular Enemies (slightly, not by much) and has 6 charges, but a long recover time for each charge (like 25-30sec). Flamethrower will be more powerful the longer you shoot with it, but buildup Heat rather quickly.

Reassemble changes specific Skills, like turning Flamethrower into Bioblaster or turns the next Stack from Shotgun into Hotshot, for example.

Using Drill, will knock the User backwards (to show recoil) and will not Buildup Heat.
Ricochet becomes a Buff to give the mentioned single target Attack on Target the Splash effect for a certain amount of time.
Hotshot deals more damage the more heat you have and is like Piercing Shot. (Shotgun)

Those are merely some ideas i'd wish to see inplimented into MCH which i think would be great in terms of Gameplay.

[iiTzSeb]

MCH, doesn't even plays like a marksman that is suppoest to use a Gun with Gadgetlike Tools and Weaponry. It plays like a Melee DPS at range with its focus on Rotations.

I am not saying ...

Half of the guns aren't even rifles so the "marksman" aspect was off the shelf a looooong time ago when the class FIRST dropped.

Also a lot of this kit reworking is just reinventing the wheel when the wheel is about as smooth and fluid as it could possibly be. None of the way the kit works should be changed, it's STRICTLY lacking in personal damage to make it more appealing to groups looking for a ranged.

Also, HARD disagree on all phys ranged needing a faster GCD, it would make zero sense for a bow or chakrams to be thrown/drawn and fired at the same speed as Hypercharge heat blasts do with MCH's gun. Guns have ammo capacities, bows and Chakrams do not.