I've tried several DPS jobs and this is the only one I've really clicked with from day one. DRG is close, but I can't really get a good feel for how it plays because the kit feels so incomplete at 56, compared to SAM's out of the box at 50. I don't feel motivated to level DRG to 90 knowing that it will feel awful to play in synced content where SAM would still feel "complete" even if some of the capstone abilities were missing.

If these changes aren't reverted, I dunno how much longer I can stick with the game. Outside of MSQ the only thing I do is chip away at omni-crafting. SAM is the lens through which I experience the majority of the content in this game, but it is no longer fun to play. If button bloat is a problem, why not consolidate some actions in the way that Namikiri already has been? Why do we need two versions of Shoha, or both Guren and Senei? Shoha II could be a trait that adds AoE falloff damage to Shoha. Senei could be a trait that buffs the single-target damage of Guren, with Guren just adjusted however it needs to be in terms of potency to compensate.

I'm also still feeling the sting of the loss of Seigan. Seeing how Chiten works in PvP, maybe we could try replacing Third Eye with a PvE version of it? Blocking attacks with Third Eye almost feels like a waste of time because it's only going to block 10% of a hit that's already going to hurt because we're a fairly squishy class. If we have to lose our "counterattack button" then can we at least have our "parry button" modified with a "counterattack" effect? It doesn't have to work exactly the same as the PvP Chiten, but Chiten has a cooler animation and feels more impactful to use. Third Eye is just kinda...there.

Bottom line, SAM just doesn't feel good to play right now. What drew me to it initially was that it's got the elegant bladework of a Jedi Knight, combined with big finishing moves that dish out huge spikes of damage. Midare Setsugekka blew my mind the first time I used it, because it felt every bit as impactful as its animation looked. The time spent going through the sequence of GCDs that led up to filling my whole Sen gauge felt meaningful. I no longer find myself eagerly looking forward to that magical moment when my cooldowns line up and I know the next enemy is about to be annihilated by two Midares, two Namikiris, and a Senei/Shoha. Sure, they still look cool, but the big spikes of juicy direct crit damage are gone. They feel like WoW spenders now.