Future Machinist Rework

[Shurrikhan]

What would your suggestion be instead of an AoE then? The single will remain either way, but I'm curious as to what else would come in the place. Bishop is mainly also an easier thing to bring back versus creating something from scratch but also it just makes the most sense like Heat Blast and Auto Crossbow.

I don't think a mere ST | AoE distinction makes much sense in any form. So long as this game continues never to give reason to sacrifice total damage dealt for focus damage, there is only ever a reason to perhaps have AoE / ST choices as separate (conditional) abilities, not separate buttons, but that conditionality (pre-check for more than X enemies in the AoE's path; else, use ST form) can't apply to a persisting unit like Auto-Turrets.

By themselves, the choice in turret will be largely meaningless, so it will need a larger context. Consider, for instance, branching macrorotations (the per-60, -90, or -120 second sequences of events for, and in deliberately ramping up to, burst phases). Each Auto-Turret (among Rook and Bishop) would have a couple skills (active and immediate but without any Machinist animation, as not to take up weave space). Rook's skills would synergize with the components of one branch, slightly preferable under certain conditions, and Bishop's with another branch, slightly preferable under other raid-CD or fight-timing conditions or proc frequencies. Then, finally, you have a reason for that choice to exist. (Well, beyond checking if you can count to 3 (and perhaps, in a rare moment of tremendous complexity, whether it's worth the oGCD weave space to swap to the superior choice, given mob count being greater than or less than 3.)

That's not some verbose way of saying we shouldn't have a choice in turret type. Rather, current MCH is just so barebone/braindead/shallow/whatever-your-preferred-jargon-may-be that increasing complexity in any new/(re)added part, if you want actual synergy therein, can't be done in isolation.

Imagine, for instance, if you brought back procs so that MCH could again have an actual functionality-based (not merely a tactile or depth-feigning) reason for taking up 3 buttons with its combo. Imagine if Rook Auto-turret had Tracer Rounds, which would increase or even guarantee proc chances. Imagine if Wildfire were a function of Bishop Auto-turret and it went back to scaling with (at least, weaponskill) potency dealt instead of just granting flat value per GCD hit, such that you'd want procs ready for it. Maybe give it some splash damage, too. You'd be best off having resources fully ready to spend on your burst in Bishop (especially if there's newly arrived or soon to arrive AoE potential) AND procs, but you'd still be better of spending some resource on Bishop to prep procs before your Wildfire refreshes. That complexity would be barely a drop in a presently empty bucket, but it'd be a start.

Give those Auto-turrets a second ability each. Maybe still keep Automaton Queen around, but with some active abilities this time around so it's not just a glorified DoT. Hell, maybe tie the whole lot of them, over time and per active ability, to the MP so that bar doesn't remain a waste. Give us an actual reason to use flamethrower. Bring back the turret overrides. Allow us to optionally drop our range or hypermobility --and with it, our "PhyRanged tax" via an actual Chainsaw or an Anti-Tank Rifle toggle, such that, as a pure DPS, our damage and complexity can both rival (the latter, likely exceed) a BLM's. Then we'd be talking. We'd have an actual Machinist.