"I don't want to think while I play, so no one should be allowed to."

[Shougun]

I didn't intend it to be entirely healers, but they're the greatest victims of dumbing down jobs so there's a lot more to say for them. Also if I were to say I miss tank stances I'd get jumped so lol.

I'm def glad tank stance dancing and cleric dancing are gone, though I wasn't of the opinion it had to be removed entirely- I just really disliked having to do it on at least one job lol. My suggestion long ago was to change Paladin to a new Oath system, such that you might spend your points to take an oath and it would have an effect for sometime with activation effects on the oaths themselves as well. So you might have a moment where you burn all your gauge to have both Shield and Sword active at the same time (or there might be some super holy power at later levels that gives you fancy aura effects and activates a 'super oath' lol). Effects wouldn't be exactly the same, obviously since it's less passive now, and I was imagining it would also come back around to other mechanics almost like a spell blade / rune blade / Death Knight like concept (making Oaths would allow you to release havoc later, making the concept itself a sort of core component that leans on being a 'Paladin').

But on point- I didn't like having to stance dance and lose a GCD and stuff like that I always felt annoyed to do it but did it because I knew there was a substantial difference if you didn't. Beyond finding it very cumbersome / annoying I also felt it went against what I would prefer to consider the roleplay theme of the job was "I don't intentionally defeat my own purpose of being a TANK by tanking worse". Similar reasons for healer. Silly to shoot yourself in the foot for your own job's purpose, so I didn't like it as a concept. Back onto a gameplay level of annoyance I'd say it was akin to Warrior's needing esuna'd on berserk, felt very cumbersome and not fun (imo).

I don't think those strategies for gameplay enhancements are the best examples of making something more complex / interesting. Particularly because they also /ensure/ a huge difference between decent play and skilled play. Ideally there is an opportunity for fine tuning and feeling clever, but I don't think having many situations (or perhaps jobs in general) that it's like okay-good play "dirt on the ground" skilled play "the next solar system over".

So I maintain, at least for some jobs, it was a great move- and I prefer the play style without it. But I didn't really feel it had to be entirely purged lol. Though at the same time I would have liked to discuss /other/ ways to maintain some interesting choices while it being less inhibitive to your own purpose. As even if it was just saying "maybe some jobs should keep it" I'd be like "can we not do better?" "are there not BETTER ideas to do what that does? Let's discuss that, I am not here to purge and give you nothing.. but I don't think you have the best either". I don't think those two spells were particularly good spells for quality gameplay, imo (but I don't mean to say all jobs get it removed and nothing fills the void created, as it obviously did require some technical skill to use).

/pounce