Remove/adjust Goring Blade.

[Mikey_R]

Because it would fit the Job better imo, I don't really want Goring blade to be strict like it used to be, but one of the things I liked about OLD pld is the varity in GCD attacks it had,...

The problem then becomes, how do you construct a rotation around that concept? Assuming the Blade combo is kept in burst, it causes issues in making a clean 60 second rotation whilst keeping Goring Blade in a combo, which is why I suggested making it a shorter cooldown, to emulate the increased usage, whilst not having the restriction of a combo.

To illustrate the point, we need to look at the GCD breakdown in a minute. at base 2.5, PLD gets 24 GCDs per minute, assuming you want 3 used of Goring Blade, that means it is broken down into 20 second segments, each one being 8 GCDs long. 3 used for Goring Blade, another 3 for Royal Authority, that leaves 2 more, 1 Atonement and 1 Holy Spirit. However, the issue then comes when you want to add in the blade combo once a minute. You do your 3 for Goring Blade, 4 for blade combo, we are already 7 GCDs in the 8 GCD cycle and have a spare GCD to use. The only option is Fast Blade, but you will either clip Goring Blade a GCD early, or it will be delayed until after a Royal Authority combo. Assuming it is a DoT, either way, you lose damage, if it is a damage up effect, then you would obviously clip it early (though, if it acted the same as Storm's Eye, not an issue). Irregardless of the outcome though, once you get back to the next 60 second burst, your GCD is not lined up anymore. The same issues arise from looking at a 30 second window between Goring Blade with 12 GCDs. The blade combo will misalign things.

Now, in regards to refreshing DoTs for Goring Blade, that isn't ideal either. There are only 2 jobs that 'refresh' DoT timers, Bard and Black Mage. Both only refresh the DoT as late as possible in order to not lose out on damage, the earlier you use the refreshing GCD, the lower effective potency of the initial casts. However, if you want it to just add on time, whilst it sounds good, it causes other issues, mainly when looking at buffs, in this case Fight or Flight. Assuming if you use a buffed Goring Blade, the total time is now all classed as buffed and, if you use an unbuffed one, the remaining time would also be unbuffed, after the first minute, when you refresh Goring Blade, it will be under FoF and the assumption here is that you will build the DoT up to max with the FoF Goring Blade, so now you have a full minute where you don't want to touch Goring Blade again, otherwise the damage gained from FoF will be lost. On the flipside, when you have to build it back up again, you will just be spamming the Goring Blade combo over and over in order to build up as much time as possible for the next FoF window. This then makes alternating minute windows where you either want to use Goring Blade or not. I know I might not have explained it very well, so hopefully the following will help to highlight it more clearly:

1st minute, build up Goring Blade timer
2nd minute, FoF buffed Goring Blade
3rd minute, build up Goring Blade
4th minute, FoF buffed Going Blade etc.

You already do not want the minute windows to be uninteresting by doing the same things over and over, however, by increasing the DoT timer with every application (as opposed to refreshing), that is exactly what would happen. The complete opposite to what you want.

The whole reason current Paladin can get away with having the combos not line up perfectly with the 60 second window is purely BECAUSE they do not have a buff/debuff to maintain under combo conditions, however, they COULD plan the usage of a buff/debuff at certain points in the rotation with the intent to NOT keep them up at all times. Now, whilst when I proposed the change to Goring Blade, I had not considered everything I have detailed here in this post, I already knew that keeping a buff/debuff as a sustained thing would completely mess with the current iteration, which is why it all started out as shortening it to a 30 second cooldown with the intent that the DoT was NOT sustained.

If you want a sustained buff/debuff then you would have to redesign how the job plays and the combo structure of the job in general. As a last thought, I hadn't even considered Divine Might Holy Spirit and the fact it would become more restrictive with a sustained buff/debuff, but we will leave that for now.

Goring Blade should be activated by FoF. Basically a physical Confiteor. What sucks about Goring Blade now is if it drifts you generally can't recover it. Confiteor, on the other hand, can be used anytime under a Req window and that won't affect its use under the next window.

Did you want Sonic Break to only activate under No Mercy? How about Gnashing Fang combo or Double Down? Drill, Air Anchor and Chainsaw? Phlegma? All of these are GCDs that have a cooldown, if you do not use them, they will drift, should the same logic be applied there as well?

I also don't know how you can possibly drift Goring Blade, you just use it after FoF as your next GCD anyway, so, as long as you keep to the 1 minute rotation, there shouldn't be an issue.

[Kemeko]

First, before we can really debate what Goring Blade will do as well as other actions and buffs, like if Fight or Flight and Requiescat should even touch each other, we have to understand the crux of the problem. Let's simplify it, at 2.5 gcd we have a box that has room for 24 blocks. We can have any block shape we want and multiple of them, but we are still limited to 24 total if we don't want the box overstuffed. Now, let's look at each level box and see what blocks we have that can fit in it. Then, work on solutions from the ground up that, hopefully, fixes the rotation once and for all.

Level 60 Blocks:

[Goring Blade] = (Block of 1)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority] = (Block of 3)

Current Rotation: (Total of 25 Blocks)
[Goring Blade] x 1 = (1 Block)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority] x 8 = (24 Blocks)

With the current rotation, we can already see it does not line up, because the box is overfilled.

Option A: Add 1 extra Goring Blade (block of 1) by changing the cooldown to 30s.
Test:
[Goring Blade](1) x 2 = (Block of 2)
[Royal Authority](3) x 7 = (Block of 21)
(Total of 23 Blocks)
Result: Adding 1 extra Goring Blade (block of 1) does not fit in the box.

Option B: Add 2 extra Goring Blade (block of 1) by changing the cooldown to 20s.
Test:
[Goring Blade](1) x 3 = (Block of 3)
[Royal Authority](3) x 7 = (Block of 21)
(Total of 24 Blocks)
Result: Adding 2 extra Goring Blade (block of 1) does fit in the box, however, this is what we had in the 6.2 iteration, just not as a combo.

Option C: Turn Goring Blade into a (1-2-3) combo again as a (block of 3).
Test:
[Goring Blade](3) x 4 = (Block of 12)
[Royal Authority](3) x 4 = (Block of 12)
(Total of 24 Blocks)
Result: Turning Goring Blade into (1-2-3) combo does fit in the box, however, the results may vary depending on the effects, and leaves no room for future iterations.
Example:
[Goring Blade](3)[Royal Authority](3) x 4 will fit in the box.
[Goring Blade](3)[Royal Authority](3)[Royal Authority](3) x 3 will not fit in the box.

Option D: Turn Goring Blade into a (1-2-3) combo again as a (block of 3). Add Shield Bash as a (1-3) combo.
New Blocks:
[Shield Bash][Goring Blade] = (Block of 2)
[Shield Bash][Royal Authority] = (Block of 2)
Test:
[Goring Blade](2) x 3 = (Block of 6)
[Royal Authority](2) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Goring Blade](3) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Royal Authority](3) x 6 = (Block of 18)
(Total of 24 Blocks)
Result: Adding Shield Bash as a (1-3) combo will fit in the box, make any new blocks fit in the box, and leaves room for future iterations. This is essentially the solution to everything.
Example:
[Goring Blade](2)[Royal Authority](2) x 6 will fit in the box.
[Goring Blade](2)[Royal Authority](3)[Royal Authority](3) x 3 will fit in the box.
[Goring Blade](3)[Royal Authority](2)[Royal Authority](3) x 3 will fit in the box.

Now that we solved the level 60 box, let's move on to the level 70 box with the new blocks, because everything has to work from the ground up.

Level 70 with new Blocks:
[Shield Bash][Goring Blade][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 3)
[Shield Bash][Royal Authority][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 3)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Goring Blade][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 4)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 4)
[Holy Spirit] = (Block of 1)
[Requiescat](4) = (Block of 4)

Option A: Requiescat at a stack of 4.
Test:
[Goring Blade](2+1) x 2 = (Block of 6)
[Royal Authority](2+1) x 2 = (Block of 6)
[Goring Blade](3+1) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Royal Authority](3+1) x 2 = (Block of 8)
[Requiescat](4) x 1 = (Block of 4)
(Total of 24 Blocks)
Result: Requiescat at a stack of 4 does fit in the box, however, it is very limited and leaves no room for future iterations.

Option B: Requiescat increased to a stack of 5.
Test:
[Goring Blade](2+1) x 2 = (Block of 6)
[Royal Authority](2+1) x 2 = (Block of 6)
[Goring Blade](3+1) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Royal Authority](3+1) x 2 = (Block of 8)
[Requiescat](5) x 1 = (Block of 5)
(Total of 25 Blocks)
Result: Requiescat increased to a stack of 5 does not fit in the box.

Option C: Divine Might stacks and combines with Requiescat.
Test:
[Goring Blade](2+0) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Royal Authority](2+0) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Goring Blade](3+0) x 2 = (Block of 6)
[Royal Authority](3+0) x 4 = (Block of 12)
[Holy Spirit](1) x 1 = (Block of 1)
[Requiescat](4) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Requiescat](5) x 1 = (Block of 5)
(Total of 24 Blocks)
Result: Divine Might stacks and combines with Requiescat fits in the box with any size stack of Requiescat, and leaves room for future iterations.

Now that we have established that to continue forward, Divine Might must stack with Requiescat, we can move on the level 80 box with the new blocks. Putting Requiescat at a stack of 5, for future iterations.

Level 80 with new Blocks:
[Shield Bash][Goring Blade][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 3)
[Shield Bash][Royal Authority][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 6)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Goring Blade][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 4)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 7)
[Holy Spirit] = (Block of 1)
[Confiteor] = (Block of 1)
[Requiescat](5) = (Block of 5)

Option A: Sword Oath remains at a stack of 3.
Test:
[Goring Blade](2+0) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Royal Authority](5+0) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Goring Blade](3+0) x 2 = (Block of 6)
[Royal Authority](6+0) x 2 = (Block of 12)
[Holy Spirit](1) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Confiteor](1) x 1 = (Block of 1)
[Requiescat](5) x 1 = (Block of 5)
(Total of 24 Blocks)
Result: Sword Oath at a stack of 3 fits in the box, however, there was a shortage of Divine Might leading to either using an unbuffed Holy Spirit or Confiteor outside of Requiescat(5).

Option B: Atonement is now a (1-2-3) combo and gives 2 Sword Oath and 2 Divine Might, while remaining as an optional combo filler that uses Sword Oath, otherwise it is the exact same as Royal Authority. Sword Oath now increases Fast Blade, Riot Blade, and Shield Bash potencies.
New Blocks:
[Shield Bash][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 6)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 7)
Test:
[Goring Blade](2+0) x 2 = (Block of 4)
[Royal Authority](2+0+0) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Atonement](2+0+0) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Goring Blade](3+0) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Royal Authority](3+0+0) x 2 = (Block of 6)
[Atonement](3+0+0) x 2 = (Block of 6)
[Holy Spirit](1) x 3 = (Block of 3)
[Confiteor](1) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Requiescat](5) x 1 = (Block of 5)
(Total of 24 Blocks)
Result: Atonement as a (1-2-3) combo that gives 2 Sword Oath and 2 Divine Might, while remaining as an optional combo filler that uses Sword Oath, along with the Sword Oath changes, fits in the box. There is an excess of 1 Divine Might which should not affect potencies if ignored and helps with prolonged disengagements, or swap an extra Shield Bash to fit in the extra Divine Might. With Sword Oath changed, there is flexibility in the rotation to allow for increased tactics, such as using Shield Lob in the middle of a rotation, Atonement remaining as a filler and starting a new combo (Ex. [Atonement][Riot Blade][Atonement]) allowing for better utility and MP recovery, and letting Goring Blade consume Sword Oath for increased potencies along with Circle of Scorn. Also, Sword Oath can now be introduced at level 60 to ensure Goring Blade and other actions/ogcds get the full effect without altering the solved rotation.

With Atonement and Sword Oath reinforcing the rotation, lets move on to the level 90 box with the new blocks.

Level 90 with new Blocks:
[Shield Bash][Goring Blade][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 3)
[Shield Bash][Royal Authority][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 3)
[Shield Bash][Atonement][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 3)
[Shield Bash][Royal Authority][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 6)
[Shield Bash][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 6)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Goring Blade][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 4)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 4)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Atonement][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 4)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 7)
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 7)
[Atonement][Riot Blade][Goring Blade][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 4)
[Atonement][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 7)
[Atonement][Riot Blade][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit] = (Block of 7)
[Holy Spirit] = (Block of 1)
[Confiteor][Blade of Faith][Blade of Truth][Blade of Valor] = (Block of 4)
[Requiescat](5) = (Block of 5)

Final Test:
[Goring Blade](2+0) x 2 = (Block of 4)
[Royal Authority](2+0+0) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Atonement](2+0+0) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Goring Blade](3+0) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Royal Authority](3+0+0) x 2 = (Block of 6)
[Atonement](3+0+0) x 2 = (Block of 6)
[Holy Spirit](1) x 3 = (Block of 3)
[Confiteor](4) x 0 = (Block of 0)
[Requiescat](5) x 1 = (Block of 5)
(Total of 24 Blocks)
Result: The introduced Confiteor combo fit in the box, with an excess of 4 Divine Might, further increasing tactics, while not affecting potencies.

Rotation example A:

[Shield Bash][Goring Blade][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit][Confiteor][Blade of Faith][Blade of Truth][Blade of Valor]
[Shield Bash][Goring Blade][Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Atonement]
[Shield Bash][Goring Blade][Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Atonement]

Rotation example B:

[Shield Bash][Goring Blade][Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Atonement]
[Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit][Confiteor][Blade of Faith][Blade of Truth][Blade of Valor]
[Shield Bash][Goring Blade][Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Atonement]

Rotation example C:

[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Atonement][Shield Bash][Goring Blade]
[Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit][Confiteor][Blade of Faith][Blade of Truth][Blade of Valor]
[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Atonement][Shield Bash][Goring Blade]

Rotation example D (aka. The Scuffed Rotation):

[Atonement][Riot Blade][Atonement][Riot Blade][Atonement][Confiteor][Blade of Faith][Blade of Truth]
[Blade of Valor][Holy Spirit][Riot Blade][Goring Blade][Shield Bash][Royal Authority][Fast Blade][Shield Lob]
[Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Atonement][Shield Bash][Goring Blade][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit]

With the new revamped rotations to choose from, you can fit whatever type of buff you want in Goring Blade, though dots is off the table because any dot past the first 30s of the rotation has a chance for potency loss with boss jumps. Goring Blade (Storm's Eye version), for example, results in no loss in potency. Goring Blade (Sword Oath) also results in no loss in potency. In turn, you can have a Goring Blade (Sword Oath)(Storm's Eye version) as well. Blade of Valor can have (Storm's Eye version) added because it would take the place of one Goring Blade in the rotation, like it did before, as well as giving Sword Oath to enhance any form of burst, regardless if Fight or Flight and Requiescat are one or two separate burst windows. Overcapping on resources is a better option than a lack of resources, it's not like we're losing dps from too much MP or Oath Gauge either. Excess Divine Might serves to allow flexibility because we can't always perform a clean loop in fights, while having no impact on ppm if potencies and 1/2 burst windows are adjusted right.

Side note: Example of Atonement as a starter/finisher/filler along with Riot Blade.

[Action][Weaponskill] Riot Blade (Lv. 4)
Delivers an attack with a potency of 150.
Combo Action: Fast Blade or Atonement
Combo Potency: 250
Combo Sword Oath Potency: 300
Combo Bonus: Restores MP (1000 MP)

[Action][Weaponskill] Atonement (Lv. 76)
Delivers an attack with a potency of 100.
Sword Oath Potency: 300
Sword Oath is not consumed with Combo Action.
Additional Effect: Restores MP (1000 MP)
Combo Action: Riot Blade or Shield Bash
Combo Potency: 300
Combo Bonus: Grants 2 stacks of Sword Oath
Duration: 30s
Combo Bonus: Grants 2 stacks of Divine Might (Up to 5)
Duration: 30s

[Mikey_R]

Atonement as a (1-2-3) combo that gives 2 Sword Oath and 2 Divine Might, along with the Sword Oath changes, fits in the box

From the level 80 rotation.

[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit]

This is one of your blocks from the 90 rotation, which is 3 SO and 1 DM, why has it changed? You were the one that wanted consistency. Not that it matters as, by your own admission, you were either short a GCD or up a GCD at level 80, depending on how you wanted to play it out.

Now, we can get to the level 90 stuff. We will assume Royal Authority gives 3 SO stacks and 1 DM stack, and Goring Blade gives 1 DM stack. This is what you yourself have outlined just by looking at your proposals.

I was going to write something a bit more lengthy, however, I have stumbled at the first hurdle. From the start of a fight, show me what the intended clean loop is, because I cannot work it out. Either I'm massively overcapping resources going into the minute mark, or, I'm short. The fact you can get a 24 block out of messing around with some GCDs is fine, that has never been an issue, the issue is HOW they all interact with each other to make a loop. Bearing in mind, this only applies if you want a buff/debuff that is sustained. This is why current PLD does not have to adhere to a strict 60 second rotation.

[Kemeko]

[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Royal Authority][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit]

Royal Authority hasn't been changed, it's 3 Sword Oath and 1 Divine Might, because level 76 is the first time Sword Oath was added to Royal Authority and includes Atonement which uses it.

[Fast Blade][Riot Blade][Atonement][Atonement][Atonement][Holy Spirit][Holy Spirit]

It was Atonement that needed to change, because by adding it unchanged, it removes some of the Divine Might you had at level 70, causing a shortage of buffs. Also, just because Atonement was given new functions doesn't necessarily mean the old functions had to go away, which is why I included multiple new blocks reflecting the functions.

We end up with +1 Divine Might at 80 because Confiteor was added, and +4 Divine Might at level 90 because Confiteor combo was added as well. They're extending the rotation, rather than enhancing it. Hmm, having Confiteor combo have some form of interaction with Divine Might is something I haven't tested yet, not so much for potencies but for effects. At level 90, you can simply use 2 Shield Bash blocks with Atonement as filler only and the rotation naturally lines up without overcapping on buffs, because Confiteor combo extends the rotation that much. This couldn't be done at level 80 because Confiteor was by itself. However, there would be a potency loss because of the new effects of Sword Oath, so you'd be inclined to use Atonement as a combo or do Royal Authority twice in a row which would leave Atonement with little use unless you're recovering or prepping for disengagements.