Inevitable Job Simplifications?

[Valence]

That's the problem with melees in general, their additional job unique tools make them unique, but their base combo patterns are all similar, and while it's not on the level of healers with their gcd heals, it's not that far off. I'm also all for more proc based jobs in general. Combos are unappealing, especially with so little or no branches those days. Could just replace them with a single pvp button to reduce bloat and add new fun toys, and we would be better already.


Casters are very diverse yes, and that's good. SMN however, has suffered from the sqenix axe of butchering that MCH went through the past expansion because apparently it's easier to redesign from scratch than fix what's broken, especially when redesigning from scratch is intended to stay at a level so basic that it's literally braindead (SMN) or bland (MCH). Rphys are different from each other, yes and no, because BRD and DNC are actually very similar jobs when it comes to how their bursts play out. Fortunately, their job mechanics are different enough to keep them apart (mostly due to the very unique bard song system). MCH is a travesty and I don't even want to get into how bad and nonsensical that design is.

On mitigation, I'll admit that the recent buffs were truly needed for rphys and I actually appreciate this. However, unlike in the past, everybody and their mothers have mitigation to bring to the party (even melees and casters with addle-feint, and addle-feint is good on a short cd). Tanks and healers now all have a crapload of party wide mitigation tools as well, and RDM even has magick barrier. It's stopped for two expansions to be the relatively exclusive realm of rphys to bring that kind of party support, and while I think it's a good thing that everybody has to chime in when it comes to mitigation, it also removed one of the fundamental aspects that made rphys unique.

[Mikey_R]

That's the problem with melees in general, their additional job unique tools make them unique, but their base combo patterns are all similar, and while it's not on the level of healers with their gcd heals, it's not that far off. I'm also all for more proc based jobs in general. Combos are unappealing, especially with so little or no branches those days. Could just replace them with a single pvp button to reduce bloat and add new fun toys, and we would be better already.

I hope you aren't advocating for every job to be proc based? If you are, then you need to realise that there are players out there that do enjoy the more rigid combos, so yo uneed options for both.

[VentVanitas]

That's the problem with melees in general, their additional job unique tools make them unique, but their base combo patterns are all similar, and while it's not on the level of healers with their gcd heals, it's not that far off. I'm also all for more proc based jobs in general. Combos are unappealing, especially with so little or no branches those days. Could just replace them with a single pvp button to reduce bloat and add new fun toys, and we would be better already.

Don't touch my MNK combos, thanks.

It has the opposite problem actually. The fundamental structure of the job in its GCD loop is the most unique thing it has while its other aspects like Chakra and Blitz... not so much. Normally, I would count other things such as Six Sided Star but uses for it in EW so far have been very scarce outside of the typical "last attack before boss goes intangible/is dead."

[Valence]

I hope you aren't advocating for every job to be proc based? If you are, then you need to realise that there are players out there that do enjoy the more rigid combos, so yo uneed options for both.

I actually am not, and yes I know a lot of players that like the predictable nature of jobs and can't deal with those that are not.

I am actually advocating for more and more varied base filler systems, even though personally I dislike base combos. So far the game mostly runs on three types:

- Standard combos, some have branches, some don't. You essentially press a button, the next one lights up with 100% chance.
- Procs. Some have a chance to proc from the first skill of a combo (GCDs like refulgent arrow, RDM spells, DNC combos, etc), some have a chance to proc from job mechanics (OGCDs usually, and the most interesting and creative ones imo).
- Freeform. MNK is such an example, and SMN/BLM is also one. I like the freeform category because no matter the job, that base is very unique to them and follow unique mechanics.

Don't touch my MNK combos, thanks.

It has the opposite problem actually. The fundamental structure of the job in its GCD loop is the most unique thing it has while its other aspects like Chakra and Blitz... not so much. Normally, I would count other things such as Six Sided Star but uses for it in EW so far have been very scarce outside of the typical "last attack before boss goes intangible/is dead."

Yeah MNK combos are more freeform and not standard combos, so that's different. And I actually like blitz for the simple reason that it actually feels unique to me. Maybe it's not that far off from mudras yeah, but it still uses the base GCD combo as parts (unlike mudras) and in a unique freeform way. It actually makes the job rather complicated when you want to fully optimize and provides very high skill ceiling, which is probably a good thing for players that like that sort of thing?