What makes a good Job mechanically?

[Turtledeluxe]

Ideally in an MMO jobs all bring something unique to the table. But in this game it feels like everyone is a dps.

But I guess to answer the question, I think jobs are fun when they gave a core loop that leads to the higher ceiling of whatever (dps, support, healing, defensiveness, whatever) with a mix of secondary skills and damage dealers. That's why I like BLM because it's a loop of ice and fire with sprinkles of thunder or xenoglossy or whatever. I think some jobs should be selfishlessly about one thing and others should be hybrids.

[Cilia]

Having a mechanic no other job uses.

Back in the olden days DRK actually functioned uniquely among the Tank jobs by, believe it or not, requiring MP management since Darkside (the DPS boosting stance) could be used in conjunction with Grit (which, at the time, lowered your DPS output) to achieve not quite standard DPS while still tanking, something no other Tank could do at the time. Unfortunately they've since reworked it and it now runs on a meter like 3/4 of the Tanks, but it was special.

Nowadays the "special functioning" Tank job is actually GNB, which instead of being a meter maid runs on charges and has one of (if not the) longest combo attack(s) in the game.

Ideally in an MMO jobs all bring something unique to the table. But in this game it feels like everyone is a dps.

Always have been.

[Turtledeluxe]

Always have been.

It's a pretty big L imo when the game has so much potential with all its jobs to have build diversity and true specialization. Even though BLM is my favorite job it's kind of a letdown in the sense that fire is the main damage dealer by default and my build options are crit or spell speed. It's fun to play thankfully but the game keeps things a tad too simple imo just by design. It's funny that they push you to level all classes when mostly what separates them is cosmetic. At least we have different base stats.

[Rithy255]

Ideally in an MMO jobs all bring something unique to the table. But in this game it feels like everyone is a dps.

But I guess to answer the question, I think jobs are fun when they gave a core loop that leads to the higher ceiling of whatever (dps, support, healing, defensiveness, whatever) with a mix of secondary skills and damage dealers. That's why I like BLM because it's a loop of ice and fire with sprinkles of thunder or xenoglossy or whatever. I think some jobs should be selfishlessly about one thing and others should be hybrids.

I'll agree and extend to why everyjob being a burst JOB ruins the game. As DPS right now seems to be the only way jobs can have some uniqueness

Ontop of that everything being hyper DPS focused, where nothing support wise matters as long as a job can squeeze out a tiny bit more damage then the others that's what makes it "meta", makes Tank/healer have to be so close to each other in everything that they've become different flavours.

Personally I want the game to put more importance on utility, skills so that Tank and Healer can bring unique things on the table, heck even phys ranged is meant to be somewhat utility focused. Not to say that would just be a easy change to make that one person could solve over night, but I think balance goes beyond making every damage number the same and making every job play the same.

[Turtledeluxe]

I'll agree and extend to why everyjob being a burst JOB ruins the game. As DPS right now seems to be the only way jobs can have some uniqueness

Ontop of that everything being hyper DPS focused, where nothing support wise matters as long as a job can squeeze out a tiny bit more damage then the others that's what makes it "meta", makes Tank/healer have to be so close to each other in everything that they've become different flavours.

Personally I want the game to put more importance on utility, skills so that Tank and Healer can bring unique things on the table, heck even phys ranged is meant to be somewhat utility focused. Not to say that would just be a easy change to make that one person could solve over night, but I think balance goes beyond making every damage number the same and making every job play the same.

The game in general is completely predicated around dealing damage to HP sponges and avoiding attacks. There's almost zero shining moments for a healer outside near wipe scenarios and even worse for buffers as they are tacking on non meaningful increases on already insane damage.

Given that we are dealing with an outdated engine and outdated combat it's a deadly combo situation where I just don't see room for improvement. They tried to create the illusion of healer and buffer experience by originally designing jobs based on resource management, button presses, etc. People complained, so now most roadblocks are gone and jobs are just simplified damage rotators.

What else can they really do when we don't have elemental weaknesses, true build diversity (may as well just go crit) , complex level design, diverse encounters (physics of the fights are constricted by the engine), etc? The game is just too old to really put a new spin on combat and, by extension, job roles without doing some seriously risky new concepts the team clearly has no intention of investigating.

As a BLM I look forward to my two new spells that do modify Xenoglossy for 10s or something.