The endangered DPS MP gauge

[Lyth]

It's not necessary to utilize a MP gauge if it's not thematically appropriate for the job. Some jobs just don't manipulate aether. This is not a new development in the series. In FFIV, as an example, your party's Dragoon, Monk, Bard, and Engineer permanently have 0 MP.

What would be more useful is if there was a setting to toggle off your MP gauge on jobs that don't use it, and a setting to have the simplified job gauge elements automatically snap into position next to your HP/MP bars. I also think that the Skill Speed/Spell Speed system should be merged into a singular Haste stat such that the design is more fair for gish jobs. It's nice thematically to have a few Spells instead of Weaponskills and vice versa, but your stats should benefit all of your GCDs. If that's not feasible due to technical issues, they should just change both stats to have the same effect.

[Milkbeard]

"lets be honest, gauges are cooler than bars. They got the graphics and sound effects!"

but really, class gauges have replaced the mana bar across the entire genre. Maybe its because the singular purple/blue bar was a bit limiting? Try and break it down into what it's core function meant and ask if it was fun. "Use skills with this" and when it's empty "cant use skills".

Then what did we do after that? Auto attack? Pop elixirs? I mean nostaligia points if you liked it.

Who knows, maybe we could theorycraft a different purpose for the MP bar? But if so, aren't you literally just creating another class gauge? I could see exhaustive resources like this becoming a thing when the survival horror MMO genre takes off. But for combat based ones, I think we're moving away from MP being a thing entirely.

I do think that individual class resources built upon class specific gauges are here to stay though. They offer a more nuance than just giving you time frame until you cannot press your buttons anymore.

[Rongway]

Some jobs just don't manipulate aether.

In FFXIV, every class and job manipulates aether. There's little bits of magic in every job, even when it seems like all they're doing is swinging a sword or throwing a punch. Most just don't spend their aether on fireballs and glitter storms. The ones that don't have had their aether usage moved over to the varying job gauges, CP bar, or GP bar, but they're still doing aether things even if they're not mechanically using the MP bar.

[VictorSpoils]

It's not necessary to utilize a MP gauge if it's not thematically appropriate for the job. Some jobs just don't manipulate aether. This is not a new development in the series. In FFIV, as an example, your party's Dragoon, Monk, Bard, and Engineer permanently have 0 MP.

What would be more useful is if there was a setting to toggle off your MP gauge on jobs that don't use it, and a setting to have the simplified job gauge elements automatically snap into position next to your HP/MP bars. I also think that the Skill Speed/Spell Speed system should be merged into a singular Haste stat such that the design is more fair for gish jobs. It's nice thematically to have a few Spells instead of Weaponskills and vice versa, but your stats should benefit all of your GCDs. If that's not feasible due to technical issues, they should just change both stats to have the same effect.

There's no defending a UI element that serves no purpose. Comparing it to jank from an early SNES game doesn't help its case, especially when them having 0 MP debunks the jobs in XIV that have it and don't use it. The WoL (and practically every non-Garlean) can manipulate aether just fine regardless of discipline, not to mention they have no issue using MP to heal themselves in PvP (INB4 PvP was never canon).

The only reason they have an MP gauge is because MRD/PGL/LNC/ROG could use additional actions like Cure in ARR/HW (again, strange if they can't manipulate aether), and this obsolete trait automatically carried over to GNB/SAM/RPR/DNC. Then you've got BRD&MCH losing their MP actions, despite no changes in lore saying they can't use MP.

[Lyth]

In FFXIV, every class and job manipulates aether.

Strictly speaking, Garleans can't manipulate aether. So any battle technique that a Garlean could potentially use isn't powered by manipulating aether.

?

This reply is confusing. You've directly quoted the part where I recommended giving players the option to turn off MP bars for jobs that don't use it. I cited FFIV because there's no need to shoehorn every job into using MP just to validate an MP bar's existence.

[Valence]

Wouldn't be against WAR, GNB, and the physical DPS jobs getting to spend their MP in some capacity instead of just having that gauge awkwardly sit there. Stuff like Aurora/Equilibrium/Earth's Reply could be given MP costs instead of long cooldowns. Or they could swap it out and bring TP back just for those jobs, though that would require repurposing it in some manner.

I like the idea actually for support abilities that aren't even damage raid buffs, with obvious adjustment and constraints not to make them completely broken and spammable. I'm a definite proponent of putting back raid buffs (especially on buffer jobs aka DNC/BRD/MCH) behind MP for flexibility of use, adaptability to teams needs, and encounter downtime. So why not for some support abilities as well?

It's not necessary to utilize a MP gauge if it's not thematically appropriate for the job. Some jobs just don't manipulate aether. This is not a new development in the series. In FFIV, as an example, your party's Dragoon, Monk, Bard, and Engineer permanently have 0 MP.

What would be more useful is if there was a setting to toggle off your MP gauge on jobs that don't use it, and a setting to have the simplified job gauge elements automatically snap into position next to your HP/MP bars. I also think that the Skill Speed/Spell Speed system should be merged into a singular Haste stat such that the design is more fair for gish jobs. It's nice thematically to have a few Spells instead of Weaponskills and vice versa, but your stats should benefit all of your GCDs. If that's not feasible due to technical issues, they should just change both stats to have the same effect.

Technically in XIV lore every job makes full use of aether, even for non casters, but I get what you mean. Obviously axing the MP gauge off the physical jobs is a solution and I'm not totally opposed to it because it would remove something that isn't used anyway. I'm just sad that it's not used anymore for certain jobs, notably rphys, because it could actually be again, and for good reason imo. You can remove it for melee DPS, I don't care, they don't need it and never used it.