Quote Originally Posted by Turtledeluxe View Post
I'm not trying to be annoying, but I just think isn't the fusion bad because of how it looks and/or how it relates to the job? By arguing it's bad because it's forced, you can argue down anything in the game..

Or even if it is purely based on choice, ask for a toggle? I just don't think the devs are trying to force anyone into anything. They probably assumed you'd like it.
A toggle is what I am hoping for, personally, especially since I know some people quite like the model change--but, we have been given no indication that we are going to be getting one and healer mains are unfortunately accustomed to having their grievances ignored, so the response is understandable.

On the matter of the word 'forced', I cannot comment on past forum use of the word, but in this instance I believe it is apt. The distinction between what your character does and what your character is is an important one as it impacts the player's connection to the action on the screen, and having the character we designed replaced with a model bereft of all customization is jarring and alienating. Our individual WoL now looks like every other WoL that plays this job, at least for a little while, and that is a significant downgrade from getting to see how our particular character looks when executing a new skill, especially when the replacement form in question has a very dubious tie to the job it represents in the first place.

With Reaper, it was understood from the beginning that Enshroud was part of the class, so no one was going to be surprised by it; it also matches the Reaper aesthetic, as Reaper was designed with the mechanic in mind from the start. Scholar on the other hand has been around since ARR without any such mechanic, and none of us signed up for this when we initially became attached to the job. Additionally, Scholar does not have the very unified identity of Reaper, which means those of us who main it tend to have differing glamour interpretations of its varied military tactician/war doctor/fairy mage/bookworm influences. This bizarre angel form eradicates the personal expression of the individual Scholar and replaces it with something that isn't even a part of the job lore. In this case especially, using the word 'forced' is more than justified.