The problem with Tripling Down on Shadowbringers Job Design

[OgruMogru]

However all this said going back to your original question what is job identity? It boils down to what does each job do that makes it unique from every other job. And in PVE it's mostly aesthetics. There is very little deviation.

In PvP however there is a LOT of deviation. Down to defensives that grant damage shields and boost defense, AoE stuns, draw-ins/knockback, HP sacrificing attacks, GNB draw changing skills in your kit based on what role you used draw on, polymorph, AoE invulns, attacks that render you invulnerable to damage, true stealth and Death Link, Counter Attacks, delayed damage, fear effects, aoe buffs, crowd control, charm, stance swapping among others. Not to mention personal Limit Breaks that gives every player their own moment of glory and satisfaction. Which all serves to give these classes the identity players are looking for.

What's sad is we used to have elements of these variables in PvE content. All jobs used to have some form of crowd control or utility, primarily stuns and slows, and old raids did require them to solve mechanics. A lot of these abilities have been removed which means those kinds of mechanics can no longer be used until we are given the tools we need back, which is why I'm sceptical of how far the encounter only approach to DT can take us. Getting to choose which pushback to mitigate or gap to close every minute or so doesn't really cut it by comparison. Not to mention things like Goad, Manashift, hell even aggro management being flushed down the toilet. They aren't even tied to individual job identity or complexity. I wish those things had been iterated on instead of outright deleted.