What is your RPG playstyle?

[ty_taurus]

I wanted to start a discussion about what you feel your preferred playstyle is when playing RPGs and how that fits into FFXIV. Something I've learned over my years of gaming is there are certain things I always gravitate toward and try to achieve in games, and I figure that's something all of us can relate to.

On my part, I'm the kind of person that likes to take supportive characters or classes and augment them to be more aggressive. I like being able to not only provide healing, support, and utility to my team (be they other players or NPCs) while also being able to go on the offensive when needed. During my days of playing League of Legends, for example, I'd always build more aggressive items onto characters like Bard, Nami, or Lulu.

I'm also a big fan of debuff style support when it actually works and is effective. In Final Fantasy, while Vanille isn't my favorite character in the series, I do resonate very strongly with her set of roles: Ravager is a DPS that builds the stagger meter, Medic heals the party, and Saboteur enfeebles enemies with poison and stat reductions.

In Honkai Star Rail, my main team consists of all support characters that I have built to do damage: two harmony (buff supports), one nihility (debuff support), and one preservation (barrier sustain). It's not the most meta team, but everyone is well-built, and when I have everyone's support effects active, my characters that usually aren't meant to deal a lot of damage are able to deal quite a lot of damage despite none of them being DPS.

Naturally, when I started playing FFXIV, Scholar was exactly my playstyle, but that playstyle has since been erased from FFXIV, so I don't really have a job. I was hoping Sage would pick up the mantle of being that type of offensive healer/support, but it failed.

[LilimoLimomo]

I've been thinking for awhile that the current FF14 is less of an "RPG" and more of a "mid-paced action game with mild RPG elements". I in no way want to put words in your mouth, but I personally wonder if that might explain why you're not finding your desired RPG playstyle here?

[Eraden]

Mao only ever played MMOs. In each MMO Mao played Mao was always big on DPS with one exception....In Eves Online Mao flew Amarr Curse Cruiser and Mao job in combats was to use Nosferatu to suck enemy ships dry of energy so thems couldn't fight backs. Then Mao Corp-mates would come in and shoot enemy ships.

[ty_taurus]

I've been thinking for awhile that the current FF14 is less of an "RPG" and more of a "mid-paced action game with mild RPG elements". I in no way want to put words in your mouth, but I personally wonder if that might explain why you're not finding your desired RPG playstyle here?

I mean, FFXIV is an MMORPG... "RPG" is literally in the genre name. But regardless, if the issue of me not finding my playstyle in FFXIV is because of the genre, then wouldn't my issue be that there would never have been a job that fit my style ever in FFXIV? Scholar very much did for the first 6 years of the game's lifespan.

[OdinelStarrei]

First things I look for in RPGs with player choice in this manner is, "Which class has the greatsword?" and "Which class has the runic magic?" By runic, I'm more referring to magics that are based more on sigils, symmetric or intricate patterns, or, if the world building can support it, a pseudo-mathematical approach to spell casting or calling directly from the powers of established deities or communing. This is in contrast to something like incantations or summoning directly, but I do find those to be enjoyable as well. Bonus points if it's edgy as darker/hexing magics are usually more interesting to me in the settings they are portrayed in, but I've played many a two-handed oathsworn paladin.

In terms of gameplay, the closer something resembles Nero from DMC, the more I'll probably like it. By that, I mean a relatively simplistic kit on the surface for accessibility, but elements of active resource management, alterations/enhancements of standard attack or spell chains based on certain conditions, and most importantly, high APM, and skill expression in the form of reactivity, and familiarity with niche, but interesting mechanics. The more I can "merge" with the controls, the execution of a perfectly set up offensive burst, before switching gears into a defensive pivot upon retaliation, the more satisfied I'm going to feel. Loops back into why I shy away from physical shields and prefer parrying or dodging or other ways of entirely nullifying damage with a big 0, as that feeling of "This is my chance. The damage is negated, and now the advantage is mine to exploit." is also satisfying.

[OgruMogru]

I always pick Mage classes. I'm only really interested in BLM in ff14, but I'm excited to try PCT. In GW1 I preferred Ritualist which can be built offensively or support focused and requires planned positioning and time to set up walls of ghosts, also has mechanics that require you to hold items to gain effects and enchant self and allies weapons. In League [when I played] I played Orianna [best girl - ball positioning mechanic is still one of the most unique and gratifying gameplay mechanics to me] Lulu [hyper offensive, and I loved sniping people with extended range on glitterlance. I really loved the odd aiming on the 2 projectiles] and Aurelion Sol before they completely ruined him - finding out his rework was pushed through by someone who hated his gameplay and forced a change that only that SINGLE CHUD wanted feels very similar to how I imagine healers felt when their jobs got gutted out from underneath them!

[Boblawblah]

Good thread! I like these types of topics.

RPG is such a broad term that I have different preferences depending on the type of RPG i'm playing and what genre it's crossed with.

For 'rpgs' like League of Legends, I generally used to play simple characters like Rammus/Udyr/Nasus (sometimes Kha'zix) though. Usually characters that do well on their own. That said, I love supporting my team mates and protecting/helping them (hence the junglers)

For D&D style of crpgs, I'm almost always a paladin type character, that can support but also bring the heat when needed. Morally good characters appeal to me in crpgs.

Action RPGs like Diablo, I love pet/summoner classes, lots of fun having a little army killing things for me.

mmos make me anxious, so I usually stick to DPS classes, hence Summoner and now Reaper being my two highest levelled jobs currently.

[TaleraRistain]

All over the place I think. Don't really have a style in single player JPRGs. I like to try it all.

In past MMOs I was an enchanter, a ranger, a paladin/warlock, and many other support or tank roles. It's XIV that has been the outlier for me where I was mostly a healer main, specifically WHM and played BRD for dps. I only leveled my tanks through FATEs and such but never played them. EW I went back to my tanking roots and became GNB/SGE. And I still dabble in those others though my main dps is now RPR with DNC and RDM for the other roles.

I think this has made me able to adjust to things as they change in XIV. If I don't feel this class, I can try this one on the same character. And I find a new love.

[Roda]

I typically see myself as an explorer type. I like to discover new things, places, interactions, and silly little tricks. Completing a task efficiently is fine and all, but turning it into a trickshot is more fun

For combat I prefer control/manipulation over any other role, though when that's not available I'll opt for damage over things like tanking and healing, but I am at my best when I have direct control over how a battlefield behaves and am allowed to set up complex systems on the fly.
I prefer to play casters/exclusive magic users over all other class archetypes, though my favorite flavors are unassuming magic users who use guile and wit over raw primal power. Trickster-types! (Bonus points if they're using vague non-elemental sparkle magics instead of throwing another fireball at a problem)

My go-to D&D class is Bard for its stellar crowd control and supportive magics and its ability to do some phenomenal RP ass-pulls.

Sadly I do often have to go to other games to scratch my archetypal itches since most content here is very straight forward "hold W until you hit a monster, then do a dance while maintaining your damage rotation then repeat" within non-interactive hallways or flat platforms. :x

My mains in other MMOs
GW2: Mesmer
Wildstar: Esper
WoW: Mage (though i've been dabbling in Evoker for DF because dragons are cool)
Warframe: (slow)Nova, Wisp, Titania

[Jeeqbit]

I wanted to start a discussion about what you feel your preferred playstyle is when playing RPGs and how that fits into FFXIV.

I usually try to experience the story and feel the story in the fullest way possible, and use other subtle aspects of the game like sidequests, walking and interactions to add to the character and feel of the experience.

So how it fits into this game is that I enjoyed ARR unlike a lot of people. I just make the most of things.

I especially liked the emotion aspect of it because that appeals to me.

Having only 1 or 2 attack buttons is pretty irrelevant to me, as long as I can attack, so this not being an issue for me in games made it not an issue like it is for others.

My logic toward other games doesn't entirely apply to this, because I was playing it due to it being an MMORPG specifically as well for social reasons.

Something I've learned over my years of gaming is there are certain things I always gravitate toward and try to achieve in games

In terms of actual achievement hunting like mount collecting, I never really cared about it until I saw others around me doing it, so it was a way of participating.

The game is also just not very fulfilling without achievement hunting ie. you do it once and the entire patch is done for the next 4+ months. But by achievement hunting it makes it more like other games in this genre that draw out the content with grinds.

On my part, I'm the kind of person that likes to take supportive characters or classes and augment them to be more aggressive.

I like to play what would logically make me able to survive in a roleplaying context. For example, I saw Bard and thought "the enemies would just run up to melee range and I would be defenseless". So I looked at Paladin, saw the offensive sword and the defensive shield, and thought it was perfect. The benefit was also bosses actually facing you since they just stood still earlier in the game.

I do want to augment a support character to be more aggressive though. That was always my goal on Paladin, even in Heavensward, where its damage was atrocious compared to the other tanks. I felt I was satisfied if I could attack an enemy on my own and feel like I'm making progress. I started to feel this was the case when stacking Strength, especially into Stormblood, and given how they've been simplifying the game, tank damage continues to feel good - we tanks can wreck mob packs in dungeons in a way we never could in the past with our little 100 potency AoE (or no AoE for PLD ).

Naturally, when I started playing FFXIV, Scholar was exactly my playstyle

What made SCH my favorite healer was when I discovered I could use it to heal without casting, in a way that felt superior to WHM at the time, who spread it across multiple OGCDs one of which had a long cooldown. I also literally did not need to cast a heal - not even a regen like I was doing on WHM.