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?

[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.

[LilimoLimomo]

I mean, FFXIV is an MMORPG... "RPG" is literally in the genre name.

I'm right there with ya! And I think that's part of why it's taken me this long to look past the name and "genre" and really think about what activities the game asks me to do. And when I look at that, I don't see much RPG going on there, at least not in the combat.

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.

Good question! You're the expert on you, but my guess would be that over time, FF14 has mechanically changed, and with those its gameplay — and thus its genre — have shifted as well. When I started the game in ARR, the game was much different than it is now; there were things like sub-jobs and aggro management and fire materia. Without getting distracted by the tantalizing conversation of whether these changes made the game better or worse, we can see that in the past it used to be possible to actually customize the abilities and resistances you had in combat. Those kinds of choices are something I relate to RPG's, and they're now absent from the game. I could be wrong, but I don't think it would be a controversial statement to at the very least say that the game is currently less of an RPG than it was previously. So it's possible that at some point, the amount of RPG juice the game was giving you fell below your minimum requirements.

Though broadly speaking, I'd be surprised if there weren't numerous factors at play...but this might be among them.

[ty_taurus]

Good question! You're the expert on you, but my guess would be that over time, FF14 has mechanically changed, and with those its gameplay — and thus its genre — have shifted as well. When I started the game in ARR, the game was much different than it is now; there were things like sub-jobs and aggro management and fire materia. Without getting distracted by the tantalizing conversation of whether these changes made the game better or worse, we can see that in the past it used to be possible to actually customize the abilities and resistances you had in combat. Those kinds of choices are something I relate to RPG's, and they're now absent from the game. I could be wrong, but I don't think it would be a controversial statement to at the very least say that the game is currently less of an RPG than it was previously. So it's possible that at some point, the amount of RPG juice the game was giving you fell below your minimum requirements.

A lot of the shift in FFXIV's design direction is stuff that revolves around job design more than the design of the jobs themselves. There are examples of actions that wouldn't work with modern FFXIV, like Cleric Stance, Hawk's Eye, Quelling Strikes, Goad and other TP related actions, Awareness, Sustain, etc. But the bulk of job design would still function. Like there's nothing about old Scholar that would create conflict with modern design except for Fey Light's attack speed boost which is an unwelcome buff due to how attack speed is not something most jobs want an unaccounted-for amount of. You'd probably need to add some of Scholar's newer resources to help provide it with enough resources to compete with the other healers, but if we were to bring back Miasma, Shadowflare, Miasma II, and Bane, that doesn't break Scholar.

The changes we have are not made because they must be made. They're made because someone in some seat of power wants to see the game streamlined even more than it already is.

[Rekh]

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?

+1

Funny thing is Elden Ring's more of an rpg than FFXIV is; XIV now plays itself for the most part. Customization of stats? Nah, that's not allowed in my "perfectly balanced FFXIV, it makes the job for devs easier."

[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.

[EZGIL]

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.

I was a Arazu specialist. That ship was death incarnate.

[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!