Ty SE for BLM changes!

[DekaiTsuna88]

I want to empathize with the Black Mage playing community but I just feel like the Devs made the right call.

When people were complaining about Pictomancer. I still remember the discussions because my reaction at the time was.

Just Buff all the other Jobs, or Reduce Pictomancers potency and increase everyone elses

I was told at the time. It wasn't just about the potency but the fact Pictomancer could do so much more damage while on the move and the buff.

Player participation in Ultimates the 'ultimate' form of skill expression had the lowest participation of Black Mage ever.

I saw threads where people were saying they were not being invited to groups as a caster if they were NOT picto - A First of its kind

Up till now the consensus for the game was it's so balanced you could bring whatever you wanted. But Picto was so objectively better, not just because of damage but because of it's free movement... Why would you bring anything else and the numbers reflected that.
People TALKED about that.
People were upset they weren't invited.
People talked about more than a potency change was necessary.

So isn't this the proper change? Isn't this a huge buff for Black Mages so they can play the game?

I know nothing about Black Mages and I admit it. BUT the past threads about pictomancer don't lie. The past threads about Black Mage participation being low doesn't lie.
So they nerfed Pictomancer a bit and greatly buffed Black Mage.

Like I even empathize with 'job fantasy' but your job fantasy was ostracizing you from playing your favorite job in the highest end content. If the design for fights gets even harder as they no doubt will...
Iunno I feel like the Devs did the right thing. I was trying to relate to Black Mages honestly but it feels like this was the correct decision.

Completely butchering a job is never a right call.

At the time, the reason why PCT was almost always picked over BLM was because PCT was objectively better in every aspects compared to BLM. It plays better too; it has the flexibility that pre-DT BLM has.
If they wanted to help current BLM players, what they could do is simply nerf PCT appropriately. Makes it so that BLM still have reasons to be played in high end contents. But they refused to do that, probably because they didn't have enough data to justify pissing the PCT player base.

So what happened in 7.2? They finally admits that PCT was simply too overpowered and they nerfed it a lot. But in the process, they also changed BLM significantly that it's essentially a different job altogether. It's marginally buffed at best, and there's nothing in the new BLM that resembles the old BLM aside from visuals. The challenge of the job is now gone. I don't think any of the old BLM players will enjoy this. Not sure who they're 'helping' with this changes to be honest.

[Carin-Eri]

Completely butchering a job is never a right call.

At the time, the reason why PCT was almost always picked over BLM was because PCT was objectively better in every aspects compared to BLM. It plays better too; it has the flexibility that pre-DT BLM has.
If they wanted to help current BLM players, what they could do is simply nerf PCT appropriately. Makes it so that BLM still have reasons to be played in high end contents. But they refused to do that, probably because they didn't have enough data to justify pissing the PCT player base.

So what happened in 7.2? They finally admits that PCT was simply too overpowered and they nerfed it a lot. But in the process, they also changed BLM significantly that it's essentially a different job altogether. It's marginally buffed at best, and there's nothing in the new BLM that resembles the old BLM aside from visuals. The challenge of the job is now gone. I don't think any of the old BLM players will enjoy this. Not sure who they're 'helping' with this changes to be honest.

Well, for all the griping about BLM - I feel more sorry for the MCH mains out there, since this patch contains nothing but nerfs for it.

[Absurdity]

That is not unexpected.

Most likely, all the existing BLMs will either switch job or quit the game (if they didn't already do one of these things).

But they will likely be replaced by a lot of people trying out the casual version of BLM. And the rates of people playing BLM will likely get higher than they have ever been (it's always been one of the least used jobs statistically as far as I can see).

Obviously, SE knows that. And Yoshi-P knows the meaning of these changes to people because he mains the job. The only reason it probably took this long was because he had to come to terms with reworking his own job.

So, he's willing to literally throw away one paying customer to make another one, who is already paying by the way, try out a different job. Not even make it their new main... just TRY it. And they'll inevitably just go back to whatever it was they were using as their main when they realize it's still too much trouble for them, over braindead SMN or PCT.

By my math, that's a net loss of one player. Good thinking, I see now why he's the God of Videogames.

^ This.
These aren't "new" players, they are existing players that just didn't like the job before. And sure, they may try it out but do they actually continue to play it? And that's what you killed it's old playerbase for?
A potential net loss of a subscription just to shuffle some people from Summoner or Picto into Black Mage, most likely not even permanently.

Well, I support this strategy of slow self-destruction, GG.

[Nadda]

Completely butchering a job is never a right call.

At the time, the reason why PCT was almost always picked over BLM was because PCT was objectively better in every aspects compared to BLM. It plays better too; it has the flexibility that pre-DT BLM has.
If they wanted to help current BLM players, what they could do is simply nerf PCT appropriately. Makes it so that BLM still have reasons to be played in high end contents. But they refused to do that, probably because they didn't have enough data to justify pissing the PCT player base.

So what happened in 7.2? They finally admits that PCT was simply too overpowered and they nerfed it a lot. But in the process, they also changed BLM significantly that it's essentially a different job altogether. It's marginally buffed at best, and there's nothing in the new BLM that resembles the old BLM aside from visuals. The challenge of the job is now gone. I don't think any of the old BLM players will enjoy this. Not sure who they're 'helping' with this changes to be honest.

Butcher... is ... Rough. Butchering is as I said like what happened to Summoner.

This is more like at worst a bad haircut? To me the changes make a lot of sense.

Again my ignorance on Black Mage is what has me confused as an outsider looking in.

I think they were trying to do the changes people were asking for because it seems to be liberating limitations that otherwise held the Job back. I think 2 seconds is still a long cast time. . .
But maybe it have been better just to reduce all cast times by .2 seconds instead... Does that sound better?

Anyways as I know I don't know much about Black Mages this will be all I'll say about it.
I'll Leave you guys to it I'm out of my depth and I just don't understand since I didn't live the black mage life.

[SongOfTheWind]

Yoshi P has already screenshotted this bait post as proof the 7.2 changes were good

Please, Japanese don’t understand sarcasm culturally, don’t bury us more.

[TheBigE]

Well meme'd my friend, carry on.

[MisterNublet]

They've officially ruined the magic archetype for me. Healers are boring arse trash, SMN is braindead, PCT's motifs are boring, and RDM being half melee isn't my thing. The only "true" caster left was BLM and now that has been lobotomized.

[Wired-Lain]

Literally a forum bait post

Peep their entire history lol. Their gimmick is "clueless new player". Its funny but idk why everyones still taking it seriously.

[AshtonCrowe]

The playerbase grants you a seat but not the rank of blackmage, Take a seat tourist

[ZephyrMenodora]

Personally I think they should have kept the playstyle and just gave them really high potentcy on a few skills. The BLM who takes forever to cast but then does 9999 damage (or the XIV equivalent) was my favorite part of the fantasy.

Same with summoner that also doesn't really cast anymore.