Encounter design doesn't matter if every job is tiresome to play

[Rokana]

Yes, this is about BLM getting gutted.
It's great that encounter design in DT is doing well. I won't be able to appreciate it because every single job in the game now feels like a chore to play. BLM was the last job that I actually had fun playing: it let me put thought and effort into my gameplay, and rewarded me for doing so. Now, BLM is... Boring. It's not fun to play. None of the jobs are fun to play.

I'm not pretending that the game should cater to me exclusively. I'm the type of player who enjoys a challenging job, despite being pretty casual. There's another type of player who doesn't enjoy a challenging job like BLM was before 7.2 gutted it. But almost every other job caters to players who don't enjoy a challenging job. BLM was the only job aimed towards players like me, and now there's nothing.

And I'm not sticking around if there's no job left for players like me, my sub's cancelled as of this morning. And I mean, that sucks? I love this game, I don't want to leave it, I hope one day there'll be a reason for me to come back. But with BLM gutted there's nothing left for me here.

[Eraden]

In Mao opinion, encounter design IS reason why jobs becoming samey and tiresome. Devs focusing more and more on DDR and in doing so, is changing jobs to more and more fit DDR.

[Lyth]

The core principles of encounter design haven't really changed since Stormblood.

What has changed is the introduction of PCT, which offers better mobility, utility, burst, and overall damage for less effort. The job is a direct upgrade to BLM, like the old FF1 promotion system. You bring a Rat's Tail to Bahamut, and he replaces your BLM job stone with a PCT stone instead.

[Supersnow845]

^PCT is a horrific mess as of 7.2. Time to get some new material

[Lyth]

I'll believe it when I see it in actual usage rates.

[Valence]

In Mao opinion, encounter design IS reason why jobs becoming samey and tiresome. Devs focusing more and more on DDR and in doing so, is changing jobs to more and more fit DDR.

DDR has become so bad (you should see the new raid, you'd love it), that even if we had the greatest jobs ever, I feel that it would genuinely turn the whole experience sour for me anyway.

The core principles of encounter design haven't really changed since Stormblood.

Indeed, they haven't, but one would be blind not to see that they have also been cranked to over 9000. Jobs have been making room for them as a result to accommodate.

[Rithy255]

we need both job and encounter design.

They keep leaning heavier and heavier into encounter designs because people complain that they are bored and have not much to look forward to, theirs no real sense of wanting to replay a fight once already done.

Imagine if we had a decent job system that enhances the encounter design, it would make those encounters have replay value as bringing a different job would offer something unique to that encounter, one thing i loved that i can't do is learning a fight on my tank then going back as a black mage to do it, it felt really nice... now bringing black mage basically offers the same experience.

Imagine a world where going on healers vs tanks vs Mdps vs caster vs ranged would completely change the encounter and how you interacted with the fight along with your unique job interactions, benefits and struggles.

Might as well remove the job system and play as the freedancer so we can focus on mechs at this point.

[Valence]

That wouldn't work with DDR systems for two reasons:

1) They do not provide any metric beyond uptime vs damage. If everything is about dealing damage while having as high of an uptime as possible and nothing else, then everything is gauged how well it can move effortlessly to apply that damage.
2) DDR requires a lot of attention and focus, and there is a reason we see people struggling or complaining even in casual content due to the overabundance of it. If jobs difficulty increases, then most people are going to be overwhelmed (and I have no shame of saying that I will too), and the game will become a game for hardcore players only.

The rampant DDR must go if we want to have any hope at a decent job system that interacts well with thoughtful encounters.