Unsubs vs Resubs over BLM changes

[Owyn_Addens]

I am too, but I'm actually enjoying it. Maybe play something you don't hate?
I was quoting someone who only plays PLD and has not ever cleared high end content acting as if they have any sort of knowledge on the subject of job design and balance; which they don't.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I hate Black Mage now, but I'm completely apathetic to it and it frustrates me that Square Enix has decided to spend this entire expansion slowly chipping away at the thing I had the most fun with.
Why don't I play a job that I love, then? Easy. There aren't any left.

[Rithy255]

I am too, but I'm actually enjoying it. Maybe play something you don't hate?
I was quoting someone who only plays PLD and has not ever cleared high end content acting as if they have any sort of knowledge on the subject of job design and balance; which they don't.

It's easy to say that "play something you don't hate" but a lot of us have already seen changes to pretty much every job at this point that puts them in a direction that feels very samey, so if every job is getting changed into the pretty much same direction what job exactly do we have left to play?

I used to play a lot of Monk, Astro, Black mage But DT put those jobs in a direction I disliked. This has happened to many other jobs as well..

I'm a Paladin main but mostly because its the job I most visually vibe with, back in 6.2 I actually used to love its old rotation, but it became "generic tank number 4" after that rework, basically playing any other tank offers the same experience now, Why can't other tanks play differently?

Why does every job have to appeal to the lowest skill floor? why can't we have jobs made for players looking for something different? you'd expect to at least have like 4-5 high skill jobs, maybe some in the middle and some beginner friendly...

I don't want every job designed for me, but when you say things like "play something you don't hate?" what exactly are we meant to even play at this point, when looking for a job thats fun, got a skill floor/ceiling (even a small one) I don't think theirs anything really left... so what exactly are we meant to play?

All people like me can do is voice our opinions here now.

[Quuoooote]

SMN was also "popular" in Endwalker because it was an extremely, excessively strong prog job. I know plenty of raiders who begrudgingly picked it up and played it in spite of its reworked simplicity, because it did everything (had a raise, modest damage, phys ranged-tier mobility, personal mit) while boasting a non-existent barrier of entry. Conflating its standing in the meta with the rework being a success is folly, especially given the data we have now in Dawntrail telling us that its usage rates have fallen in line with or below other casters depending on the content. If the playerbase really yearns for simplicity to that extent, why has SMN failed to retain its popularity?

[Carighan]

I know plenty of raiders who begrudgingly picked it up and played it in spite of its reworked simplicity, because it did everything (had a raise, modest damage, phys ranged-tier mobility, personal mit) while boasting a non-existent barrier of entry

It wasn't the low barrier of entry, it was because the job is so oGCD-barren. It allows you to focus on fight-mechanics. And as you say, it has a lot of tools, including being able to virtually always save Swiftcast for an instant-rezz. It's definitely the best caster-job to play if you don't know a fight yet because you can't be paying attention to your job at the wrong moment, really.

[Azurarok]

It's what tipped me over to unsub for the first time since I actually got invested in the game. Can't log into the game anymore (but still able to post here somehow).

Tried 7.2 BLM before it ran out but it's so soulless without the cast times and timers. Could I get used to it? Sure. Do I want to get used to it? Absolutely not. I did that with so many jobs even between ShB and now and I'm so tired of letting go of a playstyle for the sake of either balance or tourists whining about a job not being catered to them.

[Jeeqbit]

Both are happening, so let me explain why.

As far back as Heavensward, I used to see people attracted to this game for the complex classes. That is wbat they liked. They were unhappy that other MMORPGs were making their classes simple. It's always been a big attraction to this game.

However, there are equally lots of people who like simple classes. This is easy to see... because the moment a class is simple, it gets played lots. And honestly? I'm in this boat. I want to focus on the battle mechanics. It's why I played PLD in HW, and WAR now.

After years of people being attracted to the game for the complex classes, to have this gradually reversed, naturally results in them unsubscribing. But in its wake, yes, people who like it to be simple will pick up these now-simple classes.

It's absolutely true that a lot of new players start as THM/BLM but didn't continue playing it, because it became substantially harder for them at level 60. And now they will probably try it out. But the people who are unsubscribing still matter.

The solution to all this, in my opinion, is just to give players a choice between a "simple" and "complex" version of each class.

[HikariKurosawa]

Both are happening, so let me explain why.

As far back as Heavensward, I used to see people attracted to this game for the complex classes. That is wbat they liked. They were unhappy that other MMORPGs were making their classes simple. It's always been a big attraction to this game.

However, there are equally lots of people who like simple classes. This is easy to see... because the moment a class is simple, it gets played lots. And honestly? I'm in this boat. I want to focus on the battle mechanics. It's why I played PLD in HW, and WAR now.

After years of people being attracted to the game for the complex classes, to have this gradually reversed, naturally results in them unsubscribing. But in its wake, yes, people who like it to be simple will pick up these now-simple classes.

It's absolutely true that a lot of new players start as THM/BLM but didn't continue playing it, because it became substantially harder for them at level 60. And now they will probably try it out. But the people who are unsubscribing still matter.

The solution to all this, in my opinion, is just to give players a choice between a "simple" and "complex" version of each class.

I think a good solution is actually to make two versions of FFXIV. ARR2. Good luck with this but, I think it could actually be cool and make the game as a whole last way longer. Then the game we play now could be considered "FFXIV classic" and have the old "more complex" job designs really solidified, while the new model of FFXIV could fully lean into the new direction the game has been going.

If there is only one game, it can only be one way. They aren't going to please both audiences, but the trends show that most people prefer the new direction so that's the way the game is going to develop going forward. Just financially, I don't think it's really feasible to do the WoW classic approach of being one subscription and having the game free to play for existing subscribers.

Maybe though, it is worth it financially because of how many people would be able to be happy with the game. There are many ways they could do this, but yeah it's a big undertaking any way you slice it.

[Phrill]

For everyone who is dedicated enough to go into the forums this would be a questionable sentence but. I think it is good to simplify the jobs, especially the last 3 adons they got 2 buttons extra every addon. The classes now compared to lvl 60-70 are much more complicated and not playable for casual players on a mid to medium high standard. You basicly lock out 80% of you playerbase by over complicating classes. A rotation dosnt need to be over complicated.

But also it should also not be pushing 1 button for like 6 times in a row though. So the BLM changes are good but they gone a bit to far on that. I cn see that there will be some more changes in the future to BLM and I can also see every class that is bloated to get the same treatment in the future.

I have a couple friends that loved blackmage but quitted the clas because it was to complicated for them to play, these players play for like 1-2 hours a Day. Now with the recent changes they love the class because... let me say it in thier words: "WOOOW look it just goes BOOOOM BOOOM BOOOM" xD
And I mean if the developers wanted to make those people happy, they delivered on that spot on.

[Owyn_Addens]

Even though OP is a baiter who's never had a good take in their entire posting history, I'll answer the original question at face value. They're gonna get 2 months out of me and then I'm unsubbing for the foreseeable future. And that's only because I'd already made a commitment for Savage to 7 other people. If I was a PF warrior I'd just unsub immediately.

[Mimilu]

If you resubbed to play BLM, why are you playing as a DRG? Wouldn't trying out a new expansion be the perfect time to make the switch? ꉂ (´∀｀)ʱªʱªʱª