Evolved Skills Feedback

[Inosaska]

I find it to be a huge win as this will probably allow them to fix certain jobs and make them better. Example of Summoner now possibly getting more summons available to them with actions changing depending on what summon is out. I'm really excited for this system and look forward to playing it when the expansion gets released.

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

The only silver lining I can see is the departure from 2 minute meta garbage. And even then, I wish they reel them down rather than taking the nuclear method. Because just as the 2m meta festers, so does a design with a roster of fully selfish jobs can be bland. But this is SE/CBU3 we're talking about soo.... :shrug:

I'm also finding PLD DRG and BRD demo looking cool. They seems genuinely fun but alas those weren't and will never be my main role because I've been green coded since my first multiplayer games.

Henceforth WHM gets more attention from me: basically one button pressing phys ranged with dps neutral gcd healing attached, and that's just a dire red flag to me because I think this will be the base blueprint they will use to design 3 other healers, except with some flavor attached, probably in form of different VFX lol. After all, their healer design since ShB has always been "WHM, WHM+X, WHM+Y, and WHM+Z". I hope when they said they want to focus more on identity, they'd actually go through with that rather than giving us more sparkles and no substances.

You thought they couldn't simplify the unwanted stepchild role any further, but you'd be wrong. For the love of Zodiark, please tell me I'm wrong with all these speculations.

[Roda]

While i'm still pumped about quite a few of these options, something keeps bothering me...

Does brd seem like a smn reskin on evolved mode? One stance to put a dot, one stance to stand and cast, and one stance to do a two hit combo? Using a stance locks it out until you loop through the other stances first, and resets them with a big showstopper etc? I mean at least they have a builder/spender with "bardic inspiration", and it's a build up so the phases lead into the big move, but the core of it still feels very summonery? (down to the "You can choose any order of the 3 mandatory phases and that means there's freedom ")

[hydralus]

Looking at the evolved dealies it doesn't come across like the PVP/playstyle variety people were hoping for. Yes, PVP in the sense of fewer buttons to press, but of what I've seen I'm unconvinced it's a significant departure from the current mechanics. Like the PLD's "parry" dealie just seems like DRK's blackest knight except now you have to be the main tank or just miss out on that mechanic in a way that bloodgauge allows both tanking and off-tanking to be relevant. BRD and DRG didn't seem all that evolved either aside from a multi-directional dash and a skill with a very long cast time (which would be interesting if it made the DRG untargetable but I imagine this will not be the case, but if it does then that's actually pretty cool). I was hoping for a few more interesting crowd control options but c'est la vie.

That said I'm all for it. Using fewer buttons while doing the same damage is A-OK by me.

[Reinhardt_Azureheim]

While i'm still pumped about quite a few of these options, something keeps bothering me...

Does brd seem like a smn reskin on evolved mode? One stance to put a dot, one stance to stand and cast, and one stance to do a two hit combo? Using a stance locks it out until you loop through the other stances first, and resets them with a big showstopper etc? I mean at least they have a builder/spender with "bardic inspiration", and it's a build up so the phases lead into the big move, but the core of it still feels very summonery? (down to the "You can choose any order of the 3 mandatory phases and that means there's freedom ")

Hot take - Summoner is a Bard reskin and took the song concept and just shortened the time it is in one of them.

[AstreMcClain]

They definitely Did.

Why have timed songs? Stances are better- I mean who wants endless barrages of arrows to mow down packs of when you can just get a fancy combo for five seconds before you have to go to another "Song" because you can't keep spamming one or two moves? (/Sarcasm)

If they're changing the game this much, I don't know if I'll still be entertained by it.

[Roda]

Hot take - Summoner is a Bard reskin and took the song concept and just shortened the time it is in one of them.

Very true, I have called new smn "brd without mechanics" a few times before. A bit worried one quarter of their attempt to show "improved job identity" was done by even further blurring the lines between the two jobs.

I mean i guess there's still the proc thing happening?

I really hope they have time to keep some of these reimaginings in the oven, and maybe get a few more cooks in.

And you know what, it's early, I'm gonna let myself cope with maybe this means smn is getting another rework to give me back my favorite job :]

[AnotherPerson]

Evolved jobs may have potential. I see the job design direction they want to aim for. They took some influence on PvP job elements (more job-identity aligned focuses) to the toolkit, which is a very nice change.

PLD maintaining cover focuses on protecting allies with a counterattack mechanic as a tank. DRG getting the Sky High LB skill means they have invuln in PvE (interesting at the implications of how job individuality can go...). BRD having a literal dodge roll mechanic attack based on the direction you are moving regardless of who you are tab targeting is absolutely phenomenal and indicates they really put more effort on Physical ranged design this time around. That skill itself is more aligned with skill expression than most other skills since the main purpose is to reposition quickly (and Bard having that cast time skill is starting to show how playing well makes it all come together to help dodge an attack or move ahead of time to sit and charge up for the strong attack). It's still in development, but at least there's things to be hopeful about with the direction they are going in because they're willing to iterate and add onto job individuality instead of everything playing the same.

WHM on the other hand is kind of ... eh... giving a very strong feeling of emptiness. It looks like the basic direction is an improvement with its identity, but it still feels like it's missing a critical component to feel more "evolved" compared to its Reborn counterpart, which plays pretty similar?

The buttons feel a tad low on the PvE side but it breathes some more fresh life into the PvE Encounters. Getting rid of the 2 min meta might be the most interesting design for evolved skillsets as jobs actions will no longer be constrained to fit within that mold.

[Sarantserel]

While I was not a fan of the 2min meta, I can't say to see raid buffs be completely scrapped.

RDM is my current favorite job and one of the things I really love about it is the planning required to go into burst windows. I had to manage my gauge usage to make sure I had enough to double, if not triple melee combo during raid buff windows. But now, even though Reborn is not gonna change immensely, unless Embolden becomes a personal buff, there's no reason to plan melee combo usage beyond just using them in a way that overcap don't happen.

ShB DRG was my main job back then and I loved it because its rotation was centered and dictated around juggling 3 buffs with different cooldowns: 90s Lance Charge, 120s Dragon Sight, 180s Battle Littany.

IMO having raid buffs gave nice flows to jobs, Burst -> Filler -> Weaker burst -> Filler -> repeat.

From what I saw from DRG, the rotation seems so barebones, short and repetitive. It's Right, Left, Back, with jumps strewn about, Burst and Repeat. A simple rotation like that was fine in PvP where encounters are short and chaotic, but in a raid, this feels too simple.

Seeing that, I'm definitely anxious that RDM will lose all its gauge management and just become a "White mana combo, black mana combo, melee combo, repeat"

I'll still have to play the final version to have a full opinion, but I'm not confident in the direction the game is going job design wise.

[AstreMcClain]

See, ARC was my starting class, nowhere in the Job Fantasy (since I joined back in 2.4 (Yes, I remember Needing to Cross-Class THM for BRD)) has BRD ever felt the need to have a dodge like that. It was THE Mobile Attacking Ranged Class that. Repelling Shot used to Damage Enemies too, in a sense it was a Solo-Player Move to get out of AoE's. Everyone had Access to Sprint so, Yet ARC/BRD had Their Foot, Leg, and Head Graze for Managing More than one enemy. The Charges are Welcome, The Omni-direction Movement are whatever to me (Because again, Sprint is in everyone's kit so Why Bother Unless it removes a debuff? XD) So the only issue is that Vital Items to the BRD's Job Identity are Locked away behind "Songs".

The AoE's? Paeon for 5-8 Seconds... The Bite's? Ballad for 5 - 8 Seconds. Etc.

BRD was NEVER meant to be a RPR in BRD's Clothing. It was meant to be the slower, easier-to-play, supportive class... Stares at Bow Wizard from Heavensward AGAIN SUPPORTIVE CLASS... Not a Caster, Not a Melee, Not whatever SE are trying to do with Evolved Jobs.

It's Identity has been gutted in the Demo I saw earlier today and Not for "Job Identity" or "Ease of Access", but rather to get fresh blood into the games when this game has definitely reached a peak limit in what it can and can't offer for it's players.