Evolved mode concerns

[Argantaelle]

I share your concerns. Coordinating buffs with a team and assigning 2-min bursts to do re-openers in unison was fun and made a player feel that they were rewarded for being a part of a team (a very important feeling for any MMO). After watching the Evolved preview, I have a feeling that Bard just vomits 10s buffs like EW SMN mindlessly vomits regen in its phoenix phase. It's not coordinated gameplay; it's something else. SE just deleted a huge part of coordinated gameplay without giving anything in return.

The other thing that concerns me is the power of memes and hype. "Glare mage," "2-min meta," "innovating," and "homogenization" just turned into buzzwords devoid of any substance. If SE relies on it in making decisions, well, even players who are ecstatic right now will be unhappy when the fresh coat of paint is gone. Because the complexity of jobs (and it's not equal to the amount of buttons to press) shows even the most casual of players that there are heights they can master if they wish, there are roads to explore, there are ways to... evolve.

I don't want to be all doom and gloom, but unfortunately SE's modus operandi doesn't instill confidence that they'll listen (or will listen only to those who scream the loudest).

P.S. I started to play this game when WoW simplified my main class rotation (among other reasons). Back then FFXIV used to have long rotations with lots of buttons to press; even tanks had 3 combos and had to stance dance. I liked that kind of playstyle; I still enjoy it, even if it diminishes with every expansion since SB. It's kind of funny how the tables have turned.

[Valence]

I share your concerns. Coordinating buffs with a team and assigning 2-min bursts to do re-openers in unison was fun and made a player feel that they were rewarded for being a part of a team (a very important feeling for any MMO). After watching the Evolved preview, I have a feeling that Bard just vomits 10s buffs like EW SMN mindlessly vomits regen in its phoenix phase. It's not coordinated gameplay; it's something else. SE just deleted a huge part of coordinated gameplay without giving anything in return.

Having raided a lot as BRD among other jobs, I honestly think people completely overexaggerate the amount of "team coordination" required to play within raid buffs. It's always just been about "press your 2min buff on cd, rince and repeat". The only caveat where it could matter a little more was when you had to take into account boss downtime that messed with buff timings, that's about it. In short, it was just "play your INDIVIDUAL rotation perfectly and don't drift" more than anything.

Now that being said, I would really hate to see the buffs from the actual buffer jobs like BRD and DNC go (I've already made my peace about MCH... rest in peace). Especially if they actually become more freeform due to the Evolved model actually. Imagine being able to play Radiant a bit like you want and move it around? Suddenly you'd have crazy considerations for team coordination, a bit like the best raid buff that has ever graced this game, namely Foe's Requiem. Rest in peace as well.