Community-based class design: Shepherd/Skinner/Scavenger

[Duuude007]

I am starting this thread as a place where we, as a community, could collaborate on designing a new Discipline of Land, rumored in the past to be called "Shepherd".

Originally this was a class listed among twenty or so as future classes under Tanaka's FFXIV Design. Over time it was nearly forgotten, apart from a smattering of images and ingame models. This topic is a means for us to revive the class as something viable in the future expansions of ARR.

The class would fill a niche in DoL, the gathering of animal-based materials that no other class is capable of providing, including bones, skins, careapaces, and sinew/meat, in a non-combat oriented means.

With increased levels, they may even be capable of leeching runic/magical materials from voidsent and other uncommon creatures.

As long as ideas remain constructive, all are welcome. Perhaps as a community, we can input design ideas which SE could consider balanced and viable. Edits, additions or omissions are fine, but please provide a strong argument for the changes you suggest.

Skeleton design for the class (To be updated as we pool ideas):

Mainhand
Skinning Knife? Beartrap style tool? (depends on direction we go)

Offhand
Digging claw (For use in scavenging animal graveyards) or foldable Spade

Housing function: breed and / or raise livestock to harvest for materials. Think tomagotchi on steroids.

Potential Job prerequisite, combined with Gladiator: --->>Beastmaster

Active Abilities-- TBD

Passive Abilities-- TBD

[Alhanelem]

Isn't a shepherd more about raising and protecting animals, not killing and skinning them?

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance had a "Zoo" where you kept and raised monsters to be used by the Morpher job.

[Duuude007]

I cannot entirely explain the nature of the original name, but considering your argument, in the context of 2,0 it could be a secondary task of the class, like botanists could have a garden, etc. tied to housing.

[KoujiGeki]

well they could raise animals and sell there unique furs that you cant find buy slaughtering thousands. leathers to leather workes and teeth for whatever bones are under now. organs to alchemy. you know "eye of newt, fingers of a lalafell, tails of a galka." the rare stuff

[Zenaku]

with housing you could have sheep and other type of animals there. You could milk them cut there hair to make wool kill them for meat and bones and so on seem like a fun class.

You can also go out and do that to other mobs outside your own home area so i think that be pretty cool

[Powercow]

fingers of a lalafell,

Definitely a Culinarian item. >>

I'd love to see a little ranch for housing, but the question would be what kind of nodes would you find out in the world?

I'd love to see a pack of small, defenseless, harmless, and unattackable Marmots or Sheep or something you could brutally slaughter for their skins (sorta how you do now, except only against the ones that don't fight back!) Or maybe you'll just find fresh animal carcasses to skin or harvest meat from, though that's kinda grim.

[Duuude007]

The question would be what kind of nodes would you find out in the world?

I'd love to see a pack of small, defenseless, harmless, and unattackable Marmots or Sheep or something you could brutally slaughter for their skins (sorta how you do now, except only against the ones that don't fight back!) Or maybe you'll just find fresh animal carcasses to skin or harvest meat from, though that's kinda grim.

Other games had skinners that would habitually chase a farming party and skin the stuff they left behind. Quite lucritave, in fact.

As for offhand nodes, I have been playing with the idea of an animal graveyard (pile of mixed bones etc) where you can scavenge for unusual mats.

[Powercow]

Other games had skinners that would habitually chase a farming party and skin the stuff they left behind. Quite lucritave, in fact.

I was kicking that idea around too, the only problem is that it'd be highly dependent on other people, and the other DoL's are all very efficient solo. I mean, you could go pretty meta and have your character find an abandoned farming spot that NPCs "used" to kill enemies, and you'd find a pile of slaughtered random local wildlife, though that's a really meta concept that might take people out of the game.

As for offhand nodes, I have been playing with the idea of an animal graveyard (pile of mixed bones etc) where you can scavenge for unusual mats.

For some reason I thought they planned to remove offhand tools for DoL and DoH. Can't find the link though, maybe I'm just going crazy.

But yeah being able to go into a cave and find an animal's feeding ground or something would be kinda neat. Going too much further with Ghostbusters stuff like finding Undead shrines for scraps of cloth or undead bits would be a bit much for a Shepherd.

[Duuude007]

For some reason I thought they planned to remove offhand tools for DoL and DoH.

They have only mentioned one offhand going away: that of Fisherman. Based on THIS, both logging AND harvesting still exist, at the very least.

[Powercow]

They have only mentioned one offhand going away: that of Fisherman. Based on THIS, both logging AND harvesting still exist, at the very least.

Ah, my mistake then.

Some sort of sifting shovel for the offhand might work then.