Quote Originally Posted by Augury View Post
The problem is that there is no singular answer, and it's obvious that some effort was made to prevent this from happening in FFXIV. Part of it is battle system, part of it is creature design, and another part of it is character design... Recently games have had a trend of playing to the 3 role system (XIV, not being one of them), which in my opinion is for the worst.

The object is to take the need for "DPS" (Damage per second), "Tanking" (having characters designed to take and deliver damage) and "Support" (the poorly coined term for PCs dedicated to making the rest of the party better). XIV tackles the issue of PC design in this respect, but falls just short of the cigar because of the battle mechanics which use cooldowns to balance out the actions. So while anyone martial job can "Tank" and "Support" via tech'd armory skills, there is still an effect of damage per second and battle "speed'.

To break this, battles need to become more of a matter of which skill is chosen based on the situation, not how much damage a single skill does. This means that players cannot build a character around a few skills, but instead that they must be able to use a full gamut effectively to survive. Part of the problem here is that skills simply upgrade with the player's rank- so skills don't incorporate many other factors than damage, element, status effects or healing. For example, if monsters have an assigned but slightly randomized (apon spawning) weight range, and- say a Pugilist has a skill which has an extra modifier for the creature's weight (a 'la Pokemon), suddenly that skill gains a use. However, if Pugilists have a move which deals excess damage, with no conditioning other than TP expendature- then it becomes more fodder to the DPS machine. Skills need conditioning, and I think Heavy/Light-strikes should be the only "raw attack" skills available.
And this system does not take away that, it just adds some more depth to it. Even strategy games have tanks DD and Support, it is just that with this it goes from "you tank, you heal, you hit" and goes to "Archers and mages hide behind tanks, they attacked, DD round behind them for back attacks" it keeps the system everyone knows and loves, it just is meant to add on to what people are doing. Suddenly people are paying attention to their enemies and surroundings, and using their skills as effectively as possible as to minimize chances of enemies gaining the upper hand.

It keeps what you say MMOs need and adds more depth for those willing to look into it and truly master it.