[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Originally Posted by Karinya

Well, it's clearly more powerful than the other two items (did you mean to include their negatives and just forgot?) so I wouldn't be so quick to rule out "unbalanced". If it *wasn't* any better, then there'd be no significant change from actually wearing one electrum and one scorpion (if that's where you want to be on the more racc/ratk vs. more caster stats spectrum).

Overall I think this is a solution in search of a problem. Really, is COR so weak that they can't perform well enough to be desirable in a party with some selection of existing gear? Propose some new gear that'll help out PUP and I'll listen. But we don't need alms for the rich.

Frankly, you can probably go naked and still get into parties because you can still roll. Having a gun *or* /WHM spells (at all, never mind how many you can cast before needing to sit) is a nice plus. Having a gun you can *hit* with even some of the time *and* /WHM spells (even with a low max MP) is 3-invites-before-you-get-out-of-your-mog-house good. When was the last time you saw a COR lfp? Yes, there aren't that many COR total, but the ones there are nearly never wait for invites. Sometimes there are just 0 of some other essential role. But as soon as a party forms, the COR will be invited unless the leader has a personal grudge against him.

As for BLU, while it does have MP of its own, it also goes through MP much, much faster than a cor/anything should ever be doing, which is why +MP and +hMP gear are high priorities. But melee gear is also a high priority. Why oh why can't those poor BLU have a Vermilion SH or an Ohat that's also a hairpin?

Well, here's the thing, and you've clearly already started thinking of COR in terms of BRD and RDM in that, "They have it good enough, don't give them more" kind of way.

There's been lots of talk about how limited RDM feels in EXP PTs these days and I most certainly agree with the sentiment. They used to be invited for enfeebles, backup healing, dispel and refresh. Now due to current EXP trends, enfeebles and dispel mean jack, and they're invited to main heal because they, unlike WHM, can refresh themselves and have access to tier IV.

One could argue that RDM is still a versitile and powerful job and thats true, but its very difficult to dismantle player trends without internal changes to the game itself. You can't make people not want to merit in ToA zones unless you (1) change the mobs or (2) nerf some jobs. But there's also (3) create new gear and (4) abilities/spells to conform/alter or create new trends.

How nice would it be for RDMs if they could get a line of swords that offered some of what elemental staves offer? How nice would it be if you didn't lose TP for changing weapons? The loss of TP is, in fact, a core problem with melee RDM, in addition to there being nothing quite as nice as elemental staves.


As for my ring example, yes, I forgot to include the negatives, things like the -HP and -accuracy would be there.

I like the thinking behind a majority of the ToA equipment that has been released. Not all of it is good as some of the specialized CoP JSEs and Abjurations, but its the kind of styling in equipment the game has always needed and its a trend that I hope continues in the future of ToA and forthcoming expansions. There still should be job exclusive stuff, but no longer are we in the days where a job like DRG is hosed on gear options.

PUP will keep seeing more melee gear in time, both PUP and BST seem to be high on SE's tweaking list in that "will you just shut up, we're working on it" kind of way.

I'm happy with my invites, but I'm still rather annoyed with how I'm sometimes invited. As another poster mentioned, MP notwithstanding, COR could use some more JA/trait related gear to highlight their abilities.

I'm either invited to replace a THF - to... um... pull, I guess - or I'm invited to replace a BRD, which sort of makes more sense except BRDs are expected to pull therefore I'm expected to pull. I can pull, I'm happy to pull, you just have to tell me I'm pulling before I get there or I'm going to come as the COR/RNG I was seeking as. That whole "as long as they refresh me I don't care what they do" thing is getting annoying.