[Ketaru]

Originally Posted by Takelli

Hmmm... If there is a bard type, wont it be in the desciples of magic, not melee? Bards don't have that good of a def, and offensive abilities. They might in FFXIV though. Just my 2 cents.

Edward, the BRD from IV, was most certainly not a melee type of character. Arguably the furthest thing from it actually (even more so than the game's resident BLM/SMN). Still, while a competent melee BRD is an extreme in XI (by extreme, I mean proud-owner-of-Hecatomb kind of extreme), it is actually doable. And it's not as if, even in XI, that they have innate MP. Their "magic" isn't even arcane as they don't consume MP or, correct me if I'm wrong, aggro elementals.

Functionally, it's easy to think "support" and immediately think "mage". Yeah, in XI, BRD is a mage, in the same way that DNC is a mage.

[Pwnagraphic]

He looks like a BRD or a Mage.

[Malacite]

Is that a Great Axe or a shovel he's holding? >_>

And the BRD looks sweet.

[Takelli]

Originally Posted by Ketaru

ctionally, it's easy to think "support" and immediately think "mage". Yeah, in XI, BRD is a mage, in the same way that DNC is a mage.

I don't consider Dnc as a mage even though its support. I consinder it melee as its abilities run off of TP. and job abilities. I think of Bard as a mage as their songs are "magic", but because its not true magic, its more of "singing", I think of them as pure support role, just like what Rdm was originally designed to be. It was supposed to be Support/melee.

Depending on how brds are designed, depends on how they can act. There are a few Brd (in D&D), that are good with melee, and can still do their job. And there are bards (In D&D again), that are crappy at melee, but they excel at their class skills.

Bards are more inbetween rather than a mage or melee, thats why I consider them as support, but they are more magic as they have barely any melee skill.

[Armando]

Is that a Great Axe or a shovel he's holding? >_>

What shovels have you been looking at lately?

Doesn't really matter since it's not a weapon that would work in the real world =P

[Kafeen]

Originally Posted by Takelli

... And where did you get this info from?

It says so in the abilities listed on this screenshot.

the box says:

Knowing How to do it:

If a PT member is in danger, "provoking" helps. With Provoking and Shield-Block you can minimize the damage effectively



the drawing says (low to high):

1st: Swordslash: Powerfull Attack
2nd: Swordslash: Precise (meaning of Accuracy) Attack
3rd: Shield Block: damage Minimizing
4th (red one): Ranged Attack: Great Distance

---== Drawing==----

5th: Provoking: Distraction
6th (red): roundabout slash: AOE damage
7th (red) Red Lotus: huge damage

[Takelli]

Ah. I can't read german lol.

So, you don't need a Sword, you just have to have a shield in order to provoke. This could get interesting.

[Ziero]

Shield-Block is an ability that comes with the Sword+Shield class.

From what I can tell, is that we'll get a few different "building" type attacks to increase XIV's version of TP and then we'll get a bunch of "special" type attacks which drain this "TP" but have more of an effect. Kinda like how it is in Champions Online, certain attacks build your meter while others drain it.

If that's how it works, it could be pretty interesting.

[Takelli]

Originally Posted by Ziero

Shield-Block is an ability that comes with the Sword+Shield class.

Oh God... Please, please, PLEASE make more ways to tank, and more ways to tank other than provoke. I hope SE made more "tanks" this time around.

[Tickmeoff]

Originally Posted by Takelli

Hmmm... If there is a bard type, wont it be in the desciples of magic, not melee? Bards don't have that good of a def, and offensive abilities. They might in FFXIV though. Just my 2 cents.

In pretty much every other MMO the Bard class is like a Rogue/Thief class with less focus on offense and more on songs/buffs. FFXI is the only game I've played that has reduced it to a helpless buff bot.

[Malacite]

Originally Posted by Armando

What shovels have you been looking at lately?

The tip is certainly shaped like one O.O

lol I'm sure it's a GAX though.

[Ketaru]

In pretty much every other MMO the Bard class is like a Rogue/Thief class with less focus on offense and more on songs/buffs. FFXI is the only game I've played that has reduced it to a helpless buff bot.

In XI's defense, it isn't only XI that is like that within the FF series. Going back to Edward from IV, he is undoubtedly a paper thin BRD, with his only connection to the more roguish BRD type being Hide. A more recent BRD in the game series is Hurdy from TA2. Give the Tactics' series fairly leniant character customization, you could've made him a BRD fighter hybrid. But if you level him up never changing his job (which I ended up doing simply because he comes so late in the game, there's really no time where he is not learning new songs), he ends up being a ridiculously slow unit with high magic stats. Definitely too slow to be doing anything other than singing songs (though in his defense, he also gets the ability to "hide")

I don't consider Dnc as a mage even though its support. I consinder it melee as its abilities run off of TP. and job abilities. I think of Bard as a mage as their songs are "magic", but because its not true magic, its more of "singing", I think of them as pure support role, just like what Rdm was originally designed to be. It was supposed to be Support/melee

If we talk about how jobs are actually used in XI, yeah. But if we actually talk about how they are able to function, RDM is undoubtedly a mage. Even it's frontline oriented abilities like Enspell or Enspell II, with the II line leaning more towards frontline support, are accomplished through the consumption of MP. BRD may be best holding an elemental staff and not meleeing, but they are still free of MP as a limiting factor.

Who is to say PLD won't be considered a "mage" job in XIV, but is done through wearing a Sword and Shield? (or to get even messier, the type of Sword with PLDs wearing Long Swords and RDMs wearing Rapiers?) Maybe you become a THF through wielding a Kukri while you become a BRD through wielding a baselard.

EDIT: This is all even assuming XIV will have the exact variety of weapons that XI had. Yeah, it's corny, but Instruments have been used as a class of weapon in the series before (once again, think the Tactics games, but also Eiko from IX struck enemies with a flute while Edward "meleed" with a harp)

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Could he? FFIV never held my attention for very long.

Cecil had access to access to Axes in every version of FFIV to my knowledge, though Kain was also granted access to them in most recent version and he was no longer restricted to using Jump with only lance-type weapons.

Also, FFIV is one of the best, DS version is pretty crazy, too. It just starts out slow because party members will come and go so much, but at least this time they leave the ability to learn some of their skills behind.

[Malacite]

DS version ftw, no comparison (ticks me off they didn't do "the after years" as a DS release but oh well)


Tanaka (was either him or Komoto, probably Komoto) said "Paladin" won't be in the game. I'm sure there will likely be a generic Knight type with defensive abilities, and maybe you can equip something to give you healing abilities at the same time but I wouldn't get my hopes up about it being a "mage" lol.

Truth be told though I've always had the view that PLD should be the PT's healer while simultaneously taking the hits for the party. A dedicated healer could still be thrown into the mix to make things easier or take on much tougher enemies (NMs) but it's always bugged me from day 1 that PLD wasn't more self-sufficient and just an overall brick wall in XI. Though supposedly it was this way during the beta and SE nixed it because PLD was OP.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

I currently have Cecil rigged with Draw Attack Augments (takes melee hits for all party members, byebye Cover), Counter (counterattacks when attacked and Twincast, which I also gave to Rosa. Cecil doesn't even have access to the attack command now, just Twin Cast, White Magic and Items.

I can't wait to get Darkness and give it to Yang. Focus, Focus, Focus, Darkness, Kick muahahahahahaha