New Battle Adjustments (6 March 2008)

[Caspian]

elemental absorption thing could be interesting with light elemental. If its enough to negate the mp drain of maintaining, it'd be a nice bonus to the fact that they're already mp tank curebots. Here here to pigeon-holing.

[Zempten]

More Steps, however, would have been appreciated. Three just doesn't cut it.

Agreed, hardly anyone I know needs Evasion and Magic Down is pointless since BLMs aren't invited to PTs as much as they use to in the 1-75 run so that basically leaves Defense Down. I'd want a Dispel step, but most people would scream that we're invading RDM/BRD territory.

The only times I've used the other steps is to get 2 finishing moves after capping lvl 5 step on mobs that take a bit longer to kill.

[Selphiie The Enchantress]

Yes I know

Summoners have nothing better to do in between blood pacts

Summoners support the main healers with status cures and backup cures when needed. It's just a waste of MP to keep the avatar out DDing.

...BUT to tell a Summoner not to summon at ALL and/or threaten to boot them from the party for summoning should be a crime...

Ok so you just spent soo much time and effort questing fame to get the Garuda key, you spent 100k soloing it yourself because sometimes people just aren't able to help you, after so many deaths and gil spent you finally are able to summon Garuda, you get a party invite... you summon Garuda, party leader threatens to boot you if you dont just cure them... how are you going to feel?

[Aksannyi]

Shortened Immobility Duration
The issue whereby certain restoration magic causes the character to become temporarily immobile, will be addressed. Up until now, casting cure on a character immediately after they initiate the attack command will result in that character becoming unable to move until spellcasting is complete, even after they have assumed battle stance. This immobility duration will be reduced drastically with the next version update.

Say it with me:

FINALLY!

Looking forward to the new fun stuff.

[Selphiie The Enchantress]

Say it with me:

FINALLY!

Looking forward to the new fun stuff.

-screams- FINALLY!!! I can't wait for that it will benefit my Bard so much during TP burns...

[Tomato_Kai]

Say it with me:

FINALLY!

Looking forward to the new fun stuff.

FINALLY.


Seriously, even just last night pulling for a dunes pt, I found myself frozen by cures nearly every fight. It'll definitely be nice to see the change.

[Coinspinner]

I'd rather have Warp to past nation than Warpra or Warpga. Saves me the bother of trudging through Windurst Waters and West Sarutabaruta twice each time I want to get there.

Another spell I'd like is Homing: Warp to the nearest outpost. And Float! I'll never walk again!

Rangers range.
Summoners summon.
Dark Knights are Emo.
Ninjas.... tank?

One of those four is out-of-place. Three are expected. Summoners aren't meant to be a 24/7 DD, if you're playing for raw mage DD, you're playing SMN for the wrong reasons. SMNs meant to deal a decisive blow against enemys/bosses and support in the meantime. Am I the only one that understands this?

Oddly enough I've used ninja to "tank" in other FF games. If it counters, Image before attacking. Or Image + Cover, I seem to recall doing that when I had Shadow lead the gimp party through Kefka's tower. And Abandon + Mantle + low HP (causes enemies to prefer to attack you) is pretty effective in FFT.

About SMN, no, you're not the only one to understand that. SMN who play the job effectively know it, for one. But understanding it and being satisfied with it are totally different. They don't even really get to deal decisive blows to regular enemies until rather late in game. At which point they still aren't in demand against regular enemies.

[Pteryx]

SE said the new Warp spell would be a warp to your WotG nation in a Japanese publication: Order of the Blue Gartr • View topic - Information on New and Existing Jobs

Well! Not the SCH boost I expected, but certainly welcome. (At a guess? Three-minute timer, we still start with one charge but two charges will now be available at sub levels, SCH75 will max out at five charges.) I hope the status-specific icons include Light Arts and Dark Arts too -- that's one of SCH's biggest mechanical annoyances. (I imagine they'd be little white-or-black book icons...)

No details about the spirit MP absorption ability yet, just a statement that this time it comes? They certainly are downplaying it a lot for an ability that could, in basic concept, theoretically change how SMN plays.

I hope the new WHM teleports mean that they've gotten over the existence of teletaxi. (By my understanding, teletaxi was an American invention, and the Japanese were initially horrified by it. I personally wonder if that's why we got no new teleport spells in CoP and ToAU, just rings.)

While improving DNC's two-hour's viability at high levels is helpful, I still think they should reduce the normal timers for the Curing Waltzes to 6, 7, 8, and 9 seconds and their costs to 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%. As it is, DNC's ability to main heal slowly degrades as it gains levels.

What took them so long to notice that immobility bug?

Here's hoping it's all as good as it looks, anyway. -- Pteryx

[Truece]

No details about the spirit MP absorption ability yet, just a statement that this time it comes? They certainly are downplaying it a lot for an ability that could, in basic concept, theoretically change how SMN plays.

Maybe they're not downplaying it at all. What if they're doing their best so that players don't get too excited and then complain about how it is useless in practice and demand that SE change it?

[Pteryx]

I'd want a Dispel step, but most people would scream that we're invading RDM/BRD territory.

I wouldn't, and I like dispelling on RDM. Though I'd call that more of a flourish than a step. *shrug* Since steps seem to be about defense reduction, though, how about ones that interfere with those special percentage-based defenses some mobs get, the way Banish does specifically for the undead resistances? Walls would have to be immune, but...

As for why SE took so long to release a Sneak ninjutsu? Presumably they assumed that Stealth was enough when we're still not sure how it even works. -- Pteryx

[Malacite]

As with all the Summoners here, we are more interested in learning what the Spirit Elemental Absorption is...

We love SE for being very vague. Yes we do.

QFT...
______________________________

Rangers range.
Summoners summon.
Dark Knights are Emo.
Ninjas.... tank?

One of those four is out-of-place. Three are expected. Summoners aren't meant to be a 24/7 DD, if you're playing for raw mage DD, you're playing SMN for the wrong reasons. SMNs meant to deal a decisive blow against enemys/bosses and support in the meantime. Am I the only one that understands this?

As I've said a bajillion times before, this isn't entirely right (given that the majority of summons in every FF = massive AoE dmg).

I think I speak for all SMN here when I say our beef is not in playing a support role, it's in doing so via /WHM rather than spirits and avatars. And the option to be invited as a full-on DD would be very much welcome (if somewhat MP intensive)

[tazirai]

About the Summoner thing..

I think many are loony to think a summoner shouldnt use their full capacity in a PT environment. If you are taking THAT MUCH DAMAGE. YOU suck, it's really that simple. If I have another mage in the PT, yet i'm relegated to just status removal and curing. you're frakkin nuts.

I have never been kicked or removed from a PT for DD'ing. Since summoners were released. I just don't understand how people can sit here and think they are to do less than what they are for.

If i ever got an invite from Someone who only expected me to cure and status.. I'd at least /emote drop kick them.

I guess I lucked out when I was playing SMN, and never had to go thru what I read some of you have written.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

As I've said a bajillion times before, this isn't entirely right (given that the majority of summons in every FF = massive AoE dmg).

I think I speak for all SMN here when I say our beef is not in playing a support role, it's in doing so via /WHM rather than spirits and avatars. And the option to be invited as a full-on DD would be very much welcome (if somewhat MP intensive)

You can say it a bajillion more times, you're still wrong.

Show me the EXP PTs where we have SMNs to massive AoE damage all the time. You don't you just help us bring the fight to close, which is not terribly unlike what a BLM does.

And as people have always been keen to point out - What better subjob is there for SMN than WHM?

Say /SCH and I'll strangle you, because it has no status cures or defensive magic under sub. All /SCH gives is B Skill Aspir and its lame to have a subjob for one thing only. When you're in a situation that demands status cures, Blink, Stoneskin and Barspells, you won't have them.

[Omniblast]

Yes I know

Summoners have nothing better to do in between blood pacts

Summoners support the main healers with status cures and backup cures when needed. It's just a waste of MP to keep the avatar out DDing.

...BUT to tell a Summoner not to summon at ALL and/or threaten to boot them from the party for summoning should be a crime...

Ok so you just spent soo much time and effort questing fame to get the Garuda key, you spent 100k soloing it yourself because sometimes people just aren't able to help you, after so many deaths and gil spent you finally are able to summon Garuda, you get a party invite... you summon Garuda, party leader threatens to boot you if you dont just cure them... how are you going to feel?

(Whispering Wind) (You can have this.) That's what I'd say. XD

You can say it a bajillion more times, you're still wrong.

Show me the EXP PTs where we have SMNs to massive AoE damage all the time. You don't you just help us bring the fight to close, which is not terribly unlike what a BLM does.

And as people have always been keen to point out - What better subjob is there for SMN than WHM?

Say /SCH and I'll strangle you, because it has no status cures or defensive magic under sub. All /SCH gives is B Skill Aspir and its lame to have a subjob for one thing only. When you're in a situation that demands status cures, Blink, Stoneskin and Barspells, you won't have them.

/SCH brings Regen II to the house. That's the only benefit I would see from it.

Also from SE's point of view, if we had massive AOE damage all the time, we'd be used for too much abuse and overpowered. I can see where that's a problem. The way we are currently played out is not how Summoners are envisioned in other Final Fantasy games.

We are suppose to be the end all solution to everything. In all other FF games just summoning a summon usually means wanton death and destruction to anyone that oppose us. *sigh*

Unless SE really decides that's the direction to go, we have nothing else to give for ourselves or our parties. (I would settle for a overall damage cap increase for all Summons. How come NM's that can summon seem to do more damage 2k+ whenever they summon but we can't? 3k damage Predator Claws please!)

[Neomage]

On the other hand, real ninjas don't need to rub themselves in powder to be silent. They're silent just because they're freaking Ninjas.

Aggro dodging isn't that hard, and you're playing a goddamn ninja, so you should take the time to learn how to go undetected if you're going to play the job.

In most places, I agree. Ninjas even get a job trait that reduces monster's sneak detection range. However, in some areas like Vu'Lugannon where a bunch of sound-aggro monsters are packed tightly into a narrow corridor, there are two ways past them:

1) Kill them.
2) 100% Sneak.

There is no way to go around, and no way to circumvent aggro without the help of a Sneak effect. And for this, I actually think the Sneak Ninjutsu is a rather good idea.

On the other hand, /NIN is really overpowered as it is. Soon, mages will have to buy Oils/Powders to get past magic-aggro mobs, while everyone and their mother will be casting non-magic Ninjutsu.

I don't feel that NIN as a main needs to be adjusted, it is quite balanced in the higher levels with the inability to take fast hits or area magic. What I think needs to be nerfed, is Ninja as a subjob. Dual-Wield, Utsusemi, and Tonko are just to damn convenient and powerful, and stand unmatched by any other subjob. Invisibility and Sneak are availible by /WHM, /RDM and /SCH, but at the cost of physical statistics and damage mitigation from Utsusemi. /WAR, /SAM, and several other jobs offer great bonuses to attack power, but cannot prevent aggro from monsters.