Such a waste of potential...

[Krondorn]

I started leveling PUP today and decided to read up on it some. I was very interested in the idea of swapping frames, heads, and attachments to alter the way my automaton works. I think the attachments are awesome. I am having fun abusing the LV1 Stoneskin from my Shock Absorber. I was also excited to get to LV10 so I could get my first upgrade. I don't like the idea of having to pay for new frames/heads, but it could be worse.

Anyway, I started thinking about how cool it would be to combine heads and frames from different models... until I read about the heads. I can't believe that all they do is add elemental slots and alter the automaton's position. This one thing severely limits the potential of PUP. For example: I was thinking about the possibility of using the Stormwaker head with the Valoredge body. You should end up with strong melee ability and the occassionaly enfeeble/nuke (i.e. DRK), and it would look awesome. Instead, you have an automaton with great melee capabilities but no magic that stands in the back row and provokes...? What the hell? Does anyone else think that the way automaton heads work is a total waste of potential?

[Sabaron]

I most sincerely agree. What appears on the surface to be a novel "mix and match" system with wide-ranging possibilities is, deep inside, a number of fixed systems that cannot be mixed without defeating their purpose. The same thing is true for the attachements as with the frames. Pick the mage puppet? Put the mage parts on. Pick the fighter puppet? Put the fighter parts on. There is no "mix and match"--there are only 3 puppets any other combination is gimped.

That's a bit of a generalization as some customization is required since you don't have the points to equip everything, but one of the parts I was most interested in (the Scanner) doesn't do anything.

I only levelled PUP to 10 and got bored. It ends up being a very nice sub for pre-Valkurm solo levelling if you don't need/want to use a ranged weapon, but other than that, it's very limited.

A good number of PUP threads are complaints... No one wants me in a party... How come my mage puppet only casts its best spell... Why can't my character wear better armor/use better weapons... Why does the Scanner suck... What happens when they "fix" my Deactivate/Activate instant mana recharge... Why does my puppet always screw up our skill chains...

FFXI has a lot of work to do IMO...

[Moaku Hyena]

I heard that PUPs were pointless jobs after 10, but I never had problems like THAT...
We probably should have forseen the buggines/ pointlessness of the Puppetmaster job because of the claim bugs associated with it.
I'm sorry to say, but every PUP I saw was....ew. SE needs to let you actually control the PUPs, I mean, you control the strings, right?
Scanner is probably bugged, by the way.