Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

[Malacite]

Ok, so far I have to say ACN is pretty damn awesome.

Unlike FFXI, your Carbuncle doesn't drain MP - major plus right there. Furthermore, you can actually cast spells on Carby from heals to buffs etc.


Controlling him honestly feels a tad awkward at first, and so I tend to lean towards letting the AI do it but you do have an extra hotbar that pops up when he comes out with a full list of commands. Oh, and none of his special moves cost you MP - they simply have recasts.

I can't wait to see what SMN is like, but unfortunately P4 is capped at 20 so won't know about SMN until early access. Also, ACN seems to have a lot of DoT-based spells, but also gets some healing so it's actually a nice mix of abilities, again a far cry from the gimpy shitjob they did in FFXI of SMN.

[Gman]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

I read on the beta forums that it was really OP, to the point that you could easily kills mobs 10 levels above you. Any truth to this? Imagine Carby tanking IT mobs in FFXI... lol

[Malacite]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

That's a bit of a stretch, but it is pretty damn strong.

Basically you just slap on DoT for days and let Topaz Carbuncle tank for you. Being able to actually cast healing spells on the little bugger helps tremendously as well.

Can not wait to unlock SMN.

[jenova_9]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

Some THMs and CNJs are spreading lies about ACN, mew. They are just jealous that ACN is cooler and has more options, so they label it as OP. ACN really can't deal with mobs 10+ levels higher because carby gets knocked down fairly quickly if they take the lead, and ACN is no more durable than any other mage, mew. Healing carby and then taking over the remainder of the fight, might be able to outlast stronger mobs, but that's no reason to call it OP since it takes a lot of effort and it's just like having a battle chocobo helping out in soloing. nerfing the class would be only create a problem, when there is no problem there to begin with.

[Firewind]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

ACN has very high DPS but it takes a while for the DoT damage to ramp up and it lacks any real AoE or burst damage. If you contrast it to the sheer utility that THM brings to the table, and the ridiculous overpowerdness that Archer brings... Honestly I'm not sure why you would invite one over a THM or ARC if the party needs ranged damage. THM has a ton of utility, the best AoE in the game, and the best Crowd Control spells in the game, Archer is just ridiculous in the sheer single target damage it does. ARC just brings a pet that is a liability in many fights. The Blob Fight in Copperbell Mines and Ifrit being the most notable ones.

What ARC needs badly is something to set it apart from the THM.

Still, Tank Carby is a beast. I've tanked the three dungeons with zero issues. Still want to try and tank Ifrit with Topaz Carby but I can't find anyone willing to test that out with me. For soloing stuff, ACN is up there with ARC for sheer survivability and ability to solo stuff they have no right soloing at their level.

[Etra]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

I'm enjoying my SSJ Carbuncle (aka Topaz Carbuncle.)

[Gman]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

ACN has very high DPS but it takes a while for the DoT damage to ramp up and it lacks any real AoE or burst damage. If you contrast it to the sheer utility that THM brings to the table, and the ridiculous overpowerdness that Archer brings... Honestly I'm not sure why you would invite one over a THM or ARC if the party needs ranged damage. THM has a ton of utility, the best AoE in the game, and the best Crowd Control spells in the game, Archer is just ridiculous in the sheer single target damage it does. ARC just brings a pet that is a liability in many fights. The Blob Fight in Copperbell Mines and Ifrit being the most notable ones.

What ARC needs badly is something to set it apart from the THM.

Still, Tank Carby is a beast. I've tanked the three dungeons with zero issues. Still want to try and tank Ifrit with Topaz Carby but I can't find anyone willing to test that out with me. For soloing stuff, ACN is up there with ARC for sheer survivability and ability to solo stuff they have no right soloing at their level.

I'm playing as ARC main right now (did LNC in beta 3) and I find it pretty strong, but I can't see the damage you are speaking of. Am I doing something wrong perhaps, or negating to abuse a powerful strategy? I'm mostly doing the Heavy Shot -> Straight shot combo (if the critical kicks in) and spamming Bloodletter when available. When enemy is low on health of course I use Misery's end, but that is only useful when the enemy is almost dead. I'm only level 15 so maybe the OP stuff isn't available yet?

Oh and shadowbind is useful to put some distance but realistically if you are taking a beating, it's probably not going to save you.

[Aeni]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

ARC was nerfed back in P2 or P3, can't remember, but not by much. They made some subtle changes to the damage mechanics ... but it remains to be seen just how much lower than it used to be (in P2, my ARC hit really, really hard, sometimes nearly 2-shotting same level mobs at level 20sh)

Not sure if ACN will be adjusted before release, but something was strange when the CNJ in my group yesterday casted nothing but Physiks healing me. It definitely hit for a pretty sizeable amount, when compared to my own CNJ's Cure, so take that with a grain of salt.

[Etra]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

That's because SCH branches from ACN, which is the healer. They just gave the base class one cure spell.

[Malacite]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

Both spells have the same potency of 400 (apparently Cures got a major buff in P4) but CNJ has more MND so... sounds like a fluke. Yoshi himself more or less said when asked at E3 that SCH will be a job to supplement WHM, not replace it.

[Aeni]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

That's because SCH branches from ACN, which is the healer. They just gave the base class one cure spell.

That's not what I was inquiring about. I was wondering why a player playing a healing class wouldn't use the healing spell for his/her class, but use a healing spell from another class. It's curiouser still, as Mal stated, if both spells have the same cure potency, then what is the obvious benefit of using the other? I didn't understand, unless that player knew something most of us didn't, and was "exploiting" that knowledge to the fullest.

Yes, it could be a bug, but I won't know and will likely never know if SE actually quashes it before release (again, assuming Mal is correct, and that both spells have the same potency) The only difference between a CNJ and an ACN is the aoe heal that CNJ has. ACN doesn't have that (and Esuna)

[Malacite]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

I looked at both while playing, it said 400 on Physiks, which made me curious so I opened my menu for additional actions, and Cure also says 400. Not really sure why you'd want both...


Also find it interesting that you can't sub Stone anymore, just Aero (at least as an ACN). Stone would be super helpful for the Heavy effect soloing ><

[Firewind]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

Yeah the inability to sub Stone was a tiny nerf to the THM too. It was a great way to throw up Heavy when Astral Fire is up. Oh well THM still gets a native heavy from Lethargy for when you need to snare something without losing Astral Fire.

Honestly though with how good Tank Carby is at holding threat, I'm not sure if the ACN even needs crowd control. A Knockback or Snare effect would be nice for if Carby loses aggro though. being serious Tank Carby is a beast and it doesn't lose that much damage.

Aero is pretty useful though. At 40, DD Carby gets an ability that extends DoT duration and let's face it, ACN isn't built to do direct damage anyway. Ruin hits like a wet noodle and you can only build Energy Drain charges every 60 seconds.

[Melody]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

I looked at both while playing, it said 400 on Physiks, which made me curious so I opened my menu for additional actions, and Cure also says 400. Not really sure why you'd want both...


Also find it interesting that you can't sub Stone anymore, just Aero (at least as an ACN). Stone would be super helpful for the Heavy effect soloing ><

Yes because Carbuncle isn't already OP enough with his ridiculous knockback power. I honestly found ACN to be a bit too slow for me. I found THM to be much more worth while in the long run, due to Fire/Ice Stacking and the constant stream of burst DPS you can keep on a mob. Yes you're squishy, but you hit like a damn truck. Transpose was it, is god send for that class. It's like a low level convert for THM. LOVE IT! Also another thing I don't like is....the class CON. Yeah they're a healer, but come the hell on Trial by Wind was annoying.

[Firewind]

Re: Arcanist Preliminary Discussion

Honestly I've yet to have done a Class Quest that isn't a pain in the arse either due to sheer length, amount of running or some sudden genre shift for one section of the quest.

The Threat of Paucity and The Threat of Superiority from the Thaumaturge's Guild is the worst ones. Both involve lots of running around in areas full of agressive mobs way too high for a 10THM and 15THM respectively to take on. Threat of Superiority takes the prize because:

• Lots of running around in East Thalanan at Lv15, into a beastman stronghold where the lowest mob is Lv19.
• Sudden stealth mission where the only way to survive is by sleeping things. Get a resist and you're fucked and have a long trip back.
• The game NEVER tells you that you can sleep multiple mobs at once so at first you will just try to make a break for it.
• You are then thrown into a boss fight where you have to protect a squishy Chemist against a steady stream of mobs 2 at a time. So you are stuck with a squishy Chemist or you, a Glass Cannon tanking.
• The AI can't tell the difference between an awake and sleeping/soft CC'd mob. Even SWTOR got that right with Pet AI.