Well it seems FFXI has it flaws. Everything man-made does... but if I was able to take control for a day, this is what I would do to improve it. Now, keep in mind that I aiming these changes to make things balanced, but I would have to see all the checks and balances. Sorry if anything seems stupid, and please challenge me so I can fix my vision of an improved FFXI.
Jobs
Dragoon
We all know it. Dragoon(DRG) is simply weaker than Dark Knight(DRK) or Ranger(RNG) even when it is played at its best. Now some may say DRG is something like a Thief(THF) in the way it controls hate… but it doesn’t do it too well. So here is how I would change DRG.
-Change Jump. Have Jump do the same damage as usual but give it a “Provoke� effect, as it adds hate to Dragoon.
-Change High Jump. Strips MOST hate on Dragoon, not all.
-Change Super Jump. Give Super Jump a “Trick Attack� type of effect but with a twist. When used with someone in front of them, strip all hate on that person.
-Add some +Attack and +Enmity JSE gear for Dragoon that they could switch to for new Jump effect and some –Enmity for the new Super Jump effect.
What these changes would mean? DRG pre-30 could be a good secondary tank. +35 DRG would excel when placed with a THF. DRG gets hate with jump, THF does SA/TA, and DRG strips (most) hate. When it is time to do a SA/TA SC, they do another Jump. With the new Super Jump, if a White Mage(WHM) has too much hate s/he could simply stand next to the mob and have the DRG strip all that hate. Ultimate hate control with THF, but works well with RNG(or overnuking BLM) thanks to Super Jump.
Samurai
Samurai(SAM) seems like a good job, but tend to fall behind jobs like RNG, Monk(MNK), and DRK. So the change is simple. SAM has a GREAT potential with Range Attacks(Bow). So the fix would be simple.
-Change SAM’s rating in bow to B+ or A-.
What these changes would mean? SAM would now do good damage. To keep RNG ahead of it, SAM is limited to most good bows and can’t access the highest Bow WS(which is a quest). SAM would make that up with their Great Katana damage. A- if this change wouldn’t mean SAM becoming slightly overpowered. B+ if SAM becomes stronger than RNG.
Red Mage
I know, I know. Why is Red Mage(RDM) up here? It is a perfectly balanced job and it one of the most invited. Here is the problem: You are making a party and all you got is RDM, no Summoners(SMN) or WHM.
-RDM able to cast Regen II at 44.
-RDM able to cast Raise II at 65.
What these changes would mean? RDM could now be a slightly more effective main healer(which they could do well in pairs). This also means a RDM + SMN combo would be better, now they have Raise II. Regen II should have always had a been a RDM spell.
Overall, what would these job changes mean? It would change the way people invited these jobs and other jobs in general. They are three types of damage dealers and two types of healers. Dmg dealer types: Hate Control(THF), Voke Partner/Melee(DRK DRG SAM MNK), and High Dmg(BLM RNG). Healers: Main Healer(WHM SMN) and MP Refresher(RDM BRD). Now it would look like this.
Hate Control = DRG and THF
Voke Partner/Melee = DRG SAM MNK DRK
High Damage = BLM RNG SAM
Main Healer = SMN WHM RDM(may only be possible for NIN parties)
MP Refreshers = RDM BRD (no changes)
Exp and Quests
Probably the only thing that makes WoW interesting to me is the ability of gaining exp during quest. The soloing? The funky graphics? They don’t mean a thing to me. Gaining exp while doing my favorite thing does. So here is how I would add exp to the quest-lovers of FFXI(and the people who just who hate exp grinding):
Add a 1000-3999 exp scroll(with level 61 use) as a prize to all the Avatar quest, outside Ferir. This would mean you could get 6000-23,994 exp each week without trying to find a camp. This also means you could Static Party with people 10 levels higher than you. STPT using this to their advantage? PLD62 RDM63 BLM75 MNK62 WHM70 THF62. Each week they do the 6 avatar runs, then the PLD/RDM/MNK/THF find a replacement for their WHM/BLM and level up normally(soon to level up if they get lucky on the scrolls).
Add more exp scrolls to Garrison. Instead of 1 at the end of the entire Garrison, have 1 drop after each raid and 2-3 at the end of entire Garrison.
This one doesn’t have anything to do with a quest, but would help with exp. Add minor named monsters that you can check in all areas that fight just like the monsters around them. Exmaple: In Boyahda Tree, once every 2 hours have fly named something like “Buzzing Bessy�(I know lame >_> ) spawn by the waterfall and cons/fights like anything the flies there do. It drops no item, but when killed it gives 2-4k exp. In areas like Valkrum Dunes, the exp gained from these mobs would be lower, like 300-400. BST could also use this to their advantage.
What would these changes mean? I already explained how the Avatar exp scroll would help. Garrison(higher levels) will be done more that you can recover more exp from it, putting more Garrison-only items into the AH. The named monster change could make a 2-3K an hour party be a lot more time worthy, even if they only last for an hour, so you don’t leave the party with an angry tone.
NM Drops and Archer Ring
RoZ had a lot of Rare/Ex NM drops(Ose for example) that could only be found in those areas. CoP would be more popular the complaining people if it also had more of that. For one a level 50-60 NM that drops a Rare/Ex +5 Acc ring. Now something I can’t conclude if they do add a mob like that. It would probably be camped often. So would it be best to place it in a good exp spot? The campers might kill off the possible placeholders(that the parties are trying to level off of). On the other hand, like Ose, a party or two parties could kill it for the drop while levelling.
What would these changes mean? It would decrease Archer Ring’s price for one. Second add more ‘activities’ for people to do as LSes, because they will hunt them for their members. It would also shut up those CoP-haters.
Okay I am done. I hoped you liked it. Sorry for any spelling/grammer errors. Feel free to challenge me.
Jobs
Dragoon
We all know it. Dragoon(DRG) is simply weaker than Dark Knight(DRK) or Ranger(RNG) even when it is played at its best. Now some may say DRG is something like a Thief(THF) in the way it controls hate… but it doesn’t do it too well. So here is how I would change DRG.
-Change Jump. Have Jump do the same damage as usual but give it a “Provoke� effect, as it adds hate to Dragoon.
-Change High Jump. Strips MOST hate on Dragoon, not all.
-Change Super Jump. Give Super Jump a “Trick Attack� type of effect but with a twist. When used with someone in front of them, strip all hate on that person.
-Add some +Attack and +Enmity JSE gear for Dragoon that they could switch to for new Jump effect and some –Enmity for the new Super Jump effect.
What these changes would mean? DRG pre-30 could be a good secondary tank. +35 DRG would excel when placed with a THF. DRG gets hate with jump, THF does SA/TA, and DRG strips (most) hate. When it is time to do a SA/TA SC, they do another Jump. With the new Super Jump, if a White Mage(WHM) has too much hate s/he could simply stand next to the mob and have the DRG strip all that hate. Ultimate hate control with THF, but works well with RNG(or overnuking BLM) thanks to Super Jump.
Samurai
Samurai(SAM) seems like a good job, but tend to fall behind jobs like RNG, Monk(MNK), and DRK. So the change is simple. SAM has a GREAT potential with Range Attacks(Bow). So the fix would be simple.
-Change SAM’s rating in bow to B+ or A-.
What these changes would mean? SAM would now do good damage. To keep RNG ahead of it, SAM is limited to most good bows and can’t access the highest Bow WS(which is a quest). SAM would make that up with their Great Katana damage. A- if this change wouldn’t mean SAM becoming slightly overpowered. B+ if SAM becomes stronger than RNG.
Red Mage
I know, I know. Why is Red Mage(RDM) up here? It is a perfectly balanced job and it one of the most invited. Here is the problem: You are making a party and all you got is RDM, no Summoners(SMN) or WHM.
-RDM able to cast Regen II at 44.
-RDM able to cast Raise II at 65.
What these changes would mean? RDM could now be a slightly more effective main healer(which they could do well in pairs). This also means a RDM + SMN combo would be better, now they have Raise II. Regen II should have always had a been a RDM spell.
Overall, what would these job changes mean? It would change the way people invited these jobs and other jobs in general. They are three types of damage dealers and two types of healers. Dmg dealer types: Hate Control(THF), Voke Partner/Melee(DRK DRG SAM MNK), and High Dmg(BLM RNG). Healers: Main Healer(WHM SMN) and MP Refresher(RDM BRD). Now it would look like this.
Hate Control = DRG and THF
Voke Partner/Melee = DRG SAM MNK DRK
High Damage = BLM RNG SAM
Main Healer = SMN WHM RDM(may only be possible for NIN parties)
MP Refreshers = RDM BRD (no changes)
Exp and Quests
Probably the only thing that makes WoW interesting to me is the ability of gaining exp during quest. The soloing? The funky graphics? They don’t mean a thing to me. Gaining exp while doing my favorite thing does. So here is how I would add exp to the quest-lovers of FFXI(and the people who just who hate exp grinding):
Add a 1000-3999 exp scroll(with level 61 use) as a prize to all the Avatar quest, outside Ferir. This would mean you could get 6000-23,994 exp each week without trying to find a camp. This also means you could Static Party with people 10 levels higher than you. STPT using this to their advantage? PLD62 RDM63 BLM75 MNK62 WHM70 THF62. Each week they do the 6 avatar runs, then the PLD/RDM/MNK/THF find a replacement for their WHM/BLM and level up normally(soon to level up if they get lucky on the scrolls).
Add more exp scrolls to Garrison. Instead of 1 at the end of the entire Garrison, have 1 drop after each raid and 2-3 at the end of entire Garrison.
This one doesn’t have anything to do with a quest, but would help with exp. Add minor named monsters that you can check in all areas that fight just like the monsters around them. Exmaple: In Boyahda Tree, once every 2 hours have fly named something like “Buzzing Bessy�(I know lame >_> ) spawn by the waterfall and cons/fights like anything the flies there do. It drops no item, but when killed it gives 2-4k exp. In areas like Valkrum Dunes, the exp gained from these mobs would be lower, like 300-400. BST could also use this to their advantage.
What would these changes mean? I already explained how the Avatar exp scroll would help. Garrison(higher levels) will be done more that you can recover more exp from it, putting more Garrison-only items into the AH. The named monster change could make a 2-3K an hour party be a lot more time worthy, even if they only last for an hour, so you don’t leave the party with an angry tone.
NM Drops and Archer Ring
RoZ had a lot of Rare/Ex NM drops(Ose for example) that could only be found in those areas. CoP would be more popular the complaining people if it also had more of that. For one a level 50-60 NM that drops a Rare/Ex +5 Acc ring. Now something I can’t conclude if they do add a mob like that. It would probably be camped often. So would it be best to place it in a good exp spot? The campers might kill off the possible placeholders(that the parties are trying to level off of). On the other hand, like Ose, a party or two parties could kill it for the drop while levelling.
What would these changes mean? It would decrease Archer Ring’s price for one. Second add more ‘activities’ for people to do as LSes, because they will hunt them for their members. It would also shut up those CoP-haters.
Okay I am done. I hoped you liked it. Sorry for any spelling/grammer errors. Feel free to challenge me.
Comment