Anyone else getting annoyed?

[Aeronus]

Re: Anyone else getting annoyed?

damn this is dissapointing, i wanted to play as pup soo bad, dont even get party invites

[Feba]

Re: Anyone else getting annoyed?

pup/nin from levels 1-20.

why?

[Lilani]

Re: Anyone else getting annoyed?

My PUP is only level 20, so I can't tell you much on how it works, but I would like to point out something about the "problem" with expensive frames.

You don't HAVE to buy all three of them. I know some people who have taken it past 50 who only have one frame unlocked. After you get the frame you want unlocked you don't have to buy the others if you don't want to. Yes, I will admit that it is better to have all of them unlocked, in case your party has a preference, but it is not a requirement to unlock a new one 10 levels. That first attatchment can cost 200k-500k depending on prices on your servers, but after that you're pretty much set.

If I ever get back to leveling it, I know I'm not going to unlock the others. One reason being for the cost, but the other because I like the mage attatchment. I know a lot about how it works and I'm very comfortable with it, and I don't see a point in having to go back and learn about a new one when I like the one I have right now. However, if I ever get bored or don't like it anymore I will unlock another. But until then I'm fine with it.

And one thing on soloing: It's possible 1-20, I know that much. While LFP I must have soloed myself up almost three levels at the Dunes/Highlands. I'm not sure about upper levels, but it's not very difficult to take down a DC at 19-20, even given that the H2H skill is C.

Although, I will admit that the amount of H2H weapons you can choose from suck. I ended up getting HQ versions of the weapons as I leveled, because it would be 6-9 levels before I could even think about getting a new one.

[Hantz]

Re: Anyone else getting annoyed?

First of all, let me say, I am not a PUP, nor do I plan to be; I don't even have ToAU installed yet. That being said, I think this thread is the right one for the conversation I would like to have about PUP in general. The basic idea of this thread is pretty relative to my opinions of the way PUP has developed.

That being said, there are many aspects of PUP that I often dwell upon. I would like to hear any and all possible explanations/opinions anyone thinks are relevant.

1.) Back when I frequented another FFXI forums site (which will remain nameless, despite the fact that many of you instantly know what that site was), when it came time for ToAU to introduce new jobs, idiocy ensued. Disregarding the cries for jobs such as pirate (which turned out fine) and necromancer *shudder* and how I felt about that in regards to the FF universe, my major gripe with introducing Necromancers was largely based on game-play. I argued the point that, in a game where each job has to precariously maintain an individual identity without overshadowing the others to regulate balance, where would a new pet job fit?

It seems now, to me at least, that my fears were justly warranted.

SMN's unique role lies in the fact that each of their pets is based on a certain affinity (most being elemental *damn you terrestrials!*) that governs their abilities. Having their use be based on MP consumption, they have their own uses and limitations based in a purely magical field.

DRG's pet role was clearly as a physical DD, perfectly suited for a PT role. In theory, their wyverns add extra effects to a DRG's every move, basic melee and job abilities/spells alike. In effect, a DRG (again, in theory) end up operating at 150% of their potential (initially limited by few JTs and JAs) to warrant the use of a pet. The wyvern is also a static pet, who remains relativley unchanged throughout the DRG's career, unlike other pet jobs where the pet used can vary greatly.

BSTs, dealing with wild enemies, were given JAs strictly to manipulate this type of pet. All possible BST pets do have their own elemental strengths/weaknesses, but they are not as strictly aligned with them as a SMN's pets are. Despite your feelings as to the originally intended role of BSTs, they arguably fulfill a similar role as that of the SMN, but as the physical counterpart to the magical SMN. Each pet has a set of skills, it's own situational uses, and it's own costs/risks.

This brings us to the present. Where do we (maybe more importantly, does SE) feel that a PUP should fit? Even with the introduction of new jobs that fit in more non-traditional roles (BLU as a "physical mage" with physical spells and affinities, and COR as a link between support and DD) it's still hard to find where the PUP was supposed to fit. The PUP's gear choices, skill limitations, and pet uses paint a blurry picture. They seem to point in contradictory directions. Are PUPs meant to be DD in the cast of DRG and BST, wailing away next to a powerful pet? Pet choices seem to say yes, while gear and skill seem to say no. Are PUPs meant to be the RDM "jack-of-all-trades" of the pet role? The versatility of the Automaton's roles hints "yes," but the lack of the real support abilities of a RDM say not.

As much as I doubt that the PUP's shortcomings are based on the players' lack of imagination, is it possible that PUPs fit into such a nuanced role that we just aren't seeing where it goes? Or is the answer that the PUP hasn't been given such a role in the first place?

2.) How is this dilemma remedied? Do you feel that PUP is already pointed in the direction of a certain role, and that some simple gear/skill tweaks could allow them to reach that potential more easily? Maybe more gear options are the solution. A high rating in a weapon could solve this. I think a more drastic solution could be to give PUP an A+ in weapon that other jobs only achieve an A- at most could make it, at least, a master of some weapon. To go super drastic, what if PUP was given an A+ in throwing, and throwing weapons were given weapon skills? Is it going to take something that big to fix the job? Or will it be something more along the lines of more pet control or JAs? I don't know.

3.) Do you think it's the Automatons that are causing the problems? It seems that the puppets start to lose their sheen at around level 40. Could this be fixed by adding new attachments, or would it take a new frame or two starting at those levels?

4.) It has been rumored that Alexander may appear before too long. It has also been rumored that, due to Al's mechanical nature and story clues about rebuilding him, he may end up being a powerful Automaton. How would any of you PUPs feel about that possibility?


Edit: I re-read the PUP history from POL and found this again, just for some context to point #4:

Automatons were developed by a group of craftsmen led by Ghatsad, a Galkan puppetmaker. Ghatsad has never explained what he hoped to achieve with the creation of automatons, but rumors say that the gigantic automaton-like being that appears in Aht Urhgan's founding myth is the ultimate goal of his work. As if to underscore the truth of the rumors, it seems that Ghatsad was provided with a substantial research fund from the Imperial Treasury under the pretense of encouraging private enterprise. With a massive amount of capital at his disposal, Ghatsad set about putting together a research team from the finest alchemists the Empire had to offer, not to mention expert blacksmiths, goldsmiths, bonecrafters, and clockmakers from every corner of the world. After ten years of painstaking work, they finally completed the very first automaton--Mnejing. However, when a triumphant Ghatsad entered the palace with his newly created automaton, he did not receive the warm reception he expected. The Emperor and his court entertained visions of the giant creation of legend, and when they beheld the shaky gait of Mnejing and the command cord trailing behind her, they assaulted Ghatsad with gales of derisive laughter. Only one face among the hecklers lit up at the sight of the tottering automaton--Crown Prince Jalzahn. The prince not only convinced his father to allow him to keep Mnejing, but also to employ Ghatsad as his personal tutor. Even while Ghatsad's creations were quietly ridiculed as the "prince's toys," the puppetmaker continued his research within the palace up until the day the Emperor died, many years later.

I know that is long, but if you have any feelings that you think pertain to any of these questions, don't be afraid to let them fly.

Thanks.