Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

[Ketaru]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

Admittedly, I'm not the source of that. Just something I read on Allakhazam so maybe it can be taken with a grain of salt. That and it was tested in Baillsta, where all sorts of rules are bent. I don't recall elemental resistance rates ever being one of them though. The exceptions were laid out in updates concerning PvP: Nukes are reduced, Sleep duration is reduced, WS range is increased, Resist traits are enhanced, players will build resistance to Sleep, Silence, and Bind over being constantly inflicted by them.

[Malacite]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

I still think SE should raise the EXP on the really nasty IT mobs (*cough* Bibiki Bay*cough*) where you pretty much have to SC + MB to kill them in any decent time frame. Also in addition to a conserve MP effect the magic burst (if it kills the mob?) the bonus damage and magic accuracy should really be based on the tier of the spell and/or chain.

Bursting Thunder IV for example off a light chain should gain a bigger bonus than it would from fragmentation or impaction, especially if it's a long chain. I mean why should only the SC damage go up for increasingly long chains? Imagine Burst II getting that nice fat 225% damage bonus the SC gains at 5+ chains... and to keep our little BLM's safe I'm also thinking some kind of enmity reduction here.

That's BLM's other core issue. Aside from MP endurance the job just pulls too much hate at the higher levels especially on MBs. Even the best PLD & THF is going to have a rough time saving your ass from a 3000+ damage MB'd Burst II.

BLM has plenty of utility as it is for end game. Anymore and it would be broken (as much as I would LOVE to have Tier V nukes...). It's EXP parties where the job really hurts and as mentioned above a few tweaks here and there towards MP endurance and utility (party buffs, better debuffs) would really help.


I think a second set of elemental enfeebles would be better than a trait Armando. It's more DoT for one thing (ideally anyway) and in addition to lowering primary stats even further (-30 at least, come on >.>) they should also drop secondary stats. I also think BLM should freaking get Bio 3 (why the hell does RDM get it anyway with their E rated Dark skill?) but SE won't ever do that since it's a merit spell and not a scroll (thus my hatred of merited spells)

[Armando]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

Admittedly, I'm not the source of that. Just something I read on Allakhazam so maybe it can be taken with a grain of salt. That and it was tested in Baillsta, where all sorts of rules are bent. I don't recall elemental resistance rates ever being one of them though. The exceptions were laid out in updates concerning PvP: Nukes are reduced, Sleep duration is reduced, WS range is increased, Resist traits are enhanced, players will build resistance to Sleep, Silence, and Bind over being constantly inflicted by them.

Yeah, Ninjutsu does the same thing in and out of Ballista, so do Ancient Magic and Threnodies. It was through Ballista testing that I accidentally found the base Resistance numbers for players lol. If you could find the Allakhazam link I'd really appreciate it, I like to keep track of these things.

Mal: I don't think a Conserve MP effect is necessary on MBs. I think between Evoker's Roll/Ballad, Refresh, Sanction/FoV Refresh, and the addition of /SCH, BLM already has the MP conservation it needs (technically speaking, MB already results in MP savings by providing more damage for the same MP; and /SCH could be used to drop that further.) BLM will never be able to output damage similar to a melee without ever stopping in a T-VT chaining party. I can't speak from experience but I don't think they need help against ITs in longer fights where they can actually sit and rest. I think an enmity cut is more practical.

I think a second set of elemental enfeebles would be better than a trait Armando.

Well, the same effects could be achieved with a JA. I wouldn't be surprised if SE is cooking up something similar to the WHM changes for BLM.

[Ketaru]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

A thing to think about is that adding to party mechanics that allow for more EXP on harder mobs is that it will not only help BLM. It will also help PLDs and BLUs, for example, and other jobs (...or roles, as I will cover) who have fallen to the wayside in favor of zerg kill merits.

Take RDM for example. Many are satisfied to embrace the role it now has in merit as a Haster and Healer. While wanting to frontline was always part of the problem I had with the party situation of the game, many also saw it as a loss of the Enfeebling function of the game, where your Enfeebling spell set was effectively reduced to Dia II, a spell that a THF subbing /WHM could land. Where enfeebling starts to shine is in long, drawn out fights.

I like to say I hate constantly tooting Campaign's horn, but maybe I should just stop adding that little disclaimer. The fact is I love saying I love Campaign. It did not just create a situation where a hybrid RDM could actually be rewarded somewhat for that style of play, but it also brought about a higher level opportunity to bring enfeebling back into play. Nothing greases the wheels of killing a Campaign mob or NM more than landing the full plethora of enfeebles on it. I've even heard from some PLDs that, even given the opportunity to join a merit party, some would still prefer to Campaign because tanking is not a fool's errand there, especially with the realization that being invited to merit is often little more than a pity invite from friends.

Speaking of tanking, adding high level mobs as spectacular EXP targets would also bring hate management back to the table as parties these days typically can get away with hate management disregard because the mob often dies too fast to cause any real damage. This would mean bringing in DD jobs that actually have hate management in their tool kit to the table, with new emphasis on hate management. Think that, if PUP were just tweaked a bit so they can perform well on high level mobs, the fact that they split hate with their puppet would actually be a benefit rather than a liability.

I believe modifying EXP gain was once mentioned in an interview, but it looks like, as of now, no changes are planned for how high level parties funciton, unfortunately.

EDIT: Sorry if that sounded a little too passionate, and a call to return the game to something more archaic, but I do think it's pure hypocrisy for people to wag their fingers in disapproval of SE adding new, "easier" methods of getting EXP, as well as people exploiting astral burn parties, when the best form of getting merits involves the minimization of job function.

[Malacite]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

PUP performs just fine against higher level enemies if you gear your automaton correctly. Most people who play the job (not all) generally don't know what they're doing. Before SE adds anymore attachments I'd rather they fix the casting AI. Good lord is the automaton a retard when it comes to magic.


SE did acknowledge that pet jobs in general are need of some buffing though as they hardly get used at end game (even SMN seems to be falling on hard times lately...)


Higher EXP rewards to make IT mobs comparable to chaining VTs would be nice. We need more EXP options, not less SE and they need to be equally efficient so as to keep crowding to a minimum. I'd love to see the old manaburns in sea come back (some ppl got as much as 50k/hour...) but I doubt SE would do that . _ . (plus it kinda contradicts my previous statement lol. Still ungodly exp tho...)

[Raydeus]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

I get the impression that the shift from more group based tactics to WS spamage didn't only affect xp parties but many aspects of the game and how players worked (or stopped working) together.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if IT++ mobs were made worth the time spent killing them.

[AutonomousMarkings]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

If the new wotg areas come w/ new mobs, they had better have some better spells for blu, if not this update then down the road, and please give us something better than regurgitation. Its a nice bindamage spell, but come on, its just a more effective version of a lower level blu spell.

[nanatsu]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

If the new wotg areas come w/ new mobs, they had better have some better spells for blu, if not this update then down the road, and please give us something better than regurgitation. Its a nice bindamage spell, but come on, its just a more effective version of a lower level blu spell.

All spells in the game are like that. Most (but not all) spells are a higher tier of a previous spell. Despite all of the different names that blu spells have, most of them follow that same rule also. There so many different types of 3 hit blunt damage spells that's it not even funny, each one stronger than the last. So you should be used to this by now.

[Malacite]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

Ya know, and this is just a crazy thought but...

What if BLM (and only BLM) got a trait or something that actually makes nukes stronger against weaker enemies similar to how melee do? I mean I don't see how it wouldn't be easier to burn a weaker enemy over a tougher one. But then if they do that we may end up with people QQ over BLM being too strong idk.

Just a passing thought.

[Armando]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

Won't fix anything. You'll never buff BLM to the point that it can keep up with melees against T-VT with the game as it is (2-hander change, Marinara Pizza, BRD and COR, etc) while not having to sit any fights out, without breaking the job.

[Aksannyi]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

Remove the elemental resistance nerf! DO IT! I want my damn MB to do as much as the first person to nuke if I have the same exact gear.

[Malacite]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

Won't fix anything. You'll never buff BLM to the point that it can keep up with melees against T-VT with the game as it is (2-hander change, Marinara Pizza, BRD and COR, etc) while not having to sit any fights out, without breaking the job.

figured as much. but really all the job needs is more party-friendly utility for EXP and MP endurance. Any kind of actual power increase would be over the top as BLM already booms things pretty gewd =3


>_> and I second the removal of the resistance update, especially in light of all the zerging.

[Raydeus]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

Either they remove Magic/Melee zerging or they implement penalties and better conditions to both, so groups need to rotate their damage types and maybe use clearer strategies/more skill to beat mobs.

I liked the way they handled the Alex fight but don't know much about end game, so I don't know if systems like that are already implemented in other end game fights.

It would probably require more tweaking than SE seems to be willing to do on XI. But it would be a nice experiment that would probably help XIV should they gave it a try.

If they haven't already that is.



PS > Chain-stun + Zerg isn't what I call a glorious battle, that's for sure.

[Aksannyi]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

It's not glorious, but there certainly is no better way I can think of to safely and easily kill DL. That bitch is mean.

[Malacite]

Re: Next Version Update Scheduled for Late July! (06/08/2009)

It's not glorious, but there certainly is no better way I can think of to safely and easily kill DL. That bitch is mean.

Yah he is not to be taken lightly...


We usually have 10+ RDM/DRK when we do a Xarc Clear to keep him from slaughtering us with his bullshit AoE.