Battle Reform Blueprint from Akihiko Matsui

Battle Reform Blueprint

Thoughts? 'cause in all honesty I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to battle systems. I didn't even reply to the battle system survey 'cause I had no clue.

The following debates have arisen in the FFXIV forums, the first two being more frequently discussed...
1. Hate will be displayed. Is this good or bad?
2. Classes for solo/casual party, jobs for serious partying. Will this spell the end of "make your own job"?
3. Doing away with physical level and having class ranks give you attribute allotment points instead. Good? Bad?
4. Will you get locked into your job like you do in FFXI, or will you be able to change it anywhere as you can with classes in FFXIV?

The rest of the feedback is mostly positive so far.

I do like the Advanced Job system being associated by class - provided you don't have to get too high up in the class rank first. Something like, say, rank 25 or so required in a class before you can unlock the job would be neat. Others are saying 30-40, but we'll see. I did love the FFT job unlocking system, though, and hope to see something similar enough.

My opinion:

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

1. Hate will be displayed. Is this good or bad?

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Good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

2. Classes for solo/casual party, jobs for serious partying. Will this spell the end of "make your own job"?

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Good, it'll give more direction and goals for the player. Gives them more purpose I suppose.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

3. Doing away with physical level and having class ranks give you attribute allotment points instead. Good? Bad?

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Good, the whole physical level thing was weird and just plain unnecessary.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loony BoB

4. Will you get locked into your job like you do in FFXI, or will you be able to change it anywhere as you can with classes in FFXIV?

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It would be nice to be able to change jobs, rather than being locked in. And I am also a fan of the FFT job unlocking system that you've mentioned.

In either case it boils down to creating fun battles (as in battles with interesting events) that require tactical and moterary skills. Instead of focusing on many battles, focus on less with longer battles that are just fun. Use the environment, make players run around more to avoid things, make players plan out crowd and hate control.

Etc. and so forth.

These are all steps in the right direction. The elimination of unnecessary and cumbersome physical levels in favor of a stat allotment system and reevaluation of algorithms allows for the effect of gear and spells to play a greater role in building one's character. The job system is exactly what I was hoping for in regards to their plans for more classic Final Fantasy jobs. Whether they do it as optional specializations specific to each class (ex: Pugilist specializing to either Thief or Monk) or as near universal specializations (likely within disciplines) unlocked in a manner similar to Tactics, I think this is a step in the right direction.

In fact, this news just screams "step in the right direction". Now we just hope that they can properly implement it all.

I just hope they do it (and balance it effectively) sooner rather than later because I'm eager to try out the jobs and whatnot.

And as a person who enjoys tanking (even if I'm not the best at it in the world, I've only got light experience mind you), the hate meter is of great interest to me. Some people are saying it will stop it being a skill-based thing since all you will have to do is watch a meter, but other people have countered that it will allow for people to better understand how to manage their hate from an earlier stage in their gaming experience. They also pointed out that a hate meter isn't that different from an HP bar when it comes to removing skill. If a white mage can see all the HP bars and react to them, why should a tank have to go by guessing rather than having something similar?

But yeah, it was interesting to see the varying reactions.

Many games have been allowing third party tools which measure hate for a long time. It's hardly anything new. Making stats and values invisible doesn't have anything to do with skill; it's an unnecessary difficulty sink. All that said, it shouldn't matter to the tank as much as it should matter to everyone else. Since a tank is going to want the enemy's attention on him at all times (or at least 95% of the time), he already knows his role will be to accumulate as much enmity as he can and sustain it for as long as possible.

Visible percentages of hate are for everyone else in the party. It's a way for them to know when it's time to back the hell off so that they don't get owned in the face. It promotes greater party cooperation and thus allows for more complicated strategies to be executed with greater efficiency. I do not see why this would be a problem.

WoW has a hate meter, so its ok with me. I will say that FFXI did give me a strong sense of hate because there was no meter, but this will only benefit and not detract.

I think all classes should have equal solo and party mechanics. None shall be separated like in FFXI ie: Beastmaster etc.

Down with Physical Level is good. As for job switching, i don't like switching weapons = different job...personally if theres an item you can use to switch it outside of battle thats fine with me. I liked having a more defined role than switching weapons then suddenly you are a different job.