Morning in Vana'diel is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Today, we follow up yesterdays consideration with another more blasphemous notion: Is it time to bring back dual-wielding?
The two-handed update was a real tectonic shift for melee game play. It shifted the focus from Dual Wield based jobs and MNK over to the rest of the DD. I complete agree that something needed to be done because there was an imbalance and a strong imbalance two Dual Wield because the buff from it was so strong even for those that subbed NIN that the damage had to be increased for those that didn't have access. My guess is that Store TP and Dual Wield were introduced with the same intention; both were to be used to decrease the delay of each kind of weapon type. Sadly, it still did not work to equalize the total damage output. The damage from the weapons that Dual Wielders could use was very high and had good stats compared to what the two-handers could use.
In one fell swoop, SE radically altered the situation and after a couple of quick adjustments we got what we have today. But is that situation ideal? NIN, MNK and WAR/NIN went from being the top notch DD's to being afterthoughts. SAM, DRK and DRG went from being also-rans or complete jokes to absolute parse domination. While WAR was able to maintain it's position as a top DD, and other didn't have to try to adapt to a Dual Wield world (dual axe DRK *shudder*) the change only worked to flip flop the position of these DD's. I didn't feel much for NIN at the time because they were still effective tanks, but with the continual buffing of PLD they have been pushed out of that role also. MNK has maintained some of it's strengths but still has to work hard to keep up. Why can't they be closer?
When the two-handed update was introduced there were two major changes. The damage formula for two-handed weapons was separated from dual-wielders and received a significant buff. Also, the STR/Attack and DEX/Accuracy formulas were changed to favor two-handers. I think that the change in the damage formula was well enough to straighten things out between the two kinds of weapons, and the new stat formulas was another great buff, but was it too much? Since no one likes a nerf, is it time to give dual-wielders the stat buff too? Give them a chance to increase their gear selection, and let them get closer to the accuracy cap without having to use Sushi? The change in the damage formula was necessary and sufficient to correct for the problem with weapon damage not scaling enough. Did SE go too far?
Is it time that a Ridill WAR was again a top-notch DD no matter the situation or player comparison? And what about THF and RNG? Is it time to give them some kind of AGI based damage buff?
Should SE roll back some of the two-handed changes? Should SE buff dual-wielders stats bonuses to be in line with two-handers? Are players getting too strong compared to the mobs they are fighting? What would you do to rebalance the situation? Leave a comment and tell us what you think!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Morning in Vana'diel: Rethinking the Unthinkable.
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2 comments:
The big difference in accuracy is what really annoys me personally. Two-handed weapon users get to eat meat when they already have higher attack and get the same accuracy as better equipped one-handed weapon users.
Throw in sets like Homam that are Haste+Accuracy for DRG|DRK, and the difference is even larger.
I don't think we should really see players made even stronger or the game will just be waaaaaaay too easy. I'm not sure how would be best to go about fixing it. Maybe just the DEX:Acc thing mentioned?
I don't think they should rebalance the damage output of a dual wielder and two handed weapons.why should a dual wielding war(barring the crack of ridill wars, cause I still think they own the parse) with a maneater/joyeuse be able to compete with a sam? Just because they have a dinky sword that attacks twice? Well I have this crazy great katana, and it better slice heads off a bit better than that blue bilbo you're holding..id be pissed if SE decided to let dual wielders in on the heavy DDing...all the two handers would start going war/nin and feed tons of TP to mobs that don't need it, and noob linkshells with 69 people attending events will just hack down stuff cause they do damage...no thanks...id like to see low manned gods because that's way more challenging. More gear sets, situational macro swaps, actual strategies? Sign me up. We get to see all the dual wielders come out during xp leveling and deal with mobs that die fast enough to not be harmful with tp moves. Otherwise, let me see a great axe war own the parse, cause that's what great axes do, they chop shit down...
Regarding thf and rng (lol) ranger does enough damage...you always end up seeing a few skillchains, then a mob decides to flee to the ranger that decided barrage and sidewinder should be done consecutively. Leave rng alone...as for thf, they have access to some of the best situational gear, and in most situations, a well geared thief carries his own...only place thief doesn't cut it in damage is when JA timers aren't up fast enough because mobs are getting hacked down too fast. Thief has its own unique purpose, and in most endgame, will always have its place.
No, players aren't getting too strong..people still refuse to do certain fights because they don't have the manpower. And while it is fun to burn kirin down with a shit ton of DDs and outside healers and such, a group of 15 can take him down as well...preparation for these fights should be more crucial than just having a bunch of e. Body, KC drks, and putting your char on attack. I said it in another post, and agree that accuracy caps should be reformulated, but still think that a players weapon skill and attack should be the greatest factor in DDing.
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