Sub-Routine: White Mage.

I should have probably gone back and revised the Ninja sub job post because apparently SE did explicitly state during Vana'fest that they would be keeping the Ninja and White Mage stances exclusive to their main jobs. This means that the information for Ninja might not be correct and that decreases the benefits of subbing Ninja by quite a bit. I thought about ranting about how the jobs that would sub Ninja actually need Yonin and Innin, but I think I am going to save that for a separate post. Also, I am going to include the White Mage "stances" because I think they should be included and available as a sub job, but I will get into the specifics for that below.

My general thought on White Mage is that it is still going to be a core subjob for all mage jobs. Now, you might think that I am retarded because I just made a post praising RDM as the new sub job that all mages are going to use. I still think that is the case for some mage jobs, like BLM and SCH because they either have access to the specific spells that /WHM brings to the table (SCH) or they don't give a fuck about those spells (BLM). The problem is that several mage and support jobs will still be called upon do perform the roll of a WHM main. For example, in Salvage many RDM are required to be able to fill the roll of a main healer also (and there is also the fact that a RDM can't sub RDM, LOL). This requires access to a full compliment of -na spells and Erase which are best available through /WHM. In the end, offensive mages are almost definitely going to want to use /RDM but healing mages are going to want to use /WHM, and support jobs are going to have to pick what they need on a case by case basis.

Afflatus Solace @40 (maybe?).
Of course people are going to say this is the reason that /WHM shouldn't get access to the WHM main stances, but are they really thinking about it that deeply? SE actually put this ability together pretty well when they made it, and that is why I am not really worried about it. The real benefit of Afflatus Solace is the "cureskin" effect, or the bonus Stoneskin that is given to the recipient of the Cure. This would be a problem if everyone was walking around with a full strength "cureskin" effect, but that is not the case. The cap on the amount of "cureskin" you can give is based on the level of your WHM, so subbing it will mean that you will have a lower cap. If the "cureskin" is too strong while subbed then SE may have to do some tweaking down either by decreasing the "cureskin" effect at lower levels, or by nerfing it while subbed. But if you consider the fact that SCH gives their healing and cast bonus at full effect, I don't see why WHM can't give out at least a nerfed "cureskin" to other mages.

"Cureskin" isn't the only benefit to Solace, but the other benefits either have limited use or can't be accessed. Here is a quick run down.
*Sacrifice - Higher than the 49 level-cap.
*Bar-Element Effect - Ok, this one might need to be nerfed a little bit. RDM is already able to hand out a decent Bar-Element but a good WHM is going to have a much higher -ra effect. It's not that big of an effect, but it's definitely something WHM need to do well and RDM don't really need. I would say that this shouldn't be available when subbed or it should only be +1 or +2 MDB at best.
*Holy - Only other job with access to this is PLD, and while they might be able to drop a big Holy because of this, I just don't see it as all that game breaking.

And that is about it. I still can't see why /WHM should get Afflatus Solace.

Afflatus Misery @40 (Maybe?)
If I think that /WHM should get Solace, there is no reason they shouldn't get Misery. Like Solace the amount of damage you can take to increase it's effect is limited by your level, so you would only be getting the subjob level of effect. Unlike Solace though, Misery doesn't really have a permanently beneficial effect, but it all spell specific, so lets look over those.

*Cura - Incredibly efficient but never really used because if you are a good WHM for the most part you aren't going to take much damage. /WHM is going to have access to this anyway, and the level correction on Misery is going to limit the additional potency.
*Esuna - Higher than the 49 level-cap.
*Auspice - Higher than the 49 level-cap.
*Banish - Like Holy this could be used to increase their damage, but again it is limited by the level correction on the damage absorbed effect. And really... who is going to be spamming Banish anyway?

I will say it again, there is no reason /WHM shouldn't get these abilities, there is nothing game breaking. A limited Solace effect is not really that much better than what you can get from /SCH, and come on, /WAR is going to give freaking Aggressor. It's time to throw /WHM a bone.

Now onto the spells. I am only going to go over the critical ones here, I don't think we really need to worry about every little random Bar-spell that /WHM is going to get.

Teleport-Altep and Yhoat @ 38 and Teleport-Vahzl @ 42.
These spells would have meant a whole lot more a couple of years ago, but today those Teleports just aren't that important because there isn't much reason to go to those places. Even if you are leveling in those areas, most parties are going to have at least one WHM main in it that can teleport then change jobs. Besides, there are tons of alternative ways to get around the game anyway, and that cuts into the relevance of these teleports most fundamentally.

Stona @ 39.
This is the last -na spell that WHM had uniquely. Honestly, I am more concerned that SE is giving this up as a subjob spell than I am about the WHM stances. A good spell to have and it will let the WHM not have to worrying about exclusively covering this from now on. I do think that SE should give Amensiana (Amensna?, Amensina?) to WHM above the new sub job cap so WHM has that one last -na spell that no one else gets.

Haste @ 40.
Went over this when discussing RDM already, but man, this is going to be great of a lot of mage subs. BLM will love it (but will probably get it from /RDM), SCH will love it (but will probably get it from /RDM), SMN will love it (but don't they already have it from Garuda?). It will be exclusive to /WHM if the first level cap increase is only to level 80, but after that /RDM is going to have it too, and then it's not really going to matter. It's a good spell, necessary and it's probably time that other jobs get access to it even if it is through there sub job.

Cura @ 40.
See above under Afflatus Misery. Potentially interesting, but probably never going to be used.

Cure IV @ 41.
Finally, the non-RDM and non-SCH mages will get access to a decent cure, even if it is a hate-filled monster. No more Cure 3 spam. But again this is a much greater blow to WHM uniqueness than both of the Afflatus JA's combined. I think SE is going to need to give WHM a new even bigger Cure (Cure VI? I know totally original) to make up for this. If not, you might see WHM quickly pushed to the back burner because most jobs are going to be able to do the basic function of a WHM just by subbing the job. This had almost completely happened before with RDM, and while the Afflatus JA's fixed the situation, it was RDM's access to Cure IV and Haste that caused the situation to begin with.

Regen II @ 44.
I think this one is going to be play style dependent, but some people love their Regens. I don't think it will be much of a factor for most people though.

Flash @ 45.
This one is surprisingly unimportant, I think. While Flash can be nice to help out a tank, I don't know that it is a make or break spell for anyone that would want to sub WHM. That is unless NIN would want to sub WHM, and I am not really kidding here. NIN/WHM would get access to Haste, self-cures and Flash, that is potentially a whole lot of hate. NIN already largely subs DRK just for a couple of hate spells and three 5+ minute job abilities. /WHM has the potential to deliver more hate, more quickly outside of those JA's. I think it is at least worth looking into after the level cap hits 90+.

Protect III and Protectra III @ 47.
A nice additional spell for jobs that don't get access to it a convenient Protectra. Nothing to write home about, but I don't think people are going to be complaining either.

Repose @ 48.
A light-based sleep available to jobs like RDM, BLM and SCH? That is pretty powerful, and it will definitely cut into the utility of the remaining jobs that have exclusive access to light-based sleep. BLM, RDM and SCH are already known for their crowd control skills, getting Repose isn't going to overpower them, but I don't think they are going to be looking down their nose at it either.

Subbing WHM is going to offer some pretty powerful options and even if SE decides that no one else besides WHM should have access to the Afflatus "stances" it is still going to be a great sub job. So if you are a mage main, get out there and level your WHM! And if you are a NIN, at least give the /WHM some thought, because I think it might surprise you!

Two final things. First, that awesome WHM painting at the start of this article was blatantly stolen from Atua on the FFXI AH website. It's a great work! Second, this is my last post for a week as I am going on vacation. I won't be back until May 24th. Maybe if you are lucky and you wish really hard, Omoi might post something on the blog to keep you entertained while I am gone. :)

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/WHM_neat.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/WHM_neat.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 384px; height: 400px;" /></a>I should have probably gone back and revised the Ninja sub job post because apparently SE did explicitly state during Vana'fest that they would be keeping the Ninja and White Mage stances exclusive to their main jobs. This means that the information for Ninja might not be correct and that decreases the benefits of subbing Ninja by quite a bit. I thought about ranting about how the jobs that would sub Ninja actually need Yonin and Innin, but I think I am going to save that for a separate post. Also, I am going to include the White Mage "stances" because I think they should be included and available as a sub job, but I will get into the specifics for that below.<br /><br />My general thought on White Mage is that it is still going to be a core subjob for all mage jobs. Now, you might think that I am retarded because I just made a post praising RDM as the new sub job that all mages are going to use. I still think that is the case for some mage jobs, like BLM and SCH because they either have access to the specific spells that /WHM brings to the table (SCH) or they don't give a fuck about those spells (BLM). The problem is that several mage and support jobs will still be called upon do perform the roll of a WHM main. For example, in Salvage many RDM are required to be able to fill the roll of a main healer also (and there is also the fact that a RDM can't sub RDM, LOL). This requires access to a full compliment of -na spells and Erase which are best available through /WHM. In the end, offensive mages are almost definitely going to want to use /RDM but healing mages are going to want to use /WHM, and support jobs are going to have to pick what they need on a case by case basis.<br /><br />Afflatus Solace @40 (maybe?).<br />Of course people are going to say this is the reason that /WHM shouldn't get access to the WHM main stances, but are they really thinking about it that deeply? SE actually put this ability together pretty well when they made it, and that is why I am not really worried about it. The real benefit of Afflatus Solace is the "cureskin" effect, or the bonus Stoneskin that is given to the recipient of the Cure. This would be a problem if everyone was walking around with a full strength "cureskin" effect, but that is not the case. The cap on the amount of "cureskin" you can give is based on the level of your WHM, so subbing it will mean that you will have a lower cap. If the "cureskin" is too strong while subbed then SE may have to do some tweaking down either by decreasing the "cureskin" effect at lower levels, or by nerfing it while subbed. But if you consider the fact that SCH gives their healing and cast bonus at full effect, I don't see why WHM can't give out at least a nerfed "cureskin" to other mages.<br /><br />"Cureskin" isn't the only benefit to Solace, but the other benefits either have limited use or can't be accessed. Here is a quick run down.<br />*Sacrifice - Higher than the 49 level-cap.<br />*Bar-Element Effect - Ok, this one might need to be nerfed a little bit. RDM is already able to hand out a decent Bar-Element but a good WHM is going to have a much higher -ra effect. It's not that big of an effect, but it's definitely something WHM need to do well and RDM don't really need. I would say that this shouldn't be available when subbed or it should only be +1 or +2 MDB at best.<br />*Holy - Only other job with access to this is PLD, and while they might be able to drop a big Holy because of this, I just don't see it as all that game breaking.<br /><br />And that is about it. I still can't see why /WHM should get Afflatus Solace.<br /><br />Afflatus Misery @40 (Maybe?)<br />If I think that /WHM should get Solace, there is no reason they shouldn't get Misery. Like Solace the amount of damage you can take to increase it's effect is limited by your level, so you would only be getting the subjob level of effect. Unlike Solace though, Misery doesn't really have a permanently beneficial effect, but it all spell specific, so lets look over those.<br /><br />*Cura - Incredibly efficient but never really used because if you are a good WHM for the most part you aren't going to take much damage. /WHM is going to have access to this anyway, and the level correction on Misery is going to limit the additional potency.<br />*Esuna - Higher than the 49 level-cap.<br />*Auspice - Higher than the 49 level-cap.<br />*Banish - Like Holy this could be used to increase their damage, but again it is limited by the level correction on the damage absorbed effect. And really... who is going to be spamming Banish anyway?<br /><br />I will say it again, there is no reason /WHM shouldn't get these abilities, there is nothing game breaking. A limited Solace effect is not really that much better than what you can get from /SCH, and come on, /WAR is going to give freaking Aggressor. It's time to throw /WHM a bone.<br /><br />Now onto the spells. I am only going to go over the critical ones here, I don't think we really need to worry about every little random Bar-spell that /WHM is going to get.<br /><br />Teleport-Altep and Yhoat @ 38 and Teleport-Vahzl @ 42.<br />These spells would have meant a whole lot more a couple of years ago, but today those Teleports just aren't that important because there isn't much reason to go to those places. Even if you are leveling in those areas, most parties are going to have at least one WHM main in it that can teleport then change jobs. Besides, there are tons of alternative ways to get around the game anyway, and that cuts into the relevance of these teleports most fundamentally.<br /><br />Stona @ 39.<br />This is the last -na spell that WHM had uniquely. Honestly, I am more concerned that SE is giving this up as a subjob spell than I am about the WHM stances. A good spell to have and it will let the WHM not have to worrying about exclusively covering this from now on. I do think that SE should give Amensiana (Amensna?, Amensina?) to WHM above the new sub job cap so WHM has that one last -na spell that no one else gets.<br /><br />Haste @ 40.<br />Went over this when discussing RDM already, but man, this is going to be great of a lot of mage subs. BLM will love it (but will probably get it from /RDM), SCH will love it (but will probably get it from /RDM), SMN will love it (but don't they already have it from Garuda?). It will be exclusive to /WHM if the first level cap increase is only to level 80, but after that /RDM is going to have it too, and then it's not really going to matter. It's a good spell, necessary and it's probably time that other jobs get access to it even if it is through there sub job.<br /><br />Cura @ 40.<br />See above under Afflatus Misery. Potentially interesting, but probably never going to be used.<br /><br />Cure IV @ 41.<br />Finally, the non-RDM and non-SCH mages will get access to a decent cure, even if it is a hate-filled monster. No more Cure 3 spam. But again this is a much greater blow to WHM uniqueness than both of the Afflatus JA's combined. I think SE is going to need to give WHM a new even bigger Cure (Cure VI? I know totally original) to make up for this. If not, you might see WHM quickly pushed to the back burner because most jobs are going to be able to do the basic function of a WHM just by subbing the job. This had almost completely happened before with RDM, and while the Afflatus JA's fixed the situation, it was RDM's access to Cure IV and Haste that caused the situation to begin with.<br /><br />Regen II @ 44.<br />I think this one is going to be play style dependent, but some people love their Regens. I don't think it will be much of a factor for most people though.<br /><br />Flash @ 45.<br />This one is surprisingly unimportant, I think. While Flash can be nice to help out a tank, I don't know that it is a make or break spell for anyone that would want to sub WHM. That is unless NIN would want to sub WHM, and I am not really kidding here. NIN/WHM would get access to Haste, self-cures and Flash, that is potentially a whole lot of hate. NIN already largely subs DRK just for a couple of hate spells and three 5+ minute job abilities. /WHM has the potential to deliver more hate, more quickly outside of those JA's. I think it is at least worth looking into after the level cap hits 90+.<br /><br />Protect III and Protectra III @ 47.<br />A nice additional spell for jobs that don't get access to it a convenient Protectra. Nothing to write home about, but I don't think people are going to be complaining either.<br /><br />Repose @ 48.<br />A light-based sleep available to jobs like RDM, BLM and SCH? That is pretty powerful, and it will definitely cut into the utility of the remaining jobs that have exclusive access to light-based sleep. BLM, RDM and SCH are already known for their crowd control skills, getting Repose isn't going to overpower them, but I don't think they are going to be looking down their nose at it either.<br /><br />Subbing WHM is going to offer some pretty powerful options and even if SE decides that no one else besides WHM should have access to the Afflatus "stances" it is still going to be a great sub job. So if you are a mage main, get out there and level your WHM! And if you are a NIN, at least give the /WHM some thought, because I think it might surprise you!<br /><br />Two final things. First, that awesome WHM painting at the start of this article was blatantly stolen from Atua on the FFXI AH website. It's a great work! Second, this is my last post for a week as I am going on vacation. I won't be back until May 24th. Maybe if you are lucky and you wish really hard, Omoi might post something on the blog to keep you entertained while I am gone. :)

Sub-Routine: Ninja

The level cap increase is coming! Are you prepared? This is the first in a series of articles that are going to look at all the potential sub jobs and the benefits that are going to come out of them as the level cap increases. Now, you might be wondering why I am going to go over sub jobs instead of main jobs, and there are a couple of answers. First, sub jobs have been generally designed around the level 75 cap for about 5 years now. SE has been adding abilities just above the level cap for sub jobs that are now going to become available. Second, we don't really know what is coming for main jobs. We do have SE's traditionally vague pronouncement of changes, but outside of SAM having Sekkanoki being bumped down to be available for sub jobs there really isn't much to go on for direct information. Third, while you know what you are generally getting out of a main job, sub jobs can alter, sometimes radically you play style for that job, so it is a good idea to know what is coming so you can maximize the potential of your main job.

Let's start with Ninja. Why? Well, because I think it is something that everyone is going to level anyway for the shadows so we might as well find out what else we are getting out of it.

1. Tier 2 Elemental Ninjutsu @ 40.
No. Just no. You don't have the skill, you don't have the MAB, you don't have the inventory space. Yes, there is going to be that random BLM out there that is going to try this out on a level 40 crab and they are going to say "it totally works" and then they will be attacked by a hundred psychopathic monkeys with nothing by terrorism and murder by anal rape on their minds... or maybe that is just what I hope happens to them.

2. Yonin/Innin @ 40.
Ok, so I have heard people say that SE is going to change this and move them up out of sub job range, but I have seen absolutely no evidence of this. First of all, if SE doesn't give this at sub job level then there is going to almost no reason to use NIN as a sub (ok, so there really isn't a whole lot of reasons besides shadows right now either). Other jobs are going to be handing out some pretty nice buffs as the level cap increases, why can't NIN? Second, Yonin and Innin aren't god-like abilities. I mean freaking /WAR is going to get Aggressor... I think /NIN is ok giving THF a little more accuracy and crit hit rate (which THF doesn't really need a huge boost in anyway) from behind.

Yonin is going to give more enmity production, save people a few Shihei, improve evasion which isn't going to matter to anyone besides THF and decrease incoming crits which is definitely nice. More specifically Yonin will continue to make PLD the only tanking job in the game. I suppose that maybe some of the concern for giving these abilities through the sub job is that it will just make PLD stronger. NEWS FLASH: PLD is the only tank in the game right now! Everything else is just a DD/NIN. NIN can hold hate really well, but in the end, they are nowhere close to PLD even when they have exclusive access to Yonin. There are only three tanking situations in FFXI; you need a real tank and you bring a PLD, you don't need a real tank and you sub NIN or SAM, you are fighting Tiamat. Tank imbalance in FFXI doesn't really matter because so many people have PLD leveled.

Innin is what I think most people are going to care about because it is an offensive boost for DD jobs. Evasion doesn't mean anything really to jobs that are used to wearing Haubs or pinning hate on someone else. The enmity reduction is going to be very nice for some jobs like RNG, who already have major hate issues and finding it very easy to quickly move up the hate list. It is also pretty good for keeping yourself alive in a Dynamis type situation where you want to share hate more than you keep it. SAM's are still going to hate /NIN because all the real offensive bonuses are going to come from being behind the mob, and that is a no-no for SAM damage production. On the other end of the spectrum THF is going to love Innin, since they already stand behind mobs a good portion of the time. That is going to be a good boost in accuracy for a dual wield job like THF as well as the previously mentioned and perhaps not all that relevant boost to critical hit rate. MNK might also benefit from this boost, but it might take some adjusting to get used to standing behind mobs on MNK.

3. Dual Wield III @ 45.
Here is the make or break for the future of /NIN. THFs are already going to be drooling over subbing NIN but this might cause the return of WAR/NIN if you have the gear to support it. Right now a really well geared and well played WAR/NIN can still beat out a Great Axe WAR/SAM, but it is much easier for the WAR/NIN to go /SAM and do better too. The really important aspect of this is that this is a pretty big step up in swing speed as Dual Wield III is a 10% decrease in weapon delay. The question then becomes is 10% swing speed improvement and Innin enough to beat out /SAM which as I will cover later isn't really getting a whole lot more with the increase in the level cap? I am thinking that it just might be what be needed to see a return of WAR/NIN. And the new Magian weapons might add another factor into the equation. I am not sure, but I am holding out hope.

4. Subtle Blow III @ 45.
Another nice bonus, but I don't think that it is going to be a real consideration for picking a subjob. Less TP given almost always means less damage taken, but that is what we have healers for.

Overall, I give the Ninja sub job at least a B+ when it comes to the improvements the sub job is going to get as the level cap increases. It will still have shadows, but it will finally have the offensive potential that is needed to help it even be considered with /SAM. It has at least two different jobs that might be able to greatly benefit from the improvements (THF and WAR) and there are always hidden benefits that we might not even know about right now. I would say the future looks really bright for Ninja as a sub job.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Subway_ninja.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Subway_ninja.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 261px;" /></a>The level cap increase is coming! Are you prepared? This is the first in a series of articles that are going to look at all the potential sub jobs and the benefits that are going to come out of them as the level cap increases. Now, you might be wondering why I am going to go over sub jobs instead of main jobs, and there are a couple of answers. First, sub jobs have been generally designed around the level 75 cap for about 5 years now. SE has been adding abilities just above the level cap for sub jobs that are now going to become available. Second, we don't really know what is coming for main jobs. We do have SE's traditionally vague pronouncement of changes, but outside of SAM having Sekkanoki being bumped down to be available for sub jobs there really isn't much to go on for direct information. Third, while you know what you are generally getting out of a main job, sub jobs can alter, sometimes radically you play style for that job, so it is a good idea to know what is coming so you can maximize the potential of your main job.<br /><br />Let's start with Ninja. Why? Well, because I think it is something that everyone is going to level anyway for the shadows so we might as well find out what else we are getting out of it. <br /><br />1. Tier 2 Elemental Ninjutsu @ 40.<br />No. Just no. You don't have the skill, you don't have the MAB, you don't have the inventory space. Yes, there is going to be that random BLM out there that is going to try this out on a level 40 crab and they are going to say "it totally works" and then they will be attacked by a hundred psychopathic monkeys with nothing by terrorism and murder by anal rape on their minds... or maybe that is just what I hope happens to them.<br /><br />2. Yonin/Innin @ 40.<br />Ok, so I have heard people say that SE is going to change this and move them up out of sub job range, but I have seen absolutely no evidence of this. First of all, if SE doesn't give this at sub job level then there is going to almost no reason to use NIN as a sub (ok, so there really isn't a whole lot of reasons besides shadows right now either). Other jobs are going to be handing out some pretty nice buffs as the level cap increases, why can't NIN? Second, Yonin and Innin aren't god-like abilities. I mean freaking /WAR is going to get Aggressor... I think /NIN is ok giving THF a little more accuracy and crit hit rate (which THF doesn't really need a huge boost in anyway) from behind.<br /><br />Yonin is going to give more enmity production, save people a few Shihei, improve evasion which isn't going to matter to anyone besides THF and decrease incoming crits which is definitely nice. More specifically Yonin will continue to make PLD the only tanking job in the game. I suppose that maybe some of the concern for giving these abilities through the sub job is that it will just make PLD stronger. NEWS FLASH: PLD is the only tank in the game right now! Everything else is just a DD/NIN. NIN can hold hate really well, but in the end, they are nowhere close to PLD <span style="font-style:italic;">even when they have exclusive access to Yonin</span>. There are only three tanking situations in FFXI; you need a real tank and you bring a PLD, you don't need a real tank and you sub NIN or SAM, you are fighting Tiamat. Tank imbalance in FFXI doesn't really matter because so many people have PLD leveled.<br /><br />Innin is what I think most people are going to care about because it is an offensive boost for DD jobs. Evasion doesn't mean anything really to jobs that are used to wearing Haubs or pinning hate on someone else. The enmity reduction is going to be very nice for some jobs like RNG, who already have major hate issues and finding it very easy to quickly move up the hate list. It is also pretty good for keeping yourself alive in a Dynamis type situation where you want to share hate more than you keep it. SAM's are still going to hate /NIN because all the real offensive bonuses are going to come from being behind the mob, and that is a no-no for SAM damage production. On the other end of the spectrum THF is going to love Innin, since they already stand behind mobs a good portion of the time. That is going to be a good boost in accuracy for a dual wield job like THF as well as the previously mentioned and perhaps not all that relevant boost to critical hit rate. MNK might also benefit from this boost, but it might take some adjusting to get used to standing behind mobs on MNK.<br /><br />3. Dual Wield III @ 45.<br />Here is the make or break for the future of /NIN. THFs are already going to be drooling over subbing NIN but this might cause the return of WAR/NIN if you have the gear to support it. Right now a really well geared and well played WAR/NIN can still beat out a Great Axe WAR/SAM, but it is much easier for the WAR/NIN to go /SAM and do better too. The really important aspect of this is that this is a pretty big step up in swing speed as Dual Wield III is a 10% decrease in weapon delay. The question then becomes is 10% swing speed improvement and Innin enough to beat out /SAM which as I will cover later isn't really getting a whole lot more with the increase in the level cap? I am thinking that it just might be what be needed to see a return of WAR/NIN. And the new Magian weapons might add another factor into the equation. I am not sure, but I am holding out hope.<br /><br />4. Subtle Blow III @ 45.<br />Another nice bonus, but I don't think that it is going to be a real consideration for picking a subjob. Less TP given almost always means less damage taken, but that is what we have healers for.<br /><br />Overall, I give the Ninja sub job at least a B+ when it comes to the improvements the sub job is going to get as the level cap increases. It will still have shadows, but it will finally have the offensive potential that is needed to help it even be considered with /SAM. It has at least two different jobs that might be able to greatly benefit from the improvements (THF and WAR) and there are always hidden benefits that we might not even know about right now. I would say the future looks really bright for Ninja as a sub job.

Morning in Vana'diel: Fairy's on Fire.

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! One end of the Augments is FoV, but the other end is even better.

I have to say that I really like the Fey Weapon fights. They are quick, but they are repeatable which makes them a little better than most things that SE cooks up. The base weapons are really cheap to come by and they will get even more cheap and easy to get as people do more and more campaign. The Augments for some items are great and some are mediocre and some of them make me question if there are just a bunch of monkeys programming this game, but in general you can get a pretty powerful combination of stats... after a while.

I have already gone over what I thought about the Rindomaru. I think it is very good if you don't have a Hagun and in some cases it will even beat the Hagun, but for the most part you are going to go with the Hagun in important fights. There are other things like the PLD sword that has neat bonuses like enmity and Magic Defense Bonus. And then there are things like the NIN Katana which doesn't have any of those things.

It is definitely a really random system, and I think that is something that a lot of players are finding more and more obnoxious. The randomness in trying to get the item you want is ok because that is what keeps the event going. But when the augments are random between jobs then it gets to be annoying. Really, in this day, does NIN really need more Subtle Blow when they are trying to tank? Where is the Magic Defense Down for NIN? Where are the stats for the COR weapon? Is there really a combination that will beat Destroyers for MNK?

Do you like the new Fey Weapon system? Is it time that SE get their house in order when it comes to properly itemizing gear? Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

<span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! One end of the Augments is FoV, but the other end is even better.</span><br /><br />I have to say that I really like the Fey Weapon fights. They are quick, but they are repeatable which makes them a little better than most things that SE cooks up. The base weapons are really cheap to come by and they will get even more cheap and easy to get as people do more and more campaign. The Augments for some items are great and some are mediocre and some of them make me question if there are just a bunch of monkeys programming this game, but in general you can get a pretty powerful combination of stats... after a while.<br /><br />I have already gone over what I thought about the Rindomaru. I think it is very good if you don't have a Hagun and in some cases it will even beat the Hagun, but for the most part you are going to go with the Hagun in important fights. There are other things like the PLD sword that has neat bonuses like enmity and Magic Defense Bonus. And then there are things like the NIN Katana which doesn't have any of those things. <br /><br />It is definitely a really random system, and I think that is something that a lot of players are finding more and more obnoxious. The randomness in trying to get the item you want is ok because that is what keeps the event going. But when the augments are random between jobs then it gets to be annoying. Really, in this day, does NIN really need more Subtle Blow when they are trying to tank? Where is the Magic Defense Down for NIN? Where are the stats for the COR weapon? Is there really a combination that will beat Destroyers for MNK? <br /><br />Do you like the new Fey Weapon system? Is it time that SE get their house in order when it comes to properly itemizing gear? Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

Morning in Vana'diel: Is Ninja a Legitimate Tank Again?

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, Ring takes a good look at what whether Yonin can make Ninja a good tank again.

NIN is my neglected friend. I loved NIN for so long, but it gradually had more an more problems and got left behind for other more suitable jobs as our PLDs got stronger and stronger. Before the most recent update NIN was in the same basic place it was since it started moving up the tanking food chain. But it never evolved to keep up with the changes that PLD has experienced. And then came Yonin.

Yonin, as you might already know, is a JA that increases enmity and Ninja Tool Expertise (which is glitched at the moment), while decreasing Accuracy. It also improves Evasion and decreases Enemy Critical Hit Rate when in front of the target (which is really all that matters, because there are only a few mobs where you would care about the Evasion and Enemy Critical Hit when you are behind it). Kaeko's testing shows that the enmity gain is +30 at the start and then degrades to +10 over time. This is a big bonus to enmity for NIN, but it still doesn't get them up to where PLD can get on most gear. An additional nice benefit of Yonin is that it provides a decent amount of hate just from using the JA.

Does Yonin get NIN to where PLD is now? No, it doesn't. NIN still has a myriad of other issues before they get back to where PLD is now. They are missing a good amount of damage mitigation compared to PLD, and sub job selection has a much great effect on damage mitigation vs. hate generation than PLD. NIN/DRK is great at building and maintaining hate, but it is much more dependent on support and has little to protect it when shadows are down. This doesn't matter as much in large groups or with a settled mob, but PLDs are able to do all aspects of tanking from holding to doing damage (and how strange is that?). In a higher damage/damage mitigation situation, NIN falls behind because they have to give up their Katanas, and even if they did not they don't have a WS that is as viable as Atonement for maintaining good WS damage. I will expand on this further in another post on how to fix NIN, but for now I think that Yonin is a great start, but isn't enough to even get NIN back to equal with PLD.

What do you think about NIN tanks? Is Yonin going to encourage you to bring a NIN out of retirement? Do you think NIN even needed a boost? Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/NIN_Yonin.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/NIN_Yonin.png" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 219px; height: 250px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Today, Ring takes a good look at what whether Yonin can make Ninja a good tank again.</span><br /><br />NIN is my neglected friend. I loved NIN for so long, but it gradually had more an more problems and got left behind for other more suitable jobs as our PLDs got stronger and stronger. Before the most recent update NIN was in the same basic place it was since it started moving up the tanking food chain. But it never evolved to keep up with the changes that PLD has experienced. And then came Yonin.<br /><br />Yonin, as you might already know, is a JA that increases enmity and Ninja Tool Expertise (which is glitched at the moment), while decreasing Accuracy. It also improves Evasion and decreases Enemy Critical Hit Rate when in front of the target (which is really all that matters, because there are only a few mobs where you would care about the Evasion and Enemy Critical Hit when you are behind it). Kaeko's testing shows that the enmity gain is +30 at the start and then degrades to +10 over time. This is a big bonus to enmity for NIN, but it still doesn't get them up to where PLD can get on most gear. An additional nice benefit of Yonin is that it provides a decent amount of hate just from using the JA.<br /><br />Does Yonin get NIN to where PLD is now? No, it doesn't. NIN still has a myriad of other issues before they get back to where PLD is now. They are missing a good amount of damage mitigation compared to PLD, and sub job selection has a much great effect on damage mitigation vs. hate generation than PLD. NIN/DRK is great at building and maintaining hate, but it is much more dependent on support and has little to protect it when shadows are down. This doesn't matter as much in large groups or with a settled mob, but PLDs are able to do all aspects of tanking from holding to doing damage (and how strange is that?). In a higher damage/damage mitigation situation, NIN falls behind because they have to give up their Katanas, and even if they did not they don't have a WS that is as viable as Atonement for maintaining good WS damage. I will expand on this further in another post on how to fix NIN, but for now I think that Yonin is a great start, but isn't enough to even get NIN back to equal with PLD.<br /><br />What do you think about NIN tanks? Is Yonin going to encourage you to bring a NIN out of retirement? Do you think NIN even needed a boost? Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

POL News: Yonin Not So Perfect.

SE has put up a Current Known Issues post on the POL website. Yonin's almost 100% Ninja Tool Expertise is noted as not working as intended. Some of the GM comments about this issue were pretty hilarious indicating that there wasn't a problem, there was a problem, and even some so stupid as to suggest to not use Yonin or you will get banned. The standard of quality of your GM may vary during gameplay. LOL Also the additional effect of Catastrophe is not working properly because the additional Drain effect is not functioning. There is also mention that the number of items isn't being displayed for your Mog Safe, Locker and Storage if you are outside your Mog House. Expect another Emergency Maintenance today or tomorrow to get these fixed.

Check after the break for the entire POL message.

As of Jul. 22, 2009, we have confirmed the following issues.
Investigation and recovery work is currently underway. We ask for your patience in this matter until the issues have been resolved.

[Current Known Issues]

- Upon the use of weapon skill "Catastrophe," the additional effect will not exert properly.

- While job ability "Yonin" is in effect, Ninja Tools will not be spent upon the use of Ninjutsu.

- Other than inside the Mog House, the number of items stored in Mog Safe, Mog Locker and Storage will not be displayed.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

SE has put up a Current Known Issues post on the POL website. Yonin's almost 100% <a href="http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Ninja_Tool_Expertise">Ninja Tool Expertise</a> is noted as not working as intended. Some of the GM comments about this issue were pretty hilarious indicating that there wasn't a problem, there was a problem, and even some so stupid as to suggest to not use Yonin or you will get banned. The standard of quality of your GM may vary during gameplay. LOL Also the additional effect of Catastrophe is not working properly because the additional Drain effect is not functioning. There is also mention that the number of items isn't being displayed for your Mog Safe, Locker and Storage if you are outside your Mog House. Expect another Emergency Maintenance today or tomorrow to get these fixed. <br /><br />Check after the break for the entire POL message. <br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><blockquote>As of Jul. 22, 2009, we have confirmed the following issues.<br />Investigation and recovery work is currently underway. We ask for your patience in this matter until the issues have been resolved.<br /><br />[Current Known Issues]<br /><br />- Upon the use of weapon skill "Catastrophe," the additional effect will not exert properly.<br /><br />- While job ability "Yonin" is in effect, Ninja Tools will not be spent upon the use of Ninjutsu.<br /><br />- Other than inside the Mog House, the number of items stored in Mog Safe, Mog Locker and Storage will not be displayed.<br /><br />We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.</blockquote><br /></span>

Grading the July Update.

Initial reactions are never a good grade of how good anything really is, and this update is no exception. Iceblazek went from hating the update as he was downloading it, to absolutely loving it when it appeared that we may have been killing the first Amphiptere on Odin and maybe even the whole game.

After an enjoyable night testing out new mobs and the new Union system even I have to admit I was much more pleased with this update than I thought I was going to be. To evaluate this update though, we need to look at other updates and juxtapose this one with those to get an idea of just how good it is. The last update was on-balance pretty disappointing, in fact, I didn't really remember what was added in the last update, so I had to check. There were some significant additions, but nothing really said "new" like we have had in the past. There were four significant additions in the April Update. 1) The new WHM JA's (and the RDM and SMN additions), 2) ANNM's and Augmented Items, 3) Gobbiebag expansion. There was definitely more and people will love pointing out the things I missed, I am sure.

Compare that to this update and we can see that this update is probably a little better overall. We got two new zones, which is something we really haven't gotten in almost a year and a half. Included in those zones are three new mobs and several potential melee and BLM XP areas. We got new JA's for NIN, which I believe was sorely in need of some kind of improvement to balance them with PLD. Now, I still believe that those improvements don't fix what is really needed for NIN, which is a bit more survivability.

The Union system is definitely interesting and rewards doing Campaign even if you have to be lucky to get those rewards. It definitely spices up Campaign a bit. We got the long awaited Campaign bodies which were about as good as I expected, the tanking body is great but the rest of them are pretty mediocre. Finally, we have a little bit of a surprise in the large number of Wings missions that were added. There are other things that still need to be determined, like the quality of the Fairy weapon quests and if this FoV stuff is even worth it.

Overall, I would have given the last update about a C- and this update was a little better than the last, that being said, and even considering the positive things I have said so far, this update doesn't really have that much going for it either. New zones are nice, but you need to have a reason to be in those zones besides just doing Campaign. New JA's are good too, but why do they share a recast and have diminishing effects? Union is decent, but the rewards are pretty weak and will soon flood the market and crush the cost of all of the items, except for the ancient currency which don't drop very much at all. One of the Campaign bodies is good, the rest are in line with the "mehness" of the other parts of the set.

I am holding out hope for the Fairy weapons, the packs of mobs you have to fight to get the rewards looks pretty difficult. I am thinking it will take more than a party to handle these and it looks like at least some of them resist sleep. The additional effects for these looked pretty good in the preview, but so did the FoV ones and we all know how they turned out.

So far I am giving this update a C+, but I still have my pen out and I am willing to improve the grade if things turn out to be better with the Fairy weapons. This update still has the problems that I had discussed before. It is tiny, it is uninspiring, it is flawed and it feels like there isn't anyone at SE that is motivating the forward momentum of the game right now. I can't wait until this cycle of crappy scenarios is over, but we still have at least one more coming before we get a regular update without all of this fluff. We can only really judge the direction of the game at that point.

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Beau_Distance.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Beau_Distance.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 172px;" /></a>Initial reactions are never a good grade of how good anything really is, and this update is no exception. Iceblazek went from hating the update as he was downloading it, to absolutely loving it when it appeared that we may have been killing the first Amphiptere on Odin and maybe even the whole game. <br /><br />After an enjoyable night testing out new mobs and the new Union system even I have to admit I was much more pleased with this update than I thought I was going to be. To evaluate this update though, we need to look at other updates and juxtapose this one with those to get an idea of just how good it is. The last update was on-balance pretty disappointing, in fact, I didn't really remember what was added in the last update, so I had to check. There were some significant additions, but nothing really said "new" like we have had in the past. There were four significant additions in the April Update. 1) The new WHM JA's (and the RDM and SMN additions), 2) ANNM's and Augmented Items, 3) Gobbiebag expansion. There was definitely more and people will love pointing out the things I missed, I am sure. <br /><br />Compare that to this update and we can see that this update is probably a little better overall. We got two new zones, which is something we really haven't gotten in almost a year and a half. Included in those zones are three new mobs and several potential melee and BLM XP areas. We got new JA's for NIN, which I believe was sorely in need of some kind of improvement to balance them with PLD. Now, I still believe that those improvements don't fix what is really needed for NIN, which is a bit more survivability. <br /><span class="fullpost"><br />The Union system is definitely interesting and rewards doing Campaign even if you have to be lucky to get those rewards. It definitely spices up Campaign a bit. We got the long awaited Campaign bodies which were about as good as I expected, the tanking body is great but the rest of them are pretty mediocre. Finally, we have a little bit of a surprise in the large number of Wings missions that were added. There are other things that still need to be determined, like the quality of the Fairy weapon quests and if this FoV stuff is even worth it. <br /><br />Overall, I would have given the last update about a C- and this update was a little better than the last, that being said, and even considering the positive things I have said so far, this update doesn't really have that much going for it either. New zones are nice, but you need to have a reason to be in those zones besides just doing Campaign. New JA's are good too, but why do they share a recast and have diminishing effects? Union is decent, but the rewards are pretty weak and will soon flood the market and crush the cost of all of the items, except for the ancient currency which don't drop very much at all. One of the Campaign bodies is good, the rest are in line with the "mehness" of the other parts of the set.<br /><br />I am holding out hope for the Fairy weapons, the packs of mobs you have to fight to get the rewards looks pretty difficult. I am thinking it will take more than a party to handle these and it looks like at least some of them resist sleep. The additional effects for these looked pretty good in the preview, but so did the FoV ones and we all know how they turned out.<br /><br />So far I am giving this update a C+, but I still have my pen out and I am willing to improve the grade if things turn out to be better with the Fairy weapons. This update still has the problems that I had discussed before. It is tiny, it is uninspiring, it is flawed and it feels like there isn't anyone at SE that is motivating the forward momentum of the game right now. I can't wait until this cycle of crappy scenarios is over, but we still have at least one more coming before we get a regular update without all of this fluff. We can only really judge the direction of the game at that point.</span>

POL News: What You See Is What You Get.

The Update Notes are out and there really isn't anything more than what they have told us about already.

The Union System is in there, but there are still no details on what it entails and what it means. It looks like you just join an alliance, then join the Union and then lot on the rewards when things drop. This does look like it could be abused a lot though. Will people try to Ninja lot things? Is this supposed to be something you only do with people you trust? Do the items drop from Campaign mobs? Are people to pull and hide mobs all the time? I am guessing they considered all of these factors, and we still have no idea what it is going to look like. Here's hoping it's good, but honestly it sounds convoluted and rife for abuse.


New missions, new quests, new synths, new BLU spells. We don't have any specifics about these except for the fact that the new BLU spells will probably come from the two new mobs that they have added to the new past Northlands areas.

Personally, I think the new "evil Walrus" looks way better than the Gargoyle, but that's just me. The new MMM stuff is in there, and so is the FoV stuff, but there is no mention of these new synths for weapons that you trade with the Fairies. I wouldn't be surprised if that got cut from the update, which I believe will be the first time they had a major announcement about something then cut it from my recollection. The Circle abilities look decent, but if they are still on a 10 minute recast with a 30 second duration then they are still just about as useless as they were before just with better buffs. They even mentioned that the main problem was the duration, but mention notion about changing the duration in the update notes.

The new Ninja JA's are in there, but we already knew everything about it. I think this is probably the only solid known improvement in the entire update.

They will definitely be useful for NIN, but the shared timer on a 5 minute recast can make it even more difficult for NIN that need to switch between DD and tanking quickly. There is also no mentioned of the diminishing effect over time, so hopefully they got rid of that part of it. Also, the Mijin Gakure change is nice, but like so many things that SE does, it should have happened from the beginning if not a long time ago.

Dragoon got a tiny buff to Empathy in that they can now wake up their Wyvern with Spirit Link. Again, should have happened a long time ago. There was mention that the effect of the rage timers for some HNM was changed but in standard SE fashion, they don't tell us how at all.

Finally, they mention that there are some new furnishing from Campaign and the Campaign bodies are now available. A new item called the Pendant Compass was introduced that will give you your coordinates, [i]when you wear it[/i] and it will be used for some event that has nothing to do with the game, like many of the things that SE has been adding lately.

Ok, I am done. This update has nothing new, no surprises, no avatars, nothing interesting. Just like the last update, it just feels like that slapped some things together, tossed in a new JA and called it an update. I, for one, am not pleased at all.

Click here for a full list of the update notes.

<a href="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/4746/4746.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/4746/4746.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 415px; height: 100px;" /></a><br />The Update Notes are out and there really isn't anything more than what they have told us about already. <br /><br />The Union System is in there, but there are still no details on what it entails and what it means. It looks like you just join an alliance, then join the Union and then lot on the rewards when things drop. This does look like it could be abused a lot though. Will people try to Ninja lot things? Is this supposed to be something you only do with people you trust? Do the items drop from Campaign mobs? Are people to pull and hide mobs all the time? I am guessing they considered all of these factors, and we still have no idea what it is going to look like. Here's hoping it's good, but honestly it sounds convoluted and rife for abuse. <br /><a href="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/verup/ff11us/detail/4742/4742_6.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/verup/ff11us/detail/4742/4742_6.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 454px; height: 170px;" /></a><br /><span class="fullpost"><br />New missions, new quests, new synths, new BLU spells. We don't have any specifics about these except for the fact that the new BLU spells will probably come from the two new mobs that they have added to the new past Northlands areas.<br /><a href="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/verup/ff11us/detail/4742/4742_20.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/verup/ff11us/detail/4742/4742_20.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 454px; height: 170px;" /></a><br />Personally, I think the new "evil Walrus" looks way better than the Gargoyle, but that's just me. The new MMM stuff is in there, and so is the FoV stuff, but there is no mention of these new synths for weapons that you trade with the Fairies. I wouldn't be surprised if that got cut from the update, which I believe will be the first time they had a major announcement about something then cut it from my recollection. The Circle abilities look decent, but if they are still on a 10 minute recast with a 30 second duration then they are still just about as useless as they were before just with better buffs. They even mentioned that the main problem was the duration, but mention notion about changing the duration in the update notes.<br /><br />The new Ninja JA's are in there, but we already knew everything about it. I think this is probably the only solid known improvement in the entire update. <br /><a href="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/verup/ff11us/detail/4742/4742_26.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/verup/ff11us/detail/4742/4742_26.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 454px; height: 170px;" /></a><br />They will definitely be useful for NIN, but the shared timer on a 5 minute recast can make it even more difficult for NIN that need to switch between DD and tanking quickly. There is also no mentioned of the diminishing effect over time, so hopefully they got rid of that part of it. Also, the Mijin Gakure change is nice, but like so many things that SE does, it should have happened from the beginning if not a long time ago.<br /><br />Dragoon got a tiny buff to Empathy in that they can now wake up their Wyvern with Spirit Link. Again, should have happened a long time ago. There was mention that the effect of the rage timers for some HNM was changed but in standard SE fashion, they don't tell us how at all.<br /><br />Finally, they mention that there are some new furnishing from Campaign and the Campaign bodies are now available. A new item called the Pendant Compass was introduced that will give you your coordinates, [i]when you wear it[/i] and it will be used for some event that has nothing to do with the game, like many of the things that SE has been adding lately.<br /><br />Ok, I am done. This update has nothing new, no surprises, no avatars, nothing interesting. Just like the last update, it just feels like that slapped some things together, tossed in a new JA and called it an update. I, for one, am not pleased at all.<br /><br />Click <a href="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/verup/ff11us/detail/4742/detail.html">here</a> for a full list of the update notes.</span>

Morning In Vana'diel: A Delicate Balance

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, Ring considers current game imbalance and if there is any chance it can ever be fixed.

PLD's get another buff. Is it a big buff? We don't really know yet, and won't know until the update it look like. But I can tell you this, I had my NIN out the other day and while I can still keep up with hate against a PLD (though it does take a little longer to build and it's harder to get back) I just don't have the survivability of that other tank. I didn't die at all, but I did take more damage, and I required more attention from buffers and healers than our PLD need. And why shouldn't they? We get one more shadow which is nice, except for any shadow-wiping ability which is like any important mob TP move, but PLD get's better gear, better situational gear, better JA, a shield and now with Atonement they can even do damage. NIN can do damage too, somewhat, depending on what you are fighting, and Durado Sushi can help with that, but in the end they aren't going to get the consistent hate of Joyuese and Atonement, and they are going to have to give up a good chunk of damage reduction to do any damage. And they don't even get access to things like this.

NIN isn't the only place that imbalance occurs, but it is one of the best examples. RNG is another that I mentioned yesterday, and even though the two-handers are now pretty close that is because they just do a ton of damage more than anyone else. What happened to MNK? SE has tried to balance back WHM against the abilities of RDM and I believe they have done so rather well, but what about BLM against SCH? What about BST? BLU and COR both have their occasional niches, but should SE build jobs around niches? Or should they think about fixing things that cause these disparities in the first place? There are a couple of places that SE could look to re-balance things.

1. Stop buffing JA's and Magic independently of each other. When you buff a JA or a spell or just about anything in the game, don't just think about how it effects that job, but think about what other jobs need to be buffed to compensate for the new, stronger JA.

2. Rethink the damage for two-hander versus dual-wielders. If you are going to increase the strength of two-handers that is great, but give something to the dual-wielders to let them keep up too. More haste? Equalized stat bonuses?

3. Be ready to admit you made a mistake or have gone too far. This is SE's major problem. They have no idea how to fix things they tried to fix in the past. Although people complain like nothing else when servers go down after updates to fix problems, I much prefer that they do that than leave these broken. Fix problems, fix them fast and get things balanced.

This is definitely not a comprehensive list of ways that SE can re-balance issues in the game, but it is definitely a start. I would prefer they were much less cautious with changes if they were willing to roll them back if they were too much. It took many months for SE to finally fix the RNG nerf, when the problem was obvious from the first day the patch came out.

Is it a sense of entitlement they have? Do they think they really know how to make the players enjoy the game more than the players do? I am not saying they should give the players everything they want, but there is a difference between whining and legitimate criticism. SE just has a problem figuring out the difference.

Do you think PLD is overpowered? What about SAM? Do they need more buffs? Does everyone need more buffs? Is it even possible to balance this game with so many jobs? Do we really even need balance? Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Ninja_Cry.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Ninja_Cry.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 167px; height: 250px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Today, Ring considers current game imbalance and if there is any chance it can ever be fixed.</span><br /><br />PLD's get another buff. Is it a big buff? We don't really know yet, and won't know until the update it look like. But I can tell you this, I had my NIN out the other day and while I can still keep up with hate against a PLD (though it does take a little longer to build and it's harder to get back) I just don't have the survivability of that other tank. I didn't die at all, but I did take more damage, and I required more attention from buffers and healers than our PLD need. And why shouldn't they? We get one more shadow which is nice, except for any shadow-wiping ability which is like any important mob TP move, but PLD get's better gear, better situational gear, better JA, a shield and now with Atonement they can even do damage. NIN can do damage too, somewhat, depending on what you are fighting, and Durado Sushi can help with that, but in the end they aren't going to get the consistent hate of Joyuese and Atonement, and they are going to have to give up a good chunk of damage reduction to do any damage. And they don't even get access to things like <a href="http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Iron_Ram_Lance">this</a>.<br /><br />NIN isn't the only place that imbalance occurs, but it is one of the best examples. RNG is another that I mentioned yesterday, and even though the two-handers are now pretty close that is because they just do a ton of damage more than anyone else. What happened to MNK? SE has tried to balance back WHM against the abilities of RDM and I believe they have done so rather well, but what about BLM against SCH? What about BST? BLU and COR both have their occasional niches, but should SE build jobs around niches? Or should they think about fixing things that cause these disparities in the first place? There are a couple of places that SE could look to re-balance things.<br /><br />1. Stop buffing JA's and Magic independently of each other. When you buff a JA or a spell or just about anything in the game, don't just think about how it effects that job, but think about what other jobs need to be buffed to compensate for the new, stronger JA.<br /><br />2. Rethink the damage for two-hander versus dual-wielders. If you are going to increase the strength of two-handers that is great, but give something to the dual-wielders to let them keep up too. More haste? Equalized stat bonuses? <br /><br />3. Be ready to admit you made a mistake or have gone too far. This is SE's major problem. They have no idea how to fix things they tried to fix in the past. Although people complain like nothing else when servers go down after updates to fix problems, I much prefer that they do that than leave these broken. Fix problems, fix them fast and get things balanced.<br /><br />This is definitely not a comprehensive list of ways that SE can re-balance issues in the game, but it is definitely a start. I would prefer they were much less cautious with changes if they were willing to roll them back if they were too much. It took many months for SE to finally fix the RNG nerf, when the problem was obvious from the first day the patch came out.<br /><br />Is it a sense of entitlement they have? Do they think they really know how to make the players enjoy the game more than the players do? I am not saying they should give the players everything they want, but there is a difference between whining and legitimate criticism. SE just has a problem figuring out the difference.<br /><br />Do you think PLD is overpowered? What about SAM? Do they need more buffs? Does everyone need more buffs? Is it even possible to balance this game with so many jobs? Do we really even need balance? Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

Morning in Vana'diel: One Tank.

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, Ring wonders why it's so hard for SE to balance tanking.

See that guy in the pic? He is just some generic PLD. There are about a million of them in FFXI. They were all AF until they get AF2, they know Provoke, Flash, Cure III and Utsusemi, and that's it. They have some random shield, and probably even have VIT rings. And you know what? They can tank most end-game mobs better than a NIN, and NIN is the only other real choice that would be able to tank most end-game mobs. Sure, other jobs can tank stuff too, but it's usually rather limited or the hate build is far too slow. NIN and PLD are your real end-game tanks, and NIN can't even keep up anymore. You might see a NIN in some places, but they know and the PLD knows that the PLD could do a better job in much worse gear. It's been this way for a while, and I have to wonder why...

These new JA's for NIN are probably going to help it. More instant enmity, less damage taken, more evasion? But are the bonuses enough? Is there anything as good as not being interrupted while casting? What about those JA's that PLD gets? All that enmity gear? NIN hasn't gotten a tanking gear upgrade in years. Why not try and make WAR a viable tank? Give them a damage reducing JA that really works. I don't know, for all the complaints about having only 1 and a half tanks for a game with 20 jobs there really isn't much of a tanking shortage. A lot of times NIN and PLD are waiting in lines to tank stuff.

I have to hope that these new bonuses for NIN do a good job at rebalancing some of the tanking issues. I just think variety, even if not necessarily needed is still a nice thing to have in these situations? Would all those people that leveled PLD like all those people before them leveled NIN even want there to be another tank option? I don't know if SE even really cared that much, they just like to see how people play instead of worrying about balancing all that much. Some balance is nice, but letting us play our own game instead of changing every job every update is also a very nice change of pace from most MMOs.

Are you a generic PLD? Are you an old-school NIN that got pushed out by an AF PLD? Do you think PLD should be able to tank end-game because they get shunned everywhere else? Do you want more tanking jobs or do you think things are fine? Leave us a comment and tell us what you think!

<a href="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Generic_PLD.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/ringthreetheicp/Generic_PLD.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 309px;" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Morning in Vana'diel</span><span style="font-style:italic;"> is your daily dose of FFXI and all things Vana'diel. Give us your thoughts on the interesting topics of the day! Today, Ring wonders why it's so hard for SE to balance tanking.</span><br /><br />See that guy in the pic? He is just some generic PLD. There are about a million of them in FFXI. They were all AF until they get AF2, they know Provoke, Flash, Cure III and Utsusemi, and that's it. They have some random shield, and probably even have VIT rings. And you know what? They can tank most end-game mobs better than a NIN, and NIN is the only other real choice that would be able to tank most end-game mobs. Sure, other jobs can tank stuff too, but it's usually rather limited or the hate build is far too slow. NIN and PLD are your real end-game tanks, and NIN can't even keep up anymore. You might see a NIN in some places, but they know and the PLD knows that the PLD could do a better job in much worse gear. It's been this way for a while, and I have to wonder why... <br /><br />These new JA's for NIN are probably going to help it. More instant enmity, less damage taken, more evasion? But are the bonuses enough? Is there anything as good as not being interrupted while casting? What about those JA's that PLD gets? All that enmity gear? NIN hasn't gotten a tanking gear upgrade in years. Why not try and make WAR a viable tank? Give them a damage reducing JA that really works. I don't know, for all the complaints about having only 1 and a half tanks for a game with 20 jobs there really isn't much of a tanking shortage. A lot of times NIN and PLD are waiting in lines to tank stuff.<br /><br />I have to hope that these new bonuses for NIN do a good job at rebalancing some of the tanking issues. I just think variety, even if not necessarily needed is still a nice thing to have in these situations? Would all those people that leveled PLD like all those people before them leveled NIN even want there to be another tank option? I don't know if SE even really cared that much, they just like to see how people play instead of worrying about balancing all that much. Some balance is nice, but letting us play our own game instead of changing every job every update is also a very nice change of pace from most MMOs.<br /><br />Are you a generic PLD? Are you an old-school NIN that got pushed out by an AF PLD? Do you think PLD should be able to tank end-game because they get shunned everywhere else? Do you want more tanking jobs or do you think things are fine? Leave us a comment and tell us what you think!

POL News: Ninja Booty!

Looks like NIN is the first job to get adjustments for the July Update. There is a lot coming for them too, two new job abilities and a readjustment for Mijin Gakure to make it not suck so much are in the works. Lets take a closer look at what is coming, what SE has said about them and what it might mean for us. Will NIN become viable for more game events again? Can these JA's balance out the strengths of PLD? What are the additional job adjustments and magic they are going to add?

There are two new abilities for NIN and both are going to be 5 minute abilities with 5 minute recasts on the same recast timer. So you will not be able to use Yonin and Innin at the same time and you won't even be able to overwrite one with the other. Once you use one, you are stuck with it for 5 minutes.

The first ability, Yonin, looks like a straight-up tanking ability. For a reduction in accuracy a NIN will gain increased enmity and enhanced "Ninja tool expertise". It also increases evasion and increased crit hit rate while in front of the target. This is kind of a weird balance of bonuses and negatives. The increases enmity is what end-game tanks are going to really like, but I have to question if it was really what they needed. NIN/DRK is able to pretty easily gain hate like a PLD/NIN but they just can't take the hits that a PLD can when shadows are down. Maybe the increased evasion will help, but I highly doubt it. Evasion against end-game mobs just isn't really viable. What NIN really needs is new way to decrease damage. Apparently, that may be what they are getting though, because the other language versions seem to indicate that the bonus for this is actually decreased enemy crit hit rate. Now that is something worth mentioning. There is a positioning component of this and the other JA that I will cover below.

Innin is the second ability, and it quite the opposite of Yonin. It is a NIN "style" DD ability. It decreases enmity and evasion, but in return it increases accuracy, crit hit rate and ninjutsu damage. This is definitely a decent set of bonuses for NIN. The accuracy helps for NIN which has a harder time reaching the highest levels of accuracy not just for TP build but also for Jin, and it also will help out Jin crit hit damage. I am hesitant to give my credibility to the ninjutsu damage, there is not much strength to it on most things once you get to 75.

Positioning seems to be a rather important issue for both of these abilities. For the secondary bonuses to take effect you have to be in front of the target for Yonin and you have to behind for Innin. I can see the logical reason for this to be the case, but the game play issues make it a little more difficult to understand the reasoning for doing this. Often times hate is shared front to back on mobs and this can hurt Yonin's benefits. And even now NIN is still asked to tank in XP parties and that can make things difficult to use Innin where those bonuses would be most appreciated. Even with these positioning issues, the critical bonuses from these JA's will be available from any position.

Many will say that the Mijin Gakure adjustment has been needed for years, and I can't really disagree. The new adjustment will allow the NIN to be at full strength with 50% health when raised after using Mijin Gakure. This will let people use MG as a hate dump, for real damage and even as a decent sacing tool. It's going to make SE have to update the Nagi mythic, but it's probably going to be beneficial for Nagi users anyway.

In the end, like everything else in the game we are going to have to see how this all plays out in game once we can test the strengths of the benefits. The update is still a couple of weeks away and SE has indicated that this is only the beginning of the job and spell additions.

Here are the complete update notes:

A host of job adjustments and additions are in the pipes for the upcoming version update, including formidable new abilities for ninjas. Other jobs, too, are scheduled to benefit from myriad adjustments to magic and abilities. In this, the first part in the job adjustment series of articles, we cast the spotlight on ninjas, Vana'diel's agents of stealth and deception.

New Job Abilities

Accomplished in both offense and defense, the art of ninjutsu has over the years proven to be a favorite among adventurers across the land. Now, with the addition of the following two new abilities, ninjas can further enhance either their efficiency in offense or aptitude in defense as befits the situation.

- Yonin (Lv.40 Ability Delay: 5 min. Duration: 5 min.)
Increases enmity and enhances "ninja tool expertise" effect, but impairs accuracy. Grants a bonus to evasion and critical hit rate when in front of target.

- Innin (Lv.40 Ability Delay: 5 min. Duration: 5 min.)
Reduces enmity and impairs evasion. Grants a bonus to accuracy, critical hit rate, and ninjutsu damage when striking target from behind.

- Yonin
Strengthens one's ability to fend off blows from the enemy.
While in effect, Yonin increases enmity and enhances the effect of "ninja tool expertise" in exchange for reduced accuracy. Further bonuses are granted to evasion and critical hit rate when engaging your target from the front.
The potency of the above effects gradually decreases over time.

- Innin
Strengthens one's ability to deal damage to the enemy.
While in effect, Innin lowers enmity in exchange for reduced evasion. Further bonuses are granted to accuracy, critical hit rate, and ninjutsu damage when striking your target from behind.
As with Yonin, the potency of the above effects gradually decreases over time.

*Notes
The effects of both Yonin and Innin are mutually exclusive. Activating one while the other is in effect will result in the nullification of the one originally in effect.
Yonin and Innin have a shared ability delay. For example, a ninja who uses Yonin must wait for five minutes to elapse before either ability becomes usable again.

In implementing these new abilities, the development team has taken into consideration character positioning during party play and many other factors. To ensure a smooth gaming experience for all, testing and adjustments will be carried out to the fullest extent that time permits.

Mijin Gakure

Up until now, ninjas who were revived after using the job ability "Mijin Gakure" would find themselves alive and standing, but in a weakened state. The July version update will see self-sacrificing ninjas restored to battle-ready fitness with a generous 50% of HP in the tank.

In light of the above changes, the latent effect granted by the ninja mythic weapon will also be adjusted. In place of the effect whereby users of Mijin Gakure are spared being revived in a weakened state, a special new effect will be introduced that will activate after using Mijin Gakure.

Other magic and job abilities scheduled to be on the receiving end of improvements will be introduced in the very near future, so stay tuned!

<a href="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/4666/4666.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/4666/4666.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 415px; height: 100px;" /></a><br />Looks like NIN is the first job to get adjustments for the July Update. There is a lot coming for them too, two new job abilities and a readjustment for Mijin Gakure to make it not suck so much are in the works. Lets take a closer look at what is coming, what SE has said about them and what it might mean for us. Will NIN become viable for more game events again? Can these JA's balance out the strengths of PLD? What are the additional job adjustments and magic they are going to add? <br /><br />There are two new abilities for NIN and both are going to be 5 minute abilities with 5 minute recasts on the same recast timer. So you will not be able to use Yonin and Innin at the same time and you won't even be able to overwrite one with the other. Once you use one, you are stuck with it for 5 minutes. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/4666/4666_5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/4666/4666_5.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 180px;" /></a>The first ability, Yonin, looks like a straight-up tanking ability. For a reduction in accuracy a NIN will gain increased enmity and enhanced "Ninja tool expertise". It also increases evasion and increased crit hit rate while in front of the target. This is kind of a weird balance of bonuses and negatives. The increases enmity is what end-game tanks are going to really like, but I have to question if it was really what they needed. NIN/DRK is able to pretty easily gain hate like a PLD/NIN but they just can't take the hits that a PLD can when shadows are down. Maybe the increased evasion will help, but I highly doubt it. Evasion against end-game mobs just isn't really viable. What NIN really needs is new way to decrease damage. Apparently, that may be what they are getting though, because the other language versions seem to indicate that the bonus for this is actually decreased enemy crit hit rate. Now that is something worth mentioning. There is a positioning component of this and the other JA that I will cover below. <br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><a href="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/4666/4666_7.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/4666/4666_7.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 180px;" /></a>Innin is the second ability, and it quite the opposite of Yonin. It is a NIN "style" DD ability. It decreases enmity and evasion, but in return it increases accuracy, crit hit rate and ninjutsu damage. This is definitely a decent set of bonuses for NIN. The accuracy helps for NIN which has a harder time reaching the highest levels of accuracy not just for TP build but also for Jin, and it also will help out Jin crit hit damage. I am hesitant to give my credibility to the ninjutsu damage, there is not much strength to it on most things once you get to 75.<br /><br />Positioning seems to be a rather important issue for both of these abilities. For the secondary bonuses to take effect you have to be in front of the target for Yonin and you have to behind for Innin. I can see the logical reason for this to be the case, but the game play issues make it a little more difficult to understand the reasoning for doing this. Often times hate is shared front to back on mobs and this can hurt Yonin's benefits. And even now NIN is still asked to tank in XP parties and that can make things difficult to use Innin where those bonuses would be most appreciated. Even with these positioning issues, the critical bonuses from these JA's will be available from any position. <br /><br />Many will say that the Mijin Gakure adjustment has been needed for years, and I can't really disagree. The new adjustment will allow the NIN to be at full strength with 50% health when raised after using Mijin Gakure. This will let people use MG as a hate dump, for real damage and even as a decent sacing tool. It's going to make SE have to update the Nagi mythic, but it's probably going to be beneficial for Nagi users anyway. <br /><br />In the end, like everything else in the game we are going to have to see how this all plays out in game once we can test the strengths of the benefits. The update is still a couple of weeks away and SE has indicated that this is only the beginning of the job and spell additions.<br /><br />Here are the complete update notes:<br /><blockquote>A host of job adjustments and additions are in the pipes for the upcoming version update, including formidable new abilities for ninjas. Other jobs, too, are scheduled to benefit from myriad adjustments to magic and abilities. In this, the first part in the job adjustment series of articles, we cast the spotlight on ninjas, Vana'diel's agents of stealth and deception.<br /><br />New Job Abilities<br /><br />Accomplished in both offense and defense, the art of ninjutsu has over the years proven to be a favorite among adventurers across the land. Now, with the addition of the following two new abilities, ninjas can further enhance either their efficiency in offense or aptitude in defense as befits the situation.<br /><br />- Yonin (Lv.40 Ability Delay: 5 min. Duration: 5 min.)<br />Increases enmity and enhances "ninja tool expertise" effect, but impairs accuracy. Grants a bonus to evasion and critical hit rate when in front of target.<br /><br />- Innin (Lv.40 Ability Delay: 5 min. Duration: 5 min.)<br />Reduces enmity and impairs evasion. Grants a bonus to accuracy, critical hit rate, and ninjutsu damage when striking target from behind.<br /><br />- Yonin<br />Strengthens one's ability to fend off blows from the enemy.<br />While in effect, Yonin increases enmity and enhances the effect of "ninja tool expertise" in exchange for reduced accuracy. Further bonuses are granted to evasion and critical hit rate when engaging your target from the front.<br />The potency of the above effects gradually decreases over time.<br /><br />- Innin<br />Strengthens one's ability to deal damage to the enemy.<br />While in effect, Innin lowers enmity in exchange for reduced evasion. Further bonuses are granted to accuracy, critical hit rate, and ninjutsu damage when striking your target from behind.<br />As with Yonin, the potency of the above effects gradually decreases over time.<br /><br />*Notes<br />The effects of both Yonin and Innin are mutually exclusive. Activating one while the other is in effect will result in the nullification of the one originally in effect.<br />Yonin and Innin have a shared ability delay. For example, a ninja who uses Yonin must wait for five minutes to elapse before either ability becomes usable again.<br /><br />In implementing these new abilities, the development team has taken into consideration character positioning during party play and many other factors. To ensure a smooth gaming experience for all, testing and adjustments will be carried out to the fullest extent that time permits.<br /><br />Mijin Gakure<br /><br />Up until now, ninjas who were revived after using the job ability "Mijin Gakure" would find themselves alive and standing, but in a weakened state. The July version update will see self-sacrificing ninjas restored to battle-ready fitness with a generous 50% of HP in the tank.<br /><br />In light of the above changes, the latent effect granted by the ninja mythic weapon will also be adjusted. In place of the effect whereby users of Mijin Gakure are spared being revived in a weakened state, a special new effect will be introduced that will activate after using Mijin Gakure.<br /><br />Other magic and job abilities scheduled to be on the receiving end of improvements will be introduced in the very near future, so stay tuned!</blockquote><br /></span>

The Math of Sword and Spell: Tanking Multipliers

Every Thursday Araelus is bringing the science to FFXI. 

The Math of Sword and Spell is dedicated not only to the hardcore calculations and statistics of FFXI, but more importantly to helping you use that math without confusing you. You may not know why you are playing better, but rest assured you will be playing better.

This week's edition focuses on how Slow effects are a great boon to tanking, perhaps more than anything else. Also discussed are creative ways to increase Enmity, reduce damage taken, and even use some unusual jobs for tanking, such as Black Mage.

Last week, we discussed some of the ways White Mages and Scholars can benefit the whole party, as well as taking a critical look at Dancer and Summoner (especially in the comment thread). This week we take a break from support jobs and examine the difficult but crucial role of tank. Whether Paladin, Ninja, or something out of the ordinary, tanks are called upon to focus damage from the enemy to a well-defended target: themselves.

In order to preserve some kind of game balance, not everyone takes damage equally well. What should a designated tank focus on in available gear? What might they ask the party to do in assistance, and how can you help a tank stay alive, besides curing? What can those predisposed against tanking do to make up some of the difference when targeted? Should I try to avoid stepping on Izman’s toes in this article?

“Preventing Damage Outright” might as well be the slogan of Utsusemi, and clearly not taking damage is the best way for a tank to keep on going. But how about preventing the attack entirely?

If you remember back to the start of this column, three categories of effects were mentioned which could be described as benefiting everyone in the fight since they helped the tank: stopping enemy actions, slowing enemy actions, and weakening enemy actions.

Paralyze and Jubaku, if they take effect, are outstanding. The issue is that “if” part. A paralyzed enemy will have some percentage of regular melee attacks and spell casts interrupted. The same is true for activation of Killer Effects, particularly Undead Killer for Paladins. The Bash line of abilities has a high success rate, but long recast timers. Stun certainly lives up to its name, and its 45 second cooldown can be reduced, although the spell might be resisted depending on its target. Violent Flourish is yet another stun effect, but on a 20 second timer, reliant on Finishing Moves, with accuracy depending on monster level, the target’s magic resistance, and use of an Etoile Casaque.

When preventing enemy actions, we have to consider how often a spell or ability will function. Shield Bash is fine, once every five minutes. A continually applied Paralyze might stop one attack in ten or it might never process at all. Taken from this perspective, Elegy and other Slow effects are the most effective means of reducing damage dealt to a tank through status effects on the foe.

Reduction in attack speed can be considered a direct reduction in melee damage dealt to the tank, of course excepting TP move physical damage. But the benefits of slowing the opponent go beyond merely reducing incoming damage. More time between attack rounds means safer buffers on Utsusemi recasts, more time for the tank to cast any spell, and a generally lower level of stress all round. Best of all, Slow, or Slow II, or Jubaku: Ichi can be applied in addition to Elegy.

Just as consistently reducing the speed of an enemy’s attacks can be considered damage reduction for the tanks, so can consistently reducing the accuracy of an enemy’s attacks. Blind and Kurayami lower accuracy by a small amount over a long period of time, and Flash dramatically reduces accuracy for a very short time.

As for preventing magic damage, Silence is excellent. However, some foes should be left to cast rather than attack, especially if their pause to cast aids in kiting. Black Puddings on Mount Zhayolm are an excellent example of monsters that are not very dangerous when left to cast, but should not be locked into meleeing by Silence.

Bind should be mentioned, as it potentially prevents all damage to a tank, but that use is very specific based on monster location and fighting strategy. For that matter, Sleep or having the monster attacking someone else prevents all damage to a tank. More likely, Bind could stop an enemy from moving away from the tank during a sudden moment of Enmity imbalance. Since it is negated by damage dealt to the bound target, a better choice for this task might be Gravity. In that case, these spells are preventing damage from being dealt to someone other than the tank.

Damage Reduction is the next best thing after damage prevention. If you can no longer avoid getting hit, get hit for less damage. Combining damage reduction gear (to remove a percentage) and damage reduction spells (to subtract a flat amount) is very effective. Elemental resistance builds have a similar effect against special types of attacks, since a resist means a percentage reduction in damage.

Keep in mind if you can avoid getting hit to begin with, that is always better than taking damage and reducing the damage after the fact. Damage reduction gear should not take away from your use of the proper Haste+ gear, the correct JA enhancing gear, etc. So the issue here is primarily how much gil you can spare to spend on damage reduction gear. If you are taking absurd damage to begin with, to be sure, a percentage reduction can only go so far. But this should not be the case for tanks (if it is, talk to Izman – or someone – for help).

Along those lines, I’m not going to list out all the available damage down gear, or what jobs can use it, except to note that percentage damage reduction caps at 50% and RDM can get a surprising amount of physical damage reduction without a Defending Ring (44%) as can SAM (47%).

This is especially important if you suddenly realize:
Surprise! You’re the Tank!

Under ideal circumstances, Enmity is managed such that only the selected tanks are attacked by your enemy. Under ideal circumstances, AV can be defeated. One of these days I would like to play FFXI under ideal circumstances.

In the meantime, we have to deal with the reality that whoever has the most Enmity will be attacked. If that person is not a tank, “hilarity ensues”. In some situations this is acceptable, say to keep a monster moving between two targets, or perhaps you need to give a PLD who keeps getting interrupted time to cast Cure IV, or there is no tank in particular and every melee has some form of damage mitigation.

In most serious situations, however, anyone other than the tanks being targeted is problematic. When hate gets reset and Long-Bowed Chariot starts taking out the backline, that’s not exactly “everything going according to plan”. Every player should have a protective just-in-case equipment macro, in addition to casters who idle in such gear to begin with. Idling Tarutaru Black Mages shouldn’t load up on Zenith Gear and pretend to be playing Ghosts ’n Goblins.

The first thing to ask is “can you afford to lose TP?” and for most mages this should not be a problem. (BLU is always damaging those mage generalizations.) For melees, though, the answer will depend on current TP values, your hits-to-100TP, and whether you are deciding between zero TP and zero HP.

So long as TP can be reset, your emergency macro should include an Earth Staff. HQ is fine if you already have one, but since Terra’s does not offer any more physical damage reduction,¹ don’t buy the HQ just for this purpose. Unless the name of FFVI’s stalwart heroine makes you feel safer.

The other should-have item for mages (including BLU this time) is a Cheviot Cape, which offers physical damage -5% during the day and -10% at night. The more expensive Umbra Cape is -6% and -12% respectively. In an extreme emergency (which is probable if you are using this gear macro) WHM, BLM, and SMN have latent earrings for use at or under 25% HP which reduce all damage taken. BRD, DRK, and RNG have the same for physical damage only; RDM and SAM for magical damage only.

Don’t neglect a Jelly Ring for free and a Defending Ring for winning Mog Bonanza, although the former is detrimental if you are taking magic damage and will require some time spent in Bostaunieux Oubliette.

--

This week's...

Most Valuable: Elegy wins hands down, and stacks with the Slow effect. Elemental Seal ensures the song landing and Troubadour will increase duration. If you use Soul Voice this is absolutely brutal.

Ignored Ability: Two this week.

The Blue Magic Cocoon increases defense by 50%. A self-only spell, this can raise defense past the display limit of 999. Against swarms of low level or weak-hitting enemies, I’m sure you can find a use for this – if you leveled BLU at all.

The use of Waltzes to transform TP into HP is outrageous for a PLD/DNC, which basically gets HP from being hit, and the main job’s naturally high VIT and CHA boost the HP recovery even more. The Enmity gained from this constant self-curing may allow for its utilization in bizarre situations.

Hazard Symbol: When the tanks die. Don’t die, tanks.

Overworked and Underpaid Job: Popular opinion indicates PLD is the former and NIN is the latter. Taking into account available gear, damage mitigation techniques, and job abilities, both jobs are very powerful and useful, but they’re not necessarily equal. Whether this is a bad thing depends on who you ask.

--

We’ve taken a look at how enemy attacks can be halted entirely, tanks can control damage taken, and even how anyone who comes under fire (or Tiamat’s aerial attacks) can survive. Over the past four weeks we’ve discussed a number of ways for players to multiply their impact on the battlefield. In that time a wide variety of interesting concepts came into play, but not all were discussed in detail.

Why could Dancer benefit from slower attacks? Should you have an algorithm for playing Corsair? What’s the best way to Haste an entire party? How is a meaningful comparison to be made between different Phalanx casters? Do Summoners have a reliable way to increase damage per MP spent? Next week, we'll start to answer some reader concerns and address specific spells and abilities, before moving on to melee-centric topics.

Until then, keep your graphing calculators handy!

Notes:

1. The HQ staff does have 25% more VIT than an Earth Staff, that is, it has VIT+5 instead of VIT+4. But both are "Physical damage taken -20%".

Questions? Concerns? Did I take a logarithm when I should have used the antiderivative? Do you have an idea for a future article? Please leave a comment.

<i>Every Thursday Araelus is bringing the science to FFXI.</i><b> </b><br /> <br /> <b>The Math of Sword and Spell</b><i> is dedicated not only to the hardcore calculations and statistics of FFXI, but more importantly to helping you use that math without confusing you. You may not know why you are playing better, but rest assured you will be playing better.</i><br /> <br /> <i>This week's edition focuses on how Slow effects are a great boon to tanking, perhaps more than anything else. Also discussed are creative ways to increase Enmity, reduce damage taken, and even use some unusual jobs for tanking, such as Black Mage.</i><br /> <br /> Last week, we discussed some of the ways White Mages and Scholars can benefit the whole party, as well as taking a critical look at Dancer and Summoner (especially in the comment thread). This week we take a break from support jobs and examine the difficult but crucial role of tank. Whether Paladin, Ninja, or something out of the ordinary, tanks are called upon to focus damage from the enemy to a well-defended target: themselves.<br /> <br /> In order to preserve some kind of game balance, not everyone takes damage equally well. What should a designated tank focus on in available gear? What might they ask the party to do in assistance, and how can you help a tank stay alive, besides curing? What can those predisposed against tanking do to make up some of the difference when targeted? Should I try to avoid stepping on Izman’s toes in this article?<br /> <br /> <span class="fullpost"><u style="font-weight: bold;">“Preventing Damage Outright”</u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> might as well be the slogan of Utsusemi, and clearly not taking damage is the best way for a tank to keep on going. But h</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">ow about preventing the attack entirely?</span><br /><br />If you remember back to the start of this column, three categories of effects were mentioned which could be described as benefiting everyone in the fight since they helped the tank: stopping enemy actions, slowing enemy actions, and weakening enemy actions.<br /><br /><i>Paralyze</i> and <i>Jubaku</i>, if they take effect, are outstanding. The issue is that “if” part. A paralyzed enemy will have some percentage of regular melee attacks and spell casts interrupted. The same is true for activation of <i>Killer Effects</i>, particularly Undead Killer for Paladins. The <i>Bash</i> line of abilities has a high success rate, but long recast timers. <i>Stun </i>certainly lives up to its name, and its 45 second cooldown can be reduced, although the spell might be resisted depending on its target. <i>Violent</i> <i>Flourish</i> is yet another stun effect, but on a 20 second timer, reliant on Finishing Moves, with accuracy depending on monster level, the target’s magic resistance, and use of an Etoile Casaque.<br /><br />When preventing enemy actions, we have to consider how often a spell or ability will function. Shield Bash is fine, once every five minutes. A continually applied Paralyze might stop one attack in ten or it might never process at all. Taken from this perspective, <i>Elegy</i> and other <i>Slow</i> effects are the most effective means of reducing damage dealt to a tank through status effects on the foe.<br /><br />Reduction in attack speed can be considered a direct reduction in melee damage dealt to the tank, of course excepting TP move physical damage. But the benefits of slowing the opponent go beyond merely reducing incoming damage. More time between attack rounds means safer buffers on Utsusemi recasts, more time for the tank to cast any spell, and a generally lower level of stress all round. Best of all, Slow, or Slow II, or Jubaku: Ichi can be applied in addition to Elegy.<br /><br />Just as consistently reducing the speed of an enemy’s attacks can be considered damage reduction for the tanks, so can consistently reducing the accuracy of an enemy’s attacks. <i>Blind</i> and <i>Kurayami</i> lower accuracy by a small amount over a long period of time, and <i>Flash</i> dramatically reduces accuracy for a very short time.</span><br /> <span class="fullpost"><br />As for preventing magic damage, <i>Silence</i> is excellent. However, some foes should be left to cast rather than attack, especially if their pause to cast aids in kiting. Black Puddings on Mount Zhayolm are an excellent example of monsters that are not very dangerous when left to cast, but should not be locked into meleeing by Silence.<br /><br /><i>Bind </i>should be mentioned, as it potentially prevents all damage to a tank, but that use is very specific based on monster location and fighting strategy. For that matter, <i>Sleep</i> or having the monster attacking someone else prevents all damage to a tank. More likely, Bind could stop an enemy from moving away from the tank during a sudden moment of Enmity imbalance. Since it is negated by damage dealt to the bound target, a better choice for this task might be <i>Gravity. </i>In that case, these spells are preventing damage from being dealt to someone other than the tank.<br /><br /><b><u>Damage Reduction</u> is the next best thing after damage prevention. If you can no longer avoid getting hit, get hit for less damage. Combining damage reduction gear (to remove a percentage) and damage reduction spells (to subtract a flat amount) is very effective. Elemental resistance builds have a similar effect against special types of attacks, since a resist means a percentage reduction in damage.</b><br /><br />Keep in mind if you can avoid getting hit to begin with, that is always better than taking damage and reducing the damage after the fact. Damage reduction gear should not take away from your use of the proper Haste+ gear, the correct JA enhancing gear, etc. So the issue here is primarily how much gil you can spare to spend on damage reduction gear. If you are taking absurd damage to begin with, to be sure, a percentage reduction can only go so far. But this should not be the case for tanks (if it is, talk to Izman – or someone – for help).<br /><br />Along those lines, I’m not going to list out all the available damage down gear, or what jobs can use it, except to note that percentage damage reduction caps at 50% and RDM can get a surprising amount of physical damage reduction <i>without a Defending Ring</i> (44%) as can SAM (47%).<br /><br />This is especially important if you suddenly realize:</span><br /> <span class="fullpost"><b><u>Surprise! You’re the Tank!</u></b><br /><br />Under ideal circumstances, Enmity is managed such that only the selected tanks are attacked by your enemy. Under ideal circumstances, AV can be defeated. One of these days I would like to play FFXI under ideal circumstances.<br /><br />In the meantime, we have to deal with the reality that whoever has the most Enmity will be attacked. If that person is not a tank, </span><span class="fullpost">“</span><span class="fullpost">hilarity ensues</span><span class="fullpost">”</span><span class="fullpost">. In some situations this is acceptable, say to keep a monster moving between two targets, or perhaps you need to give a PLD who keeps getting interrupted time to cast Cure IV, or there is no tank in particular and every melee has some form of damage mitigation.<br /><br />In most serious situations, however, anyone other than the tanks being targeted is problematic. When hate gets reset and Long-Bowed Chariot starts taking out the backline, that’s not exactly “everything going according to plan”. Every player should have a protective just-in-case equipment macro, in addition to casters who idle in such gear to begin with. Idling Tarutaru Black Mages shouldn’t load up on Zenith Gear and pretend to be playing <i>Ghosts ’n Goblins</i>.<br /><br />The first thing to ask is “can you afford to lose TP?” and for most mages this should not be a problem. (BLU is always damaging those mage generalizations.) For melees, though, the answer will depend on current TP values, your hits-to-100TP, and whether you are deciding between zero TP and zero HP.<br /><br />So long as TP can be reset, your emergency macro should include an Earth Staff. HQ is fine if you already have one, but since Terra’s does not offer any more physical damage reduction,¹ don’t buy the HQ just for this purpose. Unless the name of FFVI’s stalwart heroine makes you feel safer.<br /><br />The other should-have item for mages (including BLU this time) is a Cheviot Cape, which offers physical damage -5% during the day and -10% at night. The more expensive Umbra Cape is -6% and -12% respectively. In an extreme emergency (which is probable if you are using this gear macro) WHM, BLM, and SMN have latent earrings for use at or under 25% HP which reduce all damage taken. BRD, DRK, and RNG have the same for physical damage only; RDM and SAM for magical damage only.<br /><br />Don’t neglect a Jelly Ring for free and a Defending Ring for winning Mog Bonanza, although the former is detrimental if you are taking magic damage and will require some time spent in Bostaunieux Oubliette.</span><br /> <span class="fullpost"><br />--<br /><br />This week's...<br /><br /><b>Most Valuable:</b> Elegy wins hands down, and stacks with the Slow effect. Elemental Seal ensures the song landing and Troubadour will increase duration. If you use Soul Voice this is absolutely brutal.<br /><br /><b>Ignored Ability:</b> Two this week.<br /><br />The Blue Magic Cocoon increases defense by 50%. A self-only spell, this can raise defense past the display limit of 999. Against swarms of low level or weak-hitting enemies, I’m sure you can find a use for this – if you leveled BLU at all.<br /><br />The use of Waltzes to transform TP into HP is outrageous for a PLD/DNC, which basically gets HP from being hit, and the main job’s naturally high VIT and CHA boost the HP recovery even more. The Enmity gained from this constant self-curing may allow for its utilization in bizarre situations.<br /><br /><b>Hazard Symbol: </b>When the tanks die. Don’t die, tanks.<br /><br /><b>Overworked and Underpaid Job:</b> Popular opinion indicates PLD is the former and NIN is the latter. Taking into account available gear, damage mitigation techniques, and job abilities, both jobs are very powerful and useful, but they’re not necessarily equal. Whether this is a bad thing depends on who you ask.<br /><br />--<br /><br />We’ve taken a look at how enemy attacks can be halted entirely, tanks can control damage taken, and even how anyone who comes under fire (or Tiamat’s aerial attacks) can survive. Over the past four weeks we’ve discussed a number of ways for players to multiply their impact on the battlefield. In that time a wide variety of interesting concepts came into play, but not all were discussed in detail.<br /><br />Why could Dancer benefit from slower attacks? Should you have an algorithm for playing Corsair? What’s the best way to Haste an entire party? How is a meaningful comparison to be made between different Phalanx casters? Do Summoners have a reliable way to increase damage per MP spent? Next week, we'll start to answer some reader concerns and address specific spells and abilities, before moving on to melee-centric topics.<br /><br />Until then, keep your graphing calculators handy!<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 78%;">Notes:<br /><br />1. The HQ staff does have 25% more VIT than an Earth Staff, that is, it has VIT+5 instead of VIT+4. But both are "Physical damage taken -20%".</span><br /><br />Questions? Concerns? Did I take a logarithm when I should have used the antiderivative? Do you have an idea for a future article? Please leave a comment.</span>