Letter from the Producer LIVE Part X (11/11/2013)

[Carth]

People who don't use Cleric's Stance for SCH should stop playing the job.

According to Mr. Happy's vid, AK gear is getting lowered to ilvl55.

[Kincard]

I didn't even imply they should remove Cleric's Stance for SCH, in fact I was trying to make a case for them adding more cross-class variety (they have this weird design thing where they're trying to restrict jobs to only pulling from two classes and it's kind of an arbitrary restriction). I was just saying that they're oddly inconsistent with what you can can't use on cross-class skills so they shouldn't limit it to just letting you pull from 2 other classes on a job if they're going to just toggle it on and off on individual skills like that.

Really it'd be cool if we could even slot certain Traits. Give a Bard or Black Mage the option to slot both Raise and Enhanced Raise at the cost of two of those slots? Iunno, it just seems a lot more fun to me to have choices like that.

[Ratatapa]

People who don't use Cleric's Stance for SCH should stop playing the job.

According to Mr. Happy's vid, AK gear is getting lowered to ilvl55.

So wait AK gear will now be on par with AF?

[Ratatapa]

I didn't even imply they should remove Cleric's Stance for SCH, I was just saying that they're oddly inconsistent with what you can can't use on cross-class skills so they shouldn't limit it to just letting you pull from 2 other classes on a job if they're going to just toggle it on and off on individual skills like that.

I find it consistant with all the nukes that ACN is getting

[Kincard]

I find it consistant with all the nukes that ACN is getting

Not entirely sure what you mean by this but actually that ACN can't use Cleric's Stance and SCH can is what I was referring to. It's obvious the allowed SCH to use it because they considered that SCH was designed to be a healing class while ACN technically isn't designed to be one, so they give out cross-class for jobs based on what they think is actually useful for you, even if it's an ability that they apparently didn't want people to cross class on classes. I'm just saying they should do this with all the jobs instead of the weird "pull from 2 classes" thing. Granted this will make it more annoying if you end up needing lv 30 skills from like 4 different classes but I'll take the variety, personally.

You know you want Aetherial Manipulation on your PLD so you can randomly do it right before Mountain Buster

Nerfing bard in any way that doesn't add cast time to it's attacks or root it in place for 2-3 seconds when using certain attacks will be really stupid. A DPS nerf will be incredibly dumb, especially with the 10% melee buff we have coming.

I just saw this. Bard's currently my only 50 and while I won't speak for others, I most definately prefer a DPS nerf to a mobility nerf if I had to take one of them. I'd prefer neither since Bard's already the weakest DPS numbers-wise, but meh, whatever, bads are gonna bad.

[Trocian]

So wait AK gear will now be on par with AF?

It will be on par with WP. AF is 45/50.

[Seravi Edalborez]

Not entirely sure what you mean by this but actually that ACN can't use Cleric's Stance and SCH can is what I was referring to. It's obvious the allowed SCH to use it because they considered that SCH was designed to be a healing class while ACN technically isn't designed to be one, so they give out cross-class for jobs based on what they think is actually useful for you, even if it's an ability that they apparently didn't want people to cross class on classes.

We will probably see this cherrypicking of extra abilities done for 2nd jobs. The reason only SCH gets Cleric is, well, it's actively detrimental on ACN/SMN. I don't know if people realize but ACN actually has one of the lowest base MND ratings despite having its own healing spell. It's just masked by most mage gear up to 40ish having both MND and INT.

base stats @50, Plainsfolk Lalafell:
Arcanist
Summoner
Scholar
STR 169, DEX 193, VIT 189, INT 225, MND 151, PIE 203
STR 179, DEX 204, VIT 200, INT 245, MND 161, PIE 213
STR 179, DEX 204, VIT 200, INT 225, MND 232, PIE 243

Of course, it's also dumb that say Ruin is cross-class when nobody would ever use it. As with some other things like Skull Sunder and Savage Blade.

[Raldo]

It will be on par with WP. AF is 50/55.

Fixed.

[Ksandra]

You know, anyone know what the current gap is between the mog wand and spruce shield (melded) compared to whm relic/relic +1?

We obviously don't know the stat changes, but I am wondering just how close it is to see if maybe that combo is going to end up being as good as relic (probably not relic +1). I was actually kinda pissed the relics for whm/blm were 2H, rendering end shields worthless.

[Seravi Edalborez]

Expect mogwand and shield together to be same MND/VIT etc (possibly 1 less even with HQ shield) as NQ relic when both are i80, different(?) secondaries. MDMG on 1h and 2h mage weapons is the same.

i90 it'll still be Relic+1, Allagan (lol), or the new Extreme i90 as clear winners

[Ksandra]

hope that means I can sell some shields.

[Kincard]

As with some other things like Skull Sunder and Savage Blade.

speak for yourself

skull sender is an excellent trolling crossclass move especially if you're low level, its a wonderful gift from squareenix

[Andradi]

You know, anyone know what the current gap is between the mog wand and spruce shield (melded) compared to whm relic/relic +1?

We obviously don't know the stat changes, but I am wondering just how close it is to see if maybe that combo is going to end up being as good as relic (probably not relic +1). I was actually kinda pissed the relics for whm/blm were 2H, rendering end shields worthless.

The current gap is the same as any other level 70 weapon and a level 80 weapon. Single-hand weapon and shield split stats, heavily weighted towards the weapon. When the Wand becomes 80 they'll be basically comparable, although melds on the shield are capped very low. Compared to Curtana (the only other reference for a 1H level 80 weapon) VIT will probably be equal, and MND might as well.

It's kind of pointless, though. To make the shield needs 18 tome items so you might as well just make the relic unless you're swimming in money.

[Ksandra]

It's kind of pointless, though. To make the shield needs 18 tome items so you might as well just make the relic unless you're swimming in money.

I basically have the relic, (lazy on getting phil tomes since I never play whm) I just wanna profit off the shields!

[Spider-Dan]

We will probably see this cherrypicking of extra abilities done for 2nd jobs. The reason only SCH gets Cleric is, well, it's actively detrimental on ACN/SMN.

No, the reason why ACN and THM (not SMN, who can't crossclass from CNJ anyway) are arbitrarily prevented from using Cleric Stance is because people might actually try it.

ACN and THM can wear a lot of the +MND gear that SCH has access to. With Cleric Stance's +10% nuke potency, they could potentially cast decent nukes in CS and decent heals out of CS (something approaching a RDM). THM could use CS prior to beta4 and that was removed for retail.

It's really stupid because the only benefit of otherwise-completely-inferior classes is that you have more crossclass customization, yet this game has put in these strange and unnecessary roadblocks just to make sure that people don't try anything that might be useful.

[Ratatapa]

No, the reason why ACN and THM (not SMN, who can't crossclass from CNJ anyway) are arbitrarily prevented from using Cleric Stance is because people might actually try it.

ACN and THM can wear a lot of the +MND gear that SCH has access to. With Cleric Stance's +10% nuke potency, they could potentially cast decent nukes in CS and decent heals out of CS (something approaching a RDM). THM could use CS prior to beta4 and that was removed for retail.

It's really stupid because the only benefit of otherwise-completely-inferior classes is that you have more crossclass customization, yet this game has put in these strange and unnecessary roadblocks just to make sure that people don't try anything that might be useful.

Find me all the MND gear that you could use as THM and ACN GO

[Lucavi]

To me it sucks because, and of course I'm no full-time ACN/SCH/SMN, but they give you a pretty iconic pet, and then you're just supposed to never use it again post-30. Why? Something just doesn't seem right about that.

[Seravi Edalborez]

ACN might be one of the only cases where the class competes with the job but it requires Allagan book (when comparing to relic/+1).

DPS MRD is also viable depending on who you ask.

With i80 moogle weapons on the horizon, might be viable after 2.1 even.

[Spider-Dan]

Find me all the MND gear that you could use as THM and ACN GO

Offhand, all i90 jewelry + militia/strategos/warlock

[Kincard]

Part of me thinks they wanted to drop the whole class/job thing, or at the very least if they wanted to make classes useful they obviously ran out of time to develop stuff for it. No class quests past 30 (so not even important enough to have more lore I guess), very few armor choices, weird restrictions like no Cleric's Stance etc.

Archer's another one where I think it could potentially outdo BRD but only if they added more DPS cooldowns to cross-class. You don't lose a whole lot DPS ability-wise when taking the job stone off unless you are trying to kill armies of trash.