No Class Adjustments for 2.2Follow

So the full patch notes for 2.2 are out, and I didn't see anything about class/job adjustments. Just out of curiosity, I was wondering what everyone else thinks about the current class balance of the game. Are there any changes you'd like to see made to any of the classes/jobs?

Personally, I feel like the game is pretty balanced, but there are a few things I'd like to see tweaked.

White Mage - Currently WHM is the only mage that really has MP issues. So I'd either like to see the MP refresh from Shroud of Saints buffed or the cool-down lowered. It would also be nice to have the enmity reduction and refresh elements of Shroud of Saints split into separate abilities. (Or you could up SCH's MP costs to even things out, but nerfs are no fun)

Dragoon - A reduction in cool-down for Spineshatter Dive. Just because having gap closers available more often is nice. Maybe reduce the timer from 90 seconds to 60 seconds.

Monk - Remove the minimum distance requirement for Shoulder Tackle (making it a viable close range stun), and make Steel Peak a silence instead of a stun (giving Monk an off GCD silence). Remove the silence from Arm of the Destroyer and increase its potency slightly for better AoE damage.

Black Mage - I'd like to see all of the Thunder abilities reworked so that they aren't all the same. Leave Thunder I as it is, a simple DoT. Maybe change Thunder II to be a light AoE (something like Miasma II) so that it's in line with the other tier II spells. Maybe give Thunder III an additional effect when it's used with Thundercloud -- something like strength -5% for 15 seconds for example.

I agree, SoS could use a bit of tweaking, but I've found that if I remember to pop it earlier in the battle than I need it, I can sometimes keep my MP under control until the end. It's like Red Mage's refresh was in XI - you pop it every three minutes whether you actually need it right now or not.

I'd like it to be separated from the hate management part of it. After a Medica II is not always the ideal time to pop SoS but sometimes I'll do it just to keep myself from getting smooshed.

I can't dig it up quickly but I'm sure I read somewhere that they weren't planning to make class adjustments in 2.3. Anyone else have the source?

For black mage - I want flare to have a longer cooldown, and give me back my instant mana from casing Blizzard III out of Astral Fire III. Having to cast thunder II and Scathe to fill the gap until my mana comes back is annoying.

I think the jobs are pretty balanced, none of the content requires any stacking of any jobs to beat it so to me that's pretty balanced.

Something has to have MP issues or Mage's Ballad is not so useful. Right now the two jobs, brd/whm, have a certain synergy.

IMO, the game is balanced quite well.
- Parties prefer the sch/whm combo rather than two of either.
- Drg and mnk get a slight dps edge to make up for having to dodge more often.
- War has a ton of damage and Hp to make up for not having as many damage mitigation tools as pld.
- Pld/war combo is preferred generally speaking.
- Blms get to see high numbers, and ultimately parse on par with bards for single target activities.
- Blm not being able to cast while dodging is a slight disadvantage, but blm remain the top source of burst AoE damage.
- And summoner is a a skill based class that can be very very effective when DoTs are applied correctly, not to mention a huge edge in solo activities, and the only dps job to have access to raise in battle.

Not a single job is being cold-shouldered at endgame. That's my take on it. I'd be surprised if they can maintain that level of balance when the level cap increases.

Edited, Mar 26th 2014 7:14pm by Gnu

As a WHM the only time I have MP issues is when other players are doing something wrong. Frequent SoS use, Cure 1s, Freecure Cure 2s, Divine Sealed Regens & Medicas, whole party Cure 3s, Benediction, Hi-Elixirs... all of these help keep MP reserves at good levels unless things get really ugly. Shouldn't we expect healer MP to run out if party members are taking way too much damage?

Every end game content, the mob is capable of dropping the tank hp from full to low, and killing the tank next hit. whm only have 1 chance of handling it thru benediction.
Benediction needs to be @ 1min recast, so that whm can handle the WTF moment better, currently sch have 3 lustrate per min, while whm have 1 benediction per 5min, making sch way easier to handle the WTF moment.

on top of that, i think Regen needs to be on non-gcd, there r way too many times, when u cast a Regen on the tank (while high on hp), then suddenly BOOM, mob does an ability, tank hp drops low, there is nothing much u can do, but wait for the Regen gcd (~2sec), then hit yr Cure2 (another 2sec). Worst case app 4sec wait....WTF.

Agreed. While nothing is ever perfect and there are plenty of things I could nitpick, overall class balance is really good right now.

The main purpose of these are the shield, actually. So while the base recovery is **** compared to actual cure formula, the shield is double of what you heal, hence why SCH's focus on crit rate.

Shield is only double the heal when you crit but yes, I'm in agreement that adloquiem is a very nice spell for tank healing. I do think succor needs a slight buff, though. What I'd actually like to see is a sort of aoe lustrate that uses aether flow charges. That way you could keep your low potency aoe with shield and have a heavy aoe heal for burst but have to manage it with your charges.

I agree with this 100 percent...