Quote:That being said, I'm sure that the possibility to be an absolutely amazing caster is present in the game. Whether or not "class veterans" have the skill and determination to bring out the potential is up to them.
On the other hand; if no one wants to play a caster/healer, it'll make me all the happier because I fully intend to and the less of us there are the more valuable we become ;P
When I read that part of the interview, the first thing that came to mind was: Guess it's time to roll a caster. The second thing that came to mind was: Or just level cooking and make a fortune on juices!
To me, it seems that they have made the game unbalanced in the other direction. I've only played casters in the beta solo, never in groups, so I can't say what it would be like in a party, but solo I only ran out of mana a couple of times and those were mainly due to me not paying attention. I honestly don't think the mana situation is as bad as they make it out to be.
However, mana is much less important for non-casters. Even if my gladiator runs out of mana and can't perform Red Lotus, I still have a few other weapon skills that would work just as well. If a group is tethered to a mage's ability to regain MP, I can see this as being an issue in the long run for the fact that it is going to put a lot of pressure on the mages in the group.
A healer will always be welcome, and I'm sure even moreso than in XI, they will be worshipped. But what about damage dealing mages? If a party finds them to be too inconvenient due to the mana loss, they will most likely opt for a melee job for the group slot instead.
All of this is of course based on the premise that XIV players are going to be as douchey as the majority of the playerbase in XI, but I think it's still a valid concern. I'm curious to hear from people who have played caster classes in group settings in XIV for a good length of time, their opinions on this subject.
http://www.tale-ffxiv.com
The Adventure League of Eorzea: A progression & RP guild. FFXIV's longest-running RPLS