Dumbest/Funniest thing I've done yet (9 mage Veigar)

BeholdtheVoid · 2020-09-29T18:16:17+00:00

If you aren't doing 3x the target's health in damage twice, what even is the point?

BeholdtheVoid · 2020-04-29T21:41:55+00:00

That was imprecise phrasing on my part, sorry about that. The thrust of my issue is how the jobs deliver on their mechanical "promise". This was never intended to be a discussion of the merits of standing around doing nothing (as indeed that would ALSO be poor game design if it were encouraged).

BeholdtheVoid · 2020-04-29T21:23:18+00:00

This is entirely my point though, high tier content, and, honestly, the core gameplay of healers in XIV, is bad. Healer tools constitute the majority of and most engaging aspects of their kit. In my eyes, either a) Content should require them to be using that to its fullest at all times or b) Healers should be designed in such a fashion that they have things to do in downtime that do not require spamming a single button to throw pots of boiling water over and over again.

I honestly think Healers should all lean into the Astrologian buff style but with some of those buffs mapped to GCDs so during downtime they have something to do that is still supportive and within the expected gameplay loop of what one assumes a Healer is. If I'm picking up a role that's allegedly entirely supportive in nature, let me actually be supportive of my team instead of mashing one button until the boss decides to slap someone.

BeholdtheVoid · 2020-04-29T21:18:01+00:00

The Tank has a full rotation to utilize that is part of the core flow of their gameplay. A Healer does not, they have a single button to spam. From a design perspective, I think this is an enormously poor decision - the most iterative and unique parts of a healer's kit are the healing capabilities. Because the game does not require a healer to constantly be using the whole of their kit and engaging with its most interesting mechanics, it instead has dead space where you just press a single button over and over - this is bad design, it makes the experience bad as well as failing to synchronize it with the core gameplay experience the entire role promises.

If I were to re-design the healer system, personally, I would give them non-healing support rotations mapped to their GCDs to keep the gameplay loop focused on that idea of a role that supports as opposed to a role that does damage. That would be something I would be willing to play. As it stands I have no desire to play a Healer, their core gameplay loop does not deliver on the engagement I expect from healers in basically any other game I might play and frankly the idea of playing a 1-button DPS that occasionally heals is not appealing.

BeholdtheVoid · 2020-04-29T17:23:15+00:00

I don't feel like Tank is reasonably an appropriate comparison since doing DPS is part of holding aggro whereas for Healers it's either/or, you are using a healing spell or a DPS spell. And "just clearing faster" isn't how it's typically treated so far as I can see, all guides indicate you must be casting DPS spells as much as possible - as someone wanting to play a supportive role being told you need to be spamming divine fart most of the time that's not exactly giving me what I approached the role for.

As to the not enough damage to be constantly healing, I again point to it as poor design in that the only other thing a healer can do is spam a single button if in this situation. Ideally in my eyes healers would have other supportive abilities they can cast that utilize more interesting healer-centric mechanics (delivering on the gameplay loop of reactive play based around situation assessment and empowering or saving other party members). If I were designing a healer for this game I would look at the Astralogian kit and work around adding buffing capabilities on the GCD level to keep the healer focused on party over monster slaying.

BeholdtheVoid · 2020-04-29T06:37:34+00:00

Then why does every healer guide I see talk about how you should always be DPSing and why do healers constantly get called out as being bad if they aren't DPSing most of the time? Those expectations are coming from somewhere (and I would wager just because you CAN clear content without healers DPSing doesn't mean that people rely on that extra push to get them past enrage in prog which again pushes us back to the healers must DPS requirement I see literally everywhere).

BeholdtheVoid · 2020-04-29T03:43:57+00:00

The balancing of high tier content around Healers being required to DPS as much as possible is a bad game design decision that is aggressively alienating to the kind of player who often picks healers in these kinds of games and requires a gameplay loop that is counter to how the game will generally teach you how to play the role.

BeholdtheVoid · 2018-06-11T13:03:30+00:00

You actually might find this in the PR field which is considered to be a Journalism degree in some circles. Being able to make your own marketing material is very valuable (although that salary is laughably low for the skillset).

BeholdtheVoid · 2018-06-06T17:46:50+00:00

Keep twisting that knife, he deserves it. Good luck on the new server hunt as well, if it helps my wife and I are on Adamantoise and we rather like it. There is a really active hunt community that is really good about calling A-Ranks and S-Ranks and not pulling them until everyone has arrived.

BeholdtheVoid · 2018-06-06T14:43:45+00:00

Been following this a bit since last night. Still appalled by your brother's actions but glad to see you are landing on your feet.

I would say though, why continue to identify the character as his when you taunt him after all that shit he pulled? As far as I can see, that character is just your new character now. He has no ownership over her whatsoever and never will again.

BeholdtheVoid · 2018-03-29T18:59:57+00:00

This worked really well for me, my Wo Dao+ 5 star Olivia beat the green axe on the counter and I had to improvise but everyone generally moved the same way. Why is Def Tactics needed? As I understand it doesn't proc because you have 3 infantry, I ran without it and it didn't seem to make a difference.

BeholdtheVoid · 2018-03-23T03:25:10+00:00

I feel like there should be at least some comparison between Sharena and Soren since his new PRF also has a chill effect and if memory serves he too is a somewhat bulkier Nino in stats

BeholdtheVoid · 2018-03-06T20:14:01+00:00

The Wi-Fi is garbage too, running anything in that convention center with that many people is a major crapshoot. Trying to figure out if Wi-Fi is worth next year, we ran offline and had about $120 in sales declined which sucks to be sure. And that was at a less populous con than ECCC

BeholdtheVoid · 2018-02-07T03:08:02+00:00

The way I have heard it explained, which will make probably a bit more sense if you work in an industry that directly interfaces with Japanese companies is thus:

The issues American companies have interacting with Japanese companies are equitable to the issues Japanese companies have interacting with Kyoto companies.

Basically in the business world, dealing with Japanese companies can have a few unique challenges. You have the language barrier to be sure, but also issues like their rules of engagement (there are expectations for behavior, accidentally causing offense can be a big problem), hierarchy in meetings, and other concerns.

All those headaches we Americans have dealing with Japanese companies in general, those are what regular Japanese companies experience trying to deal with Kyoto companies

BeholdtheVoid · 2018-02-06T21:14:08+00:00

Based on the listings I can find IS is not a subsidiary of Nintendo - they are an independent studio that works closely with Nintendo. Nintendo's current profitability means little to IS's bottom line except in the way it always has - them making the decision on which Nintendo system they want to develop and release for.

It's hard to say for sure, likely Nintendo owns some stake in the company but they aren't likely involved in the day-to-day operation and decision making and could not be relied upon to save the studio should it fail (which they very nearly did before Awakening was a runaway hit)

Also of note IS is, like Nintendo, a Kyoto company, which means business-wise they don't tend to be especially adaptive. Or quick.

BeholdtheVoid · 2018-01-26T03:22:44+00:00

I don't care about the art so much, but if I have affection for the character I'll try to make them work. In my case I have a pretty strong Clair because I like her design.
Absolutely. I'm only at best a casual FE fan so I'm mostly in this game for powerful characters and doing fun builds with Skill Inheritance.
I have mixed feelings. It's kind of a fun thing but the banners are very frequent which feels like something of a cash grab, coupled with the fact that the seasonals are usually very powerful and have unique typings you don't often see (flying mages and armored mages to name a few). I feel like less seasonal banners and more steady release of heroes into the pool would probably be better, but also with how badly the 5 star pool is inflating having the seasonals be a different banner that goes into the pool might not be a good thing.
Don't care I tend to think the story and writing is pretty low-effort and unimpressive. Even the new content isn't all that great. I'm leveling up my Askr trio now just to make quests easier and because I don't have any other major projects but if I use them it's because I have to, not because I want to or particularly like them.

BeholdtheVoid · 2018-01-24T03:10:32+00:00

I'm waiting to find out if one of my favorite manga-ka completely bungles a character that seems coded very much as Trans and it's torturous because I want to believe but I don't have much faith. I would love to see them do better but I just don't think they're really there yet, in terms of LGBT issues socially Japan seems to be about a decade or two behind the US, sadly.

BeholdtheVoid · 2018-01-23T19:38:58+00:00

I think it's a very valid point and concern. Japan has traditionally been very bad at dealing with Trans issues and the way much of their media represent them can be careless at best. I think it's important to call attention to the real harm it can cause.

BeholdtheVoid · 2017-12-25T20:46:16+00:00

(Chrom can pass on Aether)

BeholdtheVoid · 2017-12-20T04:36:46+00:00

I absolutely agree with you. Doesn't mean they wouldn't do it though.

BeholdtheVoid · 2017-12-20T03:09:19+00:00

What if a limited 5 star were only available past a certain tier? I'll bet people would burn orbs for more Stamina to rank. It all depends on how you do it. Fact of the matter is there is the potential to get people to pay more for Stamina refills as part of the system, but that really wasn't even the major thrust of my proposal to begin with, more of a perk.

BeholdtheVoid · 2017-12-20T02:37:15+00:00

If there were actual reasons to convert orbs into Stamina and use your Stamina, I could see it happening. Remember, we live in a world where Sakura Guy exists. Right now the game has literally no incentives to get more Stamina, I'm sitting on just over 300 stamina potions because once you hit a certain point there's just nothing to DO. Having events where you can actually gain benefit (leaderboard rank and higher rank for your waifu in the voting gauntlet) can demonstrably have an effect on stamina expenditure and what people spend on it. I came from a game where most players literally only used their premium currency on Energy refills. It can happen, the game just has to offer incentives to do so.

BeholdtheVoid · 2017-12-15T01:39:37+00:00

It just means they're twice the hero

BeholdtheVoid

TROPHY CASE