Well whatever. FFXI is weird about that, you set that game resolution and the texture resolution seperately, so I couldn’t tell you offhand. I hardly think that’s a biting criticism in any case, though.
Hey extarbags, could you describe how the three new jobs play? I’ve tried reading some summaries around the internet, but can’t find anything clear and concise. Is the corsair basically a support class like BRD or RDM? Can any of the new classes fill the healer slot? How does a puppetmaster differ functionally from a beastmaster? And how is blue magic handled? The summaries talked about physical blue magic vs “magical blue magic.” Do blue mages use mana or TP, or is there a separate source for blue magic?
All blue magic is under the same class of abilities. it is interesting because it takes mana to use the abilities, but the strength of the abilities is based on how much TP you have, so most blue’s that I’ve seen didn’t use their weaponskills much, if at all. It’s definitely a really strong class, with a lot of viability in may roles. Most I have seen be DD, but we got one to get some heavier armor, sub /war and tank for us and it kicked ass, between his defensive abilities and my buffs (red mage w/ protect 3/shell2 and refresh so he could spam abilities for holding hate).
COR is primarily a support class like BRD, but they can do some surprisingly decent damage. Their buffs are a little more interesting and offbeat than BRD’s. For example, my favorite is Fighter’s Roll, which increases Double Attack rate, as opposed to being simple Haste or Attack Up. COR does get a version of Refresh, but imo they’re best used in heavy-melee parties chaining VT’s, both because more melees = more utility from Fighter’s Roll, and because their most famous buff, Corsair’s Roll, provides a flat experience bonus, and is therefore more beneficial on weaker, faster mobs.
Can any of the new classes fill the healer slot?
Not really, no. BLU can in a pinch if they’re subbing WHM, but it’s all from the sub, the same way a BLM can main heal if they really have to.
How does a puppetmaster differ functionally from a beastmaster?
PUP is very different from BST. It’s actually more similar to DRG; the automaton is called via a job ability, and isn’t based on an item like a jug pet, and you certainly don’t charm any mobs. But it’s also the opposite of DRG; with DRG, the wyvern is sort of a supplement to you, whereas for PUP, the automaton is the main attraction, and your punching is sort of a bonus. Also, PUP has had a hard time finding a role so far. It needs some work.
And how is blue magic handled? The summaries talked about physical blue magic vs “magical blue magic.” Do blue mages use mana or TP, or is there a separate source for blue magic?
Ok! Physical Blue Magic is magic that deals physical damage. It uses MP, not TP, but TP is taken into account when determining either critical chance or accuracy or damage; different things depending on which spell it is. However, the difference that TP makes is not really noticeable unless you’re using Chain Affinity, a level 40 job ability that increases TP’s influence on your next physical spell, as well as allowing it to begin or continue a skillchain. Physical spells also rely on your STR and ATT stats, and most stack with Sneak Attack and Trick Attack. Magical Blue Magic spells are just like any other spells.
BLU is cool because there are really a bunch of different ways you can play it. You can tank, or DD, but as a DD you can melee and self-skillchain and self-burst, you can melee and spam physical spells, you can sit back and nuke with magical spells… it’s really neat. It’s also a lot of fun to go hunting for your new spells, even though you’ll need higher-level help for some of them.
Thanks for the info extarbags. Having played both FFXI and WoW into the mid-50s, I have to give credit to FFXI for the diversity and uniqueness of its classes. WoW doesn’t really have any counterparts to BRDs, Summoners, Samurai, or Ninjas, and it sounds like the three new classes are different too. If only MMOs didn’t take so much time…
The other neat thing about BLU is that the spells aren’t really progressive, for the most part, as opposed to BLM where it’s, for instance, Fire, Fire II, Fire III, and so on, so you have room to play around and try out different spells, and you can actually be quite effective even with spells that most people don’t really use.
I’d been levelling SMN as a subjob to WHM, with a view to taking SMN to 75 after I got there with WHM. But after playing around with BLU a little, and watching a BLU 57 in action, I may be changing plans. The job is so awesomely powerful that I fear S-E will crown it with the nerf bat… perhaps I should level it now, before that happens. :)
Well, I can tell you that it’s not as powerful as it appears from the outside. There are a lot of misconceptions about how jawsome BLU is, but when you parse the log like I do, the damage isn’t really mind-blowing. For instance, I’m usually in line with or behind the other dd’s in the party as BLU, whereas as DRG, I almost always blow everyone away.
BLU/THF, like anything/THF, does put up some really impressive single numbers, but that one giant hit doesn’t necessarily mean they’re doing a ton of damage across the whole fight. The real power of BLU is in its flexibility.
However, I am starting to feel like my WAR sub is gimping me a little bit. Want to level my THF to 37 for me, Lee?
I think the real reason there are no US servers is that there are exactly two people here talking about the game.
OK three if you count that idiot Hrose.
Ah, but have you tried DRG/BLU? It seems like it might be a viable alternative to DRG/WHM–perhaps even superior, given the variety of available BLU abilities.
As for levelling THF… {Thanks, but I’ll have to pass.} Getting it to 15 was bad enough. ;) Besides, I still need to get BLM to 37. I usually sub WHM/SMN; whenever I sub /BLM, I go /anon because seeing WHM 74/BLM 31 in a search is just too embarrassing. :P
Ha! Actually, I started levelling BLU for that exact reason. The biggest problem I’ve had with DRG/BLU so far is that BLU is so fun that I haven’t actually gotten around to even trying to solo as DRG since I got the expansion. In fact, I’ve been in one party as DRG since taking up BLU, and I was pretty excited to just get back to BLU. e_E
But yeah, at 56, I did switch to BLU sub, and Cocoon gave me like 106 defense. That + sanction refresh + lesser colibris being weak to piercing = DRG solo awesomeness.
Edit: in fact, hell with this, I’m going to go do this right now. If I don’t get an invite for BLU on the way, of course :).
Well, there are still a lot more than three people playing it. I suppose it’s not fashionable to talk about a game that is (a) more than three years old, and (b) not World of Warcraft.
So… what’s the reason for the three-letter class abbreviation convention? Is that how it shows up in the game’s character screen or is it one of those whacky things a game community creates on its own?
That’s how it shows up in the game when you search for players. It’s necessary because of the whole subjob thing, because, say, “Beastmaster/White Mage” takes up a bit too much room in the window, and the abbreviations make for nice, even columns.
I suppose it’s not fashionable to talk about a game that is (a) more than three years old, and (b) not World of Warcraft.
Also, Qt3 isn’t really representative of gamers as a whole.