Another update with plenty of whining and moaning about which jobs *didn't* get an uber upgrade. Boo-hoo. Wah-waaaah.
People, Red Mage isn't going to replace Paladin as an expert in damage mitigation and enmity control ... ever. Nor is Scholar going to "replace" Red Mage as a master of Enfeebling Magic ... ever. Disappointed that Thief didn't get insane melee buffs? Oh, I guess you missed the part where Thief isn't a real melee damage-dealer ... it's only been that way forever.
The only thing that will really "die" in this update is DRK subjob for mages, since Stun becomes available to BLM @ level 45. Another potentially-overlooked subjob feature is that NIN subjob will be able to cast Kurayami: Ni (lvl 44). Kurayami: Ni is (currently) the only Ninja spell that triggers yellow !! Abyssea weakness that can not be used by NIN sj.
Also, should we be shocked that WAR got a fairly nice new JA? No, we shouldn't. All the other 2-hand melee classes will now have the ability to use Aggressor (WAR lvl 45) with WAR sj. Only fair that WAR main-job gets a little boost, right?
As a "career" BLM, I admit to being jealous/peeved about Scholar receiving native Stoneskin/Blink, but to be honest, S-E probably should have given those spells to SCH from the beginning. It remains to be seen if Light Arts will be required to access Stoneskin/Blink for SCH. Elemental Celerity and Enmity Douse look promising, and we all know BLMs have been pining for Blizzard V!
I'm a little disappointed that Store TP V isn't making an appearance for SAM, but it still may happen en route to lvl 99.
The only job/group that probably was legitimately treated unfairly in this update is Dark Knight. They'll just have to take solace in Aggressor @ lvl 90, and/or maybe actually learn how to use Sekkanoki (last update) with SAM sj. And don't forget
this, and
this, and we've yet to see DRK AF3 hands stats.
And who doesn't love the idea of a "TH" shot for Ranger?
Also, COR/RNG can soon look forward to Velocity Shot (RNG lvl 45), which could be very useful.
Can't wait to see if MNK subjob becomes more viable (Subtle Blow III and Counterstance are MNK lvl 45), especially in Abyssea when combined with Atmas of the Gnarled Horn and Strangling Wind.
Overall, awesome-looking update.
