I've very much appreciated most of the changes Shadowbringers brought to the table for casting classes; BLM received changes to Freeze that finally give it a use, an extension on the duration of AF/UI, a way to finally spend the remainder of your mana when attacking single targets, and a single-target foul as an instant; SMN became busy enough that I don't honestly think I can play it optimally, but also received new things to do during the normal rotation and a new summon that chains off of demi-Bahamut.
RDM, on the other hand, feels a little....lackluster in comparison, considering. Aside from aoe versions of aero and thunder to throw in for large pulls, very little about this class feels noticeably different from its original kit in Stormblood. The mana build-up still feels slow on aoe pulls without anything to do once it's full but spam moulinet, reprise sort of acts as a filler attack if you're worried you might cap mana without getting to proc verfire or verstone, engagement feels like a punishment for not having the spacing to use displacement, and the only big change to its regular single-target rotation when everything is properly lined up is an additional finisher tacked on to the end of verholy/verflare that I more than occasionally forget to use as muscle memory takes me back to the verfire/verstone proc that just popped to start the rotation again.
I'm not sure if I'm alone in this; it was honestly a little demoralizing to look at my upcoming skills from 70 onward and realize that I wouldn't really be playing the class any differently than I was in Stormblood until the very end, and that it'd only add an extra attack to the chain, at that. Anyone else feel the same way?
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RDM, on the other hand, feels a little....lackluster in comparison, considering. Aside from aoe versions of aero and thunder to throw in for large pulls, very little about this class feels noticeably different from its original kit in Stormblood. The mana build-up still feels slow on aoe pulls without anything to do once it's full but spam moulinet, reprise sort of acts as a filler attack if you're worried you might cap mana without getting to proc verfire or verstone, engagement feels like a punishment for not having the spacing to use displacement, and the only big change to its regular single-target rotation when everything is properly lined up is an additional finisher tacked on to the end of verholy/verflare that I more than occasionally forget to use as muscle memory takes me back to the verfire/verstone proc that just popped to start the rotation again.
I'm not sure if I'm alone in this; it was honestly a little demoralizing to look at my upcoming skills from 70 onward and realize that I wouldn't really be playing the class any differently than I was in Stormblood until the very end, and that it'd only add an extra attack to the chain, at that. Anyone else feel the same way?
Continue reading...