One of the biggest weaknesses of FFXIV, in my opinion, is open-world combat. This also affects FATEs and, to some extent, dungeon trash packs.
With Evolved Jobs coming in 8.0, I think job design should not be the only thing that evolves. Enemy design should evolve as well.
Right now, most enemies are visually different, but mechanically they often behave very similarly. The solution is usually the same: gather them together and AoE them down.
What if enemies were built around a class system?
Instead of designing every enemy from scratch, enemies could belong to archetypes that act as reusable templates. Each archetype would have a clear role, strengths, weaknesses, and behaviors.
For example:
Assassin
Prioritizes vulnerable targets.
Uses mobility and disruptive attacks.
Lower durability.
Guardian
Protects nearby allies.
Harder to kill.
Lower offensive pressure.
Support
Buffs, shields, or assists allies.
Dangerous if ignored.
Limited direct damage.
Berserker
Becomes more threatening over time.
High damage output.
Less defensive tools.
Caster
Relies on spells, debuffs, and ranged pressure.
Vulnerable when interrupted or pressured.
Hunter
Uses traps, ranged attacks, or battlefield control.
Keeps distance from players.
Less effective when engaged directly.
The important part is that these are templates, not identical enemies.
For example, a Goblin Assassin might throw bombs, while a Lizard Assassin might apply poison. They share the same role but express it differently.
Some people may immediately say:
"Wouldn't everyone just focus the healer/support enemy first?"
Maybe.
But would you also ignore the Assassin that is actively poisoning or targeting vulnerable party members?
Once enemies have recognizable roles, target priority becomes a situational decision rather than an automatic one.
More importantly, this could give value to many underused mechanics that already exist in the game.
Crowd control, interrupts, binds, heavy effects, cleanses, debuffs, and utility actions could all become more relevant depending on the enemy composition.
For example:
Interrupting a dangerous Caster.
Slowing a Berserker before it reaches the group.
Cleansing a poison applied by an Assassin.
Separating enemies protected by a Guardian.
Using crowd control on a Hunter controlling the battlefield.
The goal is not to make normal content harder.
The goal is to make enemies feel like they have identities, and to make players think about what they are fighting rather than simply treating every enemy as another AoE target.
Continue reading...
With Evolved Jobs coming in 8.0, I think job design should not be the only thing that evolves. Enemy design should evolve as well.
Right now, most enemies are visually different, but mechanically they often behave very similarly. The solution is usually the same: gather them together and AoE them down.
What if enemies were built around a class system?
Instead of designing every enemy from scratch, enemies could belong to archetypes that act as reusable templates. Each archetype would have a clear role, strengths, weaknesses, and behaviors.
For example:
Assassin
Prioritizes vulnerable targets.
Uses mobility and disruptive attacks.
Lower durability.
Guardian
Protects nearby allies.
Harder to kill.
Lower offensive pressure.
Support
Buffs, shields, or assists allies.
Dangerous if ignored.
Limited direct damage.
Berserker
Becomes more threatening over time.
High damage output.
Less defensive tools.
Caster
Relies on spells, debuffs, and ranged pressure.
Vulnerable when interrupted or pressured.
Hunter
Uses traps, ranged attacks, or battlefield control.
Keeps distance from players.
Less effective when engaged directly.
The important part is that these are templates, not identical enemies.
For example, a Goblin Assassin might throw bombs, while a Lizard Assassin might apply poison. They share the same role but express it differently.
Some people may immediately say:
"Wouldn't everyone just focus the healer/support enemy first?"
Maybe.
But would you also ignore the Assassin that is actively poisoning or targeting vulnerable party members?
Once enemies have recognizable roles, target priority becomes a situational decision rather than an automatic one.
More importantly, this could give value to many underused mechanics that already exist in the game.
Crowd control, interrupts, binds, heavy effects, cleanses, debuffs, and utility actions could all become more relevant depending on the enemy composition.
For example:
Interrupting a dangerous Caster.
Slowing a Berserker before it reaches the group.
Cleansing a poison applied by an Assassin.
Separating enemies protected by a Guardian.
Using crowd control on a Hunter controlling the battlefield.
The goal is not to make normal content harder.
The goal is to make enemies feel like they have identities, and to make players think about what they are fighting rather than simply treating every enemy as another AoE target.
Continue reading...