Armchair Game Designer

There was, for a very short time, people who were interested in seeing new abjurations. Being that abjurations were a very clear and indicative sign as to who was an endgame player, this is understandable. It was the definitive endgame loot, and it came from sky and kings. Considering how empty sea is, and how potentially empty ToAU was (and still kind of is because ZNMs still suck), players clamored for something familiar and decent to satiate their palates.

Then Square Enix added Einherjar and Odin, added two new extremely abysmal abjuration sets, and suddenly everybody stopped asking for them.

There are twenty jobs in this game now, and only a highly disproportionate handful can actually use certain sets. Puppeteer, Dancer, Scholar can’t even use abjuration sets, and many are only forced onto the Crimson Scale set for sheer simplicity sake. I don’t understand why this is. I think it’s very easy to come up with abjuration sets.

I don’t only criticize, you know, I think I can do it better, too! Yes, like most everyone who plays this game, I’m sure that my opinions are the best. Anyway…

The first and most obvious to me (now, anyway) is a ranged abjuration set. A set that gives things like R.Attack/R.Accuracy/STR/AGI, and could offer enhancements to Snapshot, Rapid Shot, Recycle, and so forth. There’s only one R.Attack/R.Accuracy abjuration I know of (Crimson Finger Gauntlets), so it eludes me as to why there isn’t something like this. Abjurations are big on tradeoffs too, and the obvious tradeoff to me seems to have melee accuracy/attack penalties on it. I figure something like this could be used by RNG/COR/SAM/THF/NIN – jobs who have grades in archery or marksmanship.

Why isn’t there a tanking abjuration set that goes beyond koenig? +HP, +Enmity, -physical damage taken, -magic damage taken, +evasion skill, +shield skill, +haste, and equippable by WAR/PLD/NIN. Tradeoff could also be penalties to accuracy/attack, -STR and -DEX, and even +weapon delay if Square Enix felt like being mean.

How about a healing/support-type abjuration set? For those classes who’s job it is to cast cure and heal people. I’m thinking WHM/RDM/SMN/SCH/BRD/DNC. +MP, +MND, +CHR, -cure casting time, -waltz recast time, -song casting time, +cure/waltz potency, -Blood Pact:Ward Ability Delay, +drain samba potency and duration, enhances Blink/Stoneskin/Phalanx effects, refresh body piece. I thought about adding a Enhances Haste/Hastega/Haste Samba effect, but I weighed it against its feasibility, plus it would make the players rabid at those who didn’t have this set, so I axed it. Penalties could include -HP and +damage taken.

I always thought the pet classes got gypped, but I suppose the hardest part would be coming up with some set of standards for a class that varies wildly in their pets, in this case, DRG/PUP/BST/SMN. You’d probably be cramming a lot of class-specific traits onto assorted pieces of gear, but why not have this armor set be usable, with a 1/1 (constantly reusable) effect? Like “Casts Cure IV on pet” or “Matches Food Effects onto Pet” or something? Refresh body piece since a lot of those jobs get away with subbing a mage SJ (except maybe PUP). I don’t know. I admit I’m not too familiar with the pet jobs to know what would be the most useful to them, especially to standardize it and not make it too eclectic.

I’ve more or less hit every job so far except DRK/BLM/MNK/BLU. All DD jobs, so I thought focusing on their burst-damage strengths. +STR, +INT, +MP, weaponskill and spell accuracy and damage. Body piece would contain a flat out +10% damage dealt. It would make all the math people’s heads spin. Penalties could include +enmity and +damage taken.

So yeah. I don’t know, but I more or less created five new abjuration sets. I don’t know how feasible or realistic any of them would be, and it requires some imagination (DRK and MNK wearing the same piece of gear? My god!), but the whole point of said exercise is to point out how ridiculously uncreative Square-Enix has been lately and how uneager they are to try to mix it up. Playing it safe, especially for how the game is in its twilight years, is ridiculously uninteresting.