subjobs - curse or blessing?

S

Sculli

Guest
Everyone's favorite is back; discussion about subjobs!

Alright, the game matured some and you guys may have changed your view on some things.

What are subjobs really? Aren't they just another way to keep you playing longer, forcing you to redo content you have done already over and over? Or are they a way to refresh the game, make you enjoy playing it from a different perspective?
 
I like subjobs because, when you're a thief ninja is real useful, if you're farming and your thief isn't a high enough level, you could sub it for Treasure Hunter. Also, if you need warp you have a blackmage subjob. I wonder what would be a suitable subjob for Blue mage. As mentioned, tank jobs would have a difficult time holding hate because, Paladins and Ninjas need Warrior subjob for "Provoke" and without that, hate would bounce off easily. Warrior would probably be a primary source for tanking then because of Provoke and they are damage dealers, so they can deal a lot of damage to hold hate.
 
I love subjobs in that they add a bit of customization to jobs. You can flavor the primary job. Alot of people go cookie cutter with em(myself included), but much like racial choices, it makes it more indepth
 
I don't think a lack of subjobs would hurt all jobs, but the tanks would have a very difficult time. All tanks use warrior sub for provoke and without it, I think many would have a very difficult time if not impossible time tanking. Mind you, the first real ability a paladin gets is shield bash and its a 10 minute recast. That would mean their only way of holding hate at low levels is by curing and a WHM constantly cures and would build more hate faster. This forces the PLD to become a DD at low levels while a warrior tanks, at which point the roles would reverse at later levels because of the PLD's obvious lack of attack and a warrior's defensive short-comings. I don't think other jobs would have as much as a problem.

Besides the tank jobs, the subjob for all others are only meant to bolster their already clear job roles. They do not rely as heavily upon a certain ability or spell to make their job possible. All melee jobs do not require the subjob to melee although they will lose attack and str among other stats without them. A WHM really only loses MP since black mage spells are rarely used in parties. A BLM has no source of cure. RDM loses some spells and abilities, but can still functional properly and since they are only job besides PLD and WHM with cure, their role as back-up curer is cemented. Bards are nice and still can do everything they did before but without cure spells. The last job remaining is BST and a BST is a solo job that relies on the subjob to speed up experience. This does not kill the job but at 10hp/tic, its a very slow way to play.
 
They are nice for convienience more than anything, especially BLM 17 subjob. But yeah some jobs would be pretty gimped without them, and without /nin most jobs soloing ability would be greatly reduced.
 
FFXI wouldn't be FFXI without subjobs, they're what adds so much flexibility to the game. Yes, some people will say that you'll only get invites as xxx job combo, but that's not a problem if you make your own parties. Of course, there are some combos that simply don't work, type /? seacomup for an example. RDM/BST... >_<

*coughs* Anyway, without subjobs, there wouldn't be any real difference between FFXI and the many, many other MMORPGs out there, besides maybe that FFXI doesn't make you start a new character for every new job you wanna try. Without subjobs, jobs like PLD would have to be completely remade so that they could hold hate at any level, instead of just 37+, and even then rather unsteady. NIN would have an even harder time getting and keeping hate. No subjobs means that BLM in your party can only stand there and watch as the tank goes down and other party members start losing health. DRG would lose a significant portion of their job's solo ability without access to their wyvern's Healing Breath. And other jobs which Lavi already covered.
 
Well, When I started playing FFXI it was definately NOT because of the subjob. Hell, I haven't beaten but one FF Game -ever-. And that was FF3 on the SNES (I don't care what it was in Japan, Druw = American)

I joined FFXI because it was based on PvE, not PvP, which I pretty much don't enjoy. I've done ballista once, and never went back. No big thrill or enjoyment there for me.

So I got into the game, and learned about Subjobs. I remember dreaming up these really shitty subjob combinations when I first learned about them. You know, awesome things like DRG/BST and having two Pets. lol. I find it amusing I thought of such..

Subjobs really do add to the game. They can make things interesting, they allow for customization, and can often completely change the role of a character in a party. While I like to believe thinking outside of the box is good, I remember seeing someone say something that made alot of sense: Cookie cutters are that way for a reason, they're good.

Subjobs allow you to do many a variety of things. I'll use DRG as an example.

I can sub /SAM and gain TP Faster, and almost always have TP before the other individual does. I would get Meditate, and be ready to SC almost at a moments notice. WHich is pretty attractive, if I don't care about my DMG, or I needed the TP Boost. AttacK Wyvern

I can sub /WAR and use Berserk. I get a nice power up ability that allows me to hit harder. I get Warcry later on and that helps as well. Not to mention Double Attack can help with TP when it goes off, which really isn't at that bad a rate.Attack Wyvern

I can sub /DRK and get Last Resort, Souleater, and a lil MP to use for healing breath in case of an emergency, while doing the Damage breath as well. It creates a Dual wyvern. Hell, If I a RDM is good enough to toss a random refresh my way inbetween fights, I could Poison pull.

/BLM means I could toss out some Elemental Enfeebles. I could put spikes up, if I so randomly choose, incase I do pull hate for some reason. I could cast poison in am emergency and heal the tank with the power of a Cure III, for like, 5 MP. Course he'd have to be at 33% Health (50% with AF Helm)

/WHM I could toss out buffs, a quick Divine Seal Curaga when the WHM needs to rest. I could put Stoneskin or Blink on if I was the target of an SATA. WHich would prevent DMG long enough for me to hit Super Jump. Or I could tank for a meesly few seconds, until the PLD got Voke back. I could also use healing breath on the tank as with BLM.

/RDM WHM & BLM kinda slimped together I suppose. I get Fast Cast, and spells that are basically instant, and for 6 MP. Barstone, Barero etc.

So Subjobs are a blessing. Hell, they're my bread and butter and define alot of my role in a party. Without them, I'd be massively gimped.
 
I love sobjobs. A subjob is not just something that can enhance the role of your main, it can also completely redifine it. As an example, a Ninja, with subjob Warrior, will almost exclusively be a tank. However, if you change your sub to Black mage, it will be an excelent DD job (in case you don't know, Magic Attack + will increase the damage your elemental ninjutsu do). And for RDM, your main role in a party will be greatly effected by the sub you use.

Personally, I wouldn't really say that your performance is greatly effected by the stats a sub give you, but it does add up indeed. In this game, the small things matters. An extra STR might not be directly noticable, but in the long run it is. Saving 10 sec a day might not be noticable, but after a year you've saved almost hour, and after 24 years you've saved almost a whole day (ok, not a very good example, but you get my point <.<;).

Personally, I don't chose a job only by the statboost you get, but also by the abilities and/or magic you get out of it. I would also say that a subjob is almost as important as your main job, since your sub job shows others what kind of role you would have in a party, and a a bad or underlvled subjob shows people how much you care about your main job and role in a party.

But that's just me <.<;
 
I like having a subjob. It helps lvl another job sometimes. When I got smn and was lvlling whm the first 10 lvls, it really helped me lvl whm quickly to fight alongside with an avatar. Other good job combos are good too, or even subbing whm with a job just to help you heal.

I don't believe it's a curse, other than being annoying to go back and start through the same process again, but all in all it's fun.
 
I believe it is a little of both. They do enhance your main job's abillities but I beleive SE made that way so you would spent more time with the game keeping the the sub lvled and that would mean more $$$ for SE. It's sorta win-win here.
 
I obviously love subjobs (see sig below). I really like the idea of bein' versatile for my party/alliance during exp, missions, quests, yada yada. The thing I don't like lately is leveling them. Too many bad players out there these days. I really really hope that improves soon.
 
I think they are a blessing, as a WHM and as a SAM my subjobs are very important to me, they greatly enhance the way I play my job. The extra stats, jas, and spell really come in handy.
 
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