Level 14 combat is always going to be less tactical than that of higher levels due to lower skill requirements and less abilities, especially on a melee whose primary purpose is dps. Still, every class has a variety of different types of abilities which have to be thoughtfully executed throughout combat.
Well i did not like the answer i heard in that stream about soloing. I honestly do not want to keep pointing at FFXI but seems devs are still NOT able to think outside the big bubble. Almost no game in existence was as group oriented as FFXI,yet guess what,you could solo via mostly the Beastmaster class.They state it will still be possible to solo but extremely difficult.
Where they miss the boat is in what i call the obvious scenarios. Example you play with the same core group of friends ,everyday a sort of static group.Ok one day for whatever reason and likely MANY days,some of those friends cannot make it.Or you might just want to jump in and play for an hour and not wanting to screw over a PUG leaving barely after just getting started.
Another OFTEN dilemma i have come across is doing some content that is NOT fun repeating.So instead oaf asking the core group or guild to help every new player do that exact same content over and over you would simply help them attain a solo class such as a beastmaster and let them do that content themselves.
You create the GROUPING aspect by ONLY offering xp via killing stuff.Obviously with more buffs and debuffs that a group can offer,it would be way more efficient.As well speed chaining could offer bonuses again leaning towards grouping.The option to solo should always be there.
It is also supported via a sub class system.This is because sure you can do some odd content solo via that solo class but if there are 16 classes and only one can solo you are still going to play 99% of your game in a group.Another very obvious scenario is FARMING,do you really want to enforce groups for farming?
my last comment is on a topic i love and see a couple others talked about."ELEMENTS"this most certainly should be in the game and done like some have mentioned with Fire weakening water or certain elements causing aoe's etc etc,this would really make me happy because i love depth in combat and not those silly fake looking red carpets and red circles i see games using.
As someone who never played EQ, I also reflect back on my FFXI experience whenever I think of group-centric gameplay. (EQOA for raiding due to uncapped raids!) XP Chains were an amazing feature in that game and are something I brought up on the official Pantheon forum. Unfortunately, a lot of folks assume that they are some sort of handholding mechanic that speeds up the leveling process. In reality, the leveling speed was relative and I feel that XP chains were a phenomenal tool to incentivize group play while also serving as a major deterrent to multi-boxing.
I would love to hear your take on what kind of value you feel they brought to the table. My understanding is that they "most likely" won't be in Pantheon but the overwhelming majority of former FFXI players that I have spoken with broadly agree that they were a critical aspect of combat in that game. The "pace" of combat felt slow, but XP chains added an action element that broke up monotony, required strategy, and rewarded coordination. If you could provide a couple of examples on how this feature impacted your gameplay, I would greatly appreciate it!
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As someone who never played EQ, I also reflect back on my FFXI experience whenever I think of group-centric gameplay. (EQOA for raiding due to uncapped raids!) XP Chains were an amazing feature in that game and are something I brought up on the official Pantheon forum. Unfortunately, a lot of folks assume that they are some sort of handholding mechanic that speeds up the leveling process. In reality, the leveling speed was relative and I feel that XP chains were a phenomenal tool to incentivize group play while also serving as a major deterrent to multi-boxing.
I would love to hear your take on what kind of value you feel they brought to the table. My understanding is that they "most likely" won't be in Pantheon but the overwhelming majority of former FFXI players that I have spoken with broadly agree that they were a critical aspect of combat in that game. The "pace" of combat felt slow, but XP chains added an action element that broke up monotony, required strategy, and rewarded coordination. If you could provide a couple of examples on how this feature impacted your gameplay, I would greatly appreciate it!