Therin wrote:
Talulah wrote:
Also, somebody else hinted at it, but if somebody would care to explain how the game skewed into TP burn vs SC->MB...? Because if it was specific to the mobs local to ToAU, adjustments can always be made. If it was universal to the level range associated with ToAU exp parties, then doesn't it just hold true everywhere?
Thank you for your time!
In my understanding of the game, it was more to do with players becoming better geared and understanding game mechanics. There wasn't a single update or content addition which made TP burn viable, but the fact that players started to learn what they needed to do, what gear they needed to use, and how to optimize for it. SC and MB was always viable for some mobs on retail (Nidhogg, for example) but TP burning became an option when we started over-powering the content.
For example, once sushi became available and Haste gear like the Byakko's Haidate and Walahra Turban became commonplace, we were hitting faster and more accurately than before. We didn't have to wear Optical Hats and such to hit enemies. People started understanding how to utilize BRDs (and CORs once they became available), and BRD swaps, to maximize buff up-time and also min-maxing WS gear. Melee was always viable on retail but when everyone was a fresh 75 still using non-optimal weapons, scorpion harnesses (rather than Haub+1 and E.Body), AF gear and Life Belts (instead of Dusk +1, Velocious Belts and Walahra Turbans) and meat mithkabobs instead of Sole Sushi or Marinara Pizza, it was sub-par compared to using SC+MB.
This is mostly correct, except we were TP burning exp before COP and we didn't need to overpower mobs or use sushi to do it. Players certainly knew how to utilize bards before they left Elshimo, let alone came to expect haubergeons from heavy DDs, and they were integral to what was probably the best exp in the game at the time: BRD/WHM fishing for a pack of monks on KRT skeletons. Players weren't idiots before TOAU hit, and weapon skill testing was definitely in full swing within months of the game being in NA hands. Everyone immediately knew what sushi was going to do for melee when they saw it, but it wasn't the total game changer you're selling it as (remember: Snatch Morsel exists). TP burning did not "become viable" in TOAU, the rising average gear level coupled with easily accessible camp options lowered the barrier to entry and made it a much more viable option for more of the player base. Add in plentiful burn targets pre-75 and it quickly became the way to go from mid 50s onward.
The increased avenues for acquiring gear is the real reason TOAU is remembered as the MB killer expansion - not the gear itself, the existence of colibri, or more food. Yeah, reflecting magic was a tiny part of it, but mamools, trolls, and imps all existed too and they never saw major magic burst action. Being able to set your own schedule for the new content rather than have to fit your linkshell around HNM pop times meant the best abjurations were now attainable for many more players, and ZNM drops were respectable alternatives too. The new blue mage also seemed custom-tailored to crush Limbus, which coupled with the job's popularity meant groups that had troubles with it before could now cruise to Omega pops. This was also the second at-level cap expansion for the game, so long time players going at slower paces were overall catching up in gear at the same time and TOAU brought several more ways to do so. Someone earlier mentioned ebody/ridill in meripos, which was a common sight once the expansion hit its stride, but was comparatively rare to see before then.
The disparity between the way mage and melee power increases with gear is the reason MB fell so heavily out of favor. Mr. Blurple can probably eat meat on mamools and crush it, but cleansing a dalmatica doesn't suddenly grant MP regeneration that's close to keeping up with the newly increased average output from melees, and all that HMP gear means little when on-decking mobs is the standard. For meriting purposes, it's infinitely cheaper on mp to keep a group of melee supported than to convert that mp to damage, and longevity-wise it's not even a competition. It's been this way since the game's inception, the difference just became much more pronounced with higher average gear levels. Look at Misareaux parties on Nasomi, even a group of scorpion harness wearing samurais, dragoons, and warriors using AH spears are going to have a better time out there than a group setting up a skillchain for a couple black mages.
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