April 2019 Version Update

Keys my friend, keys

Because you can access the special dial with keys in fifteen seconds, back to back

way to go SE. So many easy options to do with the RNG "update" that would have caused true QoL improvements as well as overall improvement to the job. Once again proving the great disconnect between those who play the game and those who create the game.

And bows still suck.

yes you can turn in Accolades for keys.

Oh they work for that? Thought you actually had to use the Special option from the dialogue. Neat! :D

SE using real life logic in a game with black magic sounds about right !

no love for throwing projectiles :/

Am I understanding this right, that Deeds points work like Total Hallmark, so you wont lose points when buying something yes?

Correct

King of Hearts approves the update to dia :)

They won't let you change the sex of your character because gay stuff or something.

Yeah it's effect on barrage is pretty yuge. Odds of getting full 12 shots are now better than the odds of getting 3+ were before.

So... Scavenge is OP now? 3 stacks of bullets at the same time?

You now pick up more ammo than you've spent.

3 types of ammo at once, cause rng was desperately hanging onto every free rema ammo they use, thanks SE

I think it's more about being able to recover limited ammo like the Su5 stuff when you're mostly just shooting with REMA ammo, so you are no longer forced to pick and choose.

Those Dia changed are nice.

It's not a huge change overall, it's a small buff to Dia if you have a RDM, and a small nerf to it if you don't.

I for a long time had thought it was a little dumb that RDM had exclusive access to a final level of dia/bio, but since you'd bring a COR anyway, and you could double up the effect, there was virtually no difference vs just bringing a /RDM and doing two quick draw.

It would explain why it took them so long to fix MNK.

Sweet, now I have an even better chance of pulling hate and undermining the entire purpose of using a RNG strat to begin with!

Nobody really uses Barrage for damage anyway (nor should they rely on a 5min timer with a big damage spike that risks getting people killed from the enmity generated). It's really most useful for a quick TP boost for a mid-fight refresh on Empy/Mythic AM once that wears, and Barrage already worked fine for that.

There were so many bigger issues that could have made a real impact:

Enmity issues? Perhaps adjusting to make Barrage or WS impacted by Decoy Shot/Camouflage, or some other kinds of modifications to Decoy.

Camouflage inconsistency? Maybe give it a static timer and not wear off when you sneeze, perhaps something like RDM got for Sabo. As it is, Camo is really ONLY useful for Empy users with AM3 up (thanks to the crit rate boost from JP), but that requires not WSing and just riding out the near hateless white damage with AM3 triple damage crits.

Archery being awful? IDK how they would have fixed that, to be honest (maybe changes to ranged distance sweet spot bonuses for bows?). But it's surely a more pressing issue than hitting all shots on the back half of Barrage.

EES sucking? RNG SP ability is focused on damage, and does a single shot for considerably less damage than your average WS (hell, it's worse than a single AM3 crit proc). Coulda pumped that up at least, even if it's minor it would have been cool to have something like a more useful zerg tool.

Shadowbind? If you're gonna give minor enhancement to some JAs, you can't even throw us a bone and reduce THAT excessive 5min timer (or boost the bind potency)?

I am at least glad they didn't start mucking with Flashy/Stealth Shot, because no RNG in their right mind wanted to change from 5/5 Snapshot and Recycle merits. Similarly, pleased that they didn't go for a misguided effort to make Unlimited Shot a thing (unless they both removed the shared timer with Double Shot AND made Unlimited actually worth something)

Velocity Shot timer reduction is nice enough, though fairly minor. Honestly though, they coulda done more to buff Velocity's actual effect to give a buff on a more similar level to what they did with DRG PUP etc.

This Chocobo Racing ROE is lol. There are dozens of ways they could make this event even mildly entertaining. It truly is pathetic to watch that travesty.

I won't quote all of Capuchin's post above me, but that pretty much nails it to the wall. There were so many ways that an "update" to Ranger could have been executed successfully, and not a single one was implemented.

Its pretty universal that the adjustment to Velocity Shot timer was appreciated, but the extra Ranged Accuracy on Barrage may cause more problems than it solves. (although, I do wonder if we can still reach that 99% racc rate independent of gear- if so, full -emnity sets for Barrage GO!)

Hell, with all the boosts that COR has gotten thru gear alone in the past 4-6 months, it seems like the biggest adjustment Ranger got was pushing us to play COR.

Despite all the whining, RNG is already better than most of the cast. They don't need a buff. COR needs a nerf.

That's really the only somewhat fair rationale for the massively underwhelming RNG update - that the job was already in a good enough place. Particularly considering that, from my understanding, it's also a bit more popular among JP players who S-E would be more likely to listen to.

all right all right, you got me there ^^ 3/4 of Leviathan server and more already know I talk up RNG more than it probably deserves- there was just a lot I and other Rangers were hoping for (Archery fix mostly, although that was clearly a pipe dream), and this was just a big wtf.

COR obviously needs a huge nerf. But this "job adjustment" isn't even that. It's a nothing adjustment.

The only real outcome is rangers will die more often since barrage won't miss as much.

It's moving in that direction via softer measures. Similar to how BLU was conveniently left off of solid DD gear improvements for years. COR was not given any PDL trait and is confined to tier1 if they opt for DNC sub. They are also directly improving RDM in several areas lately (probably not finished yet), and have toned down Geomancy a bit over time and on some content. I wouldn't be surprised if COR and GEO gets outright nerfed or ignored completely, while others get buffs/improvements in an effort to balance it all out.

Just don't spam barrage if you're worried about pulling hate. Or add more stp and remove a little racc if you want to miss.

I wouldn't really agree with that. COR got the savage blade sword, and rostams are downright obscene. I get that every dumbass wants to say they aren't top DPS or whatever, but they're still by far a better hybrid option than -ANY- other job gets. You sacrifice next to nothing for capped DT(not PDT, DT).

The light/dark shot adjustment is a nerf, but it's super mild. They need to do a lot more to get COR in a balanced place.