[Dev. Blog] Egi-citing News, Everyone

[Hyrist]

While I have to say I agree with most of what Azthran said, I still can't help but argue that the Egis could benefit from a size increase. As Hyrist said, the Egis appear to be about 2/3rds the size of the Hyur Summoner shown in the original video, so if thats the case would added an extra 1/3rd to their size really be that game breaking for melee classes?

 

That entirely depends on each individual Melee, right? Positioning around monsters in fights is going to differ monster to monster, fight to fight. However, between players, you can micro movements together or play off one another in as you move around. Something along the lines of a Chocobo or NPC? Not so much co-ordination can be done.

 

It's subjective, it's a matter of where do you feel comfortable? For me, where they are is comfortable, anything larger likely will not be considering, as we've already stated, it levitates off the ground somewhat. If they get any larger we either lift it further above the players to compensate, worsening the viewpoint issue to FFXI degrees, or you bring them closer to the ground, which, in Ifrit's case could cause clipping into it.

 

Is it game-breaking? No, of course not. I already acknowledge that if the change was made, I would deal with it. But we're talking matters of preference here, and I was stating how my viewpoint simply differs from yours. In my view there is no right or wrong answer here. I know I would feel uncomfortable with them larger than they are, and that's about all I can speak for.

 

Given the history of Final Fantasy beasts being this gigantic, world changing force which summoners could call upon for aid, I can understand the desires for having something of even a slightly larger side. But I feel as if that context is covered thanks to the Free Company primal system.

 

On an individual summoner in a large culture of summoners viewpoint - I feel as if the smaller, more personal egis fit the environment, as well as my personal preferences, much better.

 

We'll see how things pan out once everyone settles into the game and we get a better idea how everything plays out with Arcanist/Scholar/Summoner start fitting in. 

 

Who knows? After playing with them for a while, either you, I, or both of us might change our minds. It would be interesting to see this very conversation reversed after gameplay is experienced.

[AkhutaiAngura]

Read the whole first page of posts.. Didn't read the second, so what I'm going to offer could very well already have been said. But, still, it's another one for whatever camp that is.

I understand both sides.. Keep them small,it's less clutter and yada yada. Make them bigger, it's more fitting for what they're supposed to represent, yada yada.

 

From where I stand - I'm a DPS in every MMO. Usually melee, at that.. Enhance Shaman in WoW, Sentinel in ToR, whatever the staff-wielding class was in Tabula Rasa, etc. I like being in the nitty gritty. With that in mind, I don't know how many times I've had trouble clicking on a mob because my camera was at the wrong angle, and peoples pets were all over the place - Pets being things akin to hunter pets, warlock pets, frostmage pets, Shaman totem pets and wolves, etc. It can get real hairy, real fast up in the melee. I can imagine, as a tank, they likely wish -everyone- ws smaller, just so they can click their stuff easier (That's an exaggeration, but you get the idea.)

 

I understand that there probably won't be more than 4 summoners, at most, in the largest of raids here, and the 'desired' size of the Egi's is to make them about the size of a normal race.. That's te issue. Say we're in an 8 man raid, and there're two or three summoners.. Those summoners are bringing in 3 more full-sized characters. That's three more full sized characters on the screen, in a battle with mechanics designed for 8.. I see the need to keep them on the smaller side to minimalize the impact. It's a small change if they're bigger, and it's a small change if they're the smaller style.

[Havoc Snow]

I'm not sure that the argument of it adding one more person to your screen is entirely valid. Summoner is a caster class, which means if they know how to play, they'll be standing well away from the fight and out of everyones view besides other casts. This means that the only people that melee and tanks are going to see are other melee and tanks. So with that in mind, what is the difference between a Summoner's Egi being the same size as you, or replace the Summoner with another melee DPS? Either way there's another full sized character there to crowd around the enemy. And what about Garuda (who was off handedly mentioned during E3 to be a ranged attacker) who you'll never even see because it will be (presumably) standing next to its Summoner at the back of the fight.

 

Yes they are more flashy than a normal character, but this only counts if the normal character is standing idle, or just auto attacking and nothing else. In the thick of things when everyone is fighting you're going to be throwing off weapon skills and abilities that are just as flashy if not more flashy than the Egis are, you're going to be more distracting to yourself than my Summon will be.

 

I will admit that they may make it difficult to click on enemies to some degree if they get in the way, but that can again be said for any player as well who is getting up close and personal. Even as small as they are they still run a big risk of doing this, changing them from 2/3rds to 3/3rds the size of a Hyur wouldn't impact this that much.

 

As far as camera angles and frame of view go, I spend most of my time in dungeons with my camera panned pretty far out and in most fights (especially when I played Lancer) I was moving around so much that my camera was never in a fixed position, so honestly I don't really see it becoming that big of an issue, and for all we know maybe Egis actually try to position themselves around the enemy as well. (wishful thinking on that)