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Original article can be found here: http://www.jpbutton.com/?p=2873#more-2873
Thank you Elmer !
QUOTE (JP Button)
12) In one of the threads created for foreign players to post questions, there was a lot of debate about the play style of Japanese Corsairs. People felt they played the job too similarly to Bard, and the topic erupted into the merits of support CORs vs. damage dealing CORs. That said, are there any jobs in particular you feel that foreign players just can’t seem to play right in a party?
This was another big question, and one I want to turn around on EN players. It’s pretty intriguing to see how both sides are convinced their play style is optimal, and the other side is detrimental. Perhaps it would have been good to include a “What XP/hr do you think is optimal?” part to the question. Unless JP players are making significantly less, it shows that FFXI does allow for a variety of play-styles and doesn’t shoehorn players into specific roles in order to succeed. Unfortunately, it is the event-related content that really separates the men from the boys job-wise, and causes certain jobs to get a bad rap. It merit parties it seems that various strategies all have their place. Don’t let that stop you from debating, though.
- I’m bothered by all the people going sub-WAR or sub-SAM. It’s OK if you’re a Ninja, or can heal back your damage like an Apocalypse-wielding Dark Knight. When you use abilities like Berserk and Meditate, it boosts your own damage at the expense of the MP it takes to heal you. If you think about it, running out of MP from all the healing and Haste will just slow down the party and reduce its overall damage output. It’s not just about pumping out maximum damage, it’s also providing the best defense for the front-line party members. To maintain a good support system, the back-line jobs need MP at all times. That is the reasoning behind Japanese merit parties. A Corsair cannot sustain the high damage output of most front-line attackers, but it can function on par with a Bard in a support role.
- It used to bother me when I get invited to an XP party on Summoner and was expected to function as an attacker. Now the recast for offensive and defensive pacts are separate, but originally they were linked, so wasting the recast on an attack left me unable to provide support for over a minute. I didn’t like that.
- It feels like they are playing single-player. Think of it this way: The front-line is the horse and the back-line is the rider. They are partners that must support each other, but there are many horses out there who run wildly without consideration for their rider, leaving them tossed to the ground by the fierce momentum of the party. Conversely, riders who aren’t satisfied to play their role and wish to run freely can also disrupt a party’s flow. WAR: This job is an attacker and a tank. Use Provoke and Utsusemi. BLM: Don’t use Elemental nukes right off the bat. You have to realize they aren’t just damage dealers. They are pin-point attackers that must pay attention to the flow of battle. Also, heal people. DRK: Realize your job has technical aspects to it. It isn’t just a whirling fan of damage. SMN: You have to realize you are not that useful offensively. PLD: Pay attention to situations where you don’t need to pull hate. BRD: Party leaders, don’t let level 20 BRDs pull monsters. Let the THF do it.
- All that debate seems to aim towards confining the actions of a job into one specific role within the battle system. I think it’s much more enjoyable when players can choose from a variety of strategies. A true master of the job can play well as a Bard-type or Ranger-type depending on the circumstances. As for jobs that NA players do not use well: #1 DRK: They use Souleater over and over without considering the MP of back-line jobs. #2 BLM: They only nuke with Elemental magic and won’t cure front-line jobs at low HP. #3 RDM: They nuke too often without casting Enfeebling magic, and they try to move up front and melee the enemy. #4 PLD: People think of Paladins as only tanks and nothing more. #5 NIN: Too many people use them as attackers without tanking properly. #6 WAR: Lots of Warriors out there using only one weapon. It’s deplorable, and I particular hate this one because I’m a Warrior myself.
- It’s important to be able to adapt to a variety of situations based on the needs of the party. Sometimes Summoners have to heal and attackers should sub NIN instead of SAM. There’s a lot of people out there who don’t like to do that. Japanese players like to play based on what the party needs.
- I feel like many foreign players don’t realize the full potential of their job and only focus on a single aspect. Summoners, Scholars, Dark Knights, Thieves… they don’t get in line with the party’s play style. If there isn’t a job handy to Dispel Crawler Cocoon, then I want you to shoot an Acid Bolt. If I ask the Thief why they won’t, they tell me they aren’t carrying a Ranged Weapon, which is disappointing. It should be a given by the time you’re level 60.
- Corsair really seems like a mid-line job, but foreign players’ understanding of “mid-line” and Japanese players’ understanding of “mid-line” are completely different. Japanese players carefully consider healing and support and don’t expect much in the damage department. Foreign players think mostly about damage and barely give a passing glance to their abilities as healers and supporters. Or at least that’s how I feel. By the way, I once saw a foreign Red Mage who wouldn’t even heal. lol
- I’m a Corsair myself, and during merit parties it’s most efficient to act as a Bard/healer, so I only go sub-WHM. Sometimes I’ll get invited to be an attacker, but I know we won’t earn merits as fast, so I turn it down. When partying for merits inside Moblin Maze Mongers, I have no complaints about being sub-NIN or sub-RNG. You should be able to adapt to the situation at hand.
- I see Corsair as an attacker-type support class. If the situation calls for it, Corsair can function as an additional attacker or healer. So isn’t the most important thing to be able to make that distinction? Also, there are Black Mages that ignore healing duty and only see themselves are damage dealers. Another problem is low-level tanks (whose jobs aren’t fully developed yet) taking too much hate and getting themselves killed. Lastly, there are those ridiculous parties with 5 attackers and just 1 healer. Not to mention, the healer will be some job without high-level Cures, like Black Mage or Summoner. I’ve also seen them with Puppetmaster as main healer.
- If you’re going to invite a Corsair to attack, just invite a Ranger. There’s a lot of freedom with how to use Corsair, so I think both ways have their merits. I just wish people would stop inviting a support job for the sole purpose of attacking.
- Isn’t one of the great things about Corsair its ability to adapt to changing circumstances? It all depends on the support job, equipment, enemy and party makeup. I agree with other people who posted in that if you reach 75 by utilizing only a single play-style, then you are not a true master of that job.
- If you aim for efficiency, a party with 3 melee w/ Utsusemi, a RDM/WHM (buffer), a BRD/NIN (puller) and a COR/WHM (main healer) is very strong. A lot of Japanese players use merit parties to gather data, and the results of this combination are very good. We try to build solid merit parties that can maximize the amount of Limit points earned in an hour. Personally, I do think a Buffer/Melee Corsair is good as well. However, wanting to melee in a party low on healing (or not wanting to in a party with sufficient healing) just causes problems. Really, the issue is trying not to limit the functions of a Corsair and realizing it is there to work in tune with the party, not by itself.
- Japanese players don’t look at each job in a vacuum, but consider the variety of functions it can perform with different sub-jobs. There is a big difference between people who recognize this and those who don’t. Playing in a fashion that you enjoy is important, but you can’t rely solely on one single style. Stating absolutely which particular style is better than another is something I can’t do.
- My main job is Corsair. A Corsair is able to pull, but their being able to use a gun isn’t meant for that. Each of the Phantom Rolls at their disposal require different timings and multiple activations depending on luck, so acting as a puller makes it difficult to coordinate everything. Bard songs all have set casting times, right? Bards and Thieves make better pullers during Merit parties. I also participate in the Corsair topic on 2channel. There’s a lot of good test data in there, and it has been decided that from Level 70 onward that COR/WHM is the best combination. The reason being that the damage they can accumulate as an attacker is relatively low. You will earn more Experience points making your Corsair a straight buffer and just inviting an additional attacker. I have my preferences as well, but I will change my tactics for the good of the party. I feel this is the Japanese style - to forego your needs for the good of everyone. However! I will admit that COR/RNG kicks ass in the final battle of A Crystalline Prophecy.
This was another big question, and one I want to turn around on EN players. It’s pretty intriguing to see how both sides are convinced their play style is optimal, and the other side is detrimental. Perhaps it would have been good to include a “What XP/hr do you think is optimal?” part to the question. Unless JP players are making significantly less, it shows that FFXI does allow for a variety of play-styles and doesn’t shoehorn players into specific roles in order to succeed. Unfortunately, it is the event-related content that really separates the men from the boys job-wise, and causes certain jobs to get a bad rap. It merit parties it seems that various strategies all have their place. Don’t let that stop you from debating, though.
I was really blown away by this. The entire questionnaire was great but this question got me really hyped. It was interesting to see how the JP's feel about party set ups and how Corsair's should function in them.
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tho yea with SS/Blink brd could pull in this setup too, allowing the cor to DD. I just not met a brd willing to let me do this... 
