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This does work, but it still falls far short of a manaburn or, especially, an all-RNG party.
I believe this is true, but I have never seen it so don't really know. Also, from accounts I have read/heard, the only thing an all RNG PT has more of compared to an all BLM, BST or MNK PT is expenses, not XP ^^.
However all the "same job + minor support" boasting going on in the thread is kind of killing discussion and evaluation of the original post. As Silento said- his/her comment about a MNK haevy PT was kinda OT. Sure, these PTs work fantastically, I am not saying they don't and I highly endorse them. But these PTs are kind of a cousin to the speedkill PT tactics that Lithiani is trying to describe.
By the way, I have never heard of any of these being done, but I imagine that an all SAM PT (ridiculous weapon skill madness), an all THF/RNG (non-stop Ranged WS > Sneak + Viperbite/Fast Blade = Distortion, or even Fusion Ranged WS > Sneak + Combo = Fusion at some levels), or an all NIN/BLM PT (Constant Elemental Wheels + Ninjutsu weakened Ninjutsu bursting on any skillchains that occur) could play this kind of "one job" PT game as well. I was glad to hear some mention of all "all THF" version above.
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What you end up with is simply a normal party setup with one more DD in place of the tank, or two if you cut out one of the support mages as well.
Sorta. As Lithiani mentions, PT tactics and, ideally, equipment choices will change drastically from the standard PT. Also, sub-jobs can go wild a little more in this set-up RDM/WAR is great for this, NIN/BLM is fa-freakin-tastic, THF/RNG or /SAM works great, SAM/MNK or PLD/MNK would probably work swimmingly (Counter when hate bounces? Yes, please.) Lest anyone say it, I am not claiming that the standard PT doesn't work, I am simply claiming that it is not the
only thing that works.
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most normal DDs don't really have to moderate their damage all that much to avoid pulling hate from the tank...[so this] equates to more or less the exact same thing they normally do in an exp party.
In some cases maybe, but you'll certainly admit that DRK generally don't get to toss Souleater, Last Resort and Berserk in any and every combination, and as often as humanly possible. Also, as Lithiani mentions, DDs will change their operation significantly in this kind of PT set-up bwecause they will also be co-tanking. As he/she mentioned this means that (for instance) SAM and MNK's lesser-used tanking abilites (Dodge, Counter/Counterstance, Parry, etc.) get optimized. A MNK can unleash a #!@_*#$& of a lot more fury if allowed to actually tank the mob.
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As long as you don't go into it with the expectation that you're going to match a RNG party, you won't be disappointed, and in fact you'll probably have a fantastic time. Not really anything to complain about there. ^^
Again I'll reiterate that this is true as far as I can tell. An all RNG PT going all out will outdamage all other melee DDs.
However... if a PT like this used the same amount of gil in medicines, drinks, ranged attacks (grenades anyone?), etc. that an all RNG PT did in ammo and shihei- I'd lay good money that you wouldn't be able to stand on your high horse so easily RNG-boy.
As a final note about the "one job" PT, I have ask some questions:
It seems like the PT doing this long term would accelerate their short-term gain (mad XP!), while gimping their long term gain (skillups and player skills outside of the tactic). Can anyone comment on the long-term effects of addiction to the one job PT? Is the time saved by mad XP simply used in later skill-up PTs?
Has anyone ever considered an all RNG PT doing SCs? everyoen mentions how RNG can't SC together... but unless I miss my guess at high levels they really could: Blast Arrow/Blast Shot (Induration) -> Sidewinder/Slugshot (Reverberation) = Fragmentation, which could then be channeled into Arching Arrow/Heavy Shot (Fusion) = Light. Has anyone ever seen or done this? Would simply having everyone stick to Side/Slug be superior?
Edited, Sat Feb 12 21:35:37 2005 by Kiyokatsu