As the Final Fantasy 14 community expresses concern about the oversimplification of jobs, director Yoshi-P reveals that he's aware - and that yes, Dawntrail's future updates will remedy this.
While attending the recent Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail preview event, 12DOVE spoke to director and producer Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida regarding controversial job changes like the removal of Kaiten from Samurai's rotation in 6.1. Among the MMO's fanbase, there have long been concerns now about classes becoming too simple - with SAM being just one of many. For example, one Reddit poll asking players whether they're worried about Dawntrail further contributing to the "oversimplification of jobs" revealed that largely, the community is indeed afraid.
From the various changes made to Astrologian's card and sect systems (much to my own dismay) to DPS class ability nerfs some fans remark that they "don't think it's possible for them to make jobs any simpler than they are." Thankfully, Yoshi-P is well aware of this sentiment, as is the rest of the Final Fantasy 14 team. In our interview with the developer, he promises that jobs like SAM "won't be simplified any further," explaining that he's still "really torn" about job tweaks like the removal of Kaiten. At the time of the skill's removal, Yoshi-P says "There were more people requesting Kaiten to be removed than there were that we're happy with it."
He continues, describing how "there's no answer" in situations like this as "there are always going to be some people who prefer more difficult mechanics, and then others who prefer simple mechanics." He's not wrong - the removal of skills like Kaiten always sparks varying responses, with many missing an ability but others disagreeing. This doesn't mean Square Enix doesn't take overwhelmingly negative feedback on board, though. Yoshi-P states that right now, he's also "concerned" about "the simplicity" of jobs - just as a majority of fans are.
The beloved dev wants each player to have the ability to "showcase one's own technique or expertise," but says that "we're not in a good situation for that" due to the jobs' "simplicity as it is" right now. Yoshi-P then reveals that the team will remedy this as Dawntrail and its future updates roll out, "working towards a more fulfilling playing experience" in patch 7.2 and beyond: "We will look to the jobs and we will focus on providing more individuality in the jobs."
In an attempt to curb multiple updates' worth of simplification, Yoshi-P details how Square Enix "will be incorporating various changes" post-Dawntrail, some of which will be "related to the skill rotations." He even jokes that Kaiten could return as "Kaiten 2" and reiterates his earlier promise - come such changes, classes "will not be more simple." I doubt I'll ever see the intricate AST card system from years past make a comeback, but I'm hopeful for others as the director stresses how well he understands "that a lot of players want to be able to think for themselves."
