Dasp's report on Gunslingers.
TL;DR:
Guns inflict Defense Down for up to 2 seconds, duration refreshes on hit; effects don't stack.
- The point is this:
- Gunslingers feel like they make little impact to gameplay outside of status effect procs. Guns do roughly 50% the damage that a sword would, and apply it to single targets rather than the AoE that bombs do.
In order to feel like they're actively contributing to damage, Gunslingers must cover all damage types with their guns - dealing neutral damage just doesn't cut it. Most beginner 'slingers don't understand this or can't afford this, and are stuck in mediocrity for their lifespan.
Because they provide less damage than a sword and less statuses than a bomb, Gunslingers aren't usually welcome in a party - they're considered a waste of a slot.
- Discussion in Haven:
- Guns provide single-target debuffs from range, without a lot of damage. The discussion I led explored the role of a Gunslinger as a ranged support role specializing in single-target debuffs: namely, the implementation of a gun-only Defense Down debuff. The idea is simple.
Defense Down is already a status effect in the game, but cannot be applied by any weapons. By giving guns this debuff, it'll increase not only their damage output, but the whole party's, making Gunslingers valuable in a group.
However, due to the fire rate of a gun, this debuff should not last very long. Perhaps 2 seconds at the most, meaning that Gunslingers can only debuff one target at a time reliably. Because of the nature of how debuffs work, the duration and effect does not stack but is refreshed with each consecutive hit.
It'd be nice to hear what other people think/feel about the balancing of guns. Personally, I use swords and rarely feel like I absolutely NEED to use a gun in any given situation.
I like it - it's kind of reminiscent to how the Commando and Ravager roles in FFXIII acted. I was always a fan of that mechanic!