Corsair status, musings

Yes, I decided on COR as my "support-type" job. Yes, I know it isn't as good as BRD at support-type roles, and in fact, I'll be naming all the reasons why in a bit. However, it does have some more interesting possibilities and game mechanics that caught my curiosity. There are also other, more tangible reasons behind choosing COR.

But first... status update!

Corsair status, impressions & prep

COR18 at this time after playing with the AlphaPrime "noobs" in the dunes. It's actually been a long time since I've been in the dunes since we normally do our 10-19 exping in the maze/tunnel these days. It was a nice change from the usual beating up of worms, and it was nice to be outdoors as it meant that we could do some FoV for tabs. I still have a really low amount of tabs, but it's enough to warp home once in a while.

I've been using COR/BRD for these levels, mainly from a lack of having anything decent to sub at this time. /RNG doesn't come in until at least level 20 when the accuracy bonus kicks in, and I may not even sub it then since I do have my Marksmanship skilled up to at least 37 from leveling RNG. Leveling RNG also taught me a lot about the ranged attack mechanic of FFXI... How far to stand, how much enmity Barrage & Sharpshot creates (a lot!), and even how useful Widescan can be. I also figured out how much of a pain it is for a RNG to pull for exp parties, between the high level of damage that is given up, to the long delay on bows and the risk of pulling the mob away when you actually go to pull.

And since I usually do not like to change between the jobs I'm leveling, I finished my RNG sub last night. Archery & Marksmanship are capped, so I do not really need to shoot on COR except for fun for a while.

Still, my initial impressions on COR are:

• The "gambling" mini-game with Phantom Roll is quite amusing and does require some thought on when you roll, when to "Double-Up" and how potent the effect is when on a lucky number or on 11. I also have a better idea of why people choose to use two attack buffs rather than Corsair's Roll. The difference in a party's performance and exp/hour is actually quite significant when using both Hunters & Chaos roll
• Shooting stuff at the moment just isn't worth it. Between a lack of ranged accuracy gear, not having the appropriate bonus, and the low damage on tin bullets, it's really not worth shooting stuff just yet. Maybe once I exceed 20 and start getting some +racc gear
• The 1 minute recast on Phantom Roll makes it difficult to experiment with various roll combinations since it takes (subjectively) forever to be able to change the combinations. It took me a while to satisfy my curiosity on Corsair/Hunter vs. Hunter/Chaos combinations
• Similarly, I can see the recast on Phantom Roll being an issue in the future when there needs to be a mix of mage/DD rolls. Basically, about half the time, the COR will end up with non-optimal rolls... either a DD-COR with Evoker/Scholar's roll, or a support-COR with DD rolls. I think meriting the Phantom Roll recast would be a high priority

Well, now all my COR subs are done, so it's time to start exping COR in earnest. Unfortunately, I'm also the lowest in my exp static, which consists mainly of Fuuji & Zurar x2, with pickups of Ghiren, Teia or Karou. There's also an issue with having too many people since a party is only 6 people, and we can't accommodate everyone all of the time. Basically, it's first come, first served. I also feel a little guilty since everyone else is going to be in the 30s-50s while I haven't even broken 20 yet. Maybe I can catch up a little with the "noobs" so that I won't end up causing everyone to have gimp skill :(

Speaking of which... strangely, last week a bunch of AP people decided to come back o.o Varga & Dakanna are back now with new characters, and Varga put on a ton of weight, going from taru-sized to a giant galka o.o Aquelia and Conceptx also decided to pop on as well, making AP surprisingly busy. Ironically, this also pushed the COR count from 1 (Fuuji) to now a total of 4 (Fuuji & Con at 75, me and Aquelia leveling it) which turns things upside down. Used to be that we had more Bards (Zurar & Calabolg) so having another COR would have been a good balance xD

The curse of the hybrid job

I always like hybrid jobs because of the flexibility that they tend to have, and the possibilities of doing different things. The only non-hybrid job I have is PLD, and even that job changes a lot based on the subjob. PLD/NIN plays completely differently from PLD/RDM and is used in different roles. (and yes, I consider DRG/mage to be a hybrid... one I really should use more often)

Unfortunately, the problem with hybrids is that they fall short compared to dedicated jobs, especially for large-scale events where you have enough space to bring dedicated jobs without needing the flexibility of a hybrid. Basically, any event that is larger than a party. Hybrids are great at low-man things when you need the flexibility. Corsair is an interesting hybrid... Its main draw is that it is a support-type job like Bard, but it has the capability of doing physical DD with bullets, or even magical DD with QuickDraw. Unfortunately, most people use COR to fill the role of a BRD, which it can't really fulfill perfectly.

Corsair limitations (at least, from my perspective)

• The big one is the recast time of Phantom Roll. The 1 minute recast time means that it takes time to put up all the necessary buffs, and it makes it impossible to do things like the Bard "Soul Voice" zerg setup
• This same recast also limited how fast a COR can react to a situation. To change the rolls on a party, it takes at least 2 minutes to completely replace 2 rolls. It's worse if you need to change 4 rolls. A BRD can just sing different songs immediately
• Corsair buffs are... well, random! It's all in the nature of the job... you can get a really good roll and get some crazy high buffs, or you could get unlucky. At least Bard songs are at least consistent, and can be boosted with Soul Voice
• One of the biggest buffs that you can get on BRD is 2x March for a ton of extra haste. If you've ever done a zerg on a DD, you'll know how effective this is and how much damage it puts out. COR lacks the haste capability, though the closest to this would be to throw in either the Double Attack roll, or the Store TP roll.
• Unfortunately, both of these rolls aren't exactly ideal. The Double Attack buff is fun, but it's unpredictable since you never know when you're going to attack twice. The Store TP roll, ironically, also affects predictability since the amount of Store TP added is random and changes the 2-hander "6-hit" or "5-hit" builds
• And of course, there's the usual lack of AoE sleep, unable to target specific rolls to specific people like a BRD can using Pianissimo

As far as I can tell, the only real buff that COR can give others that Bard can't would be the magical attack buff with Wizard's Roll. In most cases, a BRD would be a better dedicated support compared to a COR.

So, why choose COR?

Given that I know how much better BRD is compared to COR, it would seem that I'm being silly in leveling COR, right? Well... main reasons why I want to level COR are:

• It's a hybrid job -- This means that it has a more to do compared to regular jobs and can hold my curiosity. Reports on "QuickDraw soloing" definitely have my attention
• It gives me experience in two game mechanics -- I do not have any experience playing jobs that do AoE buffs, or with jobs that use Ranged Attacks. COR kills two birds with one stone
• This also gives me some flexibility in events where ranged attack is necessary. Right now, for certain events, I'm forced either into the PLD or SCH role and would like to give people the option to have fun tanking too
• Gear overlap -- I already have quite a bit of gear that I would end up using, including full Denali, Enkidu sets, as well as a Coffinmaker. This helps significantly with my inventory issues xD
• Most importantly: the AF looks sexy! At least, much better than the BRD one xD

Now, the silly part is... I'm pretty sure that even after I finish COR, I won't be taking it out to too many things... maybe the occasional merit party or event where ranged attack is needed. However, who really cares since I'll be having fun just leveling it xD

Maybe after COR is done I'll level something more "useful"... or... I'll follow the poll and level PUP :)

(oh, new poll on the right sidebar! Vote quickly! Poll ends Friday!)