Despite the Dawntrail expansion for Final Fantasy XIV only being out for a week–including early access–the team at Square Enix is already proposing changes to the new Viper DPS class due to player feedback. It seems that not all players agree, however, with many baffled by others’ complaints about the job’s rotation.
The new fast-paced Viper class sees players wielding duel blades that can also be combined for ultra-powerful attacks. It also uses ‘positionals,’ with Vipers causing bonus damage from either the flank or rear of any enemy. This means that players need to carefully pay attention to where they’re standing after a combo.
“We’ve received feedback pertaining to the busyness of their skill rotation. To that end, we’re planning several improvements, including the easing of directional requirements, and changes to the effects of several actions,” the game’s producer Naoki Yoshida wrote in a new post. “We’re aiming to implement these changes in Patch 7.05, though we also intend to make some smaller adjustments to the range of certain abilities in Patch 7.01. It will take a while longer, but we hope to address player concerns as best we can.”
The dev team is also planning changes for Monk, Astrologian, Black Mage, Samurai, Red Mage, and Pictomancer.
“It’s easy enough to understand once you get the hang of it while leaving plenty of room to grow. Changing the class this early on in its lifespan feels like overreacting,” one player responded on the game’s official forum.
“Perhaps they shouldn’t listen to players hot takes about how ‘hard’ viper is when it hasn’t been out one week,” said another.
The Dawntrail expansion for Final Fantasy XIV was officially released on July 2, but players preordering the expansion were able to play a few days early on June 28. The long-awaited release brings with it a level cap boost from 90 to 100, a new playable race, the Viper and Pictomancer DPS classes, new cities, new dungeons and raids, a new limited job, and an entirely new story arc.
