Evercolds Combat Changes

There will be extensive combat changes happening in Evercold. These are focused on making the game fun for all players and ties into encounter changes the developers have been doing since the beginning of Dawntrail. These updates are not final and are subject to change. More information will be revealed at subsequent Fanfests.

While many players do enjoy how combat is currently in FFXIV, the formula for job changes has been iterated on with minimal to no changes since the Shadowbringers expansion in 2019. Apart from reworks, veteran players have been playing the same jobs with decreased job identity for almost seven years. Throughout this time, players have complained that the 2-minute buff meta has become stale and there is no flexibility or individuality in how different jobs play. The developers have thus decided to update combat to emphasize job individuality and unique job playstyles.

There are currently 21 non-limited jobs in the game. Adjusting to new jobs can be hard for players, and that's why the developers have decided to implement two different modes. At a glance, these two modes function similar to specializations from other games. Players can switch between the modes while out of combat, and they share the same level and gear. However, the two modes have their own uniqueness to them.

Reborn Mode is the mode players will be initially familiar with. This mode will be the same as the jobs currently are, and is available for all existing jobs. Rotations will stay the same and players who enjoy the current pace of jobs will be able to use this mode during Evercold.

Evolved Mode is the new mode that will be introduced in Evercold. This mode condenses the job actions into a few key actions, but by no means is it less difficult. Certain jobs will have very similar actions compared to Reborn Mode, but certain jobs will play completely differently, almost like a new specialization of the existing job. In addition, new jobs will only have Evolved mode, hinting that Evolved Mode if received well will be the future of FFXIV combat. Evolved Mode actions we've seen so far are very similar to PvP job kits.

In Evolved Mode, using an action on an ally and enemy can have different effects. For example, Paladins currently have the Holy Spirit spell which damages an enemy and the Clemency spell which heals an ally. In Evolved Mode, this becomes Divine Justice. When used on an ally, it heals them with Clemency, and when used on an enemy it damages them with Holy Spirit. This also applies for certain skills based on distance. For Paladin, using Shield Lob at more than 5 yalms will use the weaponskill Shield Lob, but at 5 yalms or closer it will use Shield Bash, a melee weaponskill.

Why use one mode over another? The developers say that any content will be clearable with both modes. However, the Evolved Mode, according to Yoshi-P, is slightly stronger. In addition, he says that some content is more suited for one mode over another. From what we've seen from the Battle System development panel at the North American Fanfest, this is true.

Four new Evolved Mode jobs were shown at the Battle System developer panel: Paladin, Dragoon, White Mage, and Bard. While White Mage didn't have too many differences and Paladin had a few differences, the two DPS jobs had major differences between the live version and the Evolved Mode version.

You can view in-depth Evolved Mode changes in our Job Changes page, but we can see clear differences between current Bard and Evolved Bard. Songs have a much shorter cooldown, allow players to use special actions, and grant a small duration buff to nearby allies. When all Codas are gained, players can cast the Radiant Finale buff, which has shorter duration than live. There's also an extremely cool movement skill called Wanderer's Volley, which is a dodge jump in the direction the player is moving towards. As of yet the numbers are still unknown, but the job identity and coolness factor are at an all-time high.

A major complaint players have had over the years is that jobs are too simplistic when level synced down to early content when doing roulettes. The developers have acknowledged this in Evolved Mode, and will aim to have skills in Evolved Mode acquired early. The full kit is available at level 50, meaning players will be able to use most of their job in endgame content from any expansion.