Final Fantasy Hacktics

Just a question about Damage Split, is anything being done to it? I know I'm a scrub, but 33% feels too low. Maybe it's supposed to be an anti-sandbagging tool, unit with low health from across the screen hits with lore, you DS, they die? I dunno, but at 33% it felt more prudent to go after pure defense in Defense UP and somewhat risky high evade Abandon than it did to use Damage Split and die because you weren't able to reflect enough damage back.

Again, I'm a scrub, but I love Damage Split. Tanks are easy to make and work well with this crazy ass AI running shit.

Fanatic, I think you missed the point of my argument in both of your posts.

Arrow Guard ONLY blocks gunners and crossbowmen and the assorted weapon attacks coming from them.  It does NOTHING else.  When you compare this to HP Restore or Auto Potion (which pretty much works against everything EXCEPT status), it's clear arrow guard is a much more restrictive ability.  Thus, if I run into a team that doesn't use a gunner (which is far more common than a team that ONLY uses status), I just wasted my JP.  However, against gunner squads, I'll probably defeat them.  HOwever, as we've seen in the current metagame, that gunner squad is likely to defeat the generalized damage squad.  Thus, we create a rock-paper-scissors cycle:
Gunner Squad > Other DMG squad
Anti-Gunner Squad > Gunner Squad
Other DMG Squad > Anti-Gunner Squad
The fact that gunners can only be reliably countered by explicit anti-gunner tactics that put your team at a disadvantage against every other damage squad implies guns are broken.  Anyone who remembers Y U SO DERP and I AM SO DERP can see the parallels.

As for M-EV, the problem isn't how much you have; the problem is that the stuff it blocks is not as dangerous as the stuff blocked by P-EV.  Giving you more M-EV does not fix this problem.

Dynablade, 50% Damage Split as in vanilla and 1.3 is broken though.  EArlier version of Arena ran on 25% and that was too low.  I think 33% is just right.

Why is everyone discussing about making changes to the patch? It's not like as if these are going to be implemented and used for the tournament. Quite a few teams have already been submitted and nerfing "X, Y, and Z" will only ruin the build for some of those teams and they'll have to redo them all over again.

If people are just throwing random ideas out for post-tourney, then I've got no quarrels with that.

This has been said and I agree with it so much I made a meme:

Quote from: Wiz on April 11, 2012, 10:55:39 pmIf people are just throwing random ideas out for post-tourney, then I've got no quarrels with that.

This.  I'm scooping the complaints others will make once the tournament is over.

Quote from: dinosaur on April 12, 2012, 04:37:49 am
This has been said and I agree with it so much I made a meme:

spoiler

Masamune's vertical is so damn high I can't eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Listen!  Someone's stomach churl chowl-stomach just growled!

I just noticed that since most of the sources of protect come from the cherche, that squire recoil damage skill probably should have null: reraise and regen instead.

Quote from: Fanatic on April 13, 2012, 11:07:16 am

spoiler: Complaints

Oh, I misunderstood the purpose of this thread. I thought it was for constructive criticism and brainstorming of possible future rule changes in response to the exhibitions that are going on right now, as well as the comments and predictions concering how issues will effect the future tournament. But I understand this topic is actually for complaints about why we lost? Okay, I'm cool with that.

In that case, I would like to complain about the reason I lost this recent tournament: Maps. When I played my first match against whoever that will be, I was placed on a map that put me at a disadvantage. The map's chokepoint left me vulnerable to AoE attacks. And if my opponent doesn't use AoE, or the map doesn't have a chokepoint, then it was the lack of a chokepoint that did me in. Also the height difference. One side of the map was clearly higher than the other, and either my opponent was raining death from above upon me, or else I was trapped on a narrow ledge while my opponent dominated the low valley. And if the map was perfectly symmetrical, then my opponent was unfairly able to harness the fairness of the map to beat me.

Further, I would like to complain that Damage is too overpowered. Too many teams win games because they are better able to reduce the other team's HP to 0. When is the last time we had a team that won by inflicting Vampire on everyone, or by Inviting everyone, or by crystalizing Ramza. Clearly the current rules favor death by damage. This has led to our current Semi-Paper/Rock/Scissors  setup up, being that teams that win by reducing HPs to 0 are Granite, and teams that  rely on Petrify/Vampire/Invite/Ramza/DEB are plastic kindergarten scissors. Also, there is no paper in this example.

I propose we need more paper.

People have been saying Wizard has no unique role among the mage classes.  Thus, I suggest that wizard gain elemental neutralization (i.e. weak/halve: all elements) so wizard would have a unique role as the carrier of things like Light Robe or Undead Ring.  If that isn't enough, we can also consider giving wizard null: silence and berserk.  To make wizard spells more attractive, I think we should change the Tier 1 spells so that:

1) Fire1 +33% Oil
Bolt1 +33% Don't Move
Ice1 +33% Slow
2) Make the Tier2 spells take UnFury as their multiplier, but M-EV and shell as the means to block damage.

I think Tsumakuzu should be (FoeSPD + FoeMOV) * 12 at 100% Remove Haste
I'm only saying this because 100% Remove Haste doesn't adequately punish teams that run SPD domination.  Plus, if you're tripping someone, it would stand to reason that their mobility is used against them.

So, the solution to balancing classes is to just add procs to existing abilities? Mages simply lack the tools. Why do Scholars and Summoners get more elemental types? Why do Ninjas and Samurai get elemental abilities? It's the same problem with ailments; the abilities need to be more exclusive to the classes they're intended for. It's why Mediators are broken; no charge-time *OR* MP cost.

What I'm seeing, right now, is that a pure melee team can't even compete, because of all the damn procs and AoE.

Quote
It's the same problem with ailments; the abilities need to be more exclusive to the classes they're intended for.

Can you give an example of what you would like to see?

Giving every class a passive ability, that only benefits the abilities of the class, is a start. That would discourage exploitation of stacking effects of abilities from other classes. But, for that to happen, some nerfing needs to be done; especially to Mediators, Summoners, and Ninjas.

To be honest, I don't like your suggestion because it takes away the ability to mix and match skillsets and abilities to make a very powerful overall unit.  FFT team-making is more fun (and the metagame less predictable) when hybrid job classes are stronger than units specifically built for one purpose.  If you look back to the previous AI tournaments (S3/4/5), the winners weren't teams that maximized defense or offense, but teams whose main offensive units were hybrids between offense/status and healing.  In other words, to answer your question, a pure melee team, just like a pure defense/status team, or a pure magic team, SHOULD NOT be the best team of the metagame.
Thus, there should exist abilities that disproportionately punish teams that try to put all their eggs in one basket.  These abilities should be "relatively comfortable" to use in the sense that one isn't forced into an equally extreme setup (otherwise known as the rock-paper-scissors effect).

Right now, the only current means of turning high SPD into a weakness is to use 8/9 SPD units with Jump, but this runs into a host of problems.  Not only are such teams locked at such low SPD, they usually have to devote much of the entire squad to evasion tanking to compensate for the opponent's double attacks.  Also, if the SPD squad can boost their speed, it still may be for naught.  This is why I proposed that Ninja skill; it would allow squads that aren't specially built for jump to deliver far more exacting counterattacks to fast units (who usually are pretty squishy).
Similarly, there's no means to punish 40 fury (which isn't really a downside if your team doesn't use melee to begin with).  This is why I proposed those changes to Tier 2 Wizard spells; one or two 40/70 wizards with it could feasibly take down an entire squad with 40 fury.

You are right, of course, for saying that this itself does not boost the Wizard class, which is overshadowed by Summoner (more MP/versatile), scholar (better equips/MA), oracle (more HP), or bard (better MA/HP).  This is why I propose wizard gain Null: Silence/Berserk; this way, Wizards can use their equipment advantage to even out their slight MA deficiency.

My boosts to the Tier 1 spells was mostly so Wizard would be on par with Scholar's Bio1, but I can understand leaving them unchanged as well.  Those were made simply to encourage the use of status effects little used in the metagame.

I know none of this will be considered for the Tourney, but I've got a few suggestions anyway.

First, why does Mediator's "Blackmail" use the "Invitation" graphic? It even plays the Invite fanfare upon success. It's purely cosmetic though; functionality is just fine.

Second, should "Faith Up" really be triggering when a unit is healed?

Third, the potion system has become a really convoluted version of its original self. Potion getting cut... actually that makes perfect sense in the context of Arena. I'd say Hi-Potion is the most controversial change. In a lot of instances, it is actually more powerful than X-Potion now. And Auto Potion seems just a little too high. 80 healing is a bit much for a reaction. Consider the average Damage Split nowadays in comparison. This is just my opinion and you're all welcome to dismiss it, but I think Hi-Potion should do a flat 85 for 150jp, leave X-Potion as it is now for 200jp, and put Auto Potion at 60 healing...maybe 70...or possibly percentage based, but something in the range of 20-30%.

Fifth, Magic Guns seem a bit too powerful. Not only do you get instant magic for no MP (at a bit of a gamble, concerning which Tier), but you also get 100% accuracy. Why waste JP teaching your Wizard spells that the enemies can block with an Aegis Shield when you could just put that JP into Equip Ranged? I think the magic guns should be subject to magic evasion.

And sixth, mages are a bit overpowered right now. I think they've been given one or two buffs too many.

Tier 1/2 spells with the AoE of an average Draw Out? Seems excessive. Maybe save that for Tier 3 only. And speaking of excessive, the extended range. Maybe on the lower spells, but on Flare/Holy, it's too much. There's little to no penalty on the powerful spells and even less penalty on loading a mage up with MA gear. There's nothing wrong with loading a mage with MA gear, but there should be some kind of trade-off. 6 range Flare/Holy makes MA gear the easy choice. If they want that kind of reach, they should have to swap the Magic Gauntlet for Germinas Boots. Or make a choice between spending their JP on Magic Attack Up or spending it on Move +1. Currently, who needs move when you can reach the enemy from halfway across most maps anyway?

And if they want to deal that kind of lethal damage, they should at least have to stand kind of close-ish to the unit they're about to OHKO. With MA gear, even the average low faith unit doesn't have much hope. I'm fine with the idea of making a mage that powerful, but I should be giving something up in exchange for that power. I don't feel the crunch of a low move stat if I can reach everything I want to hit anyway. I don't feel the pain of low HP if nobody ever gets in melee range. Nerfing the magic range seems like the natural choice to me, but perhaps JP, CT, or MP cost could be effective alternatives.

Priests and Wizards as they are now are just begging to be loaded with MA gear and nothing else. The choice should be at least vaguely difficult. As is, a mage with full MA gear and semi-competent allies can take on almost any team. Twin Samurai even have trouble with it, only winning about a third of the time. And who wants to watch a tournament where a bunch of twin Samurai teams fight a bunch of MA-loaded mage teams?

Don't get me wrong, the MA mage teams I've been using for tests are extremely well-designed (I didn't design them). The MA-loaded mages are just one piece of a team and (probably) couldn't win on their own. It's just that those teams would have a significantly slimmer chance for victory if they weren't packing a 6-range, 100% accuracy, nuclear bomb. Lowering the range would at least come slightly closer to making an even playing field. At minimum, I really think that Flare and Holy should be nerfed to 5. Personally, I'd also recommend that Tier 1/2 spells go back to their old AoE, leaving the larger AoE for Tier 3 (that kind of power should cost a little JP).

Again this is all just my opinion. And I may have some bias owing to the fact my own team is getting rolled over by some of the things I've mentioned. I'd be interested to hear other viewpoints.

Fantactic, which teams did you test against?  Your descriptions of the metagame seem 180 degrees apart from the experiences of virtually every other person here.

Quote from: formerdeathcorps on April 15, 2012, 05:44:45 pm
People have been saying Wizard has no unique role among the mage classes.

I think their skill set needs to be pruned.  They currently have twelve spells which are all halved by a single piece of equipment (venetian shield or white robe).  Reduce the four tiers into two and introduce three new elements for a total of six two-tier sets.  If we also add corresponding elemental absorption to the underused accessories I mentioned before (defense ring, defense armlet, et cetera), then these accessories can be used together with Black Magic in a variety of absorption strategies.  If we add status effects to the spells, too, then I suggest each accessory both absorbs the element and nullifies the status of the corresponding spell.

Quote from: formerdeathcorpsRight now, the only current means of turning high SPD into a weakness is to use 8/9 SPD units with Jump, but this runs into a host of problems.  Not only are such teams locked at such low SPD, they usually have to devote much of the entire squad to evasion tanking to compensate for the opponent's double attacks.  Also, if the SPD squad can boost their speed, it still may be for naught.  This is why I proposed that Ninja skill; it would allow squads that aren't specially built for jump to deliver far more exacting counterattacks to fast units (who usually are pretty squishy).

Why must SPD be turned into a weakness?  I would think that trading solid equipment for speed is enough of a sacrifice.   They're squishy indeed.

Quote from: Fantactic1316Priests and Wizards as they are now are just begging to be loaded with MA gear and nothing else.

Then they're begging for a taste of their own medicine.  MA-stacked units have no elemental absorption to resist wizards or evasion to resist time mages and oracles.  At 8 SPD, they're also slow.  You need to build a team around keeping these units in working condition, which I think is all fine and well, personally.

Quote from: Gaignun on April 19, 2012, 09:34:51 pm
Then they're begging for a taste of their own medicine.  MA-stacked units have no elemental absorption to resist wizards or evasion to resist time mages and oracles.  At 8 SPD, they're also slow.  You need to build a team around keeping these units in working condition, which I think is all fine and well, personally.

Eh. Point acknowledged. They are begging for a taste of their own medicine. Don't bring a Knight to a mage fight, I suppose. There's a case to be made in saying that the mage team is well-designed, but I still feel like Holy and Flare are just one panel too powerful. I still think a team is a bit too strong if the only thing that can overcome it is itself.

Quote from: formerdeathcorps on April 19, 2012, 08:43:12 pm
Fantactic, which teams did you test against?  Your descriptions of the metagame seem 180 degrees apart from the experiences of virtually every other person here.

180 degrees? Virtually everyone? Well damn, maybe I'm just shitty at team building then. Seriously though? No one else has ever watched their long-thought-out team get repeatedly killed by a mage with full MA gear?

I put my teams (a few variations on my Tourney team, as well as some completely different builds) up against a few teams from the first page of the submission thread.

One was CT5Holy's "Holy Stones" team. That team is incredibly well-designed and I respect the ownage there. Though I do still feel it's slightly cheap that I got owned from 6 panels away. If it had been 5, it would have at least seemed like my team had put up a fight. The 6 panel range made them look a lot more pathetic than they are, but I don't think my current build could beat that Holy Stones, even if it were nerfed to 1 range. The skills of the four units all interlock in a beautiful sort of synergy that is very difficult to beat. Holy Stones is a tactical masterpiece.

Another team was Team Rellia, which also features an MA heavy mage. The other units are formidable in their own right, but they don't support each other quite as effectively as Holy Stones does. I'm convinced that my team could (emphasis: could) win if they'd just get close enough to take out that Wizard.

With both teams, my units consistently get OHKO'd from six panels away. And only two of my units are mid-to-high faith squishies. All four of them are capable of at least some range. One of them has only 50 Faith, armor, and bad compat with Team Rellia's mage, but he still got OHKO'd. The fact that he got OHKO'd says "well-designed mage". The fact that it happened from so far away is what gets under my skin. If that mage wants to OHKO my units, it should at least have to step into the average Longbow/Earth Slash/Kikuichimoji/Elemental range.

Is a 5 range, 100% accuracy, high damage attack not good enough? Does it really have to be 6? It seems unbalanced to me. But then again, maybe I'm just not doing a good enough job on my end of things. I could probably design a team specifically built to beat Team Rellia and Holy Stones, but then they'd be weak in other areas. I suppose that's the dilemma with most team building though.

Bottom Line: Holy and Flare out-range most other ranged attacks, have the accuracy of guns, and (with the right gear) deal greater damage than any other ranged attack, OHKO'ing nearly anything that isn't a full-on tank. The MP cost is a slight deterrent, but ultimately a pittance compared to a mage's total MP. It does nothing to prevent spamming. The JP cost is relatively high, but leaves a Priest with Holy enough remaining JP to add Cure 2, Raise, Magic Attack Up, Move-MP Up, and still have 470 left over. And because of its range, MA gear becomes the easy choice. You stand far enough away to avoid most hits (and even several ranged attacks) so you don't need high HP, and you can attack from far enough away that there's no need to boost your move stat. Show me another class that can OHKO a bad compat, armored unit from six panels away with 100% accuracy.

All told though, I don't think mages are *radically* overpowered. The mage class does trade away quite a lot in order to obtain their power. I just think that their most lethal attack has one panel too many to still consider them to be a fair and balanced opponent.

(Addendum: After tweaking a weak link in my team, they were able to beat Team Rellia two times out of three. They even beat my devilishly cheap, nearly invincible twin Samurai team on their fourth attempt. However, they still failed against Holy Stones seven times in a row. They would probably still fail even if Holy only had 5 range...which is my point. Mages don't *need* 6 range to beat the ever-loving shit out of you, they can do it in 5. The fact that they can do it in 5, but have 6, is what makes me say they're slightly overpowered.)

If charging units bother you that much, you could run a mage with 8 SPD, short charge + don't act, silence song / sinkhole (without short charge) as the last unit of your team.  Similarly, you can run a fast unit with bizen boat, refute, or throw stone.
An HP setup gunner with MATKUP + elemental absorb + 70 faith is also a good idea.

Also, what's the average speed of your team?  Do you have haste2/masamune?  Are you always testing on the same map?  It seems to me that the squads you tested against are consistently getting first strike and flattening your units.  Instead of making your units tougher, why not make them faster or offer some bait?  It sounds counterintuitive, but if your squad is really slow, having any resurrection other than Raise2 may actually set your squad behind in constantly healing wounded units.

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The JP cost is relatively high, but leaves a Priest with Holy enough remaining JP to add Cure 2, Raise, Magic Attack Up, Move-MP Up, and still have 470 left over

Isn't the leftover 750 JP?
Unlocked Jobs: 750 JP
R/S/M: 900 JP
Skills: 600 JP
Also, most people would buy Cure3, Raise2, and Esuna.  That's 430 more JP to spend, leaving you with 320 JP.  320 JP is good only for Black Magic or Yin Yang Magic.  Considering this unit is a midcharge risk and a pure MA/MP/strengthen setup has crap (~230) HP running 40/70 stats with no reaction, you can easily 2HKO (maybe even 1HKO) this unit with melee ranged attackers.

Quote from: formerdeathcorps on April 21, 2012, 02:57:11 am
Also, what's the average speed of your team?  Do you have haste2/masamune?  Are you always testing on the same map?  It seems to me that the squads you tested against are consistently getting first strike and flattening your units.  Instead of making your units tougher, why not make them faster or offer some bait?  It sounds counterintuitive, but if your squad is really slow, having any resurrection other than Raise2 may actually set your squad behind in constantly healing wounded units.
Isn't the leftover 750 JP?
Unlocked Jobs: 750 JP
R/S/M: 900 JP
Skills: 600 JP
Also, most people would buy Cure3, Raise2, and Esuna.  That's 430 more JP to spend, leaving you with 320 JP.  320 JP is good only for Black Magic or Yin Yang Magic.  Considering this unit is a midcharge risk and a pure MA/MP/strengthen setup has crap (~230) HP running 40/70 stats with no reaction, you can easily 2HKO (maybe even 1HKO) this unit with melee ranged attackers.

My team does suffer a bit of a speed disadvantage (two 9's, an 8, and a 10). For range, the latest build I've been testing has got Wave Fist, Earth Slash, Geomancy, a Crossbow, and a Magic Gun. I'm not denying that Holy Stones has me completely outclassed - they do. I just think that 6 range Holy is unnecessary to an effective mage. A well-designed mage doesn't need that extra power, but they still have it.

My squad does have Short Charge Raise 2 on one unit, but there's no hope of accomplishing much with it. If my Raise 2 unit gets close enough to res, then Holy (with 3 move and 6 range, an effective 9) will more than likely find my 55 Faith, neutral compat, 309hp, res unit and OHKO her before the next turn...assuming she doesn't get mid-charged by one of the other units or Petrified by the effective 100 Faith Oracle. And Raise 2 hardly makes a difference against an OHKO unit like Holy the Priest. My units can be raised with ~300+ or they can be PD'd with 11, they're still dying in the next round. And god forbid my tank gets smacked with that damn 100% Add Faith Katana. (100%? Really? On something like a staff I'd understand, but something that's an effective weapon by itself, gets an additional buff of a 100% chance to add status? Really?) Anywho, I've gone off on a tangent now.

As for the JP totals, I forgot to scroll down on the spreadsheet I was looking at. Holy the Priest does have Esuna as well.

She's an effective sand bag, *and* an effective nuclear bomb, *and* she has the accuracy of concentrate, *and* she has almost 300 hp, *and* she has the range of a gun. Among *all* of that power, I think that she should lose *one* panel of her range.

All told, she has 290 hp, 14 ma (plus MAtkUp), and good compat with only one of my four units. (She could have even more MA, but for some incalculable reason, she's got a staff with 50% cast Dia instead of one with MA on it. She never uses the staff though.) I don't really have a problem with the fact that she can OHKO most of my team. I just think the range is too much, when added to that kind of power.

I have zero issue with the mage class's power. These magic units are well-designed, and have to trade certain strategic advantages to get that power. There are ways to defend against magic and my team is obviously weak against it. That's all good design on the opposing team's end, meeting with flawed design on my end. My only issue is with the range. Personally, I think that if an offensive mage can't fight effectively with five range, then that mage just isn't well-designed. I feel certain that both of the teams I tested against would still be super effective with only 5 range.

Things that have the same range as Holy/Flare:

1) Guns
2) ONE of the Longbows
3) Lancer's Level Jump 6 skill

And that's it.

Now then, on to today's list of complaints.

1) Dances and Talk Skills should trigger reactions if they connect. (Or maybe they do and I'm just extremely unlucky with the RNG. If they don't they should.)

If Dancers are going to drop stats so heavily, I should at least have the *chance* (assuming that I have an appropriate reaction equipped and the RNG favors me, based on my Faith and Fury) to fight back. To gain 20CT when I lose a point of Speed. To gain 5 Fury when I lose a point of PA. To gain 5 Faith when I lose a point of MA. If an Iron Boots Dancer (or two) wants to drop my team to 1 speed, I should at least be able to deal heavy damage from PA/MA save, on the off-chance that I  even get a turn. And if a Mediator wants to Death Sentence me at the flip of a coin, I should at least get a Counter Flood out of it. Or a Regenerator. Or a point of PA/MA so I that I can *try* (against the Iron Boots and Unyielding) to fuck them up on those two turns they spend ignoring me.

... Yes, I tried to test my teams against Y U SO DERP.

The current build of my Tourney team never had a chance and I respect the ownage. My Samurai team (after some tweaks to their support units...see also: Finger Guard) won one of three matches. The other two matches went on for about two hours each. Yep. Two hours of watching twin Samurai get slowly rolled over by twin Dancers...and failing to react as their Speed, PA, MA, and MP were reduced into nothingness.

2) This might actually fall into the "bug" category. With Magic Guns, I was noticing that the targeting window was showing a number like 42, but then the actual damage (from a Tier 1 spell, mind you) was somewhere around 60. Thinking on it, the units being targeted did have Unyielding for support. I'm assuming the damage was supposed to be 42 with Unyielding, but that the Magic Guns somehow ignored it...which they're probably not supposed to do. Regardless, if it's more than just a graphical glitch, if the AI has inaccurate information about how much damage it will do, it might act differently and that's a definite issue.

Similarly, are items supposed to bypass Unyielding? Should Hi-Potion still be doing 40% of Max HP healing on a unit that's supposed to take 20% less healing? Just wondering if that's intentional or not.

3) I stand by my previous assertion that 40% is too high for Hi-Potion. 35% might be more reasonable. And I still think 80 healing is too much for a reaction (Auto Potion). Perhaps it could be 40% of the damage received (slightly better than Damage Split for healing, but at the cost of not dealing damage to the enemy unit).

4) I hate to bite the hand that feeds me, but Stigma Magic and Chakra. They get range AND AoE? Even though they have zero vert, this seems a bit much. Either range or AoE would be nice, but both just makes Punch Art units a little too healing-centered. Personally, I liked the original versions of these two skills. No range, but AoE at 0 vert.

These are all just my opinions though. It's obvious that a lot of time and effort goes into  deciding what to buff, what to nerf, and what to remove. If I'm the only one who thinks these things, then there's a good chance that it's all errant nonsense.

We tried 35% Hi-Potion before. Wasn't doing enough. Currently, both X-Potion and Hi-Potion are used frequently, and X-Potion costs a bit less JP to compensate for Hi-Potion being a bit better.

Chakra and Stigma Magic went through a similar evolution. It went from original, 1 AoE centered around self, to 2 range single target, to its current form. Single target made it pretty meh, but the range was nice, so we gave it the current AoE. And it's fine.

And magic pre-range buff? Far from impressive. Magic is a threat, and is actually being used now. I think that's good.

Auto Potion and Absorb MP trigger against Dances (Wiznaibus for AP). Faith Up also triggers. The Stat Save reactions trigger from HP Damage. It'd be pretty nuts if it triggered off everything. Also, the stat reduction dances have had their success rate lowered from 50% to 40%. I hardly consider them dropping stats "heavily." You basically need an incredibly defensive setup like Raven has to make it work.

Also, keep in mind that it's basically impossible to stop every single setup out there.