Concerning Jobs - For the Consideration of All

[jessahkat]

Ladies, Gentlemen, Gentlepersons, and Unexplainable Entities of Dream)Craft,

  Today I greet you with a modest proposal. No, not the one about babies, I'll have no part in that. Instead, this proposal involves the balancing out of jobs. I'm not here to claim that any job is overpowered, nor am I here to disparage other players from joining any jobs. The job system in itself is fun! I greatly enjoy it as I feel that it (alongside and coupled with McMMO and Iconomy) supplies a great system of rewards to players on this server, and really helps Dream)Craft stand out amongst an ocean of servers. Dream)Craft has kept me coming back for going on 5 years now. But that's another story that I'll wax nostalgic on that at a later date.
  In most games, where players are able to choose jobs or classes or characters that have a differention of abilities, there needs to be a bit of balancing that goes on. The abilities that one job or class offers can easily dwarf another class. I don't necessarily feel like this is the Job System's downfall, but rather an area for improvement. I also understand that this server mod is probably no longer being worked on by the original author, however I do feel there are grounds for aforementioned improvement.  As I said before, I do not feel there is an overpowered job class. Every job has its own difficulty to it. That being said I do feel like some jobs fall far behind others and some even farther that tweaking and buffing classes here and there wouldn't hurt. Yes, a bit of balancing can be done by choosing two jobs as opposed to just one. Yet I do not feel that one should feel forced to join a second class just to even out another.
  From here I'll be focusing on my two jobs. One I view as my main focus and the other I view as something of a subjob. My main focus is my Builder job. I love to build. And I like to build with almost every material Minecraft has to offer. So the idea of being rewarded for doing a job that I chose is quite appealing. The Builder job both receives and loses Rem and Experience from placing and breaking a very modest list of materials. I'll write out this list in a moment but first one needs to understand that Minecraft does not have such a modest list of building materials. Instead its list is quite extensive. Here is an image illustrating all placeable blocks in Minecraft:



  Now as extensive as this list is, I do not claim to want or need reward for everything on this list. Again this list is extensive and my proposal for adjustment is just as modest as the available material list for the Builder job. Which has been researched beyond completely and is as follows:

      Basic List
      Cobblestone
      Wood - All Planks but Not Logs
      Fence - Oak Only, No Cobblestone/Mossy Cobblestone Walls
      Wool - All Colors
      Stone - No Stone Brick
      Glowstone
      Sandstone, Chiseled Sandstone, & Smooth Sandstone
      Glass - No Colored Glass or Panes
      Brick
      Lapis Block
      Step - Cobblestone, Stone, Stone Brick, Nether Brick, Brick, Sandstone but Not Wood
      Bookshelf
      Wood Stairs - Oak Only
      Cobblestone Stairs - No other Stone or Brick Stairs
      Mossy Cobblestone
      Diamond Block
      Gold Block
     
      Unlisted
      Andesite and Its Polished Variant
      Diorite and Its Polished Variant
      Granite and Its Polished Variant

  This is a small list but it excludes a hefty amount of building materials but includes one that is highly detrimental to this job. Stone. Stone is the reason why I had to take my second job, Miner. Miner is what has kept my rem in the green while still being a builder, however it does not supplant the experience lost, which, if I do want to level Builder, I need first enter an exhausting cycle of placing and breaking as many of my most rewarding blocks that I have until I am either out of the hole or until I'm at the next level. Thankfully we don't delevel, but that hole is literally a hole that I have to dig myself into simply because I have to mine. Its an essential mechanic of a vanilla game. You must mine. You could ask others to mine for you, but you should be able to help with that too.
  I'll digress on that point and return to the point prior. I do not, at any point, propose every placeable block in the game to be added to Builder. I do hope that you will consider my modest list of proposed additions to this class. Most of which are sane.

      Nether Brick - Including Fences and Stairs
      Netherrack
      Gates - All Varieties
      Soul Sand
      Endstone
      Obsidian
      Cobblestone Wall
      Mossy Cobblestone wall
      Carpet
      Ice
      Iron Blocks
      Stone Brick - Including Stairs
      Wood Stairs - Remaining Varieties
      Wood Steps - All Varieties
      Wood Fence - Remaining Varieties
      Brick Stairs
      Glass Panes
      Colored Glass Panes
      Colored Glass
      Red Sand, Red Sandstone, Red Sandstone Stairs, and Red Sandstone Steps
      Sandstone Stairs
      Redstone Blocks
      Redstone Lamps
      Prismarine
      Prismarine Blocks
      Dark Prismarine
      Sea Lanterns
      Quartz Blocks - Steps, Stairs, and Pillars
      Hardened Clay
      Stained Clay - All Colors

  In closing, I feel these additions (and the much needed removal of stone) would be a great step forward for the Builder job. This opens up the opportunity to scrutinize other jobs that have difficulty leveling; i.e. Weaponsmith, Enchanter, and Fisherman. Improving job growth among these classes will make them more fun, interesting, and open to exploration for other players. I leave this proposal for your consideration and in your good graces. Please reply in this thread with any questions or comments you may have.

With Utmost Regards and Respect,
 Jessah Kat

[Oz-bar11]

Good suggestions!

The key reason Jobs is as it is, is that no one has troubled to add new blocks to it in what is possibly years . Nonetheless it's not much of an excuse - I'll see about Miner and Builder at least on the weekend, if no one else has remedied it in-between.

You're right - Jobs has pretty much been abandoned, and doesn't play well with McMMO on some things (like brewing). We're trying as hard as we can, but it's getting harder :p .

[Oz-bar11]

I've had a look, and some of the new blocks apparently don't exist, so Jobs might have issues with them. Sorry for the delay, but it won't be done by this weekend. Very busy IRL, and I have to figure out how to make Jobs cooperate.