What do you expect a FO to do?

Eistee

Eistee

Resident of Colony 9
I'm really curious about this since I've seen all kinds of different expecations about forces in all kinds of groups. I play a FOmarl and barely use techs (meaing I don't "nuke" or something like that) - except for Ep4 where Gifoie spam is basically mandatory. Yes, FOmarl Gifoie might not be the best, but it gets the job done, at least in my opinion. ;)

It seems that I've found the character / style of play that just suits me and makes me have tons of fun. However, recently, I wonder what most people would agree is the "correct" way of playing a Force / FOmarl.

One example:
In one group, I was excpected to take a bit of "crowd control" in my hands, for example by stunning lilies - even with techs that do low damage, just so that no one gets Megid'd. In another group, I did the same and got called out for causing damage cancel. In my view, both points are understandable. I just find this really interesting. And since I try to improve my abilities, I ask the following question:

What do you expect a Force to do? Do you scoff at a FO pulling out his or her DoB? Are you surprised to see a Force mech an enemy to death? What about Jellen and Zalure - is it OK to always "tag" using Zalure, even if the enemy might not actually die quicker by casting Zalure due to causing damage cancel? What is you stance on the classic "nuking FOnewm" im multimode? And so on...

Thanks for reading - I'm looking forward to a healthy discussion!
 
Really depends who you're playing with and what their goals are.

Generally when I play a Force, I feel the role of the FO is to provide buffs, debuffs only if necessary and the rest of the time using a mix of techniques and melee for damage depending on what is being done (and the FO being played).

I never double up when melee'ing as Force though, I'll always go after my own target with a DoB, RM, Mechs, J-Cutter, whatever is appropriate.

I personally like to use techs to stun, but only if it feels necessary, which always depends on the group. I won't always stun lilies, but if it looks like they're going to megid, I generally will (only need to cast every 5-10 seconds or so, no need to spam so damage cancel shouldn't be a huge issue)
 
You are an awesome FO. Besides that, its impossible to please everyone. Just focus on doing your best and have fun.

Besides the generic comments, most people expect from FO the classic SDJZ. IMO if a FO does that, it gets A with me :D.
 
I am by no means a FO expert, but from what I have gathered from the community is as long as you JZ a spawn with little to no delay, use resta when not zerking, buff with SD and use gifoie to avoid mob charges in ep4. There won't be any issues. You aren't expected to dish out a ton of damage, because, well... It's not really expected of you.

With that being said, the only way to be labeled as a bad FO and scare off others from joining your games is to not SDJZ. Everything else is secondary
 
Eistee said:
In one group, I was excpected to take a bit of "crowd control" in my hands, for example by stunning lilies - even with techs that do low damage, just so that no one gets Megid'd. In another group, I did the same and got called out for causing damage cancel.
Click to expand...

I think in that specific situation, there is a middle ground to be had - I greatly appreciate lily stuns from the FO, but it only really takes 1 Razonde every few seconds; if the FO is literally spamming it, that is when DMC can get annoying.

All I expect of a FO is SDJZ and Resta. If they wanna take it further with stuff like RM and SoF and all, that's cool and I appreciate the added firepower.
 
These 4 responses make it sound like playing a FO is way easier than playing a RAmarl. I feel like I'm supposed to SDJZ, resta (and anti), freeze with FS, crowd control with needle and deal damage with charge vulcs or whichever weapon's best for the situation. And I'm having a hard time doing all this to be honest, especially quick weapon switching is hard for me.

Is FOing really this easy?
 
The above is actually how you play FO if you're going for MOST OPTIMAL PLAY, but the majority of people just like the level 30 supports.
 
Wilhuf said:
These 4 responses make it sound like playing a FO is way easier than playing a RAmarl. I feel like I'm supposed to SDJZ, resta (and anti), freeze with FS, crowd control with needle and deal damage with charge vulcs or whichever weapon's best for the situation. And I'm having a hard time doing all this to be honest, especially quick weapon switching is hard for me.

Is FOing really this easy?
Click to expand...

IMO, RAmarl and HUnewearl, in a 4 person party WITHOUT a FO, is probably the busiest class. If there is a FO in the party you don't really have to do any of that tech stuff. The level 30 techs exclusive to FO make up the majority of their contribution to the party, which is why they can get away with not doing much else.
 
in terms of lillies, do what you think is best. I never personally complain with lilies because I take it into my own hands and trust no one. I wear ADR in random groups/big spawns, and then Cure/para if lots or I think fo will stun (causing them to para). If i didnt have Cure/para on it would irk me that you stunned them, but I don't complain because, your doing what you think is best for the group. It really comes down to whether you think your team are capable or not. Also, DMC from a stun or two barely makes a difference as lillies are pussies. Unless it's being spammed, go tell them to suck a dick.


A FO can also do alot more than just SDJZR + GIF. Thats just all people expect and are generally happy with. Personally on FOmarl i am pure melle after SDJZR with no nuking. Including taken dorphons down (CK) with demons twin, literally most fun thing. If I stick to SDJZR only I would be really damn bored. But I always prioritize them. I i find i desync alot in terms of SD and often spawns are slower for me (to JZ), but I never get complaints. People ask for SD but I expect it with desync.
 
Last edited:
I personally still see Forces as the Nukes of PSO, since they can reliably hit anything for big damage with the right tech. However, that is the drawback to their ability to have guaranteed hits, their damage isn't agnostic like Hunters/Rangers.

However, I generally don't expect a force to do much nuking except when it comes to locking down bigger baddies in the event the party doesn't have an android with a large stock of traps.

I mostly expect them to keep allies healthy (regardless of SDJZ) and to lock down enemies.
 
When playing timed quests, i'd expect trying to keep SDJZ up (when I FO, I usually cast SD after every 4 or so rooms to avoid desynch). Resta depending on team comp of DFers+freeze traps. At least knowing the resistances and "weaknesses" of monsters so you're not DMCing with 0 dmg (unless lilies cos razonde just more reliable). I also expect you to bring trifluids. If you want to play "optimally", then I'd also expect at least a Slicer of Fanatic and merges.
For non-timed quest just do whatever and have fun.
 
fishhao said:
When playing timed quests, i'd expect trying to keep SDJZ up (when I FO, I usually cast SD after every 4 or so rooms to avoid desynch). Resta depending on team comp of DFers+freeze traps. At least knowing the resistances and "weaknesses" of monsters so you're not DMCing with 0 dmg (unless lilies cos razonde just more reliable). I also expect you to bring trifluids. If you want to play "optimally", then I'd also expect at least a Slicer of Fanatic and merges.
For non-timed quest just do whatever and have fun.
Click to expand...
Have fun on non-timed quests?!?!!? NANDATO?!!?!??!
 
hang like an albatross upon the necks of hucasts everywhere. also, sdjz
 
My buff slave spams techs, and no one has complained (yet). In ep4 I don't even zalure. I just spam gifoie so I don't have to deal with the lizards. (In ep1 I will generally zalure tho)
 
Buffs, Debuffs, Resta, Situational razonde, Alt+K at enemies to deal the final blow.
 
When I'm Forcing it up, I S/D/J/Z, heal whenever I can (unless the team has a DF user or Heaven Striker spammer), stun Lillies and Mericarols with Gizonde or Razonde, and try to freeze with Rabarta if we don't have an Android or the enemies are really scattered around and a freeze trap won't get all of them. I also have a Cure/Paralyze and Cure/Shock so I can always help anyone, no matter how much paralyzing attacks and Zondes are being thrown around by enemies, and make sure I have high EDK so that there's at least one person that's immune to Megid when in Caves, Temple, Tower, or Seabed.

I could go on the offensive with weapons, but the teams I'm usually with have more than enough firepower to kill everything before I can equip something like a DoB, much less use it. Besides, as a FO, I'm probably going to get hit nothing unless I have a weapon that has comically high hit %.
 
I think as long as you are having fun then you are doing it right. For me, buffing and debuffing gets super boring, and sometimes I feel like I'm chasing my team down to slap resta band aids on them, so I try to mix it up, like dropping difluids for casts when they ask for a heal :D:D:D;) jk, that was one time only.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top