Just found the game and started playing again after having such good memories of it from when I was younger.
Only made it to like level 20 in my first day of playing this new reboot, but was already working towards rebuilding my FS Cleric that I ran as a kid.
I feel like I genuinely have no idea what to do in this game now that I've found out FS Clerics have like half of the utility that they used to. Some of my fondest memories of the game were just running through the starting area and applying Buffs to everyone I walked past. Met a lot of cool people and had a really great social experience helping people who were new to the game or just making new characters. Some of the greatest feelings was walking into early-game areas that don't have a lot of Clerics hanging around and seeing just how happy everyone would be that somebody came through to give them buffs and help them along their way.
I came to the forums just now to ask if they've removed the ability to Buff non-party members - because I wanted to start recreating my experiences of helping everyone that I pass - only to find out that they not only removed that, but also removed the most sought-after buffs that people used to seek out FS Clerics for in favor of putting them on other classes. I feel like I have to rethink my whole character. I'm considering completely scrapping this character and taking a completely different job instead.
I'm sure that somebody reviewed these changes and determined that they're healthy for the game's "meta" and have likely come with accompanying changes to support the paradigm shift, but it's deeply disappointing to me that the aspect of the game that I found most fun - helping new or low leveled players with tangible in-game benefits - just doesn't seem to be a thing I'm allowed to do anymore unless I want to like multi-box a roaming horde of 4 buff-centric characters (which also seems to be against TOS reading through here). But even then, with the removal of target-character buffs in favor of party-buffs, I can't even really do that either.
I was never a "meta" player and rarely found enjoyment in running end-game content in the original lifespan of the game. For me, it was the social experience of playing with people and shooting the breeze with people from all over while groups of randoms came to sit around the bonfire and get their buffs.
Ultimately, I think I'm just disappointed that the way I had my fun in Rose is just... not a supported way to play the game anymore. I was so excited when I saw that the game had been rebooted and was ready to recapture those old days. It's perhaps just a sign of growing older and realizing that the game you used to love isn't really made to support players like me anymore.
