PURPOSE AND CONTENTS
The purpose of this write-up is to provide a clear analysis and feedback of the current state of Jett and a comparison to Corsair in an attempt to explain Jett's underperformance and public perspective. Opinions, besides of the general playerbase, will be kept to a minimum and assumptions are only just so, as we do not know the procedure Nexon internally uses to measure class performance. If there is incorrect data feel free to correct me below so that it may be fixed. It is my hope that this work reaches NexonNA's team as valuable feedback from the playerbase.
BRIEF HISTORY OF MAJOR UPDATES SPECIFICALLY FOR JETT
Jett was first introduced in June 2012 Global Maplestory (GMS) v112 fundamentally as a re-skin of Corsair, which was just about to revamped in the 2013 RED update. Thus, as the sole class with all the new changes from the RED update at the time, Jett performed relatively strongly until the other classes recieved the RED update. Since then, major updates to the class came sparingly, and it soon fell behind into mediocrity as updates to other classes were more frequent. This is a link to the old skillset
https://strategywiki.org/wiki/MapleStory/Jett/Skills
Major update #1. It wasn't until August 2014 GMS v152 Mark of Honor that we have a Jett similar to today's version. The class was overhauled and given skills appropriated from China/Taiwan Maplestory's Zen class, with only basically aesthetic differences.
Major update #2. June 2017 GMS v186; Override. Jett's skills received an uplift across the board in the form of damage increases to nearly every skill, bringing close to what we have in today's Jett in terms of damage. It also introduced to GMS the notorious 0-second cooldown Starfall, which was swiftly reverted.
Major update #3. July 2019 v206 Pathfinder: Squadron of Heroes, Jett recieved an update to numerous skills, namely skill delay reductions, introduction of Final Damage, a unique buff that can benefit the party, and some updates to the Jett's questline. In the same update, Beast Tamer, another class also known for being neglected and bug-ridden, received an immense update that brought it to generally acceptable levels of performance and was thus highly appraised. Just counting the number of changes in the patch notes (
http://maplestory.nexon.net/news/51627/v-206-pathfinder-squadron-of-heroes-patch-notes#jett), Beast Tamer recieved over 3 times the amount of changes compared to Jett's.
At this point, Jett remains to have the same borrowed skillset from 2014 and is regarded as the weakest class in the game with no unique benefits to multiplayer gameplay and no distinct features to promote the class. A vast majority typically play the character in order to reap the strong Legion and Link Skill benefits the class provided, only to remain untouched once achieved. Despite the clear underperformance of the class, the insufficent updates to improve Jett only mystified the playerbase.
Major Update #4. Dec 2019 Glory. The most recent update to Jett was one met with poor reception. Several skills were removed or given cooldowns, including already underused skills. Damage buffs were added, but the strongest skill was essentially removed from viability, thereby weakening the class as a whole. It was clear a certain playstyle was being promoted by design (e.g. use Starforce Salvo and abandon the Starline skills), therefore the Jett playerbase was forced to adapt and suffer the loss. Given the effects of these changes, not only were players further mystified, but some outraged by the continued neglect and poor design the class continues to embody even after a near-decade of inferiority.
REVIEW OF SKILLSET
This section will go through each tier of the class, focusing on skills relevant to actual, experienced gameplay and the issues v210 has caused to the skillset.
1st Job:
Starline One: This skill has a small hitbox but attacks quickly. Because it used to gain increasing damage % from 135% to 420% once Starline 4 was learned, this skill was the strongest 1v1 skill when upgraded with nodes prior to the v210 update. Now that it no longer has this benefit it has no use beyond 2nd job.
Vortex Jump: This skill, now removed, was very useful in that it allowed teleporting in other skills' animations, otherwise known as telecasting. This skill, along with Vortex Cross, Starline 3/4, and flash jump was the reason why Jett's are known for their high mobility. It could be used to provide movement during skills with long animations, which Jett is also notorious for. Skills that can link with Vortex Jump include Starline 1/2/3/4, Vortex Cross, Cosmic Upheaval, the final attack of Backup Beatdown, Planet Buster, and Singularity Shock. The skill was frequently used.
2nd Job:
Starline Two: This skill is faster than Starline One and has farther range. Previously it did not see use outside of 2nd job, but now that it hits three times from the v210 update and Starline One is now obsolete, some use it for bossing with node boosts as it competes with or exceeds Starforce Salvo's damage.
Vortex Cross: This skill provides two dashes, combined with Vortex Jump it made for very quick horizontal ground cover. Stronger players use the skill for hunting, however this was made more prohibitive to do so because the damage was decreased from a low 130% to an even lower 100%, and the mobs hit was reduced from 8 to 6.
3rd Job:
Starline Three: This skill, like Starline One and Two, used to have increasing damage from learning Starline 4, now that it no longer has such a benefit, it sees little use beyond 3rd job. I would also like to add that the skill no longer is able to be used mid-air from v210. Since Starline 4 was also removed (which was able to be used mid-air), none of the Starline skills have much relevance to hunting any longer.
Falling Stars: This skill was not very useful for damage purposes, but the skill had a benefit of causing the character to levitate for a few seconds while holding down the skill key. This was useful in certain situations when the floor was dangerous to touch, such as in Lotus when floor lasers appeared. This benefit of the skill has been removed, and as such the skill has little purpose beyond 3rd job.
Cosmic Upheaval: This skill provided very useful mob management. Players are no longer able to rely on this skill as heavily due to its added 3 second cooldown.
Spatial Shift: This upgrade to Vortex Cross was severely reduced in damage (Damage decreased from 160% to 140%. Number of Attacks decreased from 3 to 2.), making it harder to be used as a sole hunting skill. Only players with very high damage could utilize it as such.
Turret Deployment: As a summon skill, this skill never recieved the update years ago to most other summon skills in the game to use the character damage formula, which would allow it to critical hit, therefore its damage is significantly lower than expected. Now that its node was removed in v210, it is even weaker.
4th Job:
Starline 4: This was a major way of hunting prior to v210; it provided both mobility and high damage due to how it scaled with nodes, as well as an upgrade to all previous Starline skills. Unlike Starline 3, it could be used in the air. It was removed in v210.
Starforce Salvo: This skill is a keydown skill nearly identical to Corsair's Rapid Fire. Promoted as the skill to be used for bossing, it was actually weaker than using Starline One prior to v210. After v210, it is still better to use Starline Two due to a bug with Starline Two.
Planet Buster: When used off cooldown, this skill improved damage per minute in bossing prior to v210. Now that its damage is lowered but cooldown is removed, it is promoted to be the sole hunting skill with no purposes in bossing. Its large hitbox allows it to be used easily, however in gaining this, Starline 4, which was far stronger as a hunting skill, and its ability to be linked with Vortex Jump was sacrificed. Damage and mobility were traded for a different playstyle focused on ease of access.
Backup Beatdown: Stronger players were able to use this skill to hunt but are no longer able to given its new 60 second cooldown from v210. As a keydown skill, it is one of the weakest. It attacks relatively slowly with small range and can only be held down for 8 seconds before launching a sluggish final attack with even smaller range. It was and is not a strong skill by any measure. Keydown skills by their nature should not have a final attack, that is not their purpose; they are meant to launch many quick attacks so as soon as new enemies come within range they will be attacked.
Starfall: The weakest map attack in the game, this skill is also unique for having no node or secondary effect either.
Strikeforce Showdown: This skill causes Jett's Starforce Salvo damage to be inconsistent but contributes a large part to Jett's damage if activated. It has a few issues. First, it has no node, so its damage contribution falls significantly with game progression. Second, it sometimes attacks the wrong target when aiming Starforce Salvo at multiple targets. Third, when Starforce Salvo is released during the animation for Strikeforce Showdown, the player will be locked into the animation until its completion. Fourth, the range of the skill is shorter than Starforce Salvo, therefore it will never proc when using Starforce Salvo at close to maximum range.
Gravity Booster: This skill was made into a party skill in v206 to give critical rate, stats, and knockback resistance. It was the only party skill unique to Jett, and not a particularly sought after one at that. Its party function was removed in v210.
Hyper Active Skills:
Singularity Shock: This skill's long delay makes it unattractive to use, especially moreso after Vortex Jump was removed so movement is no longer possible while using the skill. In v210, its damage was increased along with its cooldown from 7 to 30 seconds, making it weaker than before once 14 seconds pass, or after two uses.
Bionic Resilience: Because this skill provides a hefty amount of %HP increase on top of the 90% from Cosmic Shield and Invincibility, Jett can easily have over 100,000 HP, therefore making Power Elixers less effective. HP is an outdated defensive stat as most bosses do damage by a percentile of HP, possibly making Bionic Resilience do more harm than good. Some opt for not even using the skill.
5th job:
Gravity Crush: When 5th job was released, this was Jett's first 5th job skill. To this day it has not functioned correctly, making it deal very poor damage. The skill is supposed to deal more damage when "charged", but the charge mechanic does not seem to work. Even if the skill worked properly, its damage (314,600% every 120 seconds Lvl 25) would not be particularly special. Mechanic's Mobile missile battery does 161,500% every 25 seconds at level 25. Corsair's Nautilus assault deals 597,960% damage in a single cast every 180 seconds, while also giving invincibility. As a burst skill, having a 10 second delay before dealing its damage is poor design, and finally, having 30,000% per line would make the skill hit the damage cap too easily.
Suborbital Strike: This skill is sometimes unable to target bosses, particularly ones with raised hitboxes.
Summary of class observations:
-Jett is a very simple class with no mechanics that reward certain playstyles or features that uniquely distinguish it for multiplayer. There is no actual synergy or overarching theme amongst the skills, and the v210 update simplified an already one-dimensional class while removing useful skills.
-In the context of Maplestory's other classes, its only noteworthy aspects are its good mobility (although less so with v210), good link skill, and strong Legion block.
-Due to lacking any benefit for party play (benefits that are unique to the class and cannot be supplied by any other class), it is assumed this class is designed to inflict damage in a multiplayer setting as opposed to a support role.
-There are also too many active buffs including Galactic Might, Bounty Chaser, Slipstream Suit, Bionic Resilience, Gravity Booster and Maple Warrior. With 5th job skills and decent skills, there can easily be over 9 buffs.
-Despite having high %HP from its skills, Jett is fragile due to lacking any invincibility frames or means to reduce %HP percentile damage, which is the only way bosses deal damage in relevant, high level gameplay.
-There is virtually no burst damage.
DAMAGE COMPARISONS
The playerbase has made its own collection of charts that calculate the damage per minute each class outputs and ranks them in relation to Bishop, the universally accepted benchmark as the weakest class due to being almost entirely designed as a support role.
https://maplestorydpm.blog.fc2.com/ (updated as of v210 GMS)
ジェット (Jett) (GMS)
4,514,147,919,089 (Damage output in a minute)
78.19% (Ratio to Bishop)
https://puu.sh/uMopA/ec786929ea.png
(From 2017)
Now because these charts are unofficial, utilize unrealistic conditions and/or unknown methodology, and Nexon most likely has some other assessment by which they measure class performance, these charts are of dubious worth. However they consistently show Jett as the lowest performing class as a far bottom outlier.
Comparison to Corsair
Due to the lack of an official performance measure between classes we will compare Jett to Corsair by what stats the skills provide to the player and then by what skills contribute to bossing. Corsair is a class designed to deal damage and is generally average in terms of performance. Although Corsair plays differently than Jett by being summon-centric and heavily relying on cycling cooldown skills, its main attacking skill Rapid Fire is near-identical (besides node differences and slightly base damage) to Jett's Starforce Salvo and they both utilize DEX and guns. As said before Jett was once a reskin of Corsair upon initial release. All skills that influence damage dealt besides mastery, damage from active skill usage, and 5th job are included and are assumed maximum level.
Apologies for formatting, tables cannot be entered into forum.
Base Stats Provided by Corsair
Corsair Skill
Link Skill Pirates Blessing LVL 2 +30 STR +30 DEX
Shadow Heart +20% Critical Rate, +5% Critical Damage
Physical Training +30 STR +30 DEX
Roll of Dice +20% Damage or +15% Critical Rate
Cross Cut Blast +60 ATK
Fullmetal Jacket +20% Final Damage, +30% Critical Rate, +20% ignore monster DEF
Parrottargetting +25% Final Damage when debuff applied, +20% Critical Damage
Jolly Roger +20% Attack
Pirate's Revenge +15% Damage
Majestic Presence +30 ATK
Ahoy Matey's +25% Critical Damage, +45 ATK (Randomized; Murat: 5% Critical Damage, Valerie +15% Critical Rate)
Whaler's Potion +10% Critical Rate
(Double Down will be excluded because of its randomized nature, the influence of Corsair hyperskills, and that Loaded Dice can guarantee one Roll of Dice result. Maple Warrior, Hero's Echo, and Epic Adventure/Rising Cosmos will be excluded as both jobs have these.)
Base Stats Provided by Jett
Jett Skill
Link Skill Core Aura (Perfect results) +35 ATK, +35 DEX
Seasoned Hunter +20 ATK
Cosmic Shield +50 STR +50 DEX
Bounty Chaser +40 STR +40 DEX, +20% Critical Rate, +25% Damage
Slipstream Suit +45% DEX, +20% Final Damage
Blaster Overdrive +15% Critical Rate, +25% Attack
Clairvoyant +25% Ignore Monster Def, +15% Damage
Gravity Booster +25 All Stat, +20% Critical Rate, +20% Boss Damage
Giga Blaster +30% Critical Damage
Jett Supreme Enhancment Skill +30 ATK, +10% Final Damage
Invincibility +11% Damage
Sum of Stats per Class
Corsair
+60 STR, +60 DEX
+60% Critical Rate (Up to 90% based on Dice Roll and Ahoy Mateys)
+50% Critical Damage (up to 55% from Ahoy Mateys)
+15% Damage (up to 35% with Roll of Dice)
+135 ATK
+20% Final Damage (up to 45% with Parrotargetting)
+20% Ignore Monster Def
+20% Attack
Jett
+115 STR +150 DEX
+55% Critical Rate
+30% Critical Damage
+51% Damage
+50 ATK
+30% Final Damage
+25% Ignore Monster Def
+25% Attack
+45% DEX
+20% Boss Damage
(Final Damage not calculated multiplicative, approximated)
The differences between the classes are not as stark as assumed. Corsair has more Critical Damage and Final Damage (with Parrotargetting) and ATK while Jett has more Damage and Boss Damage and base DEX from its skills. While one can argue that Corsair has more influential stats in Critical Damage and Final Damage, in the end all of these stats in the table are dependent on other variables such as equipment potentials and stats. It is not very accurate to make any conclusions just based on counting the raw stats provided by the class' skillsets. These stats are subject to diminishing returns and vary in contribution to damage output. Rather, it is more effective to do what the aforementioned "DPM" charts do, and compare the output of damaging skills in a set amount of time.
and 4 others.
Comments
Because it is not feasible for me to perform actual or simulated damage tests between a Corsair and a Jett with exact stats and equipment, I will merely be taking into account the available damaging skills each class has when attempting to inflict maximum damage to a single target in a minute. Only skills that perform at least an expected 1% of damage inflicted in a minute will be included.
Corsair Skills
Rapid Fire
Broadside
Majestic Presence (boosted by Nautilus Strike)
Octocannon
Ugly Bomb
Brain Scrambler (with Quickdraw)
Scurvy Summons
Bullet Party
Deadeye
Nautilus Assault
Jett Skills
Starforce Salvo
Strikeforce Showdown
Singularity Shock
Suborbital Strike
Allied Fury
Conclusion:
Corsair has about double the number of relevant skills available in attempting to maximize damage output. Brain Scrambler does not normally increase damage per minute but was included for the same reason Singularity Shock was included, as while Brain Scrambler should only be used when jumping and repositioning, Singularity Shock can only be used when safe due to its enormous cast delay. Turret deployment was not included for Jett despite being so similar to Octocannon because Turret deployment does not use character damage formula nor does it have a node. Gravity Crush was not included for Jett because it does not work correctly (since its inception) and deals only about 5% of its intended damage output, likely not even reaching 1% of damage achieved in a minute. Finally, if we were were to compare actual damage per minute accounting for damage % per each skill delay, such as Starforce Salvo dealing 300% damage per 120 milliseconds, Corsair's Nautilus Assault skill at level 30 deals 597,960% damage in a single cast, which is about 80% of the damage Jett pre-5th job skills (Starforce Salvo, Strikeforce Showdown, and Singularity Shock) would deal in a minute combined (see calculation below). There is no need to calculate the holistic damage per minute to see the clear victor. The difference is only exacerbated as Strikeforce Showdown has no node.
Therefore, the weakness of Jett, in juxtaposition to an average class like Corsair, is due to both a lack of concurrent damage sources (deficient skillset) as well as possessing inherently weak and dysfunctional skills.
SUGGESTIONS:
This does not mean to make Jett like Corsair. Jett was only compared to Corsair because the classes both use guns, and thus the same weapon attack multiplier, and Rapid Fire and Starforce Salvo are very similar to each other and are the main damage sources for their respective classes.
Instead, Jett should be remade almost entirely. The class's design, even when revamped in 2014, is bereft of any gameplay mechanics, synergy, or themes that benefit the class. Unlike all the other explorers, Jett has no "specialization" skill that the other explorers recieved in the RED update in 2013, neither does it have any special weapon-based skillset characteristics like Dual Blade or Cannonneer.
What should be focused on are Jett's strength(s), such as its mobility. As a theme, Jett's utilization of both a gun and a "fist", its secondary weapon, can be used to illustrate a class with a dual ranged and close-combat nature. Jett has no unique support functions, its damage should then be accentuated. Addition of at least one modern feature such as a bind or skill that grants invincibility frames should be added. These are the things that can be expanded upon with its remake.
In the meantime, Jett should be reduced to a limited-time creation class. Its current state should no longer be acceptable, and its availability serves as a trap for misplaced player investments of time and money beyond level 200. At the very least, the class should have a warning that gameplay will be harder, returns on investment will be less, and that other players will find you less desirable to work with when achieving goals.
Calculation of Nautilus Assault vs Jett
Nautilus Assault:
660% damage * 6 attacks (lines) * 7 activations
+
1320% Damage * 12 lines * 36 activations
= 597,960%
Starforce Salvo:
300% * 1 attack * 2.8 from nodes = 840% damage * 500 times a minute at 120ms per shot = 420,000% damage per minute (DPM)
Strikeforce Showdown:
450% * 10 attacks * 50 procs per minute = 225,000% DPM
Singularity Shock: Usable twice per minute
1500% * 15 * 2.2 * 2 uses per minute= 99,000%
500% * 5 * 2.2 * 2 = 11,000%
Total = 110,000% DPM
420,000% + 225,000% + 110,000% = 755,000% DPM from these 3 skills, assuming they can all be used at the same time without interrupting each other, actual gameplay will have lower.
597,960/755,000= 79.2%
About me:
Passionate player since 2005 beta. Thank you very much for your time.
After it was called a feature for a couple days lmao
Just went back and read through the entire thing. It seems the gms team over in Korea has no idea what to do with jett. One step forward, three steps back, that sort of thing.
10/10 Quote right there
It might be worth mentioning that the bug report post is still up (and semi-maintained) just to illustrate the sheer number of bugs (not gameplay issues) that are wrong with the class, some of which are already mentioned in the post above.
An easy way to boost bossing damage while emphasizing his dual-weapon nature would be something like stacking bonuses (FD%, Strikeforce proc chance, num of lines, etc) for switching between his fist/guns. A way to teleport to Jett's most recent gun-hit target could be another way to help this dynamic.
Jett also has a sub-theme with his space-faring friends (Ally fury, Backup Beatdown, Strikeforce Showdown) that could be expanded upon alongside the melee/ranged dual nature.
That being said, just fixing the bugs and making its 5th job skills feel like 5th job skills and not just things you consider not using because they're not that good would bring the class a long way. Allied Fury isn't even worth it for DPM, honestly what classes forgo using their 5th job skills when trying to do damage?
Thanks for reading. The idea to reward mixing skills to increase damage is an excellent idea that plays off Jett's theme of ranged and close combat. I am quite sure Allied Fury does increase damage per minute when used (as opposed to just holding down Starforce Salvo) because it deals more damage when hitting a single target (4 more attacks on the second portion). Therefore I kept it in the comparison to Corsair when counting the relevant skills when bossing.
That summary list is a good place for Nexon to start in terms of balancing. So many players have done detailed overviews of Jett's issues on the forums and on the subreddit but these balancing patches barely do anything to address them. The December 2019 balancing caused more problems than it solved which makes me feel like the team in charge of Jett's balancing doesn't understand where Jett's problems lie.
That being said, I'm wary of any full revamps because pre-nerf Jett is one of my favorite characters in the game. Dashing around is fun. Having so many different mobbing options was fun. Simplicity isn't necessarily a negative point but removing options is.
Corsair, to follow up on your comparison, has plenty of damage sources but at the cost of having too much micro management. Too much clutter on my keyboard, too much moving my gaze back and forth between the game and the hotkeys to constantly check if cooldowns are off. Jett may have a lot of active buffs to deal with but it doesn't come close to the amount of obnoxious micromanagement that Corsair has to put up with because of all the short duration summons, cooldown restricted buffs, and more. If they end up remaking the character, it should not be with making the character overly complicated, especially since we already have two gun users with way too much micromanagement. Adding more damage sources would be great but please, not through summons.
Definitely agree, I am not suggesting Jett to be like Corsair. Corsair is very summon and cooldown-centric, which puts a lot of people off from liking the class, including me. I only used Corsair as a comparison due to both of them using guns (same weapon multiplier), DEX, rapid fire, and at one point Jett was almost a mirror of Corsair. In contrast to Corsair, I definitely appreciate Jett's simplicity in gameplay. What I mean by simplicity is exactly avoiding excessive micro-management.
A lot of classes can have multiple damage sources without too much micro-management. Kanna is a great example (I know her skillset is overloaded and may not exude simplicity but bear with me). Her main damage skill is Shikigami Haunting. When Kanna uses the skill, it may proc Nine Tail's Fury passive, Yozosume, Nightghost, Shikigami Haunting DOT, and Spirit Circle, all with just one key. All three of her fifth job skills are also extremely low maintenance and do not interfere with how you attack as Kanna. Kanna's rework, as overpowered as she is, was done well.
Yeah, that part of my reply was directed towards Nexon more so than you, just in case they happen to read this post. I don't want them to take the wrong point away from this post and have Jett to go back to being a reskin of Corsair.
More passive attacks would be fantastic.
Another thing that the Kanna revamp did well: it didn't ruin everyone's Boost Node set-up. Remaking a new node because of Starline One being useless is bad enough, if Nexon actually does do a full revamp at some point, they would have to take Boost Nodes into consideration. Either replacing the most important skills with other important ones or removing boost nodes and compensating players with a LOT of Experience Nodes. Full character revamps might be unlikely at this point. It's ironic that the V Matrix system was created to make expanding characters' abilities easier yet it has become a huge hurdle for redesigning skills.