Need for DPS - which job is the most damaging?

[Rewyen]

Just because I see no one else saying it :P
A well skilled and well equipped RNG (Mithra especially) can deal sick amounts of damage at later levels in short bursts, but most tend to not classify it as a heavy DD since it's not really a front line job, which is true, but still, just wanna recognize all the RNGs out there.

[Kuroganashi]

Definately depends on armor but in DPS I believe WAR RNG COR MNK Emp , SAM NIN DRK as 2nd

But it all depends on Armor if you counting a NIN With Kannagi , if you Aftermath lv.3 and Hundread Fists , you can possibly out DD Some jobs and be surprised, but it is all Depending if it procs or not

Tests show that WAR RNG COR MNK gets Strongest WS DMG however they are slow on hitting which gives other "Fast Hitting" jobs a Chance to catch up and PAR with DMG or get close to it

[Delvish]

I also never think it's that powerful until i see it's can kill Melo Melo in one shot (Yes with DoT) even Melo Melo have very powerful regen when in shell also can't beat it's DoT. BTW as you say it's just up to mob i'm totally agree, also it's up to condition of setup you do on each job also. such as subjob, time to prepare, item use, ect.
Which i choose Blu, Sch, Sam sicne this 3 can just go in and start 2 hr to do that dmg with no need any TP storage or can just use it's ja to get it. and it's very potent in short time. =D BTW again as i say it's just IMO

On the right time on the right situation and right condition, RDM with Chainspell also can be one most powerful DD also.

With the right gear, skill levels and Atma, SCH can supremely out do WARs during Tabula Rasa. Just for example, I was out with a group killing Chigoe in A-Altepa. Pulled the entire area worth (I had phalanx, shock spikes, and stoneskin to stay alive) but the WARs didn't even have a chance to engage before the DOT began knocking them out very quickly. AoE, I was hitting them for 2k+ with potent DoT. Additionally, since it was DoT kill, we got pearl light for it. Just have to cap Azure first and you will get an extra ISL box in the group 90% of the time. It was great fun.

[Dragonlord]

With the right gear, skill levels and Atma, SCH can supremely out do WARs during Tabula Rasa. Just for example, I was out with a group killing Chigoe in A-Altepa. Pulled the entire area worth (I had phalanx, shock spikes, and stoneskin to stay alive) but the WARs didn't even have a chance to engage before the DOT began knocking them out very quickly. AoE, I was hitting them for 2k+ with potent DoT. Additionally, since it was DoT kill, we got pearl light for it. Just have to cap Azure first and you will get an extra ISL box in the group 90% of the time. It was great fun.

Blu does 6k+ with one spell aoe, that doesn't make it the greatest DD. Useful, yes. But this debate seems more about damaging 1 mob. Any aoe move can beat a single target if there's enough targets to hit.

Emp wars and mnks are pretty top notch. Mythic drg would probably win but there's so few (if any) that exist its impossible to really test. I have to vouch that drakes drg will beat kannagi nins though. I've never come close to losing to a nin on damage on my drg.

@kuroganashi - how can cor be on top tier? i haven't seen many DD cors lately but wildfire's damage falls off pretty fast out of abyssea, can it really keep up w/ emp war/mnks?

[Delvish]

Blu does 6k+ with one spell aoe, that doesn't make it the greatest DD. Useful, yes. But this debate seems more about damaging 1 mob. Any aoe move can beat a single target if there's enough targets to hit.

You have a good point with BLU, seen thunderbolt oneshot all but maybe 2-3 of them at a time, and it isn't 2hr reliant. It does sadden me that our 2hr has become our staple with crackbrava and kaustra, but I'll take what I can get. As far as single-target goes, Kaustra also does significantly more damage single target (I think I've seen as high as 6k) plus the DoT after-effect. Either way, in a zerg match it certainly puts us up there on the map.

[Taint2]

Support lvls dictate which jobs/weapons rank where.

Haste/Marches/Misers/Tactical/Chaos and other buffs change greatly influence who is the top DD.

[Dragonlord]

You have a good point with BLU, seen thunderbolt oneshot all but maybe 2-3 of them at a time, and it isn't 2hr reliant.

True, but charged whisker does more and is generally what blus cleave with. No stun but higher damage.

Granted i don't see many nuking schs around either, lol, so i can't say i know first hand the power of kaustra. But i did try it out on the test server and i can't see it coming close to any decent ukko war especially w/ outside buffs. Now if you're counting the added damage other DDs are dealing because of embrava as your damage, that's a different story. But you can cast it on the DDs and leave party so it's still kind of irrelevant.

@taint2, generally you'd consider any standard buff for this kind of analysis. If one DD is getting march/march/haste, all are.

[Manuelbravo]

Everyone has alot of great points as well as views, however a dd strategy isn't about just going in seeing how much dmg you can dish out and pray that the support can keep up. In some situations it works yet dealing dmg is also based on dmg made in the long run. By this I mean it's useless if you die right off the bat. Dragoons have an advantage in a way with proper haste sets and timimng. They can deal more dmg over time as well as get out of danger with proper enmity - gear and Super Jump. Drk's, Sam's, rng's all can and most dd's as well as magetypes I've seen play take this for granted. Specially in VW and WoE.

DRG's Pros: If you have relic weapon as well as Angons can be made as a great support job for defense down and with proper macros can deal damage, loose enmity and jump back into battle with a less chance of dieing then if a sam or drk goes in and doesntknow when to zerg. A Drg teamed up with a sam can do constant light on a mob if done properly.

DRG's Cons: (Based on drg's who don't know how to pace themselves) They can be a big burdon if they dont watch out for the dmg output while their tanks can't keep up...in a way that goes for all DD's...

TRUST and Pace your self when dealling Dmg if you want to live longer and be less of a burden...

[Aana]

SOOOO dependent on what buffs your DDs get and the level/stats of the mob in question.

And no offense to the mnks of the world, but 100 fists doesnt really mean jack when virtually any DD can cap 80% haste or darn close without batting an eye. All 100 fists does is reduce delay to the hardcap of 20% of your base delay. Haste etc will not breach that cap. Its basically just 80% haste which EVERY DD can reach with proper buffs/gear.

Buffs make such a difference. You give everyone miser's role and save TP atmacite with capped haste in VW, and every 2hander has a 2-3 hit build. Suddenly the DD with the strongest WS wins when you have 100TP again before your WS animation finishes. Take away all the save TP and the jobs with more raw DoT from hitting stuff picks up the slack. High level mobs will need more atk so jobs like war and dark do very well. Lower def mobs, jobs with less native atk/atk buffs pick up the pace like drg. (insert every other possible factor for DD output here)

So many factors a simple 1-20 ranking doesnt do anyone any justice.

What assumptions are we making? Best possible mathmatical potential? (best weapon/relic/mythic/empy, best armor, best buffs, no human error etc) or more of a 'joe shmo's ranking' that would answer the best 'general' dd class that most new people are asking about. "What job class kicks butt!" kinda list which would be aimed at an avg Joe playing. Are we talking about a general burn the zone down hypothetical super exp style event running over trashy mobs? Are we talking about zerging the toughest of the tough mobs in the game like AV zerg type events? Are we talking about abyssea/Voidwatch with crazy buffs/meds at your disposal?

This question is so friggin loaded and after playing for ~8 years i am sick and tired of the constant DD rank and file pecking order people try to make. There is no "in the end there can be only 1!!!11!!" DD class. To many mob types. To many gear/weapons. To many buffs. To many fight lengths. To many differences between players and their resources. To many variables.

The best DD is the one that knows how damage works and applies it while having access to the best gear. If you have access to gear and can use accurate knowledge of the damage system in creating gear sets and then apply it swifty and effectively in-game, you can wipe the floor with almost anyone regardless of the job. It is shocking what you can pull off on a crappy DD job just by understanding how to maximize its effectiveness, let alone a job designed to kill things.

[Deadvinta]

Blu does 6k+ with one spell aoe, that doesn't make it the greatest DD. Useful, yes. But this debate seems more about damaging 1 mob. Any aoe move can beat a single target if there's enough targets to hit.

If single target is the issue, then BLU can use Convergence to both condense the spell to one target and get even more M.Damage and MACC. Sure, that becomes a 10-minute dependent spike damage, But it's a 6k+ spike nonetheless right? Plus then the BLU can just go out and spam Quadratic and Goblin Rush for 1-2k per cast, if geared for it.