DRG has been broken for far too long. Fix it SE

[beowulf81]

This has gone on long enough.
Their DPS ceiling is significantly lower than monk or ninja, meaning that their theoretical maximum damage will not touch that of a ninja or monk.

They are punished much more for missing positionals (missed flank on heavy thrust because you can't move/the boss turned? lose 70 potency and your 15% attack buff. Missed impulse drive from rear? you lose 80 potency and don't get to combo, commiserations), which means that their DPS floor is also significantly lower than a monk or ninja.

The nature of the punishment meted out to dragoons for missing positionals means that the difference between DPS ceiling and floor is far greater than a ninja or monk. In endgame instances it is becoming apparent that missed positionals occur with greater frequency, meaning that dragoons will be more likely to operate around their DPS floor.
For monks, this dps floor is not as far from their ceiling, which is already far greater than the drg's dps ceiling. Ninja does not need positionals.

This means that DPS for a dragoon is oftentimes out of the player's ability to control, more so than it is with a monk or ninja. Meaning that player skill has less of a role in generating significant dps at endgame, random luck has a greater role than for ninja or monk.

how are dragoons, a dps class, compensated for this lacklustre dps?

Through utility? no. Ninja has a TP replenishing tool, a slashing debuff of 10% for tanks and other ninjas, a flat 10% damage increase for the entire party for 10 seconds. Monk can decrease the boss's magic damage by 10%, and increase heals to the party within certain range by 20%. Dragoons have…. nothing.

Through greater defense? LOL no…. they have worse magic defence than many crafting classes. As the majority of unavoidable, aoe damage at endgame is magic in nature, this means that Dragoons are far more likely to die than other classes. They are made of glass.

Dragoons also need to pop b4b as soon as it is available for their dps to be anywhere near respectable. Which makes them even more vulnerable to damage from those unavoidable magic aoe's.

So to summarise:
-Dragoons that perfectly execute their rotation will not be able to touch the dps output of a monk or ninja that executes their rotation perfectly.

-Dragoons are punished for failing positionals much more harshly than monks or ninjas, meaning that mistakes made by a dragoon lower their dps output even further below a monk or ninja that makes the same mistakes.

-They have no group utility.

-They have terrible magic defence and are more likely to die in endgame than monks or ninja because of it.

They face far greater risk of dropping dps due to their need for positionals, but their optimal dps is significantly below a monk or a ninja. Meaning that there is no reward for the increased risk of rolling dragoon. So they do less damage, they take more damage, they have no group utility.

There is literally no reason why you would pick a dragoon over a ninja or monk in endgame. None. We now have many skilled dragoons from these forums declaring their intent to shift from Dragoon to monk or ninja; not because they prefer the play style of monk or ninja, but because Dragoon is outclassed by them and there is no point in playing them at endgame.

This is not okay. This is not how the game should be. One class should not remain this gimped for this long.

Why on earth have Yoshi and the dev team allowed this glaring imbalance to persist? When there was a problem with Warriors, they received an overhaul in 2.2. When people complained about black mages having a tough time in second coil, they got a damage buff. Dragoons have been weak for far too long, and the buffs to jumps (4-6 extra dps over 10 minutes, yay) do not address the very real flaws the class faces and has faced for far too long now.

I am sorry if this comes across as entitled, or if it harshly worded, but i am pissed off and have had enough. I do not pay my subscription to play a gimped class. It is way past time that Yoshi and the dev team addressed this and actually did something about it, other than offer half arsed excuses about how jumps would be op if they were invincible. It is as if they are content to sit there and do nothing. I am not paying you to do nothing, people that want to play dragoon at endgame are not paying you to do nothing, stop sitting on your hands and fix the bloody class.

[lololink]

Through utility? no. Ninja has a TP replenishing tool, a slashing debuff of 10% for tanks and other ninjas, a flat 10% damage increase for the entire party for 10 seconds. Monk can decrease the boss's magic damage by 10%, and increase heals to the party within certain range by 20%. Dragoons have…. nothing.

*Cough* +10% damage to BRD *Cough*

[Prototype909]

*Cough* +10% damage to BRD *Cough*

10% damage to Bard's -initial hits-. It doesn't buff the damage of their DoT ticks. To me, 10% to everyone in the parties' damage regardless of where it comes from is a lot more useful than that.

Is Dragoon viable? Absolutely. Is it any way shape or form preferable to a Ninja or Monk from an unbiased numeric standpoint? Absolutely not.

[lololink]

10% damage to Bard's -initial hits-. It doesn't buff the damage of their DoT ticks. To me, 10% to everyone in the parties' damage regardless of where it comes from is a lot more useful than that.

Is Dragoon viable? Absolutely. Is it any way shape or form preferable to a Ninja or Monk from an unbiased numeric standpoint? Absolutely not.

10 % to everyone for 1/6 of the time is less than an overall +2% dmg, BRD being 1/5 %(20 %) of the damage the +10 %( so it means party dps +2 %) is as useful.

[Andrens]

10 % to everyone for 1/6 of the time is less than an overall +2% dmg, BRD being 1/5 %(20 %) of the damage the +10 %( so it means party dps +2 %) is as useful.

Let everyone pop theyr CD/Potions during that +10%... you will understand

[lololink]

Let everyone pop theyr CD/Potions during that +10%... then you will see

Sure that it will be usefull to wait for the CD to be coordinates with sneak attack... or maybe you'll just lose as much DPS not using your CD when they are ready...

[Novaura]

The only issue I do agree on is the compromised Magic Defense. Other than that I have no issue with the Dragoon class.

I have earned a tremendous reputation in my FC as the resident Dragoon. When we do Coil raids, we always go Solo Tank and I play Off Tank because we know that it produces results. My FC knows that when they need to take on a challenge, help out a new FC member or get an established member to achieve their goals, they know they can turn to me because they know they can count on me.

Even with the introduction of the Rogue/Ninja class and with several of our members having already reached LV 50 Ninja, the FC still turns their resident Dragoon.

It tells me that the Dragoon is still as important and as formidable of a DPS class as it has ever been. That brings a smile to my face knowing that when I entered Realm Reborn, initially unaware that Lancers become Dragoons that I made the right choice for the type of hero that I would become in the game.

[kyrios91]

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ GIVE DRG BUFF OR WE RIOT ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ

Seriously to solve this just make DRGs a true glass-cannon. Low DEF and MDEF which basically will screw you up if you get once or twice but +300 potency to all our GCD and off-GCD skills except for Mercy Stroke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoJJOrR4wj8 0:15 to 0:31 is the situation where DRGs are in right now lol.

[WhiteDragon]

Let everyone pop theyr CD/Potions during that +10%... you will understand

Are you the type of guy that thinks healers should only heal during mantra too?

[EirlysC]

I personally feel like ninja and monk have to work a lot harder to get that dps with more room for error.

Personally I consider this to be all but correct, coming from someone who has played all three classes. The issue here, however, is not whether or not a player is able to maintain his/her individual buffs/debuffs, but is the fact that when done correctly, the difference in DPS is still massive.

So to summarise:
-Dragoons that perfectly execute their rotation will not be able to touch the dps output of a monk or ninja that executes their rotation perfectly.