Bard or Machinist?

[MedSurgNursing]

Which should I roll first? Which is better? I know there's another forum post about this somewhere but I'm too lazy to find it.

[ManuelBravo]

I'm too lazy to find it.

I would tell you...but I'm also too lazy -.-

[Azerhan]

I would suggest BRD. MCH is very harder, and you need a good knowledge of the fight.
I'm playing both, and I would suggest BRD.

[Remyogic]

Currently, Bard is the "better" (read: more in-demand) of the two. Bard is also pretty much good-to-go right now, as far as balancing/job issues are concerned; whereas I have seen several posts about changes MCH needs for players to feel it functions properly.

Disclaimer: Bard is my only battle class at the moment and I'm in love with it.

[Gr1mwolf]

If you're unsure, go Bard.
I love my Machinist aesthetically, but...
I've been playing less and less lately, because I love the idea of the MCH so much I don't want to play anything else, yet the gameplay is worse than merely ill-designed or unfun. It's straight up bad, to the point that playing it feels like work; I actually dread having to run duties and fight with it.
The gameplay is wildly complicated, but not for any of the right reasons. It feels like all the abilities are random and unrelated, but you happen to have Wildfire, so the only overarching logic around the gameplay becomes "Do as much as possible inside Wildfire".
Compare this to something like the SAM who has clear logic in their gameplay; maintain buffs/debuff, build Sen and Kenki, spend them on big hitters.
The result is an insane rotation meant to get the most from a sea of chaos, that could only be discovered after incredible amounts of trial and error, parses and math. Without a cohesive flow to anything, it's like trying to memorize a string of 30 digits. Then try recalling it perfectly mid-fight, while other mechanics are going on.

The huge majority of abilities are cooldowns as well, which means two things;
1) Everything gets nuts when it's time to blow everything at once.
2) You have very little to do the rest of the time.

[HyoMinPark]

BRD has a very low skill floor. MCH, by comparison, has a higher skill floor.

BRD is relatively simple to play, but you do have a bit of juggling in terms of things you're looking out for (e.g., procs, songs, when to use your utility skills). While I don't know too much about MCH because I don't particularly like the job, I do know that, if you want to optimize, high latency works against you with MCH.

If you are wanting to optimize the jobs for higher-end content, both have high skill ceilings in order to play them well. But for casual play, BRD would be the easier of the two to learn.

[Azerhan]

I've to agree the main issue with the MCH is all the QoL improvements we never got: abilities and GCD are clipping way too much, latency is more punitive than in NIN, any failure in rota (or Quick Reload + Attack at 95 Heat but the QR won't work because clipping) and you're done.
Btw, the Flamethrower is a little buggy, I mean sometime you'll tick, sometime not, and just on time, I've passed frm 85 to 95, which it isn't possible x)

[Neela]

It's straight up bad, to the point that playing it feels like work; I actually dread having to run duties and fight with it.

The gameplay is wildly complicated, but not for any of the right reasons. It feels like all the abilities are random and unrelated, but you happen to have Wildfire, so the only overarching logic around the gameplay becomes "Do as much as possible inside Wildfire".

The result is an insane rotation meant to get the most from a sea of chaos, that could only be discovered after incredible amounts of trial and error, parses and math. Without a cohesive flow to anything, it's like trying to memorize a string of 30 digits. Then try recalling it perfectly mid-fight, while other mechanics are going on.

The huge majority of abilities are cooldowns as well, which means two things;
1) Everything gets nuts when it's time to blow everything at once.
2) You have very little to do the rest of the time.

uh thx for this sum :3

I started back in the days with my ARR brd and its still one of my main 2nds but I always wonder whats mch all about nowadays. I haven't played mch much - only leveled it with dailys just for the sake of max lvl at hw and never touched it again. but I read all the threads about mchs since sb and couldn't figure out what it was all about : /

thx to you now I can at least guess

[Rezef]

In my opinion MCH feels more clunky compared to BRD also I believe BRD to be easier compared to MCH. Aestheticly speaking MCH is more appealing to me but that's just me.

[ThirdChild_ZKI]

I'll admit it's hard try to explain it, as it's largely just muscle memory for me now, but I wanted to try and offer what I could.

First, it's important to know that with this new heat system replacing the "casting" of using Gauss Barrel (level 52) from Heavensward, what existed before Stormblood is now entirely different, and the job only really works sensibly at level 70 now, which is really bad for getting people into it. Most of your GCD weaponskills build heat, and your oGCDs either don't, or are used to manage it. Ammo, on top of ensuring procs and increasing potency of the next shot of the main 3, stops heat generation on the next shot. While they're not quite the same, think of and use Hot Shot like you would Straight Shot. That's your "always keep this up for more damage" skill.

For convenience sake: Split Shot = 1, Slug Shot = 2, Clean Shot = 3

1 procs 2 procs 3, and they don't have to be done sequentially. If you want to proc a Clean Shot, use Quick Reload>2. Using Reload ensures the next 3 shots will proc each other. One of the old techniques that still has some application is "stacking" your procs by using Reload, then firing in this order: 1-2-1. Following that, firing in the order 3-2-3 gives you a chance for the 2 to proc another 3. You can also force the proc with your Quick Reload. So, just remember 1-2-1-3-2-3 for later.

Now then, MCH has always been a weave-heavy job, if you want to get the most out of it. This is where I would direct you to the many rotation guides posted for it, if only for the raw basic order of things, but weaving oGCDs helps you maximize damage, and Ammo usage doubles now as both heat and proc management. All this goes into preparing to utilize your Wildfire (WF), which is the central damage mechanic of the job. May seem annoyingly strict, but MCH is and always has been a burst DPS and Wildfire is that burst. The idea is to work your way up to nearly Overheating (90-95 is the sweet spot), use Reload to set your procs, then push into Overheat (your own personal +20% damage increase for 10 sec.) and use Wildfire. Keep in mind, the 1-2-1 part of the shot order I mentioned earlier is part of the WF prep, with the 3-2-3 with weaved oGCDs being part of it. Again, please look into the many guides out there; I say this because while I largely follow them myself, I have my own slight deviation I use that just works for me.

Now the bad news: It IS possible to really screw up heat management and misalign cooldowns, and it feels really bad when that happens. Most of the big cooldowns are on 60 sec timers (which makes them align with Wildfire well), and Hypercharge - your biggest party utility - is 120 sec, so you can and should use it for every other Wildfire. At 70, good use of Ammo, heat management, cooldowns and Overheat Wildfire (OHWF) cycles can make for a very smooth, clockwork-like rotation, where everything you need comes up right when you need it, but it IS possible to mess up and misalign. Death can be costly for a MCH.

More than reading this, however, I say experience is the best teacher. If you're interested in trying the job, go for it. It's not as complex as others make it sound, and it's easier now than it was before, but it does take some focus and understanding of your kit to fully make the most of it. Don't let the seeming complexity of it scare you away. It's not a perfect job, but it's quite enjoyable when you do it right. And seeing higher and higher Wildfire numbers always feels good.