Help me pick a DPS!

I'd suggest Bard. You have priorities, but there's less to check off your DPS list than when you're playing something like Dragoon. I haven't played Machinist though so I can't compare.

Some people dislike how Wanderer's Minuet adds a cast time down the road because it makes them less mobile. I'm lazy and didn't move much, anyway, so I don't care. YMMV.

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Originally Posted by Fevelle

Yeah, I leveled them all to 30 to see what each class was about, but the gameplay changes a lot after some levels. I'll try Machinist and Bard now too. From the melee ones, I really liked Monk, but still not my piece of cake (better than all other though). I already have to continue my leveling on Bard to acquire Quelling Strikes (i forgot to get Quelling before leveling BLM and qent only with Raging Strikes, poor tanks) so I'll try it out until 60 and see if I like it better!

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If you didn't like SMN, you might have issues with MCH. It has a lot of cooldowns for buffs and off-gcd attacks, and the timing for the accepted openers at 60 is pretty tight due to the nature of wildfire. I'm not saying you shouldn't try it, but it plays fairly similar to summoner except the cooldowns don't line up quite as well (though they're not terrible), and you don't have to worry as much about the turret (which is good and bad - it's easier to not notice it died or needs to be moved since you often just forget it's even there).

Every class has its own way of 'prediction', perhaps not with as much freedom as WTM. There are main rotations that your damage potency will rely heavily on sure, but this can be varied depending on the situation, as there are a lot of skills available to overcome limitations. Melee classes especially don't have the luxury of micromanaging skills since they're usually in the danger area and are constantly forced to move to avoid AOEs, or can only maximize their DPS by hitting in certain positions, which is a great deal of difference from playing a DoM class like BLM or SMN where you're safe in the background and just focus on your own skills.

But most importantly, DPS is usually a solo class and doesn't rely as heavily on the synergy of the group as say, a healer to a tank, so oft you're not going to have that thrill of 'prediction and reaction' that will be as significant to everyone but yourself. Support classes like BRD and MCH might be the best alternative.

I personally like bard. Our rotation changes a bit depending on procs and on how much we have to move. We also have a lot of utility, so I'm throwing up songs to help the rest of the group depending on the situation (foe requiem for mages, mage ballad for healers, army's if someone's out of tp, etc.).

We do have a fair amount of buffs, and 2 dots+1 buff that you really want to have up all the time, but a bit more flexibility as well.

I mimic the sentiment of MCH being a good choice, though I find it has as many things to consider as you would on SMN so it might not be suitable. That leaves BRD as an alternative with a similar skill set.

My next vote in would be DRG. A four step rotation to maintain BotD while keeping up your debuffs on the target and buffs on yourself does require a bit of thought in your future planning and gives an interesting flow that can be hindered dramatically with the changes in the fight. I find it highly rewarding to play at high level and be able to consistently pull off good numbers. It doesn't really get too fun until the 40-50 range and then picks up even more in the 56-58 range, so that may be something that might turn you away thanks to the small grind associated with it.

MCH. While the burst rotation is more or less the same, for the most part the class is playing as how you decide skills are necessary and most beneficial based on the situation. Sometimes it's better to save certain skills for later, other times its better to go ahead and change turrets to preemptively prevent a MP problem, and sometimes it's best to just hit the enemies with everything you've got....

Also, I'm lonely as one of the only MCHs out there. I've still yet to see another MCH in Void Ark.....

Ninja! Now that mudras are fixed, its fun and feels fast-paced and who doesnt love their sexy combat animations! :3

DPS classes are the opposite of "intuitive". Pretty much all classes have an optimal rotation and how well you can stick to it dictates how well you do. At raid level, basically every single GCD you do is set from the get go, you don't react to anything (barring no "accidents") and just follow the optimal plan you set for yourself. Although, healers and tanks kind of become the same, their rotation is more based on what the mobs/bosses do. DPS classes pretty much roll the same, no matter what they fight.

TL;DR: Stick to tanks and healers if you want more reactive play. DPS classes are all about solid rotations, and repeating the same thing over and over again to utter perfection.

Pick Monk,its the strongest DPS in the entire universe.

Best pick would be MCH or BRD as most people have said. BRD probably moreso than MCH though since MCH does have a rather strict opener/wildfire rotation. BRD is mostly a reactive priority system