Best designed DPS and Worst designed.

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Originally Posted by Shurrikhan

[*]RDM - A job that's decently "complete" but only from and around mechanics that add more fluff than depth; it can also be a turn-off that its sword is almost solely an added liability rather than an advantage.

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thats pretty much the SOLE reason i like the job. :P
every job should have something "wrong" with it, so its not just good at everything.
and the only time i dont like the "something wrong with it" part, is if it feels clunky in some way, such as mudras clipping the GCDs on old NIN. (I prefer the idea of weaving them between GCDs, just wish they had shorter animations so clipping didnt feel so bad, even if its just fine)

in the way BLM has to find ways to always be casting, RDM has a bit of that, plus needing to be aware of their melee options. using the gap closer/escape. (my only complaint being they dont get 2 charges for that sole purpose. atm its just press them when shiny 99% of the time)

Bard is definitely down there at the bottom for poorly designed. It feels abandoned. It has a tedious restart time when there's an intermission because you have to get your two DoTs rolling again, Apex just isn't interesting and worst of all it constantly leaks damage if you get poor timing on Bloodletter. That choice of "clip it or risk losing a proc" is just a lose-lose. Songs aren't that impactful, Sidewinder isn't that impactful, Repelling Shot isn't good, double DoT's doesn't really add anything to gameplay except slower wind up time and more punishment for forgetting Iron Jaws.

And then you have DNC. The comfiest and most forgiving rotation, triple dash, great raid buffs and a decent heal.

Bard is in an awkward spot where you have a clunkier, more punishing class with more to keep an eye on (2 DoT's, 3 songs, constant procs that can't be held and your gauge) ...but there's no reward for it. It doesn't excel over or offer anything better than the easier, less punishing, smoother to play class even if you master it.

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Originally Posted by Liam_Harper

and most forgiving rotation

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I think the basic 1, 2 combo should be buffed by the procs, to encourage players to prioritize going 1, A, 2, B, where A buffs 2, and B buffs 1. if the potency is small enough, it still remains forgiving, but adds a bit more of a priority to their rotation.

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Originally Posted by Claire_Pendragon

thats pretty much the SOLE reason i like the job. :P
every job should have something "wrong" with it, so its not just good at everything.

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Sure, but not to the point that, say, a DRG's scarcely rewarded weakness would be jumping, Bard's would be singing, or RDM's using its sword. There's a difference between having a unique play-flow or priority to play around and the whole essence of your job being what others have access to more potently but now with a bunch of added restrictions also attached. If you make something unique and iconic to a job, it shouldn't merely be a unique burden, as per RDM's Foul-but-more-uptime-dependence-and-forced-melee-time-and-only-a-tenth-the-available-banking it calls a melee combo.

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Originally Posted by Liam_Harper

Bard is definitely down there at the bottom for poorly designed. It feels abandoned. It has a tedious restart time when there's an intermission because you have to get your two DoTs rolling again, Apex just isn't interesting and worst of all it constantly leaks damage if you get poor timing on Bloodletter. That choice of "clip it or risk losing a proc" is just a lose-lose. Songs aren't that impactful, Sidewinder isn't that impactful, Repelling Shot isn't good, double DoT's doesn't really add anything to gameplay except slower wind up time and more punishment for forgetting Iron Jaws.

And then you have DNC. The comfiest and most forgiving rotation, triple dash, great raid buffs and a decent heal.

Bard is in an awkward spot where you have a clunkier, more punishing class with more to keep an eye on (2 DoT's, 3 songs, constant procs that can't be held and your gauge) ...but there's no reward for it. It doesn't excel over or offer anything better than the easier, less punishing, smoother to play class even if you master it.

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I’ve never disagreed with someone so hard since someone mentioned MCH being the best designed job rivaling SAM and BLM. Worst is you compared it to DNC which is always a hard pill to swallow when people start comparing jobs with more nuanced kits to jobs that can un uncontroversially be labeled as a tutorial job. Such sweet words “comfy” meaning brainless, “forgiving” meaning shallow. BRD has issues sure and I’ll be gladly to agree with any once you list some that isn’t “why can’t BRD be easier”

I’m just hitting 50 on my BLM. I am also a new player to FF and had taken a break from mmos since 2018.

I personally think the mana mechanic is the most brilliant design for mage in any game I’ve played with mages.

I say this having not done end game content etc… that being said I cannot wait to raid as BLM.

To me, Bard is the worst designed. While MCH is arguably more boring it at least has some Big Buttons and the very active heat window (yes, it's just mashing the same buttons but at least it's something). Bard just has nothing that actually feels good or rewarding. There's more to do than on MCH but none of it makes you go "Wow" or "Ooh that was fun." There isn't anything that makes you feel like you really contributed to the party. It also doesn't really feel like it fits it's identity and role at all. Not speaking number balance, but the DPS isn't enough of a focus for a DPS job. The support element that feels like it should be the focus for a Bard can't really be the focus because of the design of the game.

I don't BLM anymore but it was the first job I got to 80 and did any of my beginning 'higher end' content with, and the reason I think it is so well designed, aside from the mechanical aspects such as how its rotation works, is that the more 'secondary' gameplay aspects compliment the job. Specifically what I mean is that everyone knows BLM's difficulty comes not form the rotation, but from knowing a fight and timings, and the fact that the job is almost proc-less allows you to essentially never look at your hotbar and focus solely on what's going on in the battle. Compare this with an 'easier' job like DNC, which still allows you to pay attention to a fight and move around due it being ranged and cast-less, but require you to nurse the hotbars with your eyes while doing so.

Best is BLM, worst is SMN.

SMN isn't even unfun. It's just poorly-designed by every standard that matters.

Bard needs a few changes and improvement but its playstyle and way it works is not remotely badly designed in anyway.