Ninja vs. Dragoon

So come expansion I will more than likely be swapping to one of these classes to benefit my static group. I have read a lot of on new skills and have a general understanding of the current rotations; even though I am sure the rotation will change.

Now I haven't found a forum with this discussion but in all reality I didn't go past page 4 on the dps thread. That being said I'm looking to see what people feel will be the better of the two in general.

As of right now my group comp looks to be something along this line: Pld,Drk,Sch,Whm,Mcn,Blm,Mnk, <me>.

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Originally Posted by Mahes

So come expansion I will more than likely be swapping to one of these classes to benefit my static group. I have read a lot of on new skills and have a general understanding of the current rotations; even though I am sure the rotation will change.

Now I haven't found a forum with this discussion but in all reality I didn't go past page 4 on the dps thread. That being said I'm looking to see what people feel will be the better of the two in general.

As of right now my group comp looks to be something along this line: Pld,Drk,Sch,Whm,Mcn,Blm,Mnk, <me>.

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Here is my suggestion this is the true answer either will work both are good melee dps Ninja is more affected by lag if the person you get has it but other then that my statement stands.
Now run away from the forums as quickly as you can because you're about to start my job is harder then the other job/their job is easier then my job debate

DRG and NIN are interchangeable, except for NIN being able to silence.

Pretty much what they said. I've gotten both to 50 and they're both competitive with each other DPS wise. The reason I main Ninja now is mostly because I just like the feel of the job better, which is more of a personal preference than anything.

Importantly, DRG buffs BRDs, and upcoming Machinist (and is the only one to do so), so if you have one or more of them in your party I would consider DRG.

NIN provides an opener burst buff (with trick attack) and also tank damage buff (slashing debuff), which WAR also provide, but at the cost of mitigation/threat/damage.

I don't think I've ever been lucky enough to run into a ninja that is similarly geared and is relatively at the same skill level as I, so I can't say which one can deal more damage in an actual fight, but I'll try to help anyway, correct me if I'm wrong.

Support value:

Ninjas: They have Goad, which is great. They also have Trick Attack which makes the target more vulnerable to damage, increasing everyone's DPS for 10 seconds if I recall correctly. They also have slashing resistance debuff to help tanks. Can use Mantra.

Dragoons: Currently have the least support value in the game, as they only have Disembowel to boost their own DPS, as well as that of Bards, but whether or not Machinists deal piercing damage, I don't know. Can also use Mantra.

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Fighting value:

Ninjas: Have high burst and seemingly okay sustained damage, can deal magic damage with Mudras, have increased movement speed and can use Smoke Bomb to move to desired location quickly.

Dragoons: Are supposedly the burst kings, which might still hold water if the Dragoon knows how, but their sustained DPS is a little behind Ninjas, they also have high health pool and highest defence among non tank classes, and since they can cross class from Marauder tree and have access to Foresight and Bloodbath, combined with their Keen Flurry, they are considerably tougher to kill than Ninjas. Dragoons can also move to the target quickly while dealing damage with Dragonfire and Spineshatter Dive, or use Elusive Jump to either close distance or get away while halving their current enmity.

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All in all, Ninjas can provide the group with much more support than a Dragoon while being able to deal good damage, where Dragoons may be able to squeeze out more damage as they won't be punished for disconnects very harshly, and can quickly move from target to target to resume DPSing and burst the enemy's socks off, while being more durable.

Might've missed a lot of stuff, fill accordingly. Sorry for the wall of text and/or misinformation, I tried.

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Originally Posted by pandabearcat

Importantly, DRG buffs BRDs, and upcoming Machinist (and is the only one to do so), so if you have one or more of them in your party I would consider DRG.

NIN provides an opener burst buff (with trick attack) and also tank damage buff (slashing debuff), which WAR also provide, but at the cost of mitigation/threat/damage.

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I mean, Trick attack happens throughout the fight as well.
I would think NIN would be slightly above DRG due to Trick Attack.

Then again, buffing the BRD damage is more significant than buffing Tank damage. So I guess it can go either way.
If your BRD or MCH (though we don't know MCH damage type for sure yet or if they get their own debuff) is really good, it might make better use of the debuff as well.

Have you done the math in your sim between this?
Trick Attack mostly affects the opener, but since it's also a universal damage increase every minute I would put more value in it.

I think NIN has more utility overall, DRG is more damage focused. That difference seems to be going further in HW.
If you lag, DRG might be more enjoyable unless you particularly like NIN.

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Originally Posted by Allyrion

I mean, Trick attack happens throughout the fight as well.
I would think NIN would be slightly above DRG due to Trick Attack.

Then again, buffing the BRD damage is more significant than buffing Tank damage. So I guess it can go either way.

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Also have to remember now that in the expansion drgs will give a crit buff to the whole group. which will even them out more/ maybe bypass trick attack depending on your group setup and how much crit it gives.