Is RDM the most popular DPS job?
This is purely anecdotal, but when doing NM trains in Eureka and duty roulettes, I feel like I'm a dime a dozen. There are RDMs everywhere. I was just in a full party tonight in Eureka Anemos and three out of the four DPS, including me, were red mages.
Is this because of the aesthetic? I mean, it's a very stylish class with some of the best combat animations in the game. It can't be because of the damage. I don't raid or do extreme trials or anything, but I've read that BLMs and SMNs do more damage than RDMs.
Is it the ease of use? It's a pretty straightforward and basic rotation. Even if you mess up it's not as punishing as, say, missing your aetherflow window as a summoner. You also have a rez, a heal, and a nice group buff with Embolden. And the damage seems moderate to good. I'm only in 365 gear but my DPS isn't too shabby. More than enough for normal dungeons and trials.
So, I'm just curious if the job is as popular as it seems, or is it just because I notice it more being an RDM.
The FFXIV census site had red mages as one of the least played classes in the game as of December 2018. Not sure how accurate that is, though.