Best DPS class in the game?

What do you guys think is the top DPS class in ARR?

From what I played I am leaning toward DRG. Stuff seemed to die much faster on DRG then on say MNK or BLM.

DRG can deal more burst damage but becomes TP starved quicker, MNK tends to sustain higher damage over time, didn't test any other classes so I can't say much on them.

I believe BLM pulls ahead in the longer fights while DRG and MNK have higher burst DPS dependent on their TP. Once they run low on TP their DPS tends to slow down, while BLM has virtually infinite MP and can constantly apply DPS over longer periods of time. My guess is MNK and DRG > short fights, and BLM > boss fights

I think you all are overanalyzing this. When it comes to groups, any DPS class is going to be wanted. The fact that you may have more of one class than another just goes to show what people are willing to level or what they find fun. I've pulled threat already being a Lancer at level 20 from caster classes. TP is a resource, and proper rotation means you'll be able to manage it far more efficiently instead of burning through it and starving yourself. I've yet to run out of TP except for when I applied Sprint to catch up to my group once due to a single K.O. from the lack of tank awareness.

None the less, I'm going to be leveling all of the classes and roles. I can assure you I will learn to play each and every one, but as it stands... parsing should be able to tell your DPS, but even at that... it's not like one class is going to trump another unless they do some changes that destabilize the balance that all classes have already.

Dragoon! Nah prolly black mage. My mate was doing soooo much dng ad a THM

Polearms are best
#totallynotbiased

I got to go with Dragoon XD

Any class you know how to play will be the best. Go with the one you can perform the best as :)

To put it in the simplest terms from my experience from playing MMOs, usually the weakest defensively, will be the strongest offensively. By that definition, Black Mage will be the highest DPS or DD (however you say it) in the game. But like others have said, it very much depends on how you play the class/job, equipment, and also the people in your party as some classes can give buffs to certain classes, but not to others. It's about finding that right mix for optimum damage.

Watch for Arcanist / Summoner once they start getting to 50. The DoT damage adds up fast, and that's not even counting the actual summons.

Until people see 50 smn in action, BLM. Pugilist would be a close second tho.

I see mostly answers from low level people in this thread, and wonder if any high levels did any lvl50 testing as I did.

As a 50, I can say @ 50 it will be blm, mnk, brd, drg. Currently unknown where to place smn, but it might be before or after mnk. you will not see the power of thm before lvl40, and the true power at lvl 46 when you have all your highest damage spells available. before 40, it only has a measly 10% damage increase, can only get up to 2 stacks of astral fire, and fire III is a waste of MP and not worth casting for its cast time and MP cost, even when under umbral ice, UNTIL you can have umbral ice III, @lvl40. It deceives you into believing it is a weak class and other classes are better or close to it, but you need to level it up to see the truth.

Misconceptions also constantly arise about how BLM does its damage. it is NOT a burst dps. Its main attack can be used at the same speed as any melee dps, 2.5 seconds in between 400+ damage fire I's @50. IF and only IF they change it so that recast time starts after the spell actually gets cast, then they will become burst DPS. It also has the easiest rotation that does not even need cooldowns or require applications of damage increasing buffs to do this damage, and the buffs from its astral fire stack on top of its maim and mend traits making fire do extreme damage for the intervals between fire I's you can do, including the instant manaless fire III chances.

i tanked in phase 3 and 4.. but in both phases Archer by far pulled the most hate.. especially above 30

BRD was the highest DPS class throughout beta. Can't really see it change for live.

I am going Dragoon but I don't think there is a "best" DPS class. There isn't one that will ALWAYS do higher DPS than the others.

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Originally Posted by CRisP

To put it in the simplest terms from my experience from playing MMOs, usually the weakest defensively, will be the strongest offensively. By that definition, Black Mage will be the highest DPS or DD (however you say it) in the game.

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This is a comment that wasn't well thought out or even warranted as a response. You've stated a few obvious things such as "how you play your class" and "equipment" being thrown around loosely for the sanctity of the responses and the topic. To say that another class is better than one is a bold statement in considering that one class will always balance out another.

My entire point is that there is going to be balance between every DPS class, along with tank classes. What one might be lacking, another will pick up for. It's just simple mechanics found in any MMO. Defensive stats on the character sheet have nothing to do with your damage output.

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Originally Posted by Abrasumente

This is a comment that wasn't well thought out or even warranted as a response. You've stated a few obvious things such as "how you play your class" and "equipment" being thrown around loosely for the sanctity of the responses and the topic. To say that another class is better than one is a bold statement in considering that one class will always balance out another.

My entire point is that there is going to be balance between every DPS class, along with tank classes. What one might be lacking, another will pick up for. It's just simple mechanics found in any MMO. Defensive stats on the character sheet have nothing to do with your damage output.

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I just want to point at that the title of the thread is "Best DPS class in the game", followed by the OP asking what the TOP dps will be in ARR. That happens to be what we are here to discuss, not the balance of things.

And he was right, BLM. SE can't balance classes to save their lives, don't expect it so soon in the game.

The dps class played by a competent person.

Black Mage ftw!

Seems relevant to ask; is skill speed going to be as important as haste was in 11? or is a STR build going to be the way to go?

There is no "Best DPS".... All classes/jobs have their pro's and cons, and there are other factors that play a role too. If people were to say that for example Black Mage is the "best dps" class but put it into the hands of an incapable person, where is that "Best dps" then?
The "best dps" would be the class/job you feel most comfortable with and thats that.

What you probably meant to ask is, which DPS class has the highest dmg numbers and stuff like that is irrelevent if you don't master that class anyway, it's just for epeen purposes...

How does Bard rank as a dps? I kinda like being able to move and use skills at the same time so i dont have to stop casting when something desides to use an AoE attack.

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Originally Posted by Zumi

What do you guys think is the top DPS class in ARR?

From what I played I am leaning toward DRG. Stuff seemed to die much faster on DRG then on say MNK or BLM.

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Of course PGL kills slow. Its a team class that requires to switch from flank and behind mob for every skill for optimal DPS.

From what I seen when leveling GLD and LNC is that 95% of PGL dont know class rotation/positioning, and 100% of LNC dont know how Heavy Thrust buff work.

ARC/BRD consistently parsed higher than other DPS in P2 and P3 and will probably remain top DPS in live.

BLM is strong but its crippled by lengthy casting times and a lack of any autoattack equivalent, though it does shine on longer battles with its infinite mana. DRG is strong also, providing the player's rotation and movement is flawless.

When they're not singing, I think bards are gonna destroy everything out there without breaking so much as a sweat...

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Originally Posted by Wolff_Laarcen

ARC/BRD consistently parsed higher than other DPS in P2 and P3 and will probably remain top DPS in live.

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Was planning on maining a bard to start with, this just reinforces that. i always loved the ranged classes :D

Regardless of which DPS is going to be "best, i'm going with the Monk just becuase i love martial arts.

I gotta say DRG followed closely wth BLM and MNK. With Invigorite which gives 500 TP and good TP management there is no reason for a drg to run out of TP.

I rather enjoy tossing lots of arrows (which cost nothing, unlike FFXI) at the bad guys. Archer was super fun through P3/4.

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Originally Posted by ilJumperMT

Of course PGL kills slow. Its a team class that requires to switch from flank and behind mob for every skill for optimal DPS.

From what I seen when leveling GLD and LNC is that 95% of PGL dont know class rotation/positioning, and 100% of LNC dont know how Heavy Thrust buff work.

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Probably because there isn't a buff/debuff icon to let people know heavy thrust's 10% damage is applied. Also, in phase 4 I didn't see any damage difference when using a skill after HT or not. Example with arbitary numbers. Vorpal strike did 100 damage without use of HT and did 100 damage after a HT instead of 110 damage. Maybe I'm missing something with heavy thrust?

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Originally Posted by Velyse

Watch for Arcanist / Summoner once they start getting to 50. The DoT damage adds up fast, and that's not even counting the actual summons.

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I'm confused what role does Arcanist count as. Tank role or DPS role? They got Topaz/Titan for tanking, and Ifrit for damage (I think Emerald and Garuda are not exactly DPS, they would be inferior to Ifrit in this role).

Simply taking some time to familiarize yourself with combos/buffs and when makes the most sense to use them, and also to organize the hotbar in a way that is easiest makes a world of difference from my time in phase 3 and 4. Obviously many people know all this, but some I noticed did struggle with positioning. It is also important though for dps roles when looking for a smooth instance run to remember to let the tank establish hate before charging in and setting up their buffs and combos. I did find that in parties where enemy groups were numbered, things went more smoothly as well.

Taking out the guesswork as to what enemy the tank will move to next saves a lot of resources especially for the tank and healer having to re-sleep adds and take hate off of people. But I definitely agree with the others in saying that the balance of jobs is well done here, and the effectiveness of any dps player will depend largely on the understanding of the class and abilities, as well as the equipment and proper stat allocating.

From a tanks perspective, the only DPS class to pull hate off me was an Archer up to level 20. They do a lot of damage. He was 2 levels higher than me though which had something to do with it I am sure, but it was still odd losing hate to a DPS...

Im hoping its going to be Black Mage

The Best DPS class is the one you enjoy playing the most.

Best is a very subjective term. :)

Like others have said, play the class you have the most fun on. You'll want to master it, thus being your "best" DPS class.

I don't think anyone will know for at least a few weeks.

From the DPS parsers at 50 from phase 3 it was Bard on top, then DRG then MNK then BLM. I was hoping for BLM to be top but I think their single target DPS is lower than the other classes because we make up for it in AOE DPS

I think it will really depend on the mob you happen to be fighting. BLM for lots of minis, DRG for 2-3 strong mobs, MNK for long single target fights. Warrior kinda dances in all those slots. I haven't played any with the ACN so I have no idea how potent their DoT's are.

i think melee DPS should be Dragoon and range DPS should be bard... maybe Black Mage will have more burst DMG but as u guys should know by now... Brust DPS normaly doesnt means better DPS!

Probably if monk could crit more he would surpass dragoon... but... who know? lets see how the game will develop in the next few days and we will be abble to see more clearly how the dps scale will evolve to