Quote Originally Posted by Bossmoney View Post
I guess all those high end progression guilds are completely deluded then.

FC's like those don't pick things based on "gut feelings," they do so based on math. And the math they're using are parsers which show 3 bard groups are the superior composition with the way fights are balanced right now.

Your comments about Monks parsing higher and Dragoons parsing just as high only work in a training dummy situation. I know, I've parsed the numbers with me vs my bard friends against dummies. My Dragoon will output similar DPS to them and I have no doubt that a Monk will out dps both of us.

But in real actual boss fights, the bards in my FC have consistently output more DPS. Melee is punished more by fight mechanics such as aoes, having to reposition, etc. Until this is addressed, 3 bards + flex DPS spot (depending on what limit break you need) will be optimal group.
At least you're not a blm or smn. Melee can deliver their damage and stay mobile most of the time.

What puts bards over the top is that they get the perks of melee, but ranged.

It completely dwarfs blm and smn because those two are stuck with 2.5+ second casts in high mobility fights.

The problem is bards do everything instantly. Even their DoT's are better than the SMN dot's as they do both more DPS and are instant cast whereas the SMN only gets one instant cast DoT.