What's the "best" AoE classes in the game for specific situations?

[Vodomir]

Dragoon - RoT - Potency 100 but only 120 TP cost so is much easier to spam. Doom Spike which has to be in a "line" but thats easy when mobs get clumped up on one tank with a potency of 160. Lastly, Dragonfire dive which is a whopping 250 potency though it can only be used every 3 minutes.

This. Dragoons can spam for 160 Potency every GCD and dmg can further be improved with Heavy Thrust (can be kept up all of the time, you'll just have to sacrifice a GCD to renew the buff) and Blood for Blood (Off-GCD dmg buff). I expect Dragoons to be very competitive in terms of AoE DPS, once the mobs are all clumped together.

So around 140 potency every GCD, whether you are tab thundering for <5 targets, or miasma2 + tri disaster for more than 5 targets.

140 potency per GCD with fancy tab targetting? I guess you missed the point where Dragoons can spam for 160 potency every GCD with the ability to put buffs and off-GCD AoE Skills on top of that.

[pandabearcat]

140 potency per GCD with fancy tab targetting? I guess you missed the point where Dragoons can spam for 160 potency every GCD with the ability to put buffs and off-GCD AoE Skills on top of that.

Sorry, in case I wasn't being clear, I wasn't attempting to actually say which class was better.

Just wanted to throw out some numbers.

Also, dragoon weapon damage is roughly 70% of caster classes, making casters (because of no autoattack correction on multitargets) much better at it.

This is something you need to consider.

Also, I've never seen anyone top BLM burst with Flare, so I'm going to go with BLM. I've also never had trash mobs stay alive long enough that burst isn't viable.

On top of that, caster classes are the only ones that can consistently AoE without running out of resource...tp is bad and in prolonged situations you will run dry (hell it doesn't even have to be very prolonged, in 8 wide volley's a bard is dry, 3 more with invig).

[Zenmaku]

On top of that, caster classes are the only ones that can consistently AoE without running out of resource...tp is bad and in prolonged situations you will run dry (hell it doesn't even have to be very prolonged, in 8 wide volley's a bard is dry, 3 more with invig).

This was my point on why DRG > Bards, besides having a higher potency GCD skill with a 10% damage buff, we have a stronger invigorate and our skills cost less TP than theirs. Even if they get a "free" proc, just ours costing less essentially means we get a "free" ability use every 3 uses compared to their "chance" at a free skill.

BLMs might be kings of damage for AOE, but they are also kings of dying instantly if they happen to damage too much and aggro half the Turn 4 mobs. Where DRG can tank Turn 4 adds just fine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4tTWd20MYI