Which job has the lowest skill cap?

[Marcusow86]

IMO from hardest to easiest:-

1. MNK
2. DRG
3. SMN
4. BLM
5. BRD

[Cspr_Answrth]

I love playing as my Bard more than anything I've done so far.
Admittedly easy, I see a lot of other people struggle with it.

The macros really do make it pretty smooth, and since I started using them, noticed a considerable boost in my damage output.

[NeoAmon]

Generally speaking:

1- DRG/MNK depends who you ask I guess.
2- SMN
3- BLM
4- Bard

However, this is not a static list. I believe each end game fight have different difficulty for each job.

[Alcide]

2. Macro is considerably increase dps.

I don't know where this is coming from but I highly disagree.
You lose way too much control on your skills and priority, most of the times I would use a cooldown instead of a RoB proc and there are a few situations where I would hold on my BL (when I know i'm gonna have to silence on the next GCD or when I have a burst phase coming in a few secs).
It is true that bard is probably the one job were using macros makes less difference in performance loss, but still it isn't optimal and that's what makes the job boring, if you wanna push yourself it becomes quite interesting.

Back on topic, since you're currently a BLM I would suggest going SMN, it's still ranged but has much more mobility, it's rewarding and really fun to play.

[PArcher]

Hardest to easiest

1- DRG/MNK
2- SMN
5- BLM/BRD

Yes, there is a reason I numbered it that way (besides sneaking a joke in); DPSing as BLM or BRD is just easy; keep DoTs/buffs up, use procs when you get them, spam basic attack (Ok, that's way simplified, but still...Thunder X -> Fire3 -> Fire spam [with Fire 3 procs] -> Bliz3 -> repeat / Straight Shot -> DoTs -> Heavy Shot spam with procs until your buff/DoTs need refreshing). Yes, there are some things that can make the classes a bit more difficult, but they are, overall, fight-dependent (high-movement fights killing BLM, singing for BRD, etc) and all classes have these kind of things happen to them

SMN is closer to the melee thanks to the pet (IMO); yes, it seems simple overall (get DoTs up then Ruin spam and Bane/Fester when needed) but thanks to the different timings on DoTs, and having to control your pet effectively, SMM requires a bit more skill than BRD/BLM, especially to get the most out of the class (its definitely the hardest ranged to master at this point).

Overall, both melee classes require more skill than the ranged classes. Positionals (please tanks...just hold the boss steady...please), dodging more than ranged, long rotations, keeping GL3 up, positionals...they just require more from the player than the other classes, and takes a good bit more to get the most out of them. Which one is more difficult varies depending on the player; some people find one easier than the other for various reasons, and overall its just hard to say one is more difficult than the other.


Now, that's not to say that any classes are over-the-top difficult, this is just an overall difficulty list. Yes, there are people who can be amazing at melee but fail at ranged and some exceptional BLM/BRD who can't do anything else; there is a bit of player mentality and such that goes into this. I know I have a really bad time being a SMN, but DRG comes easy to me. And yes...there are all those people who do just fail at BLM/BRD for I-don't-know-why reasons...

[Kuroyasha]

That, i think, is a fallacy. At least for medium-high ping players. I used to DPS while dodging plumes and was hit often. Strange SE network architecture won't recalc player position in a middle of ability, so it was like "use Bloodletter (any ability with a long animation) -> wild WoTL appears at the same time -> run away while shooting -> hit by WoTL".
So, while bards can DPS and move and the same time, in some crucial moments they need to stop shooting and just run.
OTOH, bard "rotation" won't be hindered much from a loss of 1 second, while blms can get really screwed with mistimed casts and mana ticks.

I never stop shooting as bard in any fight. And I dont get hit by titan WOTL either, or Ifrit eruptions while going back. it's simple. it's boring really lol

[Remn]

BLM is easy class to pick up and play but it a lot harder to master. especially in Titan Xm, I saw a ton of i85 BLM doin low dps in there and a good BLM will do really good, (not top dps but there a big different between them.)

[Warrlordd]

It's hard to quantify how well your BRD is playing, or whether you are playing to the max, because there is some ambiguity in where is the best time to use what song, for how long, and such.

[tOnni3]

words

Agreed to this post. That's why I put Bard is the easiest job to play.
Macros help to pull off high dps, not maximize but high with less effort.

Again I am not argue that manually use the skills is way to maximize dps.
But this topic is talking about which class is easy, not about maximizing dps.

Sorry if it make everyone confuse, I might not good in English.

[warren-ragnarok]

1) smn
2) mnk
3) drg
4) brd
5) blm

i disagree with this list for the most part, mainly because its easy to be decent with all the classes, just by reading the abilities should give a decent idea....also play styles by players will make a difference. that being said, being a very great/solid player is a totally different argument, me personally, i say for that case for hardest to easiest

1) blm
2) drg
3) smn
4) mnk
5) brd


now dont get the wrong idea, i do think mnk is fairly tough, and is my main class, but i find being a good blm pretty tough (knowing WHEN to use your spells, and plan out all your movement in advance) and the super anal rotations for drg, along with the super uptight positioning on all of their combos, being amazing on those two classes are super tough.

i put smn above mnk because it seems alot more timing and micromanaging your pet to be super effective. mnk, while has a pretty big curve to be great, it isnt as anal as drg with position, and if the person knows how to play, can get some decent utility.