Just a random shot in the dark question here, but why in heavens name do people seem to be obsessed with balance in MMos? There is no PvP element at all in this game, so no competition when it comes to fighting each other, so why are people so up their own pooters about balancing something that doesn't require it?

Would it matter if THM could cast a 6k damage Meteor, and Conjurers could do a 10k DoT? No it wouldn't matter, because it doesn't matter.

Encounters currently are hard, and I like that, but they are hard because the classes are all over the place at the moment.

I jump on a mage class, I expect to be able to shoot lava from my eyes and fart flying ponies. I expect to be powerful.
I jump on a DD class, and I expect to be mental with a weapon, doing a tonne of damage and fast too. I expect to be fast and deadly.
I jump on a tank class and I expect to be practically immune to the world around me. I expect to be made of stone.
I jump on a healer class and expect to be able to cast massive flashy heals and impressive white magic. I expect to be shooting green beams of healing light out my mouth and my southern air lock.

Do I care that the classes are vastly different in terms of damage capabilities, strengths and weaknesses? No of course I don't.

You don't see plumbers crying because carpenters lay carpet, and plumbers can't.

If you want balance, go play a PvP centred MMo, if you want a world of magic, melee, and madness, then stick around, cause Eorzea might just impress us at some point.