DRG rant, is it really only just me? (Melee DPS balance).

[RapBreon]

It's a big'un

DRGs in HW pretty much are the inverse of MNKs. MNKs have (currently) superior sustained damage, both single target and multi. DRGs have superior burst, both single target and multi. I am OK with this.

The niche being MNK's ramp up and dismantle a target(s) with consistency. DRG's niche being they blow their load and kind of plod around for a bit. I see nothing overtly wrong with this design choice. NINs are inferior at both; not much on single target, but a lot on multi target.

As for utility, MNKs are inferior. It's the whole reason they haven't been in the 'ideal' Alex Savage set-up. DRKs can now apply their debuff. Every group needs a BRD/MCH and Battle Litany is great, coupled with their still very high DPS makes them essentially mandatory. NINs, while inferior in terms of dealing damage across the board, bring TA and Goad (TA especially) which utility wise is godly.

So what do MNKs bring? Mantra and the highest sustained DPS. Mantra is pretty good, it's a perk that makes your healers lives a tad easier. But here's the rub, their DPS isn't so high that it makes up for the gains in utility the others bring. Before the 3% buff, they were behind (assuming a few variables were even) DRGs by like ~50dps? Now they're ahead by about ~50dps? In a vacuum, that's great balancing IMO. However, disembowel alone provides more DPS for a MCH/BRD than that.

You can't write this kind of gain off - like you did in another thread - by conflating direct increases in DPS with indirect increases in DPS (like you tried to with Mantra). They fall into completely separate categorizations in terms of utility (which you recognize by claiming MNKs are 'defensively superior' utility wise). It is this direct gain in DPS that the DRG grants that make them superior to MNKs currently.

TL;DR: DRGs are still top-dog.