A question from a newer player about the weight of each job.

[raela]

Most valuable (imo): someone willing/able to learn and adapt to different situations, regardless of role.

My boyfriend and I are exactly like that. XD When we go DPS, we silently sit there as he watches the tank and I watch the healer. Those poor DF pugs have no idea how hard they're working for their commendations beneath our judgmental gaze.

I had such a frustrating SMA run yesterday that I left after the first boss (terribly botched pull) and decided no more DPSing in roulettes. Can't trust DF tanks/healers,

[Selli]

I had such a frustrating SMA run yesterday that I left after the first boss (terribly botched pull) and decided no more DPSing in roulettes. Can't trust DF tanks/healers,

Oh god, I know that feel. I wanted to BLM and ended up getting a WHM who ONLY used Cure III. >.< Trust no one but yourself!

[Valkyrie-Amber]

The true goal of a dps btw is to become the tank XD happens alot to me....

[Warlyx]

in 4 man? tank
in 8 man ? healer

but i appreciate a good dps in any of the DR ...when pulls that take 30s are still alive after 1 min.... u can ever hear my /sigh

[Atoli]

The true goal of a dps btw is to become the tank XD

A 100% perfect DPS knows not to pull hate off the tank though :P A perfect DPS trails right behind the tank, always 1% lower than the tank on that hate bar :3

To answer the OP's question:
I personally apprechiate incedible healers the most.
I'll be honest, for most content, tanks...don't exactly have a hard job, in my opinion. It's mainly tank & spank with a bit of (re)positioning. Worst case, a tank swap or a stun. Of course, we've all experienced runs with horrible tanks, and it was, well, horrible But for most stuff, there isn't all that much difference between a good tank and an okay tank, just a bit less dmg.

I LOVE awesome DPS. Really. When stuff dies faster than I've ever seen I'm happy, and when I see some people's parser numbers, I'm just feeling so..amazed. Especially if all this prowess is actually coupled with perfect execution of mechanics (which is rarely the case, thus making it even better to meet someone like that!). But in the end, DPS tend to do their own thing. It's great what they do, but it is easier(?) since it is somewhat limited to only themselves, at most, a bit of support depending on the dps class.

But when I see a perfect healer, I just..I don't know what to say. I don't even know how they do it. They save people from certain death, somehow manage to fix even the worst mess-ups of their teammates, stay alive when they should die, keep everyone healthy no matter what crazy amount of dmg is incoming, and out-dps half of the party. AND THEY STILL HAVE FULL MP...xD

As for rarity...I meet great DPS quite often. Great tanks are rarer, but I meet them once in a while. Only once met a "perfect" healer so far and saw one or two on youtube. To be fair, you often only see how calmly and perfectly a healer handles a bad situation if there is a bad situation in the first place, so they might be more common than I think

[Nihility]

I'd say specifically a really good warrior is kind of the rare jewel even among organized groups
It just brings so much more than the other tanks but at the cost of demanding a more skilled player

after that a top of the line scholar or black mage would probably be a standout.

if your looking to be super desirable i'd probably avoid the ranged classes though, there are a lot of people playing them and no group ever wants more than one

[starLivitation]

Every patch I always see the same thing. top teams will be missing a main tank. why? propably a lot of reasons as other said, a main tank that performs exceptional /top level is a rare comonodity, highly sought after. most people will end up boared of tanking it's usually a matter of time. Warrior is almost a DPS atm unless 3.2 changes this, so they are always available in abundance. in HW good brds were harder to find than before. a really good brd will always find a team, because not alot of them can do the optimal rotation, but they also offer songs which is a bonus if they can pull decent dps. also in HW BRDs cant move while attacking anymore which meant a lot of main brds switch to other classes.

If i want to put jobs in order ( asuming skill is not an issue ):
Main tank ( PLD/DRK ) ==>> BRD ==> Healers ==> Mele ==> Caster

exceptional or top level will change the tables around.

[MugenMugetsu]

...in HW BRDs cant move while attacking anymore...

I know what you mean in regards to Wanderer's Minuet, however, a good Brd will attack on the move, when moving out of AoE etc. by using their attacks that are able to be used while moving. Brd and Drk are my mains, I prefer Brd when I don't want the responsibility of tanking, and have been playing Brd a lot as of late, even though I have the option to get instant or near instant queues as Drk. With that said, I just wanted to put it out there that a good Brd will use Feint, Bloodletter, Blunt Arrow, Rain of Death, Iron Jaws, Sidewinder, and/or Straight Shot (when refreshing Straighter Shot) in a situation where they need to move and they don't want to lose out on DPS.

As far as importance of jobs in group play, I would put tanks at #1, healers at #2, and then DPS. My reasoning is that if the tank can't keep the mobs off of the dps and healer the group is likely to wipe. Tank as more important than healer only because if the tank does not keep mobs off of the healer the healer most likely will not be able to cast due to interrupts from being attacked. DPS as last, not because I don't feel that they are important but because if the tank and healer aren't performing optimally the group is going to have much less chance of survival, whereas if a DPS is performing suboptimally the group still has a high survival rate and fights will just take longer.

I don't prefer any DPS job over another and am even very accepting of a group with 2 Brds, 2 Mchs, or a Brd and Mch, as I feel that, as long as the Brds and Mchs play their jobs well, their DPS will still be good enough for runs to take about the same amount of time as they would have with any other combination of DPS jobs.

[FoxyAreku]

A good bard will also know when to switch WM off so they can move, and put it back on when it's safe again. :P

Must say, ever since HW, bad bards are EVERYWHERE. And they're so easy to spot too, more so than any other job.

[Tiamara]

in HW good brds were harder to find than before.

I'm leveling a BRD right now and two days ago, i was with another BRD (lvl 60) in the Dungeon, he harassment me 'cause i played Foe's Requiem, that would decrease my dmg. (Had a Scholar in the Grp)
Huh.. probably you are right.