Do you find playing melee more difficult?

[Lilyth]

Not at all.

That old idea that "melee is closer to the boss therefore it's harder/riskier" has lost its merit a long time ago. Actually, melee jobs are relatively safer than their ranged counterparts.

Being closer to the boss means you're always where you need to be, at the boss. You won't miss AoE heals, you won't miss AoE raid buffs, you won't have to worry about huge AoE frontal cones. Not to mention mobility. No cast times, you are completely free to dodge targeted ground AoEs. The only real issue is that if you move away from the boss, you lose DPS. Except they all have been given tools for that (gap closers), and losing DPS uptime on the boss due to mechanics is an issue that every class has to deal with (physical ranged DPS to a much lesser degree, but they have already been properly penalized with a lower DPS output).

Ah, and melee logs from this tier have shown that every fight can be optmized to near 100% uptime with proper mechanic execution, so it's not like there's a situation where you can't hit the boss just because you are melee.

[KageTokage]

Not really, outside of specific hunts with mechanics that are very anti-melee.

I think they need to get the design teams for the raids involved with those, because the number of hunts in SB with mechanics that cause melee grief but are almost totally harmless to ranged is rather excessive.

[ElHeggunte]

I've been a melee main for my nearly 20 years of playing MMOs, so no. I find playing melee to more or less be second nature (I'm decidedly awkward at ranged/casters though). It helps a lot that I've mained nothing but MNK since launch so positionals and overall timing are all down to muscle memory and intuition.

There are two things I often see new melee players having trouble with though:

1) When performing a positional attack you generally don't have to wait for the animation to complete before you move to your next position. As a MNK I can start Bootshine at the rear and move to the flank before the animation is over. I still get the positional bonus and I'm also already in position for my next attack before my GCD is even up.

2) A lot of people still don't know about what I've on the spot decided to call the Cone of Own™. You don't actually have to move completely behind the mob or completely to its side to hit the rear or flank. If you look at the target circle, you'll notice that 1/4 of the back of it is missing; that marks where the flank ends and the rear begins. The most bang for your buck comes from straddling that line and only shifting slightly to either side depending upon your upcoming attack. Mobs with a closed ring grant positional bonuses no matter where you hit them.

you can see people who play range but formerly a full time melee class quite easily

they tend to stand right next to mob/boss despite having a skill that up to 20-30 yard away =P

as healer i always itching to use "rescue" skill on them

I secretly love them. Brotherhood has a decidedly short range and it can be tough to hit everyone when the MCH/BRD is standing way out in the Poconos.

[Azerhan]

you can see people who play range but formerly a full time melee class quite easily

they tend to stand right next to mob/boss despite having a skill that up to 20-30 yard away =P

as healer i always itching to use "rescue" skill on them

This is the best way to dodge a buff
We need to be close as possible for buff.

[Shiroe]

sam vs rdm (difficulty) => sam > rdm

melee vs casters? melee = casters for optimal dps

blm might be the hardest dps in endraids for optimal dps, while rdm one of the easiest dps, .. smn somewhere between (unless on ps4, and you try to "obey" the pets, then it becomes annoying, due to lack of free buttons)

but on the melee side, optimal melee difficulty are imo all closer togeather and not so extreme apart,..

with drg and probably nin the hardest melee ..

and mnk the easiest melee, once you gotten the flow of positonals / muscle memory

(mkn used to be consdered hard in ARR hence probably harder at lv 50 than other melee, but at 70 not so much anymore compared to other melee from what Ive heard) ...

sam is probably somewhere between mnk and drg / nin
(sam was considered hard at SB launch, but mostly due to not knowing the optimal rota yet)

=> overall melee are as difficult as casters if you like take the "averages" of both melee and casters (casters have very hard but also very easy classes, while melee have hard and not sooo hard classes, but not "easy")

as for tanks vs melee / casters

=> tanking is easier

but when tanks start to play with the "tank / dps stances" too, for maximal dps, without losing aggro or losing too much defence (draining healers mp) or dying
=> tanking can get closer to meler / caster dps level of difficulty..., but even if tank classes are a bit easier, they have higher responsibility (more often than dps classes, 1 tank mistake can wipe all)

[wereotter]

The only real issue is that if you move away from the boss, you lose DPS. Except they all have been given tools for that (gap closers), and losing DPS uptime on the boss due to mechanics is an issue that every class has to deal with (physical ranged DPS to a much lesser degree, but they have already been properly penalized with a lower DPS output)

Melee have gap closers in theory.... but the issue there is that they’ve put damage on all of them except for ninja, and at least on console, the amount of time it takes to aim it, you could just run back in.

Because damage is on your gap closers, it’s a loss to not use them on cooldown, which can make excessive or unexpected movement still an issue to deal with.

[Malkria]

Is this just a melee thing in general? Or is it just this specific job?

I personally hate melee for the simple fact that I hate having to run up into a limited range and trade hits, when as ranged I can damage targets well before they get up to me, can easily switch targets mid attack to keep things dying, and can better keep track of mechanics. I gave up on melee when as a tank I kept having mobs run past me before aggro kicked in and they ran back, it just felt weird and more annoying then fun. Even if warrior felt like a powerhouse and paladins had nice heals (and one of the coolest swords/weapons ever from Odin).

Though doesn't the samurai have a situation similar to the black mage in that it's the lowest health for some of the highest DPS?

[ElHeggunte]

Though doesn't the samurai have a situation similar to the black mage in that it's the lowest health for some of the highest DPS?

Lowest health? No, Samurai should have comparable HP to the other melee. Unless you misspoke and meant utility, in which case yes. Though general consensus at the moment is that while they're higher (especially with 4.3's buffs on Tuesday) they're not high enough for a class that has practically zero utility.

[Okamimaru]

Love melee... I feel like I'm actually doing something

[duvvvv]

yes. something to do with my depth perception--it's broken XD
that's why up until this year I only play casters and healers because I have this need to be able to see the whole party. like zoomed out and nobody behind you.
with SAM, I think I learned to relax being near the mobs and having sometime only the tank in front of you, though I'm not sure I'm doing positionals correctly, but I have to adjust the camera angle to almost isometric so I'll still have a view of the party, for when mechanics happen.
no idea how I'd perform as a tank. probably never XDD