Ranged DPS role is about to be excluded from all content

[Katie_Kitty]

I'm BRD main. I don't have any trouble with anything and nobody's ever called me out on my mad deeps (giggle), but then again, I'm still doing HW content.

In all seriousness, if I spend months learning this job and this game and then get excluded from content for no other reason than simply being BRD? Yeah. I'm not gonna be pleased with this game at all.

So here's the thing about meta and endgame parties. Right now, everyone who plays anything besides a Melee job or Black Mage is actively holding back the party's DPS just because the gap between Melee+BLM and everyone else is so high. Does that mean you're going to be excluded from content? In some circumstances, from some parties, yes, but generally, no. I'll explain.

I play RDM. My job is going to be excluded before yours, and it's true that I've seen several PFs with my job locked out, but it's not something you see frequently. Bard, despite its relative weakness, has two advantages: First, it still receives some residual love from players who remember how Bard was a meta job for so damn long, that alone makes it unlikely to be locked out. Second, Bard has the advantage of being a physical ranged job which is actually pretty well-balanced within the role even as the role as a whole is very very weak compared to melee+BLM. 99.999% of parties are going to want one ranged physical job regardless because people who play those jobs are often used to perform mechanics that would be particularly annoying for melee or casters, and since Bard competes nicely against both MCH and DNC, there is no reason not to bring one. .001% of parties at best will want to bring a 2 melee + 2 BLM composition but frankly those parties are going to be statics, not pug groups you find in party finder.

I wouldn't worry about it, especially since ranged physical is likely to get a buff in 5.1