So...is the Ranged Role gone? Are we in a Reverse HW?

[Karshan]

There are plenty of valid reasons:

1) access to the single most powerful damage mitigation tool available to a dps job;
2) total and unconditional mobility, which comes in handy to deal with some mechanics and to ease the burden on other less mobile party members;
3) simple rotations to learn and execute, with close to no punishment for mistakes (MCH and DNC are basically braindead and with BRD the worst thing that could happen is failing to refresh dots with iron jaws, not a big deal);
4) full uptime in any possible scenario.

The role bonus ensures that the marginal rdps contibution of a ranged physical job is more or less on par with the rdps of other melees and casters, so that having one and only one physical ranged dps is optimal.
This is how it should be, given the aforementioned strenghts of physical ranged jobs. Of course, it's not like they can't buff them a little, as long as they don't overdo it...but even now, ranged are ok. You still want one in you party.

1) But only one, since the rest is gone, and it is not so ground breaking either
2) very true (except when you're yourself out of range, but in that case the melee would be as well so fully agree).
3) I'm sorry, melee rotations are not a brain twister either... Don't make it look like ranged rota is a breathe in the park while monk or dragoon are complex cluster of what the fuckery...it is not true and they're pretty straightforward.
4) fully agree, although this reflects in rDPS measured by fflogs. If they didn't have that mobility, they'd be even lower. Already taken into account.

Doesn't equate 1500 rDPS (may I remind that rDPS is measured, not paper based, so all of this is taken into account ALREADY, and still they're far behind).

I think it has more to do with what you said in your last paragraph : the matter is not at all about not taking one, it is that SE fears we always take 2 like it was in heavensward. But there are 4 spots, 3 roles ; we'll always have to take 2 of one, and right now it's never gonna be range. Note how a lot less people question the 2 melee spots. I'm glad BLM i strong and they buffed SMN and RDM so that 2 melee can have a little competition with 2 caster.

[Lastelli]

I think it has more to do with what you said in your last paragraph : the matter is not at all about not taking one, it is that SE fears we always take 2 like it was in heavensward. But there are 4 spots, 3 roles ; we'll always have to take 2 of one, and right now it's never gonna be range.

And that's clearly what the devs want. They're trying to enforce 4 melee-4 ranged as the standard comp, as it was in ARR. It's pretty obvious (notice how they're nerfing SMN, basically confirming that they don't want BLM+SMN to be meta). And this is the most logical comp as well, given the number of jobs for each role (and I'm positive we're getting another melee job in 6.0).

[Karshan]

And that's clearly what the devs want. They're trying to enforce 4 melee-4 ranged as the standard comp, as it was in ARR. It's pretty obvious (notice how they're nerfing SMN, basically confirming that they don't want BLM+SMN to be meta). And this is the most logical comp as well, given the number of jobs for each role (and I'm positive we're getting another melee job in 6.0).

I don't count tanks and healers but why not. Only DPS speaking however, there is a discrepancy.

I'm all for a new melee job to increase competition among the role, cause with a 2 melee comp you have currently a 50% chance to be chosen in a particular class, while range and caster only have a 33% chance as a specific class. Either improve individual odds for range/caster classes or reduce individual odds for melee is all I want.

[Lastelli]

I don't count tanks and healers but why not. Only DPS speaking however, there is a discrepancy.

I'm all for a new melee job to increase competition among the role, cause with a 2 melee comp you have currently a 50% chance to be chosen in a particular class, while range and caster only have a 33% chance as a specific class. Either improve individual odds for range/caster classes or reduce individual odds for melee is all I want.

That's only one way to look at it though, and probably not the most relevant one, as people can easily level (and gear) 2 jobs that belong to the same role. This is especially true for physical ranged dps, since they mostly share the same BiS. In this sense, chosing to main and invest tomestones on a melee job is way more risky. A DRG cannot suddenly switch to MNK or NIN when it finally finds a party looking for a melee. So why should casters and ph. ranged be able to switch between jobs in their respective role end join any party and still be good? That would be way too convenient.

[Eliadil]

1) But only one, since the rest is gone, and it is not so ground breaking either
2) very true (except when you're yourself out of range, but in that case the melee would be as well so fully agree).
3) I'm sorry, melee rotations are not a brain twister either... Don't make it look like ranged rota is a breathe in the park while monk or dragoon are complex cluster of what the fuckery...it is not true and they're pretty straightforward.
4) fully agree, although this reflects in rDPS measured by fflogs. If they didn't have that mobility, they'd be even lower. Already taken into account.

One thing you could possibly do is give the role action that reduces strenght/dex for ranged then, it gives them another damage reduction while not making them that OP (although seeing how it helps on TEA, I think it definitely would).
The issue with ranged is and will always be uptime, that is one thing clearly underestimated by the community, is how strong being free of range limitation and being able to move all the time is. I'm only talking about ranged physical here, not casters, as being a caster means that you have to watch for your GCDs. There is a reason that there is uptime strats made especially for melees and there isn't the same for ranged physical. this is purely the sam main speaking here, but missing even a single GCD has a bigger impact on my dps than forgetting to refresh a dot on bard. And missing a GCD on melee is way easier than ranged, as ranged is more about forgetting to press a button than just being out of range. (if you're out of range then everyone else is too basically)

Ranged, based on this, cannot mess their rotation because of the way a fight is made, opposed to melee. If you mess up your rotation on ranged, then you played poorly (pressed the wrong buttons) where with melee (and also casters) there is a bigger numbers of factor that can make you mess rotation. It's an easy concept of "high risk high reward" play. Increasing the offensive utility of ranged will not bring "balance" in any way. Like somebody else said earlier, two melees are a thing, two casters are too. It is a risk sure, but it has a decent damage reward. However, as soon as you make double ranged viable, then nobody in their right mind would ever take two melees or casters if you could achieve the same reward with less risk. Let's not forget Party Finder in Stormblood, where excluding Sam and Blm was a common thing because even tho they could bring decent damage (higher than the rest in fact) the risk was just too high to be "worth it" for pugs. Peoples will exactly follow the same mentality if you make double ranged viable. This we don't want to, because it will just kill the two other role outright.