Quote Originally Posted by Cetonis View Post
I'd cite the fastest Levi clear being 5.0 as evidence that there's little to no serious competitive speed running going on. Also the number two Eden time has a Bard when it would very obviously be better if you just slotted in a Dancer. Yet they didn't bother. Heck, there are barely any ASTs up there still.

This isn't a sign of numbers being wrong or misleading, it just means the speed running competitively is all but dead. Some groups will try to do their best with what they've got, but they aren't so hardcore as to kick their ranged or make them / wait for them to learn BLM. Or even, in some cases, make them learn Dancer. Nobody cares enough to do that.

It just doesn't make sense to lead with an assumption that lots of groups are doing their absolute best to get the top possible times at any cost. There's no evidence to back that up, a couple groups trying some comps out late in 5.0 does not a large-sample scientific experiment make.
True, but at the very least I'm backing my reasoning with the observation of player behavior.

Meanwhile, how do you prove that people would be better off swapping their ranged for a caster or a melee, exactly?