Bard is particularly weak at lower levels, and the reason for that is simply that SE doesn't give a damn about lower level balance. Most jobs are way stronger at lower levels now than they were back when 50 was the level cap, while Bard is only slightly stronger at best (may actually be weaker come to think of it), just as a collateral effect of what skills SE has targeted for buffs, nerfs and reworks over the years.

The ranged dps do less than other roles on purpose, as if they were just-as-good then static groups would always aim to take 2 ranged, 1 caster and 1 melee, because all other things being equal you'd just take the most mobile option for that fourth slot. A situation where groups either take a second melee or caster, and aim to avoid 2 ranged, is preferable. There's a lot of griping about whether or not ranged really need to be held as far down as they are, but the core logic of making them behind a bit is sound.

Crabby vets like me are also mad about the gutting of the flexibility / complexity of ranged jobs relative to 4.x Bard, and then you have the people who think pushing wild demands for Bard to be split into two jobs is constructive, so there's a lot of complain-about-ranged going on here and elsewhere, while the devs have either been silent or tone-deaf about ranged for pretty much the entire lifespan of the game.