DPS jobs lacking utility?

[dezzmont]

Agreed, though I'd argue that if a parser is required for a given utility to be visible, let alone a comparison of multiple runs, it's not remotely tangible. (Dance Partner, for instance, would fall among those, at least outside of Devilment and sometimes its stacked AoE heal.)

I would actually call Dance Partner one of the few 'good' team DPS buffs in the sense that it is very visible that your partner is your partner and is helping you, you get animations, and there is a feeling of connection and prestige for being 'chosen' as dance partner among pickup groups.

Ultimately I think a good support/utility skill is about making the players feel a connection to other players.

A good example of another game that did this very well was LoL. Sona was a character who had BRD like group buffs that were extremely relevant to total DPS but were entirely passive and represented just by a buff icon. They updated her to have her offensive aura work differently, where you moving near an ally after casting a certain spell caused their weapon or hands to glow blue and their next attack shot out a little 'magic missile' in a quick burst of damage, which despite being lower overall DPS felt WAY better and made it far more clear how helpful that character was.

Mobas in general are really good at this: Io from Dota is another great example of how to make what is essentially a trickle regen to an ally and a small attack speed buff feel mystical and cosmic just by having a fancy beam shooting space energy at them.

Obviously MOBA fight design is a bit different, but that may be a good angle to look for helping out lackluster abilities and utility. A LOT of popular jobs in XIV are popular not for mechanical reasons, but because the animation and flow of the job sells its fantasy so well. A raw DPS increase is a raw DPS increase, but 'I now cause my allies to shoot musical notes with some attacks that makes them get a cool bonus animation and for me to get some benefit' is SPICY and lets both a hypothetical bard feel great for tossing out a buff and lets the party 'see' the damage increase, even if it is in fact still just a 1% damage buff.

Utility is less about actually being necessary or game changing and more about allowing players to define themselves by connecting with their teammates. Its more a fantasy of being a team player who is helping everyone rise to a challenge. In a sense, despite a combat Peloton in theory being less useful in 99% of encounters than the AOE damage resists ranged DPS get, it would probably be far more popular with most of the playerbase for better fitting in with this 'I want to make a connection with my team and be seen doing it' model of utility.