Is ranged support dps needed as a job type anymore?

[Xiaoki]

When it comes to the majority of players, you're correct, but that's likely not what they're looking at.

It's true that casters and melee can get pretty much as much uptime as phys ranged, but that generally comes with practice and theorycrafting. Correct timing of mobility skills like triplecast or egi phases, or gap closers, etc.
That's a learning curve, however small it may be.

If you remove the discrepancy caused by that 'ranged tax', and make all phys ranged as strong as their caster counterparts for example, then world first prog no longer has any need for casters. Why spend the first few runs practicing the timing of your gap closer if you can play a job just as strong that doesn't need those few extra practice runs?

I don't think the gap should be anywhere near as big as it is, but removing it entirely does create a problem. A niche one no doubt, but one they're probably conscious of and want to avoid.

I do love these "slippery slope" posts. So bad, so predictable.

"If ranged did the same DPS as casters then no group would take casters ever "

Except no group is going to give up the 1% bonus to primary stats.

The biggest possible change would be the new meta being 2 ranged, 1 melee and 1 caster rather than 2 melee, 1 ranged and 1 caster.