For those who main/semi-main a DPS (e.g. DNC, RDM) but like Healers...

[Renathras]

The skill ceiling is defined by the difficulty in identifying what's optimal within the constraints of a fight and job, and by the difficulty in executing the optimal plan once identified.

Partially. But it also requires ability to choose among options or alter your rotation in response to information/data/mechanics.

You consider a striking dummy, but is that how these things work? Against a striking dummy, BLM is one of the easiest Jobs in the game. A stacking Dia affords flexibility, which is what leads to a higher skill ceiling. Right now, refreshing Dia every 30 sec no matter what is how you play. That's not difficult. You don't move it, so there's no optimization. It's the same thing as saying casting Glare each time the GCD rolls over is skill ceiling (also easy to do against striking dummies, btw). On the other hand, a stacking Dia means you CAN just push it twice and then...refresh it once every 30 seconds. Making it the same difficulty as non-stacking Dia. OR you can refresh it later (with less than 30 seconds remaining). But the consequence of this is that the specific Dia optimal refreshes may now vary from fight to fight or even within a fight during different mechanics. By your metric, it is more difficult to determine what is optimal within the constraints of the fight, and more difficult to execute than current Dia, which is just pressing the button once - never more and never less - every 30 seconds. Something a literal dipping bird could do.

It's kind of like arguing that Energy Drain optimization isn't a higher skill ceiling than having a Dia that isn't connected to AF and just has a 20 sec CD on the ability itself. CLEARLY that would be a lower skill ceiling than present Energy Drain is, and this follows the same principle of "use once on a timer" vs "alter frequency of use in response to the situation".

I think the better way to say it is as I did:

A stacking DoT both lowers the skill floor and raises the skill ceiling at the same time.

I know we all seldom see eye to eye, but I genuinely don't get this argument from you guys. A stacking DoT is only NOT more complex in a target dummy fight, and in a target dummy fight, it's of equal complexity since you'd always refresh it every 30 sec after the first double stack.

...

See above.

You're saying things but they aren't countering my points. You seem to hold that BECAUSE you can refresh it early, this means that there is no optimization possible that current Dia doesn't allow and thus it has a lower skill ceiling. That makes no sense. There's more to potentially optimize, therefore, there's a higher skill ceiling.

Again, Energy Drain with a set 20 sec CD and no resource cost vs current Energy Drain. Which has a higher skill ceiling? An ability with a rigid 20 sec CD and no (effective) resource limit, or an ability with resource limits and that can be used both more frequently or less frequently in response to external situations?