Did PvP Get Worse?

[Valence]

I do think that the shift to a better balance between sustain and burst is healthy. The all in into burst at higher levels was just obnoxious, and even moreso in LPs.
Caveat though, some jobs that had real issues with burst damage like BRD (they had the silence though, which made it immediately meta) have actually gained a lot in the burst department, so changes are not identical across the board overall. MCH as well, is absolutely disgusting on burst damage (but suffers from a lot of other things in exchange).

-Locking cc(crowd-ctrl) behind gap closers: who in their right mind thought this was a good idea? PvP is situational and having to waste both your cc and your gap closer at the same time just doesn't make any sense. (i.e. PLD)

I'd be inclined to agree... A lot of pvp effects in CC since its inception have been baked collectively into single abilities and that's nothing new, but it generally implies an opportunity cost scenario, which is also the case for PLD's gap closer, but I don't think it works well at all in this case for the reason you mention, even if it makes sense thematically.

-Locking cc/beneficial skills behind abilities: (i.e. SAM/RDM, etc) In the case of RDM, the only real purpose of stun is to attempt to save yourself after your barrier is fully absorbed? That's such a niche usage...

To be honest there is rarely a time where a strong AoE stun can't be applied to good effect especially since if your Forte barrier breaks, then it's that pvp is actually happening... Otherwise you have 10s to use it, and I feel it's fair for something as good as an AoE stun. Personally I've been stunned by this in a well placed manner when my HP was low and I was being focused target, so I do believe good RDMs can make great use of it, without speaking about Resolution still being as obnoxious as ever, so... I'm frankly okay with this. RDM is very good already as it is.

-Also NIN doton - shukuchi trick no longer works in PvP? Anyone could've learned how to do it. But now they're literally stopping good players from excelling and making everything dumbed down so that even a bad player can do as well as a good player.

I am not familiar with that trick, what did it do?

-MNK: I'm not gonna get into too much details but is it even viable now? It seems like it's heavily reliant on decent teammates now, whereas before you can take out priority targets to tip the scales in a fight. Now it's no cc (crowd-ctrl), ranged focused, animation delay, nerfed LB (no more KB-LB combo?). Is MNK even considered a carry anymore?

It looked underwhelming to everybody when 7.1 hit, and it's definitely not as S tier as it used to be, but I still see it classified as S tier on some lists from top players. I think under the hands of a skilled player, it still hard carries if just by its ability to tank or lock down players, the former being incredibly good in low skill games, and the later very good in high skill games. RoE bombs are now a tech due to the hit registration changes, you can dash to a target or group or target and have it detonate up their face with the delay.

-BLM: cast times (no more LB instacast)... in CC (Cystalline Conflict)... seriously?

I think BLM changes are very divisive and a lot of players truly miss superflare. BLM has shifted from a glass cannon to a more balanced job that can take a lot of punishment and I've seen some good BLM players doing pretty well overall (they're really annoying to kill with all their sustain + shielding + teleport actually). It still can deal a crapload of damage, but you'll have to cast yes... In my opinion it made the job a little better defined and balanced between ice and fire as well, where before it was a little... too much leaning toward ice spamm. Also more intuitive to make the difference of when to use ice and when to use fire for new players to the job.

-I did like the changes (slight upgrades) to MCH, DRG, AST, WHM, RPR, WAR.

AST was already S tier, now it's just... crazy. They have tuned it down a peg last patch where it hurts a little but it still has the best tools for everything and it shows. It's just very good since it plays directly into the current sustain meta.

-SAM, NIN pretty much plays the same but it feels not as fluid with the slight changes (mainly the NIN doton-shukuchi trick).

SAM has definitely been buffed hard, especially on the damage and sustain department. It deals a lot of damage, otherwise it's similar to what it used to be, with more things to do since you have more GCDs to play with to deal damage before going back to filler.
NIN is very wild in my opinion, has gained a lot of burst options (Zeppo is disgusting), still retains a lot of nasty stuns, and Seiton is overpowered especially since they lowered it down to 90s.

-SGE, DNC are pretty much the same as before unless I'm mistaken.

DNC's profile has change a bit, the damage output has been axed significantly, making it a lot more team reliant (it could really need a little help tbh), and the introduction of DotD is probably the biggest snowballing tool in the game right now (and it's properly disgusting with jobs like NIN, SAM, etc).

-DRK, PLD, GNB I've got mixed feelings for even though the playstyle is pretty much still the same.

PLD and GNB are part of the current meta since PLD plays directly into the sustain meta (cover/heals), and GNB is just one of the biggest hard carries with crazy damage output.

-SCH, RDM, MNK, BLM seems so underwhelming and/or team reliant. I don't think you can even carry with RDM/MNK anymore, so what's their purpose? Sustained dmg? In ANY PvP game, sustained dmg is the dumbest thing ever. You're basically ticking away at enemy HP/wasting their resources, hoping that your teammates know how to burst properly - and if your team doesn't, that enemy isn't dying.

SCH has always been team reliant but the change on its LB made it less so, and it has even more on demand heals (seraph on 60s cd not in the LB, resets at death...). It's a S tier job at high level.
RDM is very strong but its profile definitely has shifted away from a glass cannon (black shift) a bit like BLM making it more balanced and survivable. It has gained a LOT of team support and cc, making it very good by definition.

-No comment on BRD and SMN, I haven't got around to playing them yet.

BRD, SMN and MCH will work well at lower ranks, but they're not rated high at all (in fact quite at the bottom) in top crystal games.
BRD has become a lot less team reliant with strong offensive and burst options though, which is good for the job.
SMN LB still flattens whole teams that keel over at lower ranks.

-I honestly thought they were gonna change VPR and PCT to match the previous meta, but they went the opposite route and tried to match the other Jobs to the VPR/PCT playstyle. /facepalm.

Can't talk for PCT, some people seem to find it decent. VPR has been struggling since its inception, has been buffed making it okay, but it just doesn't play well into the current meta at all.