Ranged red jobs aren't meta

[Loggos]

I think dancer also counts more as a hybrid job than a pure ranged job? I'm not sure as I don't main it. But from the few times I've played around with it what really stood out to me are: its mobility and its instant attacks (no slow-walking to attack like bard or machinist) while still having your full kit (compare that to blm and pct who have to switch to a weaker kit and give up a lot of their power to gain access to their instant attack strings and defensive casts).
I would say dancer is the closest to a ranged (or ranged-ish) DPS that is good at controlling range in their favour as a core feature of their gameplay. You can create a distance between yourself and others while attacking without being overpowered.
I don't know how dancer does at top levels but in terms of design philosophy I feel like this is a good foundation, one that "gets" the nature of what ranged gameplay should be about and that could be expanded upon.

Another class that did it well in my eyes was the old BLM and its freeze mechanics. I know, it wasn't without criticism and I'm sure there were good points made but I still think the principle itself was well thought out: controlling range by immobilising your enemy and preventing them from getting close to you as a squishy(with the freeze/bind having enough downtime to allow enemies to reach you depending on how either of you played). Balance issues aside duelling on old BLM was a lot more fun to me because of that. It was unique compared to what we have now.

[Burmecia]

don't melees still have higher defences or... some kind of damage reduction going on? i haven't followed if they have or haven't done anything to it.
anyway, who would have known that those jobs which are worse in dishing the pain would see slump in their popularity when the game mode is mostly about dishing pain?

"but ranged jobs have longer reach, they have more/more consistent chance to serve pain!"

--when almost every melee can either pull you in or gap closer to your easily bruising ranger butt?

[Valence]

I think dancer also counts more as a hybrid job than a pure ranged job? I'm not sure as I don't main it. But from the few times I've played around with it what really stood out to me are: its mobility and its instant attacks (no slow-walking to attack like bard or machinist) while still having your full kit (compare that to blm and pct who have to switch to a weaker kit and give up a lot of their power to gain access to their instant attack strings and defensive casts).
I would say dancer is the closest to a ranged (or ranged-ish) DPS that is good at controlling range in their favour as a core feature of their gameplay. You can create a distance between yourself and others while attacking without being overpowered.
I don't know how dancer does at top levels but in terms of design philosophy I feel like this is a good foundation, one that "gets" the nature of what ranged gameplay should be about and that could be expanded upon.

Another class that did it well in my eyes was the old BLM and its freeze mechanics. I know, it wasn't without criticism and I'm sure there were good points made but I still think the principle itself was well thought out: controlling range by immobilising your enemy and preventing them from getting close to you as a squishy(with the freeze/bind having enough downtime to allow enemies to reach you depending on how either of you played). Balance issues aside duelling on old BLM was a lot more fun to me because of that. It was unique compared to what we have now.

DNC is definitely a hybrid job and doesn't suffer from red ranged DPS shortcomings. It's not as tanky as a melee or a RDM, but it still has solid additional defenses and an incredible mobility. I wish red ranged DPS jobs had that kind of additional defensives, without the mobility. Or the other way around. Or more control over threats approaching them, which DNC has (can activate defensives, can cure, and/or can zip away).

As a DNC main I have other issues with the jobs, but they're more on the damage output (way weaker than in EW), and the hell on earth the LB is to use. It's not a bad job at high level, but it's not meta either, and in randoms, it's also a gigantic gamble depending on the DPs you get.

I like the idea that BRD and MCH contrary to DNC are more like snipers with tactical positioning considerations, but the problem in my opinion is how they'll always die before the melees that dogpile them will, unless they have very specific meta comp like PLD or AST/WHM to save their ass (but then guess who is even harder to kill with a PLD/AST/WHM? Melees...). DNC doesnt have that problem as much. Also yes, walking casts are the best way to die, and I don't think rphys that don't have the mobility tools of casters, really needs any cast times at all tbh, they'd still lack mobility anyway... Walking casts are really bad, I'd rather have normal casts on rphys that I can easily cancel, even though no casts whatsoever would be even better.