Trying to play MCH with PUG's is pure agony.

[Valence]

The 1% buff is still very much required. No group goes without a p. range in hard content.

This doesn't change the fact that p. range should be brought for more than just that. For starters, the gap should not be more than 5%, if we follow SE's current philosophy on job balance.

As long as it is even just 5%, the only reason to bring them will be the party bonus. Job balanced saw the gap reduced down to 5% ish both in the second half of ShB and EW, and it was no different. Those jobs do not bring a raise, therefore doing less damage means that the only reason they are included in parties is for the party bonus, nothing more.

Melees would cry their eyes out if positions were reversed and rphys players told them that 5% is okay.

You would think that, but you are wrong! Double caster comps not only are clearing, but are doing so easier than any comp with a prange!

An "Average" group is dealing around 170,000 - 180,000DPS (using M5 as a comparison since it has the most data). 1% of that group DPS is 1,800dps.

Replacing any prange (tops out at 27,000 rdps at 50th percentile) with any Black Mage or Melee (low end of 29,000 rdps, top end of 30,000rdps) gives your group a gain of 2,000-3,000 damage. Even accounting for the 1% lower damage on the new damage output source (200-300 dps loss) you still don't close the gap at all.

The actual numbers I've been running since dawntrail started are a bit more complicated considering group composition, and a small boost in raw HP is also useful for prog purposes... however generally adding a BLM or any melee in the place of your ranged is a net gain. PCT was also a net gain until this patch. RDM and SMN are a minor group DPS loss, in exchange for a battle rez.

If you have a RDM or SMN in your party, yeeting your ranged player and recruiting a black mage or Pictomancer is a strict, substantial gain for your group unless your group is a barse group.

This is not literally +1% damage.
This is +1% in main stats (STR/DEX/VIT/INT/MND).

I do not remember the exact numbers and they quite frankly keep changing due to many variables, but a job used to be in threat of losing the party bonus protection past 10-15% damage gap iirc (don't quote me on the eyeballed number, could be remembering wrong), which always comes pretty close at expansion releases within the rphys department. It is also possible that double PCT comps broke that barrier, that I haven't looked into.