Torn on what DPS to level next!

[Raminax]

Greetings and salutations, ye who regularly steal my shiny Limit Break bars.

After finishing up my Paladin, I felt like nabbing a second DPS to get to 50. Thaumaturge proved to be somewhere between boring and offensive to my very soul. Thus, I need some inspiration, and who better to ask but the veterans of this bloody Massacrepalooza?

So, I'm looking for opinions and feelings on Archers, Lancers and Pugilists (and their Job equivalents, naturally). What is it that keeps you guys playing these DPS in particular? Is it the complexity of maintaining short-term buffs? Or do you just enjoy putting Olympic sportsmen to shame with your magnificent legs and their jumping capabilities? Anything goes, from concrete gameplay mechanics to enjoying the dancing battler style of a high level Monk.

Thanks in advance for your time!

[pandabearcat]

I guess you didn't like arcanist either.

Well BRD is still kinda boring imo, a lot of button mashing because of all your procs, and not too much thinking involved.

Both DRG and MNK require planning ahead, and both are fine dps as well.

MNK is less affected by lack of backstab (they just really miss bootshine crit), but more affected by lack of flank (they do about 60% damage without flank).

Monks are less, well harder to screw up if you play it safe and go through the forms.

Dragoons since your combo you can use whenever, if you don't pay attention missing a positioning or missing a combo attack will completely screw you up. They also have very tight rotation for DoT uptime.

I find its easier to play a decent (95% damage) MNK than it is to play a decent DRG.

[AideLee]

I find its easier to play a decent (95% damage) MNK than it is to play a decent DRG.

Obviously you haven't played Monk correctly. Monk is harder than drg.

1. Monk has 3 stances.
2. Monk has to reach GL3 and keep it up (12s) which can be depending on situation very difficult.
3. Monk has Touch of Death, Demolish DoT skills to add to the rotation.
4. Rotation involves being in the back and flank and mixture of them.
5. Monk has decent AOE ability as well. Haymaker combined with CDs can do darn good dmg to all enemies. And Rockbreaker is pretty good in rotation.

Summary: I am not putting DRG down. I love the spike damage. I've seen some crazy dmg done by drgs. Only thing I wanted to point out was that MNK is not easier than DRG. With rotation complexity and trying to keep GL and trying to add in DoTs in them... Ask any pro monk out there... it is probably most complex dps job out there. One of the reason why I love MNK.

Cheers!

[Lecreuset]

Obviously you haven't played Monk correctly. Monk is harder than drg.

There's no need to be an elitist prick about it. This person has his own playstyle and opinion. If he finds Dragoons harder than monk so be it. Doesn't need to be necessarily true for everyone

[AideLee]

There's no need to be an elitist prick about it. This person has his own playstyle and opinion. If he finds Dragoons harder than monk so be it. Doesn't need to be necessarily true for everyone

Don't be a prick about me being a elitest prick.

Let the trolling begin!

[pandabearcat]

Obviously you haven't played Monk correctly. Monk is harder than drg.

I think you might be right if you want to do everything "perfectly".

But while DRG loses their buff, and a big DoT for them when they can't go from behind, and they lose their 10% buff if they don't flank, so they HAVE to dance back and forth for optimal dps, or take a fairly substantial penalty.

Furthermore jumps are stupidly hard to use atm, and the optimal dragoon rotation is extremely tight and unforgiving as well, especially since the bulk of their damage comes from their filler TTT, which if they mess up their rotation and have to rebuff they lose a lot of "raw" dps from TTT.

The ONLY thing monks miss from failing backstab is autocrit bootshine (which you only do half the time), and a tiny 5% crit boost on true strike (which unless you have tons of SS is unusable anyway).

You can literally sit on flank the entire time as monk and have a negligible impact on your dps.

This is actually interesting, because DRG turns into the backstab melee, while monks are the flank melee.

As for losing GL3, you need to be doing an incredibly tight rotation (for example, trying to fit in more ID), which you shouldn't be doing if you know you must detach from boss soon. You will not lose GL3 unless you need to be away from boss for more than 2 GCDs.

"Monk has 3 stances" is actually much MUCH easier than accidentally flubbing a DRG combo, because 1, your stances force you into certain attacks, and 2, you CANNOT fail to apply you buffs (except for dragon kick, the only one you can "flub"), while a DRG, if they suddenly find themselves out of position, loses all their potency AND loses all their buff, completely throwing off their rotation.

If you mess up the monk rotation and your buffs drop, guess what? All your buffs are applied in one DK->TS->Snap/Demolish/Rockbreaker.

You just have to cycle through that once, and all your non GL buffs are applied, then just cycle through it again using whatever you like to get back 3 stacks.

I fail to see a compelling argument that one is harder than the other. If anything, DRG are easier to mess up than a "safe" monk rotation that just does DK->TS->SP/Demolish.

Also none of your DoTs require positioning, and you get 2 filler GCDs per rotation, which means you can refresh fracture/ToD at any time.

[AideLee]

@pandabearcat - My apologies for elitest comment according to the righteous one...

Anyways, all I wanted to stress was the fact that MNK is not weaker or easier. I have both MNK and DRG @ 50 and I chose MNK because I love the depth of play that I can reach with MNK. As you stated, when I am doing AK or WP... I am flank DPS. Just doing simple rotation to keep my DOTS and AOE. When I am on boss or feel like actually doing something. I do complex tight rotation. It all depends on play style I think. One thing that people should avoid... stop comparing jobs... really. They all have their purposes.

[Luso]

Thaumaturge is a really strong ranged dps. They start off boring, but when you get their skill sets they are really fun.

All the melee dps are fun to play too, but less of them are necessary in a party when it comes to late game.

Bard is easy to learn.

I would recommend: Blackmage, Pugilist, Lancer, Archer. (I find them fun in that order)
You will 'need' to level up your sub classes for abilities.
Blackmage - Archer 34, Arcanist 34
Archer - Lancer 34, Pugilist 12 (42 if you want mantra, but this is very weak outside of monks)
Lancer - Pugilist 12, Marauder 26
Pugilist - Lancer 34, Marauder 26


So take this time to get a feel on all the dps classes the game currently has to offer. If you are not enjoying a particular one try another.

Enjoy.

[ChaozK]

MNK and DRG are the most fun imo because there is less GCD waiting on both of them. MNK because it has inherently a very low GCD and speeds up with greased lightning and DRG has a lot of filler attacks to use in between 2 GCDs.