DRG is unbalanced and desperately needs a buff.

[Altena]

DRG has some major issues that extend beyond the long animation lock of its core advanced job skills (Jump), and I am going to touch on a few of these issues.

- DPS is actually quite bad in comparison to other jobs, most apparent when looking at MNK and BLM. (inb4 learn to play, DRG's "rotation" is fairly dry and doesn't really deviate - keep your buffs up & use FT combo as filler..)



- They have poor spike damage (most of their damage comes from DoT).




- Their subclass selection is terrible. PGL? Ok fair enough. MRD, a tanking class? Really? At least allow us to use Archer..



- They have access to very few buffs that increase damage. Bard gets Barrage, Raging Strikes, B4B, Internal Release, Hawks Eye, Straight Shot, which all increase damage one way or another, DRG gets B4B, Internal Release and Heavy Thrust...



- They have 2 particular skills that are essentially useless or highly situational. (I have never needed to use Feint in my DRG lifetime, and Keen Flurry is only extremely situational.


- Their ultimate level 50 skill - "Dragonfire Dive" isn't that "ultimate". Especially on a 3 min cool down. Closest comparison to this would be BLM's "Flare" which to begin with is on GCD (so you can use it whenever you like at the cost of MP), Flare also has more potency, and is affected by the damage boost from Astral Fire.


- They lack any form of "special mechanic". Jump isn't a mechanic. It's an ability - you use it. It does damage..

When asked the question what sort of interesting mechanics will we see from Dragoon, Yoshi stated that DRG is about using directional combos to increase damage, and Jump. This only applies to 2 skills, Impulse (behind) & Heavy (flank).

MNK is more positional then this, and in addition to they have the freedom of stances, which allows a lot more flexibility in how you play the class, as well as allowing you to keep buffs up exactly when they are needed. (While certain rotations do not require it, it is still a lot more flexible).

Why on the face of this earth did you guys remove the 1.0 Power Surge mechanic? You basically ditched it on DRG and gave a similar one to MNK.. While it wasn't the most "creative" mechanic, it was certainly a whole lot more interesting then "keep DoT's up, spam FT".

I guess my issue with this point, and I know it's a long point, is that it feels like MNK got the special treatment here, and anything interesting about playing the current melee DPS, were all given to MNK.



- They lack utility.

This may be another long point, but this is mainly about job balance.
Currently BLM and MNK are king of the hill in terms of DPS.
BRD is also fairly high (and SMN in some instances).

DRG is quite honestly the weakest DPS class, but in addition to this it also has NO utility, where all other classes do. Ok that's a lie - it has one use above its standard role - To buff the BRD's dps with Disembowel !

Seriously though, this part of my post is honestly the biggest problem with DRG in its current state.

It doesn't have the damage to compete with the top tier melee DPS (Monk).
It doesn't have the utility or the damage to be remotely balanced to BRD or BLM.

So I have a question - Why play a sub-optimal melee DPS class, that is inferior to all other classes in pretty much every situation and fairly basic mechanics, when you could jump on a class like BRD and have low risk of getting hit, the ability to support your party with buffs, and do more damage? Because it looks cool?

Do classes like BRD really need a nerf? Not really, but DRG is in dire need of a buff.

Truly it should be sitting on equal footing to MNK in terms of achievable DPS.

[storm]

a dragoon can always lean on his staff for balance.

m(-_-)m sorry I have nothing meaningful to contribute, enjoy a free bump.

[Akira]

i dunno could just be the players ive encountered on my server but ive never been behind in dps and have yet to be out parsed by a monk as drg only times ive lost on dps is aoe stuff to blm and have yet to be out done by a bard unless im not even trying lol

[Altena]

i dunno could just be the players ive encountered on my server but ive never been behind in dps and have yet to be out parsed by a monk as drg only times ive lost on dps is aoe stuff to blm and have yet to be out done by a bard unless im not even trying lol

You're talking about random pugs doing spammy dungeons?

Try Coil, or even a primal with a group of people all equally geared.

MNK and BLM are the clear leaders. Hell - get your closest MNK or BLM buddy to run over to a striking dummy with you, strip naked aside from your weapon and see who does more damage over 5 mins.

BRD is hit or miss, some of their damage (like BLM) does rely on chance. However fight depending - BRD can easily top a DRG if they don't have to worry about songs. The biggest issue here is that BRD has both the damage & the utility.. Where DRG can do nothing but DPS. The margin should be much clearer in DRG's favour, simply because of BRD's ability to support the party - and deal their damage at a safe range. Really all melee DPS should do more damage then ranged for this reason alone, but adding the amount of utility both BRD and BLM have, it really just isn't balanced at all.

[Leon_Stormrage]

BRD is hit or miss, some of their damage (like BLM) does rely on chance. However fight depending - BRD can easily top a DRG if they don't have to worry about songs.

This is not true at all, a BRD cannot top a good dragon, NEVER! With the same equipment one dragon should be doing at least 60 - 70 more dps than a Bard (this is the Bard didn't play a song for much time)
Are some fights that we can have more dps due to the mobility but this do not apply for Coil.

[Altena]

This is not true at all, a BRD cannot top a good dragon, NEVER! With the same equipment one dragon should be doing at least 60 - 70 more dps than a Bard (this is the Bard didn't play a song for much time)
Are some fights that we can have more dps due to the mobility but this do not apply for Coil.

70 DPS difference? You are serious right now? You play FFXIV right?

A DRG of equal gear to a BRD cannot push 70 DPS higher. lol.

[Leon_Stormrage]

70 DPS difference? You are serious right now? You play FFXIV right?

A DRG of equal gear to a BRD cannot push 70 DPS higher. lol.

Emmm yes they can the dragon on my coil group is doing about 260 dps and I am doing 200 I don't know if this are good numbers for me but I compared it with other bards on my FC and all we are doing around the same 200 - 210 so the answer is yes. The dragoon can and MUST be doing more damage than a BRD if not maybe is wrong at one point of his rotation.

[Akira]

You're talking about random pugs doing spammy dungeons?

Try Coil, or even a primal with a group of people all equally geared.

MNK and BLM are the clear leaders. Hell - get your closest MNK or BLM buddy to run over to a striking dummy with you, strip naked aside from your weapon and see who does more damage over 5 mins.

BRD is hit or miss, some of their damage (like BLM) does rely on chance. However fight depending - BRD can easily top a DRG if they don't have to worry about songs. The biggest issue here is that BRD has both the damage & the utility.. Where DRG can do nothing but DPS. The margin should be much clearer in DRG's favour, simply because of BRD's ability to support the party - and deal their damage at a safe range. Really all melee DPS should do more damage then ranged for this reason alone, but adding the amount of utility both BRD and BLM have, it really just isn't balanced at all.

im talking coil with equally geared players only time i lost in dps was in turn 4 due to the aoe but besides that im always top even on titan with ppl equally geared

[Zaranghae]

I entirely agree with OP, and one huge focus that I've been disappointed was the actual mechanic and DPS of Jump. Literally, all the jump skills have the same potency (if not less) as our regular GCD combos and they have long animations that could be extremely detrimental especially in HM raids. When I first began DRG, I imagined more "jump"-like skills that incorporated aerial attacks, accompanied with combos that would do a lot of damage, but instead we get 3 jumps that pretty much look and work the same (Just different color effects) and have ridiculously long cooldowns. I think a proper solution would be to add more aerial and jumping skills, incorporating less "directional" emphasis on attacks since this practically has nothing to do with the thematic scheme of a Dragoon, or simply lower our cooldowns so we can Jump more often (as a Dragoon should) and speed up the animation so they're easier to use.

[Aegis]

I think OP has some valid points, but if you're fighting a boss where for whatever reason (jumps/blinks/AOEs) you can't hit the mob for more than a couple of seconds and you aren't beating the MNK, you are doing something wrong.

On a single, static target the Monk will beat you hands down. On a target that causes Greased Lightning to drop regularly? The monk becomes the lowest DPS (if everyone is playing their jobs right). That mechanic is just so important to them.

Also, Yoshi has already said melee are getting buffed @ 2.1 since BRD, BLM and SMN are preferred so heavily at the moment.