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.