Q: I feel that black mage is a bit overpowered.

[Jinrya-Geki]

Letter from the Producer LIVE Part X Q&A Summary (12/02/2013)

Q: I feel that black mage is a bit overpowered.

A: In contrast to bard, which offers great party utility such as silencing and reducing enemy resistances, black mage doesn't really possess any advantageous skills or abilities for bosses. For example, they can't stun and they don't have any abilities that silence. Black mage has been designed as a specialized DPS job, and compared to other jobs there are some aspects that are balanced in their favor. To remedy this, we'll be making adjustments so that melee jobs can catch up to the DPS that black mage puts out, as well as balancing the advantages and disadvantages for each job depending on the situation. Also, we'll be fixing a bug where Flare can be used twice in a row when Umbral Ice is active.

I am not sure how I am to take this.

So the melees that can stun, or silence, etc you want to be able to catch up to a job that doesn't have those?

So are melees going be restricted by movement to do attacks? Us moving cancels our spells and we have to move a lot. Usually that's the best time for melees to play catch up.

If you can keep it balanced fine, just ready for me if black mage can't keep up with melees because we have to stop and they don't.

[Hanemakikaze]

So, what you're saying is you as a ranged is moving far more in fights than melee? You as a ranged need to chase down moving targets? You as a ranged are in far more danger than the melee? You as a ranged need to use the flank and rear constantly to keep up your perfect rotation otherwise majorly killing your dps while also making sure to avoid melee range aoe(halting dps for a short time, quite frequently making it add up) or cone attacks? I'm not sure how to take that myself tbh.

[Sinth]

As it currently stands in my experience, BLMs typically out-DPS melees in Coil by 30-50 dps (except T4) when both are hitting tight in their rotations with equal ilvl gear. When overall DPS is 200-250, 30-50 DPS is a considerably higher amount of damage. Basically, most BLMs perform 20-30% higher in DPS than their melee counterparts. An overall increase of 10% damage to Melees brings them closer to the DPS of a BLM, but BLM will still reign as king of DPS, as they should.

[Narcissus]

As it currently stands in my experience, BLMs typically out-DPS melees in Coil by 30-50 dps (except T4) when both are hitting tight in their rotations with equal ilvl gear. When overall DPS is 200-250, 30-50 DPS is a considerably higher amount of damage. Basically, most BLMs perform 20-30% higher in DPS than their melee counterparts. An overall increase of 10% damage to Melees brings them closer to the DPS of a BLM, but BLM will still reign as king of DPS, as they should.

This

/tennn

[GilbertLapine]

As it currently stands in my experience, BLMs typically out-DPS melees in Coil by 30-50 dps (except T4) when both are hitting tight in their rotations with equal ilvl gear. When overall DPS is 200-250, 30-50 DPS is a considerably higher amount of damage. Basically, most BLMs perform 20-30% higher in DPS than their melee counterparts. An overall increase of 10% damage to Melees brings them closer to the DPS of a BLM, but BLM will still reign as king of DPS, as they should.

Can I give you a hug?

[SirSaber]

Why did they nerf Bard then if melee will get a boost anyway? T_T

[Pinworms]

We don't have any advantageous skills as a blm. So these melee classes do. Melee classes get 10% increase in damage AND still have their advantageous skills. Blm is now on par with melee with the advantageous skills. This equals blm not being wanted since they do not have anything to offer the party except dps, and why take a dps when you can take an "on par" dps with advantageous skills? Change our umbral flares and our dps goes down some.

[Gamemako]

Why did they nerf Bard then if melee will get a boost anyway? T_T

Do you think BRD and BLM will stop being absolutely required for endgame content any time soon?

//EDIT:

We don't have any advantageous skills as a blm.

I assume you mean buffs/debuffs. How about Lethargy? Virus? Sleep? Bind? Apocatastasis? Not to mention the ability to use Physick in a pinch?

[Sinth]

Why did they nerf Bard then if melee will get a boost anyway? T_T

Because Bard is a support job, not a DPS. The buffs they provide are required to pass some fights, but their damage output is not.

[shanvhere]

Monks and Dragoon getting huge DPS buff in 2.1