Most difficult DPS class to play?

[ChaozK]

I think out of BLM, SMN, MNK and DRG, each comes with its own inidvidual challenges and its very hard to make a reasonable argument on what is the most difficult because you cant compare apples to oranges. Do you find it more challenging to time your cast for most uptime? Having a long rotation with lots of skills to use? Having to micromanage a pet and all its abilities on top of your own? Keeping up stacks of a buff on top of a multide of positonal attacks?

Each persons opinion will greatly differ here and there can be points made for each dps to be the hardest.

That being said however, from the sounds of it, the op is looking for a very specific kind of challenge, mainly having a complex rotation. In that regard i would think MNK would be the most fitting class, as in my opinion it has the highest entry skill barrier, due to having to learn forms and positions on top of the usual business. BLM, DRG and SMN by comparison, will give you an easier time when starting out and the challenges will shine through only at the higher lvls of play.

Just my 2 cents.

[KingSora]

Being a main Bard myself I have to be honest, from a pure DPS standpoint, it is easy. You can be mobile and still do damage, and the pressure is not on you to deal loads of damage because you aren't expected too. However, there is an aspect of Bard that sometimes gets overlooked. I was doing Ifrit HM the other day and both WHM started running out of MP and we wiped. Who do you think took the blame because he didn't pop up Mage's Ballad? This guy. While not entirely my fault that they weren't managing their MP, it still didn't make me look good. No doubt the DPS aspect is easy peasy. Just don't forget everything else with it.

[LetBloodline]

Being a main Bard myself I have to be honest, from a pure DPS standpoint, it is easy. You can be mobile and still do damage, and the pressure is not on you to deal loads of damage because you aren't expected too. However, there is an aspect of Bard that sometimes gets overlooked. I was doing Ifrit HM the other day and both WHM started running out of MP and we wiped. Who do you think took the blame because he didn't pop up Mage's Ballad? This guy. While not entirely my fault that they weren't managing their MP, it still didn't make me look good. No doubt the DPS aspect is easy peasy. Just don't forget everything else with it.

Where the "everything else" is watch WHM's MP?

[Selli]

-text-

As a WHM main, I can tell you that if you have to raise 2-3 people within about 10 minutes. You're mana is going to be incredibly low, even with proper use of Shroud. Raise is incredibly costly.

However, as a DPS, you shouldn't be babysitting the MP party list like a healer looking for something to esuna.

If a WHM or a SCH or whoever else needs a song played, they should be asking. If they were spamming a macro asking you to play Ballad 20+ times in the chat with those annoying twinkly sound effects; then yes, that's 100% on you for not paying attention. But if they're not saying anything at all even when their MP is in the triple digits, that is on them.

[Inkarozu]

If as a bard with so little to normally have to worry about you can't manage to watch your healer's MP... then why should they bother to watch your HP? As a healer I absolutely hate it when I have to shout for manasong, you should be able to pay enough attention to what is going on to see when its needed. If manasong isn't needed and there are mages in the party, then you should use foe's requiem. The only one that is tricky and I don't blame bards for is the TP song in melee heavy parties since you can't see what their TP is at.
As much as you may want to be just a ranger, your are in fact a bard. Your songs are a key part of your job, so please use them! D:

[AlexPayne]

In general, Yes, Bards should be using songs. But in all fairness to King Sora there, if not one but both WHM ran out of MP on a HM primal, the party had more problems than just a mana song.

[DeathFiend]

Funny how mostly rate based on inexperience and opinion.

As all 50's i90 +,
1) Monks have the hardest rotation as it is extremely customizable which can cause a simple screw up for bad dps. Lost of GL mean 30 sec trying to get it back. And if you get GL 2 then need that last positional skill to hit but the boss moves or disappears for X amount of time... you lose it all. And dont forget the dots.. building GL 3 and working about dots.. come on...

2) Summoner, my raid job, is not as difficult as monk as getting DOTS up is easy. However, micromanaging Garuda or Ifrit is a task in itself. In between dots, I have to make sure pet is in proper position, either in obey or sic depending on the phase, and getting their buffs up as much as possible.. that only within 18 secs.

3) Dragoon, not complicated at all as you only have a 3 chain attack compare to Monks 9. You screw up, oh well. that only 6-9 sec recovery. However, its also a dot class, so you have to make sure dots up and getting max dps with positioning. I still think the jump animations are a hinder to DPS, even after the fix.

4) Black Mage, the rotation is 1,2,3,1,2,3... nothing special about it. No mana consideration other than how you convert from Astral to Umbral (Convert, Transpose, Blizzard 3). The only thing that make this job hard.. you cant move. While, Monk and Dragoon constantly having to dodge AoEs either from boss or raid, the Black Mage have to only worry about raid AoE. Deal with it really.. Scathe, swiftcast, surecast, manawall, manaward, Aetherial Manipulation, even thunder and fire 3 procs...

5) Bard, my actual main, why... cause it easy. Why learn new content while struggling to keep up DPS? Anyways, seriously Heavy Shot all day. Dots are easy to keep up.

[KingSora]

If manasong isn't needed and there are mages in the party, then you should use foe's requiem. The only one that is tricky and I don't blame bards for is the TP song in melee heavy parties since you can't see what their TP is at.
As much as you may want to be just a ranger, your are in fact a bard. Your songs are a key part of your job, so please use them! D:

I did forget to mention those and I do try to use them. I just have to be careful not to run out of MP on something like Foes Requiem and then not be able cast Mages Baalad when we really need it. And yes I try to get Army's Paeon out there but it is hard to judge and again don't want to waste MP. Like I said in first post DPSing as a Bard is easy, and using the songs isn't that difficult as well. some people just forget about that part. I'm in no way trying to argue that Bard is difficult. We all know it isn't. It just isn't always a complete snore feast either.

[echoica]

Monk for melee and summoner for range in terms of most complex. Next bard and easiest black Mage and dragoon. I have played all jobs to 50 in the game so far and this is what I found personally for dps.

[Pyreflye]

Funny how mostly rate based on opinion.

Of course it's going to be based on opinion...

One player might find MNK easy (my friend, for example), while another might find BLM to be very difficult.

DPS difficulty is not objective, it is subjective.
I have played MNK and DRG, and I find DRG more complex, while others see differently.

Just like how you say DRG is "not difficult at all", while it definitely has the most complex rotation, this is a subjective opinion, so don't dismiss others' comments with nonsense like "Funny how most people based it on opinion".