DRG has been broken for far too long. Fix it SE

[Lithera]

Disembowel has no position requirement...that's Impulse Drive. DRGs could certainly use a bit of a boost but in reality the only time where it really matters is in raid groups trying for world firsts. The DPS checks even on Final Coil are well within a solidly geared DRGs range. Taking a NIN or MNK might give you a tiny bit more cushion but once you're sitting at i115-120 it isn't going to matter that much unless you're that concerned about finishing the Turn a few seconds faster. Who cares about perfectly executed rotations? How many execute perfect rotations against anything but a training dummy? I keep up pretty well with most MNKs I've run with and so far do as good or better than the NINs Ive run things like Shiva with. In short, while I agree DRG could use a bit of a buff, I don't believe there's any reason not to take them to endgame.

[KitanaiKoneko]

BLM has been broken for far too long. Fix it SE
This has gone on long enough.
Their DPS ceiling is significantly lower than monk or ninja, meaning that their theoretical maximum damage will not touch that of a ninja or monk.

They are punished much more for missing abilities (missed transition between Umbral/Astral because of heavy movement, or an add died mid-cast? There goes 3.5s to get back to 3 stacks. Missed fire because monster ran through you or moved too much? there goes 306 potency), which means that their DPS floor is also significantly lower than a monk or ninja.

The nature of the punishment meted out to black mages for missing transitions means that the difference between DPS ceiling and floor is far greater than a ninja or monk. In endgame instances it is becoming apparent that missed transitions occur with greater frequency, meaning that black mages will be more likely to operate around their DPS floor.
For monks, this dps floor is not as far from their ceiling, which is already far greater than the blm's dps ceiling. Ninja does not need positionals.

This means that DPS for a black mage is oftentimes out of the player's ability to control, more so than it is with a monk or ninja. Meaning that player skill has less of a role in generating significant dps at endgame, random luck has a greater role than for ninja or monk.

how are black mages, a dps class, compensated for this lacklustre dps?

Through utility? no. Ninja has a TP replenishing tool, a slashing debuff of 10% for tanks and other ninjas, a flat 10% damage increase for the entire party for 10 seconds. Monk can decrease the boss's magic damage by 10%, and increase heals to the party within certain range by 20%. black mages have… virus, which both healers should already have and has a 60 second downtime between application, and E4E, which is RNG based.

(Ok, ok, DRGs do have shitty MDEF, I’ll give you that.)

Black mages also need to pop RS as soon as it is available for their dps to be anywhere near respectable.

So to summarise:
-black mages that perfectly execute their rotation will not be able to touch the dps output of a monk or ninja that executes their rotation perfectly.

-black mages are punished for failing transitions much more harshly than monks or ninjas, meaning that mistakes made by a black mage lower their dps output even further below a monk or ninja that makes the same mistakes.

-They have no little group utility.

(Ok, ok, defence again)

They face far greater risk of dropping dps due to their need for transitions, but their optimal dps is significantly below a monk or a ninja. Meaning that there is no reward for the increased risk of rolling black mage. So they do less damage, they take more damage, they have no little group utility.

There is literally no reason why you would pick a black mage over a ninja or monk in endgame. None. We now have many skilled black mages from these forums declaring their intent to shift from black mage to monk or ninja; not because they prefer the play style of monk or ninja, but because black mage is outclassed by them and there is no point in playing them at endgame.

This is not okay. This is not how the game should be. One class should not remain this gimped for this long.

Why on earth have Yoshi and the dev team allowed this glaring imbalance to persist? When there was a problem with Warriors, they received an overhaul in 2.1. When people complained about ranged dps not being punished enough in first coil, melee got a damage buff. black mages have been weak for far too long, and the buffs to fire (movement still interrupts casting, yay) do not address the very real flaws the class faces and has faced for far too long now.

I am sorry if this comes across as entitled, or if it harshly worded, but i am pissed off and have had enough. I do not pay my subscription to play a gimped class. It is way past time that Yoshi and the dev team addressed this and actually did something about it, other than offer half arsed excuses about how jumps would be op if they were invincible. It is as if they are content to sit there and do nothing. I am not paying you to do nothing, people that want to play black mage at endgame are not paying you to do nothing, stop sitting on your hands and fix the bloody class.

[Seoki]

...

This isn't about you.

You already got buffed.

Get out.

[KitanaiKoneko]

But so did melees. In fact, it was before BLM got buffed, and then people began to realize that BLM was only very good for speedruns and T4, so they gave use a single-target buff. In 2.2 I levelled and learned SMN for my raid group for the better DPS it had at the time.

[Koroem]

In my opinion, the first thing that needs to be fixed is the whole chaos thrust combo chain. No other job in the game is as heavily penalized as DRG is for missing the positional for impulse drive - disembowel. It completely locks the chain up if the target even slightly shifts to the point you are technically off its back. While positioning itself isn't hard, there are way too often many many instance where bosses spin themselves for a random attack, or a tank shifts just slightly to avoid an aoe and you miss. These are factors that 90% of the time are far outside the control of the DRG player and they are penalized for it. Not to mention the combo chain is near useless in solo play unless you can wait for a mob to aoe and root themselves long enough to get the skill off, or stun them. Again things no other job needs to deal with.

Change the positional requirement to an increased potency or remove the requirement full stop. This will help to close the gap between min/max potential.
Also the disembowel buff/debuff is now a joke with the release of Ninja. It really needs to be changed.

I don't think the DRG is bad, but i do think it has moved from being "Acceptable" in any groups to being "Debatable given other options".

[Vespar]

They should just take away the need to be in a specific position on all classes that have positional moves and problem pretty much solved.

[Sentinillia]

How many execute perfect rotations against anything but a training dummy?

All of us that care about min/maxing and getting the most out of our jobs. Nothing is more satisfying than the feeling of perfectly executing every single move in an encounter, knowing you did the best you are capable of doing.

Herp derp

BLM is one of the strongest DPS classes right now, rivaling that of MNK and NIN while still having massive aoe utility. Please go bait elsewhere.

[Zaranghae]

I don't understand why people are shouting for a M DEF buff for dragoon. It doesn't help our dps at all. Maybe if we get cleaved or some kind of magic attack hits us during a jump we get 10-30% less damage dealt but how does that help in terms of dps? It doesn't seem like it would be a viable solution for survival either since we're not tanks. Also in the case of AOEs we do receive healing from our healers, so how does MDEF make the job that much better?

[Sapphic]

Monk can decrease the boss's magic damage by 10%, and increase heals to the party within certain range by 20%. Dragoons have…. nothing.

Had to stop you there to correct, MNK Dragon Kick does not reduce magic damge by 10% it reduces INT by 10%. Not the same thing. Also DRG can cross class Mantra, albeit tis only 5%.

[Gardes]

I don't understand why people are shouting for a M DEF buff for dragoon. It doesn't help our dps at all. Maybe if we get cleaved or some kind of magic attack hits us during a jump we get 10-30% less damage dealt but how does that help in terms of dps? It doesn't seem like it would be a viable solution for survival either since we're not tanks. Also in the case of AOEs we do receive healing from our healers, so how does MDEF make the job that much better?

Giving healers less heart attacks when taking unavoidable magic damage is still helping I guess? It's like when you screwed something up and then you look at someone who has that disapproval look at you and you nervously laugh. Except it's out of your hands.