Help me choose a melee dps!!

[Dashadow11]

Hello All!

My main is a 37 War and im loving it! I have an itch to try out dps! I never really cared for ranged dps, so im asking for help on melee class selection! Mainly monk, nin or drg; is there a class that is needed more than others towards endgame? Is one better than the other in terms of dps? Im looking to wreck some dungeons and enjoy killing bosses! Just looking ahead if i have to do group finder and not wanting to get turned away bc the class i chose is subpar or another class has more utility for group content. Thanks!

[roninoftagrm]

nin:global dmg buff(debuff of 10% on mob/boss), haste, mudras, aoe friendly
drgierce debuff(drg/brd 10% dmg on target), jumps, 2 stuns, aoe friendly(starting at 34-38?), simple compared to other 2 the way i read them, 2 gap closers

someone else can fill in the mnk info

[scarebearz]

Black Mage - just whack stuff with your staff xD

[Dashadow11]

Black Mage - just whack stuff with your staff xD

This is hilarious!!

Speaking of blm... out of all dps who takes the cake? Whats are the top 3 classes in terms of raw dps, assuming gear is equal.

[Lyrinn]

Monk: Highest sustained damage, lowest burst/longest build-up time. In a long fight with high uptimes, no one beats monk.
Dragoon: High burst, high sustained damage, high mobility.
Ninja: High burst, high sustained damage, raid utility in the forms of TP restore and increased damage for other DPS.

More or less. There are some nuances with each class, like monks having the most positionals and being required to constantly move.

[Sylar2jz]

I was wondering about this also.
I JUST started the game, and chose Glad as my starting class. I have experience with the tanking role in other games, but am not sure I want that much group responsibility while still learning this game. So that leaves me with melee dps as my second choice, and was trying to decide between Ninja or Dragoon.

If Dragoon is simpler, I might go that route. Not sure though. I'm pretty overwhelmed.

[Delta041]

Since your main is WAR I would recommend one of the strength based DPS classes, Dragoon or Monk. You'll be able to use their accessories on your tank once your left side gear gives you enough Vitality. Dragoon also makes use of your WAR skills as a cross class so that's a plus.

[Tex_Mex]

So there are a few things to consider:

Single Target DPS:
MNK>NIN>DRG
MNK has a long build up time, but can produce massive numbers against single targets. NIN and DRG are very close in this category. NIN is just slightly higher in my opinion. All 3 are very capable of the hardest content in the game though.

AoE DPS:
DRG>NIN>MNK
Both NIN and DRG AoE is MILES ahead of MNK. MNK AoE is just awful, but it needs to be as a trade off for their incredible Single Target DPS.

Difficulty Level:
MNK>NIN>DRG
Lots of debate here, but most people tend to agree that NIN and DRG are significantly easier than MNK. DRG DPS is all about off GCD abilities and timing buffs correctly, as well as how to use your jumps without dying due to jump lock animations. NIN DPS is relatively simple as well, since they have the easiest rotation, but the class suffers from mudra lag currently, so if your connection is poor, this is not a great choice. MNK difficulty comes from all of the positional requirements. Though your rotation will not be penalized for screwing up your position, your DPS output will be. But don't let this scare you. With a little practice, most players can handle MNK.

Utility:
MNK>NIN>DRG
DRG utility is very poor. The only good thing they have is a piercing debuff, which will also boost damage done from BRD's, but that's pretty much it. NIN utility is significantly better, with access to a 10% raid wide DPS buff and the Goad ability. MNK utility is the winner here because of dragon kick. This is the only melee class intelligence debuff available in the game and it is extremely helpful for the end game content at this moment. They also provide a group wide healing buff which can be very helpful.

Levelling Efficiency:
NIN>DRG>MNK
Since you do not have a class to lvl 50 yet, you will spend a lot of time questing on your way there. One last thing to consider is solo effectiveness. NIN is a solo master due 3 main reasons: stealth, front loaded damage, few positional requirements. This class is a breeze to level with. DRG is the next best since they have very few positional requirements as well. MNK is the bottom of the barrell here (also the worst levelling dps class in the game) due to the fact that almost all of their attacks are positional based, and when soloing enemies they will always face you rendering your dps neutered. This factor does not matter for long, since when you get to 50 you will never have to worry about it again, but it is still something to consider.

So all in all, the melee classes are balanced decently well at the moment. All 3 melee classes are heavily used in the current end game content due to the normal party DPS composition being 2 melee, 1 bard, 1 magic user
I currently play DRG for my static and am having a great time with it. All 3 are viable so pick the one that seems the most interesting to you! daggers, fists, or spears!

[Dashadow11]

Thanks everyone for all the great info! A lot to think about! I think im leaning towards drg right now! thanks!!!

[Korilynn]

The constant moving around of the MNK is the only reason I would suggest NIN or DRG over MNK (and I main MNK and love two of it's attack animations to much to move to another Melee DPS role).

It's not so bad when the tank is stationary, but if that tank is constantly moving and the monster moves with them, it just becomes a pain :/

Solo wise, pretty sure DRG and NIN beat MNK damage wise, with not being so position based, but I can only go on feel there for classes that are level 34 and 39/40 respectively.

NIN and DRG also look to have better weapon skins (opinion based here) also, maining a WAR, a DRG just seems like a natural DPS class to go with from an RP standpoint.