Quote Originally Posted by ncx24 View Post
players of equal skill the goon should win in dps
This is the concerning bit. Dragoon and Ninja have the effect of increasing the damage dealt by the rest of the party as well; which actually means the DPS contribution of a Dragoon or Ninja is greater than their personal number. While Monk can reduce the outgoing damage a party has to face and help defend against it, it does not have that impact of enhancing other allies as well.

So the fact that Monk's potential is slightly lower than that of other DPS is actually a tiny bit concerning because that's also not factoring in the DPS that Dragoons and Ninjas add through others. Though this is not to underestimate Dragon Kick and Mantra's more subtle impact, generally speaking DPS are valued for their, well, DPS.

That said if there ends up being a significant distaste for Monks in group content, SE wouldn't let it linger for long. They've proven themselves pretty stable about jumping to address balance and perception issues.