Dear melee DPS...

[Coatl]

Why would a melee DPS even single target a group of 6-8 mobs? I don't care how good you are at burning a single add down, you will always do more AOE damage so long as you have the TP for it.

[Vartio]

Why would a melee DPS even single target a group of 6-8 mobs? I don't care how good you are at burning a single add down, you will always do more AOE damage so long as you have the TP for it.

Two Reasons:

1: because killing high damage targets makes it safer for the tank+healer combination.
1b: To clarify, this means the healer can provide DPS at points.

2: because their AOE sucks. I know I'd rather my ninja just spam Doton and Katon when those are up rather than use their GCDs on the Death Blossom for example.
2b: because worrying about the healer/tank succeeding is more important than lowering all the enemies HPs simultaneously for little reason than "I want to buffer my DPS"

[Makeda]

When on my DPS alt I tend to put the tank into focus, and my priority is whatever the tank is spending the most time on, unless I see something peel off and go for a healer.

There's no DPS meter in this game to ePeen about - so all that matters is keeping the tank alive until the end of the pull. Whatever makes that easiest to do, is the priority.

[Reka121402]

Granted I'm new to this game, but i do main a BLM and the OP statement is just dumb. Please melee dps, kill as fast as you can by whatever means necessary, I can manage my dps rotation without the help of the other dps.

Most of the time I need to stop the rotation early anyway before I pull aggro from the unfocused mobs, or if one peels for the healer.

So best case scenario I'm already switching aoe/single rotations, not to mention the Fire2 aoe is a huge drain on MP and unless it's 4+ mobs single target is better anyway.

[Mimiru_S]

Yeah, I'm not going to switch targets, just to boost your dps and make the dungeon take longer.

[The_Last_Dragoon]

Actually, it's smarter for melee dps to pick off a single target. Normally when I'm tanking and everything just happens to die at the same time, I consider it a bad thing since that means there's no easing of pressure on the damage I'm taking that the healer has to heal. That isn't to say you should stop your AoE attacks, but it does mean that you should be switching to single target once AoE is no longer beneficial.

[Krylo]

Lots of people aren't getting this so I'll explain:

In any trash pull with 4+ enemies everyone is going to be doing more DPS (SMN and BLM especially but that's beside the point), because four enemies is generally where AoE attacks both do more damage and are worth the TP/MP vs single target attacks (there's a few exceptions, arm of the destroyer, for instance, is only better than bootshine at 5+ and only really better TP wise at 6+, assuming you're getting your positional on bootshine).

The greater the number of enemies, the greater everyone's DPS will be.

Lets use Rockbreaker as an example. I can, as a monk, either Snap Punch, Demolish, or Rockbreaker. Rock Breaker is 130 potency on every enemy, Demolish is 350 potency on one once all ticks hit, and snap punch is 180 on one enemy.

At 5 enemies, Rockbreaker's effective potency is 650. Meaning, for that GCD, I'm doing almost twice as much as if I used Demolish and got every tick in and a little over three and a half times as much as if I used Snap Punch. Even bootshine crits are only 225 potency while Arm of the Destroyer's potency on 5 enemies is 250.

And that's not including Elixir Field or Howling Fist or the fact that these gaps widen when you consider the damage buff from GL or any damage buffs of any kind, and monks aren't even particularly good AoE, but in an AoE situation I can easily grab another couple hundred DPS compared to single target. A BLM or a SMN can get much more than that.

Meanwhile, in an AoE rotation, swapping targets for the couple non-AoEs I need to toss in reduces my DPS--and every other melee DPS--by nothing. I maintain that same DPS if I swap from weakest to strongest for dropping twin snakes and true strike, and the same goes for any other class.

But if I don't swap, my DPS drops marginally due to my AoEs becoming weaker, and dots not being allowed to finish out. A SMN or BLM's DPS drops by considerably more.

WHAT ALL THIS MEANS in TL;DR format is that not swapping targets is a relatively hefty drop in overall party/raid DPS.

Does it increase the pressure on the tank and healer? A little bit, sure, but if a tank/healer can't handle that extra pressure, the tank shouldn't be multipulling and AoE rotations should never even enter into the picture and none of this matters, including the opening post.

Not swapping targets means you're sub-optimal. It doesn't mean you're bad or anything, and it's fine. It generally only matters on trash, and is only going to speed up a dungeon by a couple of minutes tops, so it's not a big deal. . .

HOWEVER, all the people arguing that swapping targets is wrong or a DPS loss or is, jfc, making the dungeon take longer just to pad someone else's parse? You're wrong. Not even a little wrong. A lot wrong. Not even understandably wrong because the fact that AoEing does more damage is incredibly basic common sense stuff, so it should equally be common sense that maintaining AoE rotations for as long as possible is ALSO more DPS.

[Reka121402]

And what you are not getting is survival > dps.

Why make it more difficult for the tank and healer, the trash dps rotation is easy?

[Krylo]

Why make it more difficult for the tank and healer, the trash dps rotation is easy?

if a tank/healer can't handle that extra pressure, the tank shouldn't be multipulling and AoE rotations should never even enter into the picture and none of this matters, including the opening post.

/10characters

[Reka121402]

Look, your argument stands for pre formed groups, where comunication is available and max dps is best, but in that case it is pointless to post about it on general forums.

Your idea is terrible for PUGs. Eliminate the threat, keep heals and tank alive. So, as said by many people: aoe, lowest mob dies, use brain, choose aoe or single target, move on.

I'm a BLM. I read your plan. From my own experience it doesn't work.