Not sure DPS

[XeroXelence]

Ok so I love healing as a WHM. I need to get a DPS job to pick and can't decide.

Now I like to dps but I don't want it to be so bad that I'm spending maybe more time moving then not. I get it maybe blm but would love something different.

[Dualblade]

Well since you already like WHM, maybe give Summoners a try. You should already have Arcanist to atleast lvl 15 for WHM, and if you find you don't like it you ALSO have Scholar leveled up for a different type of healing that you may like. You also only need to move in order to get out of AoEs.

[XeroXelence]

How's machinist?

[Dualblade]

Well mine is still in the 30s so I'm going off things I've heard here.

30-50 its very similar to Bard, 50-60 also still very similar but I think the gameplay diverges a bit. As well you get the Gauss Barrel (Wanderer's Minuet for Bard) that makes you more powerful by turning you into a caster essentially.

[Eecka]

How's machinist?

Just got mine to 60 a couple days ago and it's been fun.

All the classes are good, there is no right or wrong choice, you gotta be a bit more specific with your questions if you want better answers!

[MahoSenshi]

I'd say - pick one of the melee jobs. They're fast (nice change of pace from a caster) and practice with them will give your better understanding not only for the DPS, but for the tanks too.

[JackFross]

Well mine is still in the 30s so I'm going off things I've heard here.

30-50 its very similar to Bard, 50-60 also still very similar but I think the gameplay diverges a bit. As well you get the Gauss Barrel (Wanderer's Minuet for Bard) that makes you more powerful by turning you into a caster essentially.

I disagree?

I loathe Bard - the combat is incredibly boring and non-interactive in my own personal opinion - though I only have it to 26.
Machinist is much more fast-paced (to me) and has far less upkeep to worry about. Every 30s you hit a couple buttons and the rest of the time you spend using your main damage skills, which proc for quasi-combos. The combos can be forced to proc using the Ammo skills (1 per 15s and 5 per 60s, caps at 5 ammo) which makes the job really much more dynamic than Bard, at least in my opinion.

Like - they're similar in that they're ranged physical dps who gain cast bars at level 52.
However, they're vastly different in that Machinist is all built around getting procs and capitalizing on them whereas Bard is built around maintaining DoTs and capitalizing on a handful of important/powerful off-gcd skills while managing a 15s cooldown off-gcd gcd skill. Plus, Machinist has a turret buddy that is essentially an auto-attack with built in party damage buffs that don't cost a gcd and a half to activate.

The playstyle is vastly different, despite them both filling the same role. Saying they're very similar with minorly divergent gameplay is akin to bringing that same argument to MNK and NIN because they're both quick-hitting melee dps.

However, yeah. I recommend picking up a few and playing them for a bit. Everyone has different preferences and play styles, so it's best to give different ones a shot and see which fits how you'd rather play:

Dragoon - strict combo-based melee dps with a small amount of RNG and moderate levels of resource management.
Monk - fast-paced melee dps based heavily on positional requirements and effective resource management.
Ninja - mixed-attacking quick melee dps based in a more fluid combo rotation with very light resource management.

Bard - DoT upkeep and juggling half a million off-gcd skills to maintain dps while juggling movement and short cast times. Large support capabilities.
Machinist - Proc-based gameplay that similarly juggles a million off-gcd skills with a turret that augments and amplifies party damage. Large support capabilities.

Black Mage - static caster with a strict rotation of Fire > Ice > Fire > Ice with heavy resource management and massive penalties for moving improperly.
Summoner - mobile caster with very few cast-time spells with a rewarding (or punishing) resource system that sees you shifting between heavy damage and upkeep phases throughout the fight.

[Maero]

^ Well you prob loathe Bard because your only an Archer and not actually a Bard?
Kidding aside, i say OP to try multiple classes and see which one interests you more. Ninja, Monk or Dragoon may even be of interest to you.
While i have never mained Dragoon, i always found it to be fun

[Kazumac]

^ Well you prob loathe Bard because your only an Archer and not actually a Bard?

Such sass Ish. But in all honesty it's a good point. I pretty much find any class before about 40 to be dull and mundane. Having played my wife's bard at 50, I enjoyed it. Leveling archer to 26 was like pulling teeth. MCH is quite fun but you have to like cool down micro management. I find it fun but it is not for everyone.

[Veji]

I'm in the same boat. Got DRG to 51, and realized keeping the massive set of combos up, while avoiding boss mechanics seemed daunting. Got MCH to 51, and discovered that for the movement sacrafice, the DPS just didn't seem to be decent enough. Started working on BLM(36), but i can see where massive movement fights are really going to irritate me. I have to make a choice between MCH and DRG, and just stick with it, but i can't decide. I like the aesthetics of all three dps classes, but i've yet to find one that has that ideal dps payoff per skill or con. I'm seriously thinking of just sticking with MCH at this point, but idk...