I'm currently progressing through Alex Midas Savage and I main a summoner (i225). Recently due to static changes, I've offered to take up the mantle of a Bard in our static group (i220 penta/quad melded) since our raid leader is a little adamant about having a Bard/Machinist in the group.

While I enjoy the Bard play style, it does seem like the other DPS classes in my party (DRG, BLM, NIN) out DPS me, reportedly by a large margin. My summoner was pulling large enough numbers to compete with them.

My rotation is a little messy at times and I'm definitely more confident in Savage raiding as my summoner.

When we asked our raid leader why a bard was needed for progression, there didn't seem to be a concrete answer. While I understand fully the importance of Paean/Foes and the versatility of having a Bard, am I not being more of a hindrance to progression by hitting triple digit dps numbers as opposed to four digit dps numbers? Granted my summoner has access to Virus and battle Rez (in the plenty of moments people die to mechanics)

I guess my question is, IS bard really needed for Savage progression? Or would it be better to just play my Summoner.