Recommend me a ranged DPS

[Zaythe]

Heya DPS forums,

First time for posting here and looking for some pointers in the direction of a ranged DPS. Atm I play monk and I love the fast-paced, constant on the move playstyle. That said, I would really like to level up a ranged DPS for not only a different perspective but, I usually always play range in mmo's and quite enjoy them.

That said, I am a little torn on what ranged to play and was seeking your advice. I seemed to have moved towards BRD or MCH purely for the mobility however, at 52 this changes very much for both jobs. I kind of halted my BRD and MCH progression after reading that and have looked into BLM and SMN.

A problem I find in FFXIV for some reason is that casting feels clunky to me. I'm not sure entirely why I find it clunky but, in contrast to other mmo's I do not get that feeling. That said, I am open to both as a future job.

My number one enjoyment I find of out a class is not how high its DPS is or, how much the job is needed but, how fun I find that said job. Fun being subjective, what I find most fun is fast casts, mobility and lots of buttons to press. High dps is nice but, as I said, fun before dps.

If anyone feels like putting forward their view on which may or may not fit this role, please post below and tell me why you find it fun and why it meets my criteria.

I would greatly appreciate any posts and thank you in advance for taking the time to answer my question

[AskaRay]

OH MY GOD I had a nice response written out and then I hit the back button on my mouse...rip me

...I'm not typing it out all again I'm sorry :'( but I say Bard. Try them all out in Palace of the Dead to see if you like the new WM mechanic (which isn't as bad as everyone likes to cry about, trust me)

Good luck :')

[lulunami]

MCH is probably what you are looking for out of the four available. MCH plays similar to a simplified ranged DRG melee despite the cast times.

BRD is pretty clunky to play. BLM is very immobile and arguably clunky with Enochian, which may or may not be your style. SMN probably has the most mobility of the four ranged DPS, but micromanaging the pets are very clunky.

[Caitlyn]

Machinist is still the most fun, unforgiveable and fast paced Range DPS class.
The Machinist lacks of some kind of selfheal, but other than that, it can do nearly anything.

High Burst DPS - check
Support Members - check
Playstyle which needs your attention - check
Casting but still high mobile - check

I never regret to play as a Machinist. Some might say Bard is better, but in my opinion, Machinist is a lot more fun to play.

[Khalithar]

I will say play BLM, it is personally my favorite ranged dps which I will explain but I will also explain a little more about. BLM is similar to smn in the sense that both classes don't really get "good" until much later on, BLM starts out a little underwhelming but once you gear up, get all your spells, and all your traits it really opens up. Which leads me in my favorite aspect of BLM, you'll cast your spells and you'll notice that every cast just takes huge chunks of HP out of the enemies you fight. It's really satisfying when you get a Firestarter proc with Raging strikes and you do a fire 1 followed by an instant cast fire 3 and then you'll see the chunk of HP just disappear. Or you'll see an enemy go from 20% HP to instantly dead because you got a crit. It feels awesome.

[Sundeity]

You want mobility? Try this! Quick reload > Split Shot > Reload > Rapid Firs> Slug Shot > Clean Shot > Split Shot > Slug Shit > Clean Shot. Rotate OGC skills between them and you're a sprinting shooting slurring mother trucking nightmare with a turret friend. Run around all day blasting instant shots even with Gauss Barrel active! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

[Nekotee]

As much as i love the Blm myself
I will follow the previous answer

And say MCH which has the most of what you're looking for.

[Tint]

You want mobility? Try this! Quick reload > Split Shot > Reload > Rapid Firs> Slug Shot > Clean Shot > Split Shot > Slug Shit > Clean Shot. Rotate OGC skills between them and you're a sprinting shooting slurring mother trucking nightmare with a turret friend. Run around all day blasting instant shots even with Gauss Barrel active! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

is this a new skill?

whatever... i would say White Mage. it is a caster, yes, but everything feels super powerfull and i think the casting feels right. it also isn't that clunky. Cleric Stance > Damage

only downside is you probably you have to use some healing skills from time to time, but that's just a minority and nothing more than a Bard or Machinist who has support skills as well

[Zaythe]

Loving all of these replies guys and thanks so much for taking the time to post your opinions. I definitely have swung towards MCH with the responses. BLM seems like I should at least do a little leveling. In all honesty, my THM nd ACN are both low due to how boring and clunky they felt. With that said I realise that with FFXIV jobs really open up the higher you get. I just need the time XD

[Zaythe]

Machinist is still the most fun, unforgiveable and fast paced Range DPS class.
The Machinist lacks of some kind of selfheal, but other than that, it can do nearly anything.

High Burst DPS - check
Support Members - check
Playstyle which needs your attention - check
Casting but still high mobile - check

I never regret to play as a Machinist. Some might say Bard is better, but in my opinion, Machinist is a lot more fun to play.

Thanks so much this Caitlyn. This is definitely the post that helped make my decision