New machinist, a question about hot shot skill

[gumas]

More like confused really.

Do i really need to apply this skill in every fight? 5% seems.... Low? If i hit for 500 damage does it mean with HS i will do 525 damage? Is that how it work?

For "hardcore" raid party where you need to squeeze every bit of damage, HS is a must i guess? But how about casual DF pug? Is there a noticeable difference on how fast i kill mobs/boss?

[Israacf]

Just use it lol

[Mimilu]

Yes, use it and keep it up.
You want to bleed as much damage out as you can, especially while Wildfire is up.

[Samsta]

5% may seem low, but the extra damage it does stacks pretty fast. Consider your other options in place of hot shot, If the fight lasts 30 seconds you deal 120 + whatever potencys you get from other skills in form of that 5% in one gcd.

[Khubla_Kha]

Yes, generally the self buff skills are going to be a mandatory part of the rotation/prioritization of any class/job that has them. Why would you not want a free extra 5% damage that you only have to push once every 10th GCD or so (yes, I know this isn't exact).

[Myon88]

You always want to get Hot Shot up before you do any sustained damage because that 5% buff really adds up over time. Also, if you're worried about it being too much of a hassle to remember to use - I think you'll find that it actually helps you time your cooldowns better in the long run, because along with Lead Shot, it lets you know how many sets of 30 seconds have passed (you get a Wildfire every 3x30 seconds for instance).

The only case where you want to not have it up is for very short term encounters where that 5% doesn't outweigh the damage you would get casting something else. For example in a dungeon if there's a pack of mobs that's going to die 4 GCDs or something, sometimes it can be better to just AoE 4 times instead of doing Hot Shot once and then 3 AoEs.