AOE combo skills

[NovaLevossida]

I'm aware of how SMN plays. I'm just saying that if you're doing the same thing on every trash pack and the trash packs don't actually interact with you except the rare ground AoE to cause you to move, the complexity or simplicity of AoE doesn't make that trash pack any more interesting than a training dummy.

[Shurrikhan]

I'm aware of how SMN plays. I'm just saying that if you're doing the same thing on every trash pack and the trash packs don't actually interact with you except the rare ground AoE to cause you to move, the complexity or simplicity of AoE doesn't make that trash pack any more interesting than a training dummy.

Is any entirely enmity-locked enemy in this game any more interesting than a training dummy? Unless they're charging about AND you're playing melee, I don't see what's to differentiate. Are we including raid AoEs as the boss? If so, then that could be a tiny plus to the engagement levels that enemy brings.

Let's face it—DPS generally just don't do anything in this game except input long-term completion metrics. And if they were to, you'd probably get more players condemning the fall of good old fashioned trinity values or chastising the insurgence of action-based nuanced combat than praising any increase in personal challenge. (Because if a raid mechanic tells everyone to stack with giant arrows, that's a suitable, challenging trinity-based mechanic (despite being cross-role), but if a DPS were to kite non-invincible enemies about or make good use of CCs rather than relying always on enmity/mitigation specialists, that'd be heresy.)

[Silverquick]

I'm aware of how SMN plays. I'm just saying that if you're doing the same thing on every trash pack and the trash packs don't actually interact with you except the rare ground AoE to cause you to move, the complexity or simplicity of AoE doesn't make that trash pack any more interesting than a training dummy.

Well I do get that,
But it allows a lot of other Jobs to use abilities they don't normally use. Going through some of my partner DPS jobs I find myself co-DPSing with...

Here's the difference in us..
BLM uses Fire II (180 potency with stacks) and then finishes with Flare (250 potency not including Fire Stacks, not sure the calculation on this)
Whm uses Holy (200 potency, but like Flare is 10% less per target after the first)
Drg uses Doom Spike for 160 potency

So we'll be doing this together...

SMN
200 + 135 + 385 + 335 + 575

WHM
200 + 200 + 200 + 200 + 200 (Note theirs is 10% less per target)

BLM
180 + 180 + 180 + 180 + 450 (Flare though is 10% less per target)

DRG
160 + 160 + 160 + 160 + 160 (but its a Line attack)

While they do not do as much as I do as a SMN I always appreciate at least a little help, because even with all my AoE power, usually they will still have at least a sliver of health left after that, and if the other DPS is doing ANY AoE damage at all, it literally wipes out entire packs of mobs. Because despite my enormous AoE power as a SMN, the other DPS classes and their AoEs are just enough assistence to completely finish them off.

So I am very supportive of other Jobs using their AoEs in those shoes.

That said, I am also with your view as a Tank and believe the Healers first priority is healing, not DPSing, that comes first, not Holy Spam. But I am not against them DPSing once that is properly handled.