Homogenization and Job Identity - Are they mutually exclusive?

[Ryaz]

Not mutually exclusive, but hard to pull off.

For example, they COULD remove all "buffs" for DPS and focus on them all being selfish DPS without homogonizing them too much. However, each one would have to play uniquely enough to not feel like more of the same. That means distinct ways to deal damage, different resources, etc.

The problem is that even when you do that, there will be balance issues. Look no further than WoW for that. The classes have been pared down and homogenized quite a bit, but most still play differently enough to keep their identities. However, balance is still a pain and some playstyles just aren't fun. Like Unholy Death Knights and their RNG on top of RNG on top of RNG. Sure, it plays differently than Frost DKs or Ret Paladins or Fury Warriors, but it isn't fun (and was one of the weakest dps classes when I stopped playing Legion). Unholy wasn't any harder to play than Frost, but did far less dps.