Most challenging and wanted DPS class?

[Raiden_Ki]

Hello,

Just resubbed to check out Stormblood. I want to make this game as challenging as possible for me by picking the DPS class that challenges the player the most but is also desired in end-game PVE content. (Don't want to be that guy sitting on the bench)

Any tips?

[zcrash970]

I guess that would be Samurai or Ninja. There isn't much to playing a Red Mage and I heard Bard is the same way

[Connor]

'Most challenging job' is probably too subjective to get a proper answer for.
In terms of desired jobs, in terms of DPS a Bard is pretty much guaranteed a spot in any raid, but it's also easier to do well at than most other dps jobs. I think Samurai and Ninja are both well desired too, and as the previous poster mentioned these are more 'difficult' dps jobs

[Raiden_Ki]

So DRG and MNK are viewed as easier classes to perform close or at the absolute skill ceiling with?

I've heard that BLM is also considered one of the more difficult classes.

SAM from what I'm gathering from in-game sources is viewed as an easier class?

[HyoMinPark]

Most desired DPS job is definitely Bard. With the insane amount of party utility they bring, people would be fools to outright reject a bard and say that they bring nothing to a group. I've heard that Red Mage is actually pretty desired as well, because of their basically instant Raises every other GCD, the ease of the job, and the high mobility for being a caster.

In terms of most complicated to play, that's a subjective measure. However, again, it's been stated many times in the past that Bard is actually difficult when it comes to min-maxing the job. Easy to play poorly, not easy to play well. I would also consider Black Mage particularly difficult in Savage content, because it requires a lot of knowledge with regards to the fight and the mechanics: where they can stand, where they can't, how long they're able to stay still and blow things up, etc.. But, again, subjective measure.

[Quor]

SAM is easy to pick up and do well with, but has a lot of depth once you spend time with it. However, it's punished the least by game mechanics; positionals, while important, don't hurt SAM dps nearly as much as they do DRG or NIN or MNK. In that sense, SAM is significantly easier just by of not suffering as much as the other 3 melee jobs do when positionals come into play. Missing a positional on SAM cuts into your Kenki generation, which in turn cuts into your Shiten/Kaiten usage, but that pales in comparison to the penalty a MNK or DRG suffers, where they can lose over a third of the combo's total potency due to being unable to properly hit positionals.

Now, to be fair, DRG, MNK and NIN bring oodles more utility than a SAM does (SAM brings exactly zero unique utility to a group), so while the raw numbers may be lower, a good DRG or NIN still bring solid boosts to the party, and a good MNK can compete with a good SAM while also providing some neat utility as well. Big numbers are nice, but they don't tell the whole story.

Of the caster dps, SMN is probably the most complex in terms of how much you have to plan your skill use around the limitations of the fight. A lot of your damage is tied to Bahamut, so using him at the wrong time, or dying at the wrong time, will really bork your damage. SMN therefore requires a lot of forethought, moreso than BLM or RDM do. BLM also requires forethought, but a mistake, or even a death, isn't nearly as costly as it is for SMN. RDM tends to be the "easiest" in terms of putting out damage, but lacks the MP recovery that SMN and BLM has, and due to it's higher utility via Vercure/Verraise, has an added expectation to provide utility support should the need arise (whereas SMN is really only expected to use Raise when swiftcast is up, and a BLM's utility comes in the form of being a mana battery/Osteoperosis/Addle provider, which RDM and SMN can still technically do).

BRD is probably "better" overall than MCH in terms of all around support, but MCH brings more damage. However, it's quite hard to get those damage numbers up. I have a lot of respect for the high-end MCH's who know their class. It's a joy to watch videos of a good MCH do their thing, but it's something I could never become proficient at. I just can't wrap my head around what needs to be done and when, not to mention the manual dexterity needed.

As an FYI, I say all this based on personal observations. My 70 dps is a SAM, and while I'm not a bad player (I think I'm a pretty great tank) I rarely played any dps class in an end-game scenario prior to Stormblood. SAM was something that came pretty naturally to me, and with just a little research and an hour or so of banging away on a dummy, I manage to get pretty good with the class. My first time in Omega 1.0s I managed to put out some impressive numbers with ilvl 316 gear, and that was with a few clear mistakes made here and there. I imagine if I had been a MNK or a DRG my overall damage would have been lower by a good chunk.

[Nezia]

Most wanted: Bard by far.
Most challenging: Possibly BLM.

[HyoMinPark]

BRD is probably "better" overall than MCH in terms of all around support, but MCH brings more damage.

Bards do bring more support and utility compared to machinist. However, unless 4.05 really rectified a lot of MCH's Stormblood redesign, they are still not dealing as much damage as an equally-skilled Bard. Again, that's if 4.05 didn't fix the glaring issues with the job. I don't mess around with MCH that much because it was never really my cup of tea; I'm just basing this off of things I have heard.

[Lastelli]

If you want to perform close to the highest possibile level, SAM is probably the most challenging melee. It has an extremely high skill ceiling, but a very low skill floor.
BLM has a very simple rotation, but requires a lot of effort to execute this rotation in relevant content because of its limited mobility, so it is generally viewed as a very complex job to master as well.
Both are very selfish, with little to no utility for the rest of the party, and have a very high personal dps and are generally welcome in most parties.

Then we have MCH, with a moderately high skill floor and a very high skill ceiling, but right now it's in a pretty bad spot since it's outclassed by brd in every possible way and scenario while also being harder to play at a high level. But if you're looking for a challenging job, MCH is a good pick and it's very fun to play.

[Allyrion]

I can only speak on the melee side.


Monk
MNK is (to me) the easiest melee by a good bit, once you get accustomed to constantly dancing around your positionals. It's focus after that (which is 99% muscle memory) is keeping GL stacks and maximizing downtime with meditate and form shift (to keep or regain GL faster). It's super fun and fast paced though.

- Good for raids. High personal dps with utility. May even outdps SAM at the end of this tier(340 ilvl) or the beginning of the next due to scaling.

Ninja
NIN is relatively forgiving when it comes to mechanics. It might be easier than MNK (to me) if not for the utility you can and should maximize. Also, while not as fast GCD-wise as MNK, it's a more hectic Job overall because of its many off-gcd abilities including, but not limited to, the Mudras.

- Almost mandatory spot for raids.


Samurai
SAM is a more demanding Job to optimize. It's base damage is very high, so you can do decently regardless but there's a big discrepancy between a good and bad SAM. It has a relatively involved resource management and priority system, but it's also really well designed and flows really well. It's like playing a Job with a manual transmission since you have a lot of control.

- Highest personal dps currently. No utility otherwise. Still quiet favored for raids due to popularity and high numbers.


Dragoon
I can't speak of DRG confidently. My friend who plays both SAM and DRG very well says that DRG is a little more challenging. I hold that opinion too but only in that DRG's rotation is involved AND mostly static. Almost the opposite of SAM since it has a relatively rigid long rotation. Despite that, it's still fun to play in practice and the Jumps are just super fun. It flows well once you memorize the priority.

- Lowest personal dps. High utility. Not in very high demand since many don't think it's buffs make up for it's low personal dps. They will probably be slightly buffed to NIN level since that's where their utility lies.


Difficulty, in general, is very subjective and really depends on your playstyle or just how your mind works. So take everything with a grain of salt.
Also the beauty of this game is that you can try them all. And if you use Palace of the Dead, you can see all their abilities up to 60, and play around with them, relatively early on to see which you like best. They all play pretty differently so I think it's best to try them for yourself.