Black Mage

[TsuKoj]

If we are talking about playing perfectly yes death is not a big factor but balance is not done on perfect play as such I think that argument is valid.
I do agree with the rest, however I dunno if what really needed is either a dmg buff or a cast speed buff atm, or a nerf to SMN utility or personal ds. I have some ideas on that matter but since I don't play the class often I dunno the full extent of what it would lead to. I mean we need also to a have a slight modicum of foresight to see if the cure is better than the illness or we'll back to square one eventually.

Actually balance should only ever be done at perfect play, since that is the maximum capability of the class.* I also don't think smn should be nerfed, I think casters in general need to be buffed. Rdm should be as good as brd/mch, smn should be as good as nin/drg/mnk, blm should be as good as sam(although sam isn't in a great spot either). There should be parity between the physical and magic classes. The whole ranged is an utility thing se is clinging onto is just false in most relevant content. It was true when leveling and it was true in arr. But now when every boss has room wide aoes, stack markers, a scripted dance, dps targeted aoes, and dynamo style aoes; range is no longer a benefit, and since ranged gets punished with cast timers already, being melee might actually be the utility.

*Utility/ability based around having messed up badly never ends up well. In competitive games they are not even considered a benefit at all. In shooters/mobas you wouldn't ever take an ability that says you only give up half a kill/half the gold to the enemy if you die over something like just a +10% more damage. Ones hedging on you being bad, the other is betting on you being good.