Blue Mage damage

[Symon17]

Song of Torment is being cast. And if you drop it you lose DPS. If your parser is not logging the DoT, you configured it incorrectly, or aren't running it as an administrator. Check google as I don't want to get into details on the official forums. (Again, the SMN loses 20% for not using Bio and Miasma which we know for a fact because it logs so).

Also, DPS in general is all about damage over a period of time. Think of it Damage per GCD (Since GCD is a unit of time). If a DoT like Aqua Breath is used, which applies Dropsy, it directly deals 90 potency and Dropsy deals 10/tick, which in 12 seconds is 3~4 ticks. The GCD you used net you 120~130 potency.. Might as well just cast Glower. Aqua Breath into High Voltage is 130/GCD, so unless you "want" the paralysis to be extended, just cast Glower/Flamethrower/etal. This for example is why using Thunder Cloud on BLM is not considered "clipping the DoT" because the GCD you spent nets you the total value of a thunder + refresh the DoT. But if you use 2 TCs in a row you "waste" a GCD that could've been spent on Fire 4 which is higher potency than a TC before the DoT ticks.

BLU having no actual off-GCD actions and its damage boosters "costing" GCDs lowers the average Damage/GCD (DPS). That's why Bristling everything is a net loss. Song of Torment is worth the Bristle use though. Because every GCD you spend is 130 (using as base line), SoT is 300 potency (inital damage + dot), Bristle will give you 150 which is higher than the 130 baseline. Parsers WILL show you this.

Based on the above 2 points, if you are using Bad Breath and Aqua Breath for the DoT component, you are not "gaining" damage since they total 130 for the GCD they cost you to cast. Meaning Aqua Breath + its DoT = Glower.

None of the rotations I'm referring to use aqua breath, bad breath, or an instant death skill though. And I can confirm that they aren't trying to make use of the combos (like high voltage) you mentioned. I understand that a 130 potency spell spam in between primal skills and bristled song of torment is the most efficient. My issue isn't that my numbers are low. I'm trying to understand how, if what you're saying is true, I can consistently hit around 550 dps, even when checked against multiple sources. That includes manually calculating the dps by adding up the damage from the battle log.