People wanting a support class. Why?

[AriaFairchild]

A support role can potentially works for PvP. Otherwise, it's worthless in PvE if it does not buff deeps.

[SenorPatty]

I take it that it's because people want more out of the game, on a subconcious level. Sadly, the reality is that the devs won't belt out one (unless its Limited) because the game design doesn't fit it at all and most of the core concept support ideas is already implemented in most jobs.

[linay]

For FFXIV, a true support role should just be lumped in with healers. No need for the healer DPS drama. When you're not healing, you support and leave the actual damage dealing to others and when you're solo you can buff your own damage, etc.

[HWalsh]

I think the most people do associate damage dealer (or their players respectively) as neanderthals that enjoy to club people to bloody debris and nothing more while drooling onto the keyboard.

Many other negative connotations follow coupled with a relatively dull backseat gameplay. If the tank and the healers do their thing, you can stand there and freely get your rotations trough - just like being driven around. You are neither the driver nor the co-driver that, I don't know, read the street maps or something helpful. Damage dealer are replacable and will shut up because of their long queue, easily being abused. To escape from that, I can imagine it helps to have something to offer instead of it being a one-way situation.

I am very lucky that my favourite profession has two very beautiful and helpful spells to give back some to the "true" carriers of the run. And to be honest, I love Red Mage in that matter, because the design is not being carried away too much off of the main purpose - Damage - but still viable enough to be needed ("rdm raise plz"). But I can totally understand why people would want that though.

Sincerely,

DPS *is* the herp-a-derp role and always has been. It is the Lowest Common Denominator role. Easy mode. You learn your rotations, don't have to adapt on the fly, and you have the largest margin of error.

A tank doesn't do their job right of the gate and the party wipes.
A healer doesn't heal right out of the gate and the party wipes.
A DPS drops the ball and, not only do they have a 2nd DPS (minimum) to pick up the slack, but the Tank and Healer can last pretty much as long as they need to unless an enrage timer is in play (IE not in dungeons) so the DPS can get their head straight.

They were always the easiest role to play.

[Mistyregions]

You can have that but you have to accept dps on par with a tank.

[Blueyes]

For FFXIV, a true support role should just be lumped in with healers. No need for the healer DPS drama. When you're not healing, you support and leave the actual damage dealing to others and when you're solo you can buff your own damage, etc.

This. It's how it should have been from the start. The development team seems to struggle with healers more than any other role. Many career healers will note that this game simple isn't designed for the pure healer style that the developers strive to advocate. The role should be more active with support utility mixed in.

[MomomiMomi]

Well let me ask another question then. Is Dancer the support class you’ve always wanted in the game, I.E you feel like you’re being helpful?

Nope. It's a dps that happens to buff the team. It's basically in a similar spot to Ninja.

[Katie_Kitty]

I like support classes but dancer ain't it. In fact I believe dancer was a mistake. I don't like the focus it has on buffing a single player a lot vs buffing every party member. I also don't like how that focus changes the way people play. Now everyone wants a selfish DPS who they can feed all the buffs to and 90% of them don't parse so we end up with a situation where mediocre players pick selfish jobs and then proceeded to get buffed like crazy by everyone and they still barely put up more damage than unbuffed support DPS.

A great support class would be one that buffs everyone's, or at least one party member of each role's DPS. Something like AST except with cards that actually provide a decent amount of rDPS to the party.

[Alexandre_Noireau]

Impossible.
This game is too stuck with the trinity to think outside the box.
Support Role is viable in games with deep character customization, interesting combat mechanics and worthwhile class synergies. Things that this game sorely lacks.

A support role could be introduced as a 5th and 9th-10th party members or to have a DPS slot replaced by an hybrid Support/DPS slot.
Then you would have to give some meaning back to 3 things: Status Effects and Resistances, Elemental Defenses, Weaknesses and Damage, Damage Types, and many more Stats manipulation. Which would requiere heavy customization of many of the battles.

Sorry but our game has been streamlined and stripped of any significant mechanical depth so a proper support (buffer-debuffer) could work. At best it would boringly translate in already done and boring stuff, like merely increasing damage. Instead of totally altering the type, element of damages, or adding side-effects, etc.

[Jkap_Goat]

^^^^ agreed