Firstly, I think the Dev team needs to figure out what MCH's function is and what the job is supposed to be. Is it a Machinist or is it a Gunner then figure out what its role is in/how it functions in a party. Once they have that figured out, the Rdps vs Adps issue needs to be addressed. Mch is really the only job that has major jumps in position in the 2 groups. In the Asphodelos raids, mch is dead last in Rdps in all of them and 7th-8th under Adps. No other job has jumps or drops like that. The fact that there is such a difference shows there is a problem within the job itself & how it functions in a party. In terms of job balancing, I would lean more into Rdps over Adps, because it only really comes into play in group settings like dungeons or raids. I dont think a potency buff will solve the issue. I would prefer adding more group/raid support to the job.
Firstly, the heat & battery systems seem to be missing something. Either extend the duration, increase pote or create a charge system for Hypercharge.
Wildfire's cooldown either needs to be reduced or the potency needs adjust.
These 2 abilities have been an issue for a while & have been stated before.
Flamethrower, seems like a complete waste of a skill in most situations for a highly mobile class like Mch & the dmg isnt worth the inability to move. At minimum the potency needs to be upped and/or decrease recast. What I would like to see for the ability is remove the the movement lock, increase the potency slightly & have it apply a slow/heavy effect to the character, so they can still move & not waste the ability while still having a slight drawback, it needs to tie into the heat gauge, maybe utilizing heat the way Hypercharge does.
Its weird that Machinist is one of the only jobs, the only Rphys, that doesnt have a gap closer/ jump back. I would create an ability that pulls you closer to the target. I would take this gap closer and tie it to Chain saw, the way Rdm does with its melee combo.
I would change Chain Saw to be a melee AOE circle or cone instead of straight line ranged aoe and tweak the animation.
Ive said it before, but I would change the turret system to be closer to what it used to be with the old rook and bishop turrets. But then again I dislike how Smn carbuncle just sits there staring blankly doing nothing now and disagree with the pet class hate. I would give the turrets party support like shields or mp regeneration akin to what they used to have.
Finally the Automaton Queen needs some adjustments. Its to much like a glorified dot, its targeting is wonky & visually kind of comes out of nowhere. All the other mch aesthetics have a bit more of rough steampunk feel and then comes this more modern sleek robot out of left field. It just doesn't seem to fit look wise. I would want to change its functionality to something thats more of a build up, so it feels more like a high level ability and something to work for.