Do these devs even play their own game?

[Sequora]

I wouldn't call this expansion a 'rushed job' as I thoroughly enjoyed the MSQ and the new dungeons imo knocked it out of the park with their presentation (My jaw dropped during Vanaspati).

But I agree that FFXIV is falling into familiar traps when it comes to dumbing down job design.

Black Mage vs. Red Mage to me is what this game should strive for.

Black Mage = Difficult to play well, but when mastered has INCREDIBLE damage potential.

Red Mage = Simple to play and master, Average-High damage potential but with INCREDIBLE Utility/Support potential.

The FFXIV Devs seem to be trying to dumb classes down to a Red Mage level, but with Black Mage's damage potential and it just doesn't feel rewarding.

I don’t personally agree with this. I very much dislike the way casters are balanced. It’s progression jobs vs speed run jobs. Rez is a security blanket. During a completely smooth run, it’s unneeded and therefore really only serves progression.

The other roles don’t have this discrepancy in job balance. SAM deals the highest personal damage because they don’t have damage boosting utility. The other jobs should by comparison deal the same amount of damage when you add in the amount of damage they’re adding to the other party members.

Job complexity shouldn’t dictate performance.