New Dancer feels TERRIBLE and weak

[Valence]

DNC is a lot stronger than it appears. Fan Dance technically affords a 10% mitigation which should put you at an effective HP of 60k. Honing, while it can bite you in the ass if used at the improper time, can also make you tougher. Curing Waltz is like a heal on regen healers and will add on top of recuperate. The dashes makes the job virtually impossible to catch unless out of resources or just caught pants down with a bad honing or LB. Attacks have no cast time and if they had 25y range I feel it would be a little too strong. On top of it it kinda hints at how one should play the job, which means, not in the backline, because it can support and sustain a lot better at mid range or even in the frontline. It's also a superb chaser and if you could hit targets from 25y while zooming unimpeded without any cast times behind them like that, I think that would be a little too much.

15y attack is still on an entirely different world than melees' 5 yalms.

[Loggos]

Those are good points. I guess I still need to figure out its proper rhythm at close or mid range then because I struggle making good escapes/recoveries when I get too close to the enemy group. I'll try to play it more like you describe and see if I can understand its flow better.

[Valence]

Also wanted to add that unless you're literally bleeding all over with no resources left at all, if a melee catches you when you're retreating and already in your backlines, DNC is a job that is perfectly capable to contend almost indefinitely with all melee DPS. All they'll do is lose time, your gap closers will recharge, and the higher the chances over time for your allies to notice and come punish the player chasing you. That's why at a competent level nobody bothers chasing dancers, it's a (dangerous) waste of time.

The real danger is getting immediately bursted and obliterated as soon as you peek in with a LB ready.