Reaper needs additional buffs.

[ZiraZ]

Raid buffs are exactly how they balance damage. If they had ninja get maximum possible damage, think black mage level, because it has no utility by your definition, no one would bring samurai into a party because ninja would do the same damage while also bringing mug. No one would bring monk to anything because monk would have to do less damage than ninja because it has mudra, and brotherhood isn't more potent than mug.

Dragoon has effects that increase the damage other party members do, and has more of them than other jobs with both battle litany and dragon sight, other melees just have one party-wide damage increasing skill while dragoon can increase the party's damage as well as a selected party member. Additionally while dragoon might not have a shield, its the only melee with passive healing as part of its regular rotation, so it is probably fine as far as they see the balance of this job and the others.

Raid Buffs are still not utility and that's a big lmao at comparing life surge with the other melees defensives.

Direct healing from a DPS that can’t be targeted (think something like phoenix astral flow which even that is pretty useless since SMN’s rotation is so static) is completely useless because healer kits are all bloated with overpowered heals and damage output by bosses is pathetic (I’ll kinda pass curing waltz as stacked curing waltz can replace an entire healing oGCD but arcane crest isn’t even close)

About the only true utility left that’s not role wide is expedient, mantra, natures minne and magic barrier

Arcane crest is not worth even close to how far behind RPR is in melee damage

It's not only a heal, it's also a personal shield defensive on an extremely low cooldown, it can outheal tanks in overall heal/absorb, that is absolutely not completely useless, it doesn't even overheal that much so it's absolutely doing its work.
If it's so useless why is everyone pressing it?