What's wrong with Ranged Physical identity?

[Valence]

I do think phys. ranged lost a chunk of its identity when the party resource buffs went away. But there is still the mitigation, the high personal damage of MCH, and the damage buffs of BRD and DNC.

I think a foundational problem of the role, however... was, bluntly, the introduction of DNC. In particular, the introduction of DNC without a distinct niche.

So now we are in this situation where we have 2 buffers competing to be the better buffer. And then MCH, although it outdamages all other phys ranged and all casters except BLM on personal damage, doesn't do so well on raid damage - which is what the current storm of complaints is about. People want MCH to have not just the high personal damage but high raid damage as well.

But doing so will put either DNC or BRD in a very bad spot. They already have bad personal damage, but if their raid damage falls behind too, now you'll have a new job no one wants (I mean this is exactly what happened to BRD last expac. Yes, the "MCH has been terrible for 4 years" people are full of ship/revising history).

Everybody and their moms have mitigation now. RDM provides more than us. I like that the game has more of it, but it's far from a defining feature of rPhys anymore. Quite the opposite in fact, we're barely average with it: tanks and healers do it better now, and some other dps as well.

I don't find DNC and BRD competing with each other at all. They both are big raid buffers, especially since EW introduced for BRD what it lacked in SHB (and still lacks at lvl80), which is raid buffs, by adding Radiant Finale, and what it introduced for DNC, mostly damaging abilities (Tilana, Starfall Dance etc). DNC, in fact, has the exact same niche as BRD right now, which it didn't in ShB when they removed a lot of buffs from BRD and people actually complained. They now both offer a very similar experience, similar party role with buffs, and similar job mechanics and bursts, although all of this in a different flavor, and I find this actually successful, unlike for poor MCH on the side.

All melees except SAM also buff, albeit in a lower fashion, and they don't compete more with each other, they just offer different flavors of it. I find the argument a bit weird to be honest.

MCH has been terrible for 1 year now (in EW), when it comes to raid performance. It's been ok in ShB within its role. But my problem is with identity, less with balance, and MCH has literally none. If you give me the argument that its selfish nature is part of its identity, then please allow me laugh a bit first, then reply that within the rPhys identity, it has literally none, and even contradicts what little is left of the role. New MCH has been an eyesore on literally every level since its rework, and it seems nobody knows at SE whatever they want of the job anymore.