Pictomancer is insanely overtuned and needs to be fixed before savage drops.

[Supersnow845]

Criterion has job-specific multipliers to account for the fact that your raid buffs count towards less people. Jobs like tanks and SAM get a 1 multiplier.

aDPS is much more composition-dependent than rDPS and neglects damage contributions of some buffs, while allowing others through (Everburn was a notable example of a buff that probably should have been excluded, last expansion). The metric was really introduced to combat card padding that was prevalent in Heavensward and early Stormblood.

Burst potential is influenced by a number of factors. A job being a buff provider doesn't automatically mean that its burst is weak. RPR is a classic example of a buff provider with powerful burst. PCT is another.

A lot of jobs have moved away from timer-gated burst design that was more common in Heavensward/Stormblood simply because fights with lots of intermissions favor burst orientated jobs (also because timer-gated burst is a lot more forgiving). Resource-gated burst achieves more of a middle ground with this, because you still need uptime in order to build gauge. PCT breaks this rule because motifs don't require a target. It's a bit like if charging up Soul Sow during downtime gave you 50 Shroud for your next burst and if you got to start every fight at 50 Shroud.

I think the long term solution is going to be to make motifs not usable without a target and usable in combat only.

On the reverse side though if you made it so that motifs could only be painted in combat and with a target you just go 100% back in the other direction with PCT suffering massively during downtime you follow by opening with a burst

For example using the RPR example you can either pool gauge before the downtime or otherwise press arcane crest->plentiful harvest->enshroud, this can also work if it’s very long downtime where you burst right before the boss goes untargetable then burst again in the opener. PCT meanwhile needs 15 seconds after the downtime ends to paint its 3 motifs before it could burst by which time half the rest of the raid would be 60% of the way through their burst. Even if it was a shorter downtime and you cast starry muse before downtime you still need 10 seconds

If they made it so you could only cast muses in combat with a target (like bloodfest) then the muses would need shorter cast times, but that would throw off other parts of PCT’s gameplay loop

[Aco505]

Criterion has job-specific multipliers to account for the fact that your raid buffs count towards less people. Jobs like tanks and SAM get a 1 multiplier.

This multiplier is not enough to bring buffing jobs in line and it affects the entire party instead of the buffing job only, for the further benefit of non-buffing jobs. You can check the numbers here but the Criterion statistics at the time were clear, with the non-buffing jobs (including MCH!) and those with more personal damage ahead by quite a big margin, particularly BLM, and the rest behind.

aDPS is much more composition-dependent than rDPS and neglects damage contributions of some buffs, while allowing others through

All metrics are comp dependent, which is why they must all be analyzed together. aDPS being more comp dependent doesn't change the fact that if players don't perform well in your buff, you will suffer as a buffing job, whereas "selfish" jobs are not hindered in this regard. Or how right now you want a PCT in your party to get the maximum rDPS number possible. This is the exact same situation in EW, in which not having a DRK cost you a sizeable amount of of rDPS as DRG, for instance.

A job being a buff provider doesn't automatically mean that its burst is weak. RPR is a classic example of a buff provider with powerful burst.

Conversely, it doesn't mean that its personal damage is high either. NIN has always been this case with a weak filler and huge 2-minute burst while staying as one of the melees with the lowest personal damage alongside DRG. The latter got changed into a 1-minute job in DT with extra potency at 2-minutes and the trend is the same despite it being a burst-only job for the most part now.

I wouldn't call RPR's burst "powerful" beyond the norm. It's a slow and long burst similar to MNK's and for Dragon Sight calculations in EW, it was on the same tier as MNK/DRG/RPR with NIN and SAM way ahead. RPR's higher personal damage is simply due to the fact that Arcane Circle is the weakest buff, so RPR ends in a sort of middle ground with higher aDPS than buffing jobs and higher rDPS than non-buffing jobs.

I think one thing that's going to eventually need to happen is making motifs not usable without a target/usable in combat only.

Shifting potency from burst and motifs into filler would be a good solution, imho.

[Ramiee]

I think one thing that's going to eventually need to happen is making motifs not usable without a target/usable in combat only.

If that happens my conspiracy theory that Yoshi p targets every job I main to ruin will become real.

[AddictedToWitches]

I think Picto doing a lot of damage is fine, I think BLM should be buffed to be more in-line with it
I think Picto should also serve as an actual second selfish magic DPS because BLM is the only one considered to be that
For that, it SHOULD have the raid buff and heal removed. Makes no sense for it to be considered a magic support with a raid buff and a heal but no raise equivalent at all.
If they are intent on keeping the raid buffs though, yeah put it down a peg to be more like SMN and RDM

[Ramiee]

If they are intent on keeping the raid buffs though, yeah put it down a peg to be more like SMN and RDM

Utterly stupid thing to say, what are we going to bring MNK, RPR, DRG and NIN down to that level too then? Ridiculous.

[Supersnow845]

I think Picto doing a lot of damage is fine, I think BLM should be buffed to be more in-line with it
I think Picto should also serve as an actual second selfish magic DPS because BLM is the only one considered to be that
For that, it SHOULD have the raid buff and heal removed. Makes no sense for it to be considered a magic support with a raid buff and a heal but no raise equivalent at all.
If they are intent on keeping the raid buffs though, yeah put it down a peg to be more like SMN and RDM

For the 0196029681649106827572&503th time

A. RAID. BUFF. ISNT. UTILITY

[kajv95]

I think its great that you're all surprised by this when caster balance has been abysmal for the last entire two expansions.

Good luck with this one