Chip damage is fine as a concept, I don't have anything against guard bypasses if they're the per hit basis sort and are either modest damage or stymied by availability (e.g. Drill). Those are fine. However Smite is neither weak nor on a long/hard to land cooldown. In chaotic situations you're only limited by how fast you can select critical health targets and pump the hotkey. Smite was already a solid role skill even without the bypass element, given the resets, but also how it's not even strictly melee range as it's 10y. That is quite far if you go use it on a dummy for visual reference (try the cannon overlooking the duelling area and the nearest dummy, it'll go across the gap).

I already stated my piece on the upgrade before I even logged into the game after the patch that made that alteration. This Smite + ninja go brr. It is pretty amusing – for the user. /simper But who was it that even had that bright idea? Someone that felt more players needed to try melee? Guess they didn't account for how many that just cannot hack it as one, regardless of what changes.

But hey, let's not hate on it too much in isolation. Can you honestly not include Bravery + Marksman's Spite in the same breath? There's a bunch of kooky stuff in the current build, and it'd be weird for the funny melee thing to get nerfed but not the ranged one when there's a bunch more peeps playing those. (I know TC has raised that too, but just saying).

Eh, Swift is still kind of okay. I don't really play the job I'd run it on anymore, but it does at least outpace mounts and is good for chasing that way. It's just a more niche thing, and is there for the more skittish players I guess lul. It is somewhat unremarkable given the buffs the other two skills got though.