Why do Bards have the highest DPS?

[Dreamer]

My $0.02:

BLM should have the best burst AOE damage.
MNK should have the best sustained single-target damage.
DRG should have the best burst single-target damage.
SMN should have the best sustained multi-target damage.
BRD should have the best party support.

Unfortunately, the last one doesn't really fit into FFXIV's ultra-rigid trinity setup, and thus they've had to focus the class more on damage and less on support.

[ilikeorangejuice]

Bards are god-tier thats why..

Moving while pew pewing is probably the best thing in this game since it doesn't eff up with the delay the game has.

[YeaniNah]

as a bard .. i love the song that lower resistance by 10% ... i start with it then shoot flaming arrow and start battle voice ..and shoot 2 DOT skill i have. everytime i do that i can see boss life go down faster than if i was not doing that

[Ronyx]

Because Bards arent like those in FFXI. Here they DO damage. DPS is? Damage per second people. So a Bard can still use his skills and hit from anywhere and in any given situation, even while moving. Melee have to be in close range to be able to do any or mostly any damage and even they need to move a stop the damage to avoid enemies AoE and caster have to interrupt the spell when moving to prevent massive dmg from red areas (AoE). The Bard/Archer can hit and run forever and keep the constant damage the whole fight. So even if their number are low compared to other classes they still end up triumph as the highest DPS. All the numbers add up, so dont kick bards of parties for other DPS cuz in the end all those numbers count and in the end they will do the job. The only bards that do LOW damage are those that sit in the back just to sing and throw a healing or two >.>. Which is lame this is not FFXI so BARD go a do damage, it counts.

[Vectrexevo]

I do not see any proof of bards having more dps. Show me proof, this whole thread is all speculation.

[Reika]

You seem very determined to make this a big issue lol, it's really not that bad if a BRD comes out slightly on top is what I'm saying. SE have most likely balanced it so that BRD makes up its DPS early in the fight to allow for songs to be cast and to prevent people complaining about lack of DPS from a job that stems from a DPS class. Most likely there will be content released that will require a BRD to reliably clear the content in the future.

As a tank I would much rather a healer had enough MP to heal me comfortably than a jumped up BRD who cares more about big numbers than whether the party will wipe. I agree there is content where you do not need songs at the moment, but bear in mind that these are still early days and not every job has to be used to its fullest. Even without using songs, I don't really see where the issue is here because the difference between classes is very minimal and depends on circumstance. The balancing in this game is a hell of a lot better than most MMO's and could be a lot worse.

I do believe I've been saying you don't need bard songs, and thus can live without bard, the whole time -.-;

[Reiia]

because we can scoot and shoot...

[Rivienne]

My minimal non-contribution to this thread is that I think dual Monk > every other DPS

I can't back that up with statistics, just anecdotal evidence. But my favourite dungeon runs by far, have always involved two monks, and no bards. Monks seem to excel at single target, so two can slam through enemies fast, they just have to coordinate, ignore boss to take out adds rapid, take down boss, then cycle or whatever the pattern ends up being.

Actually my favorite light party thus far is two monks, and a warrior. (What is that about? I thought everyone hated warriors....)

That said, I don't find any real special value in having bards anyway, because they never ever use mages balad, so as a white mage I don't care if they have higher DPS sometimes, since they might as well just be an archer since that is how they play it. Not there is anything wrong with that per-se, but why specialize a job, but then still play just the base class skills? Also thus far for me they are always and forever stealing aggro and taking more damage than the tank. Maybe the problem is the monks I run across know their role better than the bards I have come across, and how to manage aggro better. Given I usually duty finder that is certainly possible.

Now that I think about this, I will have to finish leveling up my archer to see if I can learn the role better. Maybe if I play it myself I can better judge.

[Kal-El]

I was doing chimera last night then a quick AK run for my relic with a SCH, MNK, BRD and PLD (myself).

They both had majority Darklight with exception of some minor accessories. Both had Garuda weapon.

The MNK was always 2nd in hate on everything!

The BRD was doing a lot of DPS but I don't think it could keep up! It's shows that BRD seem to level out with endgame gear while other DPS catch up / overtake. Not saying BRDs aren't good, just that their OP DPS seems to calm down quite drastically.

[ReplicaX]

If you have the time to level 1-50, grind for DL gear and Primal/Relic weapons, then you have the time to research and test your job.

Here is an interesting fact: Every Ifrit / Garuda / Titan / Mog / Relic / Relic +1 weapon in game, is 4 base damage more than Bard's. (Which imo is the adjustment for Bard Run n Gun Vs other DPS)

There are many Legitimate FCs clearing Coil Turn 4 with DRGs, MNKs, BLMs, SMNs and BRDs.