Why do Bards have the highest DPS?

[Azgarde]

Because topping charts for a single fight means being top DPS....

Yes, on Titan, BRDs are very good, but so are summoners. However, on a plain tank and spank fight where melee can actually do their rotation, we are pretty low.

[Soulscare]

I dont argue that bards are "easy to play" due to free movements, thats actualy why i love that class but , puting BLM on that side as hard to play seems little weird to me. their "rotation" are as easy as BRDs ( before complain that i havent one, my wife has summoner and BLM on 50th). I admit they have issue with proc on landing instead "end of cast"

Well I found that in easier dungeons and fights, BLM is a real bore... But once you get your combos down, it becomes a tougher class to play. A bad BLM will just just use Fire, Fire, Fire, Transpose, Blizzard, Blizzard etc. But once you throw in things like Mana Wall and that epic skill that will pretty much teleport you to another player (I forget the name xD) it becomes quite tough to be a decent BLM.

[Hik0]

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!

lol hate doesnt mean anything when one job can use a lowering hate ability and the other can't.

[Reika]

^ truth. A few jobs including bard (because it comes from archer) have access to quelling strikes, because they do so much damage they need something to back their hate off. Just like WHM needs its Shroud of Saints.

[Evilchakra]

(Not tested on target dummies, party or raid encounters only) I've come to find out on my BRD i can burst anywhere from 430-480DPS, with a sustained dps of about 260-290 throughout the fight. BLM I've been partied with seem to have a sustained DPS of anywhere from 310-360DPS, with bursts around 400. The idea of having BRD this high dps with the ability to move around a boss fight with ease spamming, or just bursting down targets, to me, is very OP. I don't even have relic +1 yet, and I seem to top the charts on most fights (using FFXIVAPP - I know its not 100% accuracte, its just a way to explain myself for the time being). I've increased my crit to 504 unbuffed, no allagan pieces yet either. I can imagine once im up to around 530 crit how much sicker the dps will become.

I'd also like to mention the idea that Gryphonskin and the militia equipment is better in some ways then DarkLight pieces... kinda pisses me off. That should not be the case imo. Crafters obviously will disagree with the amount of cash they can make from these, but it just feels wrong that this is the case.