End Game: Are Dragoons Good For Anything?

[LiveVoltage]

(Note I did not read through this entire thread so I have no idea as to either the points I am making in this post have already been made or not, though I am assuming they already have.)

 

This may be me feeding the zombies and im not intending to start anything here other than lay out a few clearly defined fact's that show the Dragoon class has value despite popular belief melee DPS are nothing more than showboaters needed to deal massive single target damage via limit break.

 

Commonly, I play Dragoon class ALOT. I RP as a Dragoon, I run every single dungeon almost always as a Dragoon. I have even tried different classes and still find Dragoon the most entertaining, Summoner following shortly behind it.

 

Alot of people keep comparing how Monk and Dragoon are basically the same stat wise baring Monk's squishy defense. THIS is not true. Dragoon's have been known to have significantly more strength than a Monk in almost any situation. I could tell you how many times I could out-DPS a Monk of the same item level as my Dragoon, which is 90 by the way, but we would be here all night if I did.

 

As for the major defining differences between monk and Dragoon, Monk is alot more of an advanced and mobile class to play as you constantly have to change positions and stances in order to build up DoT's and buff's with good measure. Dragoon on the other hand is a more relaxed and traditional style of DPS where the player just needs to set up DoT's and change stances occasionally while spamming away at attacks. Both classes have their own unique play style as the monk is always mobile and able to respond against AOE attacks better than Dragoon, who has to stop what he is doing and attempt to run out of the blast radius, which most competent, and I say competent as a key word, can usually make it out of if they respond in time.

 

Now onto Dragoon ability's. Dragoon has a pretty standard skill set for a Melee DPS. DoT's, Stuns, A slow De-buff, self-buffs and even a self-healing attack which drains HP from an enemy and deals critical damage. Seems legitly standard, and I will agree on this fact ONLY. How this skill set though to optimize the effects of a Dragoon is a completely different story as Dragoons can be the fastest to respond to any attack enemy out of all the other classes as well as be the most devastating and lethal of the entire group.

 

Dragoon's are most characterized by their ability to jump and they get access to three Jump attacks, one backwards leap move and a attack buff which increases the power of a Jump or spine shatter attack. These jumps and the buff serve to be one of the most optimal tools in a Dragoon's arsenal to deal with an impending threat many moments before any other player of a different class could.

 

For example, say that a mob is preparing to AOE but the tank or any other said class near it in time to be able to hit it with a stun already used theirs, a Dragoon could leap across to the enemy in under a second and stun it with spine shatter. Boost that shatter attack with the buff that dragoons get and it practically doubles youre power.

 

Jump can serve as a good way to get a quick attack in from a distance before an enemy can cast an AOE to hit you and retreat out of the AOE's range. A risky strategy it is but one that is good to serve its role as a DPS. This attack though could also theoretically serve to pull enemys in any instance and retreat behind the tank so he can obtain agro.

 

Then there is the Dragoon's AOE jump attack, while many say that its just to add on to the Dragoons limited AOE attack options already, can serve to decimate a closely packed group for both strong and weak mobs under the right conditions. It is also amply more powerful then spine shatter and jump, and while this cannot be further increased by the Dragoons jump attack buff, it serves it purpose to deal alot of damage to a large group of enemy's in a mere moment.

 

And lastly there is the Dragoons very long "Get away" move which it can use. This skill can only be used sparingly and under the right conditions, can alleviate a verity of status ailments afflicting the player such as heavy or slow. It can also be used as its getaway move as well, as if you time the jump right or need to cover alot of ground fast to get out of a Cone or AOE attack, which is ideal in certain situations where the player may not be able to flee left or right or anywhere in general to avoid the attack.

 

As for the rest of its skill set, they get a TP boost move which is good to continue building stacks and attacking at any rate should youre TP reserves run low during any fight. They also get access to three DoT attacks, another stun besides Spine Shatter, making two readily available stuns to use at any moment as well as a verity of buffs.

 

In all Dragoon is not a bad class. It was generally built for its purpose and that is single target DPS and while Dragoon has served to adapt the Lancer class by giving it more AOE's to use, it does not change its design or what it is intended for.

 

As I said previously before, this comment is not meant to serve as fooder for the zombies nor is it intended to make a valid argument, it is presented to show idea's and points as to what makes Dragoon a great class as it is compared to other classes. Its top tier strength combined with its ability to instantly attack any foe from a long distance makes the Dragoon immensely powerful in its own right.

[Zyrusticae]

This is a topic that deserves to remain dead. Please don't feed the zombies.

I'm going to feed the zombies for a second just to note that, yes, this thread is 5 months old, which means that two major patches (2.2 and 2.3) have been released since the thread was made, hence you can basically ignore anything anyone said before the month of July. Things have changed. They're different now.