most underpowered class in game?

[Ghost of Starman]

I thought Shamwowi had some decent logical takes on things in previous threads I've read, but this "DPS doesn't matter and isn't important in groups because people don't gear check" take is really dumb and low IQ, to put it bluntly.

What's the purpose of a non-farming group under *ideal* conditions? It would be to maximize XP per hour given time is our constraint. How do you maximize XP flow? by killing faster and minimizing deaths and downtime.

Increased DPS leads to faster killing, and also minimizes deaths by reducing the amount of time the group is taking damage per mob by eliminating them faster, especially if you're fighting casting mobs and can burn through them, for example, before they land an Ice Comet on your tank. The only time DPS is redundant is if you're killing so fast you're able to completely clear whatever area your camping and are forced to wait for repops.

The only support you need is the minimum amount necessary to prevent wipes and death, having too much redundant support / utility can actually lead to more death due to slow kill time combined with mob pops / patrols / etc.

The fact that (most) P99 players aren't complete assholes like many modern gen MMO players and gatekeep based on gear checks is due to a combination of factors, including the lower population leading to higher reputational costs of being a jerk (you can't just random queue for a raid/group like in WoW, you're going to be seeing the same people over and over and they'll remember if you were an ass), less choice of groupmates due to the smaller pop, the average age of players being much higher than a modern game, and the fact that the game isn't *AS* punishing for non-optimal groups as some modern MMOs are.