Let's talk Final Fantasy XIV bard

Anyone feel that the loss of auto attacks during gauss/wanderer isn't being made up with the 20% damage boost?

As a lvl 60 bard I feel very disappointed with how things turned out.

Unlike other classes our job is not getting expanded upon what it does, but just thrown around playstyle wise. People that like casters already had the choices of BLM + SMN, BRD had a different playstyle.

But the fact that we get a bunch of skills that just feel super underwhelming during the lvling process and at max level still so. Until maybe we can gear out and build for certain stat combinations isn't even my biggest issue.

The way these "stances/song" are implemented is pretty horrible. 

They completely misalign or force sub optimal skill usuage. 

Unlike BLM's the BRD wasn't made with this playstyle from the get go. So we have skills like Bloodletter triggering middle of a cast of a straight shot which triggers a straighter shot just before EA comes off cooldown and maybe blunt arrow too and sidewinder if that's how it turned out to be while having to place the flaming arrow as well. Oh and then there's the need to refresh dots too and all this while having low weapon damage and low potencies which are then being compensated by 20% damage increase which we already lost to the fact that we loose our auto attacks. And I didn't even mention the fact that unlike BLM's we have a couple more buffs on shorter cooldowns to keep up which cut into our GCD's too. And then there's the repelling shot which has 80 potency on a utility skill which can't really be done safely in this stance without risking cancelling out a skill or cutting into your gcd due to animation.

I really don't understand the thought-process of SE on the creation of these skills, but to top it off they tried to make MCH and BRD be kinda the same? Which is even worse. So now if you don't like one the other one is an aesthetically different looking version of the same thing so you won't like them both even though it used to be your favorite role and type of play.