FWIW, now Astro is widly derided as the weakest class. I never played it, but there's another example of over-correction.
I visit the friend-shop on a regular bases looking for good deals, but discount-friends rarely has quality, long lasting ones.
When I tried applying on a lower lvl char (as well as some others that were not high-end, I occasionally found myself disinvited after a while. They aren't friends, they are BnS pug groups -- the type of 'friend you most often are exposed to in BnS.
Go for it -- opposite of me -- I think the BnS system sorta sucks since even traditional ranged characters like gunners and archers end up being
melee in 1 jump from the boss, where in many games an archer can shoot from out of site, and a gunner from over a mile away -- no way are they likely to end up being in melee in 1 round. But in many play systems, a person with a rifle can do fatal damage from well over a mile away, with relative impunity. Not something you see in BnS. While archers don't have that range, they could still deal high damage with impunity as they often shot from cover and targets died before knowing where the archers were. Not so in BnS.
Bard is also likely to die quickly if they become tank due to their damage -- I've seen this happen, first hand, many times. If there isn't an "official tank" who specs some threat, the bard often dies when a real tank does not. If there is no tank, I need to respec for lower damage and higher defense (among other things). That's why I'm nervous about people's desire to nerf Bards, since they really don't have alot of defensive abilities by default. Fortunately I have a main that is stronger and if Bard becomes unplayable, I won't fall apart, but I sympathize with those who have put their play in such a class.
Anyway, in BnS, DPS is the main currency with which you forge in-game friends. Its what everyone sees in battle and what people count on -- eventually, over mechs, which become obsolete when faced with high enough DPS. How many worry about mechs in twisted or the steel raid dungeons? Today, 12 people walk in and wipe the floor with high DPS characters.