The DPS Powers Ranked by me

1.) Hard Light: Regardless of the Nerfs or what this class reigns supreme in the Dps class. It's DPS potential is controlled only by the users ability to clip and it provides enough dmg on its attks to effectively be a great boss/add killer w/o rotating loadouts during content..
2.) Mental: Disclaimerthis is my fav. pwr so im not the most bias for this one). As Far as i can tell Mental doesn't have a single useless move in any of it's trees. I actually use about 80% of there powers between controlling dpsing PVE/PVP content and the other 20% i can see y ppl would use them at times. This power can do AOE but its at it most effective when fighting bosses.
3.)Gadgets: Maybe deserves Number 2.. this power has immense burst dmg. Gadgets carries a variety of versatile moves and has the most deadly PVP/PVE finsiher in the game. Maybe being overlooked because some moves require a closer range in boss fights but not to many knocks on this power as a whole.
4:Fire: (Dos equis voice) " i do not get out dps'ed to often but when i do it's usually by a fire." Again im open for argumentbut the fact is fire dps are a real threat for those who enjoy chart-topping dps. I've been trying this power are more l8ly and still can't get down a loadout but i see more and more fire dps putting up "Elite numbers"
5a. Nature: This is a "Boss-Killing" DPS power and that is why i put it here. Nature may not top the charts over a few power i place below it but in single target dmg, natures potential Exceeds the dmg of HL and Mental. Its a power that doesn't start to do its best dmg until maybe 10 seconds into a fight but when Nature DPS hit their stride they usually do the best single-target DAMAGE PER SECOND in the game.
5b. Electricity: People Underestimate Electricity, this power can work like Fire and if people were top dmg chasers one could do "unimportant" dmg. Like racking up useless points killing fire wells vs the ravenger in Paradox by laying down DOT's every where and attacking the boss also.

7.) ICE: Ice is an inconsistent dpsing power among the users of the power-set. I've seen some do amazing dmg per second while others are depending of the other two dps to pickup their slack. Either way this power is one of the few sets that can be effective in both might and percison instances
8):Quantum: This power is tricky because of it's association to time bomb, But i have tested it earlier and saw it's numbers to be mediocre. Do not get me wrong this power isn't a bad power its just over hyped and my views haven't changed much on that. I do not like quantum dps because I fear they used timebomb to rack up numbers and since now u can skip the timebomb animation entirely i worry about the amout of ppl doing this. If ppl did the HL fan glitch y not use the timebomb one to ....
9.)Celestial: w/ very little info on this power i'll be brief... it cant be worst than sorcery or earth ... that is all
9a. EARTH: For some odd reason Earth has a large dps Audience some like this power but most hate it... I've nvr been out dps'ed by this power and i've been out dpsed by every pwr up there but celestial/Mental. and this power has a multitude of negatives... The proximity of where you got to do your dmg, the amout of dmg done by most moves, the power it drains by jackhammer... etc. This power is dying both as a tank and dps and its sad to see.
9b. Sourcery: This isn't the worst power as its a good Healer but for dmg Even the Best DPS would only do slightly above avg DAMAGE PER SECOND. The Sourcery powerset is in danger once Celesital is offically out and maybe one day the fans of this power will see it's "revamp" but until that day its not a very viable dpsing option.

Disclamier: This Order was derived by me through my personal "Pugging" experiences. They do in no way reflect the way a single person uses them but reflect what i've noticed the order of the commuinty as a whole uses them. Outside of Mental i can honestly say that this applies to all powers up here. Just so were clear this i feel as though this is the most balanced dps powers we've seen and so to be honest powers 1-8 could easily be replaced in that order...

I'd give quantum just after fire.

I definitely don't disagree with HL and mental. I would quantum pushing close on mental though for its versatility. It has essentially the same things going or it that mental does....it can play awesomely from a mile away. I give mental the edge because mass terror is better than g.well in most situations. I put nature fourth and fire 5th. Electric doesn't deserve to be anywhere near the top and your assessment of electric being awesome vs ravager is not true when compared to nature. Nature absolutely murders in that room and it allows you to use a 3 dot loadout with savage growth. Essentially you can keep switching targets with harvest and have everything in the room scrolling for the entire fight while only applying one set of dots. Nature is far and away the dot based class to use for serious damage dealers. Electric doesn't compare unless its being played by an amazing DPS, and even then he would be better if he was nature...lol. I would put gadgets at 6th or tied for 5th with fire. Only because I realize it dominates in99% of the content in this game, however I have not seen it do well in wave/nexus. Dps feel free to change my mind

1) Everything but sorc
9) Sorc

List made to scale.

I think quantum is much better than you give it credit for being, I'd put top 3. I like Ice more than Fire personally.

ahm... i dont think you know how natuire works...
they place the dots and then spread them to every unit nearby.
that means the dots arent the strongest, but these can be shared 100% with every single other unit.
A nature shouldn't out DPS a Light dd at single bosses, but special bosses are good for nature; for example:
Last boss nexus (3 times the dot) and PBG with the spawner feat.

Cool.

Thanks for your input.

i acutally have a nature toon u can spread dot's from briar savage growth and vine lash through either harvest or swarm shield .... Even though it would be great to see nature dmg multiple target it is still more than capable on single target. Should an add or two appear to just drop a harvest on them and your doing great dmg but it is better as a boss threat IMO. also read the disclaimer

i can't say that u maybe know ppl that use quantum very well, fact is i hold out on Quantum bcuz of time bomb .... but like i said 1-7 could easily be rearranged in any order

cant argue maybe i undersold quantum a bit and oversold a few (MENTAL!!!) XD

I did say ppl under estimate electricity, thats y i gave nature the nudge over nature well that and impaling thorns

If your making this list and feel a power is lacking or not as strong because of a broken mechanic how can there really be a list to begin with. Personally feel the top are troll powers followed by nature, ice, electric, fire. There are other powers but i have not personally used then in the end game content to form a solid opinion.
From what I've seen any power can do great just depends on the player.

0) A powerset in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing to get the most out of it.

I assume you mean thorn shield.

Getting the most out of Earth or Sorc can still lose to a terrible HL or mental player. The idea behind a tier list is to assume equal skill level and rank the classes based purely on their innate capabilities. Standing Max range and shooting forehead beams that double tick for close to 2k is clearly better than standing near a boss trying to jackhammer, for example. Any good tier list should take into account the damage potential and the ease of use of the power sets. Its not just about knowing what you're doing...that is already assumed. Of course I come from fighting games and that's how we do it, if mmo player factor tier lists differently then I stand corrected

Interesting list, not how I would arrange it but that's what is so great about opinions... I do disagree with putting sorcery at the bottom though, I think it is far easier to spread bad karma via shared fate than it is to spread poisons, via harvest or thorn shield. Sometimes it can be tricky to get harvest on the most opportune target, so you end up not maximizing on damage. I'm also surprised that you didn't mention hive mind when discussing natures awesomeness.

The Main Reason i did not mention Hive mind or carnage was tied to the fact i wanted to be brief. We all can benefit from stat increases. I also could've mentioned wired for electricity, but on another note as far as sorcery DPSing is concerned i've nvr used Sorcery/nor Earth For DPSing sooo these might have shaped my opinions its just ppl i've knew whoo have had success w/ these powers will often say... "its ok but there are easier powers to use more effectively".

sorcery isn't bad you are just forced to play it exactly right or you will fail.

Circle, soul wells, weapon of destiny, final ruin spams, repeat until raid is over

Problem is soul well is a weak dot, circle with bad karma ticks are decent but from my tests it splits damage at 3 targets instead of four like every similar move in the game, also circle is a stationary dot with a long cool down so one mistake or moving boss will mean wasted cast. Final ruin and WoD are godlike tho, but u can't match the massive burst from mental/quantum/gadgets or the consistency of HL, nor the flexibility of nature. Sorc is in need of heavy balancing, but honestly it wouldn't take much to break it.

For the DPS #chasers, you're way off on Mental - middle of the pack. Quantum is higher - top 3. Fire is higher. HL is lower but not below middle of the list. It's more balanced than it has ever been before. I have seen most any DPS powerset do high numbers recently.

Please let me have what you are smoking. Your post Crit me 9001. The key isn't what YOU personally have seen. That does not matter. The only thing that matters is what each power is individually capable of regardless of the player. That's the only objective way to look @powers. If you're a bad mental player and you lose to fire, its cause you are a bad DPS not because fire is better.