It's not very useful, but it does help a bit in 3rd job. It's always nice to have a free 5k damage hit thrown in at intervals, and pretty much saves you a shot at Newties and doesn't take any time to cast. I throw it in whenever I'm doing something that has a long animation and I can't move or do anything else (Air Strike, Summon Octopus).
You really get the most benefit from the first point in it. After that, each point barely adds any damage. Maxed Gaviota only hits a little more than double level 1. That's why I didn't bother levelling it past 15.
It's supposed to hit 3 monsters, but I REALLY would not count on it hitting 3 monsters, ever. It hits only one monster in an entire mob sometimes. The radius of the attack is the same or possibly less than Grenade. I think I've seen it hit two Newties at the same time twice, and I have no idea how that happened. Maybe I was just confusing it with Octopus.
Edit addressing above question: People max Gaviota over FT because they believe a tiny bit more DPS is more important than a mob skill they will never use. If you're going to use FT at all, max it instead of Gaviota. As for the usefulness of FT, right now, with it's pathetic range, I almost never use it. Once its range is increased to match Burst Fire, I will probably use it in the same way I use Burst Fire now: quick damage without sacrificing mobility using Rapid Fire or having to mount, usually to finish things off.
You really get the most benefit from the first point in it. After that, each point barely adds any damage. Maxed Gaviota only hits a little more than double level 1. That's why I didn't bother levelling it past 15.
It's supposed to hit 3 monsters, but I REALLY would not count on it hitting 3 monsters, ever. It hits only one monster in an entire mob sometimes. The radius of the attack is the same or possibly less than Grenade. I think I've seen it hit two Newties at the same time twice, and I have no idea how that happened. Maybe I was just confusing it with Octopus.
Edit addressing above question: People max Gaviota over FT because they believe a tiny bit more DPS is more important than a mob skill they will never use. If you're going to use FT at all, max it instead of Gaviota. As for the usefulness of FT, right now, with it's pathetic range, I almost never use it. Once its range is increased to match Burst Fire, I will probably use it in the same way I use Burst Fire now: quick damage without sacrificing mobility using Rapid Fire or having to mount, usually to finish things off.