White Mage Rework Concept

[ty_taurus]

Introduction:
So I don't like White Mage's lilies. Yes, they're pretty to look at, but I have a few issues with them as a whole.

1. They're forgettable, low-impact, and the most boring gauge system to appear in Stormblood. Even after the repeated buffs they've received, they're still extremely easy to ignore and see very little loss in overall healing and/or DPS output.
2. They have no connection to the White Mage's lore or theme. While Astrologians have card effects on display--the cornerstone of their entire existence, White Mages have a cute accessory on their screen.

I want to change this, and also make some overall quality of life adjustments to White Mage in other areas too. That being said, I don't want to sit here and talk about how my idea is clearly better than Square's because it very well may be better in some areas but worse in others. I want to hear everyone else's opinion on an idea that could be amazing or terrible. So while I dive into this design, I want to hear from all of you--the judges--on what you think about my idea, whether I'm hitting all the right places, or trying to fix what isn't broken. So let's dive into it.

Ability list

Stone
Level 1 - Spell
Single Target Earth Damage - Potency: 200 - Range: 25y (Stone I Animation)
Cast: 2.5s - Recast: 2.5s
Additional Info: Adds 5 Earth Aether to the Nature Gauge

Cure
Level 2 - Spell
Single Target Healing - Potency: 450
Cast: 2s - Recast: 2.5s
Additional Info: N/A

Aero
Level 4 - Spell
Single Target Wind Damage + DoT - Potency: 30 + 30/tick - Range: 25y
Cast: 2.5s - Recast: 2.5s
Effect Duration: 18s
Additional Info: Adds 2 Wind Aether to the Nature Gauge + 1 Wind Aether per DoT tick.

Curaga
Level 10 - Spell
AoE Healing around Caster - Potency: 300 - Radius: 15y
Cast: 2.5s - Recast: 2.5s
Additional Info: N/A

Raise
Level 12 - Spell
Resurrects Target to a Weakened State - Range: 30y
Cast: 8s - Recast: 2.5s
Additional Info: N/A

Water
Level 15 Class Quest - Ability
Single Target Water Damage - Potency:250 - Range: 25y
Cast: 0s - Recast: 30s
Additional Info: Adds 10 Water Aether to the Nature Gauge.

Cure II
Level 18 - Spell
Single Target Healing - Potency: 700 - Range: 30y
Cast: 2s - Recast: 2.5s
Additional Info: MP Cost is reduced to 0 when under the effects of Freecure.

Stoneskin
Level 26 - Ability
Creates a Barrier absorbing damage equal to 15% of the Target's Max HP - Range: 30y - Radius: 0y (15y under the effects of Fervent Earth and consumes that buff).
Cast: 0s - Recast: 30s
Effect Duration: 15s
Additional Info: Adds 15 Earth Aether to the Nature Gauge.

Cloud Nine
Level 30 Class Quest - Ability
Reduces spell cast time and recast time, and auto-attack delay by 20%.
Cast: 0s - Recast: 150s (75s under the effects of Fervent Wind and consumes that buff).
Effect Duration: 15s
Additional Info: Adds 20 Wind Aether to the Nature Gauge.

Tetragrammaton
Level 30 Job Quest - Ability
Single Target Healing - Potency: 700 - Range: 30y
Cast: 0s - Recast: 60s
Additional Info: N/A

Regen
Level 35 Job Quest - Spell
Single Target HoT - Potency: 150/tick - Range: 30y
Cast: 0s - Recast: 2.5s

Curaja
Level 40 Job Quest - Spell
AoE Healing around Target - Potency: 550 - Range: 30y - Radius: 6y
Cast: 2s - Recast: 2.5s
Additional Info: N/A

Holy
Level 45 Job Quest - Spell
AoE Damage around Caster - Potency: 200 - Radius: 8y
Cast: 3s - Recast: 2.5s
Additional Info: Potency lowers by 10% to each successive enemy struck to a min of 50%.

Aero II
Level 46 - Spell
Single Target Wind Damage + DoT - Potency: 60 + 60/tick - Range: 25y
Cast: 2.5s - Recast: 2.5s
Duration: 18s
Additional Info: Usable only under the effects of Aero Mastery and replaces Aero. Overwrites Aero DoT.
Additional Info: Adds 4 Wind Aether to the Nature Gauge + 2 Wind Aether per DoT tick.

Curaga II
Level 50 - Spell
AoE healing around Caster + HoT - Potency: 200 + 50/tick - Radius: 20y
Cast: 3s - Recast: 2.5s
Duration: 30s
Additional Info: N/A

Benediction
Level 50 Job Quest - Ability
Single Target Healing - Potency: 100% Target's Max HP - Range: 30y
Cast: 0s - Recast: 180s
Additional Info: N/A

Asylum
Level 52 Job Quest Ability
AoE healing over a designated area - Potency: 100/tick - Range 30y - Radius: 6y.
Cast: 0s - Recast: 90s
Duration: 24s (48s under the effects of Fervent Water and consumes that buff).
Additional Info: Adds 25 Water Aether to the Nature Gauge.

Stone II
Level 54 Job Quest - Spell
Single Target Earth Damage - Potency: 250 - Range: 25y (Stone III Animation).
Cast: 2.5s - Recast: 2.5s
Additional Info: Usable only under the effects of Stone Mastery and replaces Stone.
Additional Info: Adds 10 Earth Aether to the Nature Gauge.

Water II
Level 56 Job Quest - Ability
Single Target Water Damage - Potency: 300 - Range: 25y
Cast: 0s - Recast: 30s
Additional Info: Usable only under the effects of Water Mastery and replaces Water.
Additional Info: Adds 20 Water Aether to the Nature Gauge.

Aeroga
Level 58 Job Quest - Spell
AoE Wind Damage + DoT - Potency: 50 + 40/tick - Range: 25y - Radius: 5y
Cast: 2.5s - Recast: 2.5s
Duration: 24s
Additional Info: Adds 8 Wind Aether to the Nature Gauge.

Assize
Level 60 Job Quest - Ability
AoE Damage to Enemies around Caster - Potency: 300 - Radius: 15y
Cast: 0s - Recast: 60s
Additional Info: AoE Healing around Caster - Potency: 300
Additional Info: Restores 10% Max MP to self.

Thin Air
Level 62 - Ability
Reduces MP cost of all spells to 0 for the caster.
Cast: 0s - Recast: 120s (60s under the effects of Fervent Wind and consumes that buff).
Duration: 12s
Additional Info: Adds 20 Wind Aether to the Nature Gauge.

Munificent Efflorescence
Level 64 - Ability
Overhealing allies with the Caster's Healing Spells causes Targets to gain the excess HP restored as bonus Max HP up to 5% of their own Max HP. This Bonus Max HP is lost upon receiving damage.
Cast: 0s - Recast: 90s
Duration: 15s (30s under the effects of Fervent Earth and consumes that buff).
Additional Info: Adds 15 Earth Aether to the Nature Gauge.

Aquaveil
Level 66 - Ability
Creates a Barrier that nullifies all cleanse-able detrimental effects received. Range: 30y - Radius: 0y (15y under the effects of Fervent Water and consumes that buff).
Cast: 0s - Recast: 30s
Duration: 5s
Additional Info: Adds 25 Water Aether to the Nature Gauge.

Quake
Level 68 - Spell
Single Target Earth Damage - Potency: 350 - Range: 25y
Cast: 2.5s - Recast: 2.5s
Additional Info: Usable only when 100 Earth Aether is in the Nature Gauge. Replaces Stone or Stone II.
Additional Info: Subtracts 100 Earth Aether from the Nature Gauge.
Additional Info: Applies Fervent Earth to the Caster.

Tornado
Level 68 - Spell
AoE Wind Damage + DoT - Potency: 65 + 65/tick - Range: 25y - Radius: 5y
Cast: 2.5s - Recast: 2.5s
Duration: 24s
Additional Info: Usable only when 100 Wind Aether is in the Nature Gauge. Replaces Aeroga. Overwrites Aeroga DoT.
Additional Info: Subtracts 100 Wind Aether from the Nature Gauge.
Additional Info: Applies Fervent Wind to the Caster.

Flood
Level 68 - Ability
Single Target Water Damage - Potency: 400 - Range: 25y
Cast: 0s - Recast: 30s
Additional Info: Usable only when 100 Water Aether is in the Nature Gauge. Replaces Water or Water II.
Additional Info: Subtracts 100 Water Aether from the Nature Gauge.
Additional Info: Applies Fervent Water to the Caster.

Plenary Indulgence
Level 70 Job Quest - Ability
AoE Healing around Caster - Potency: 150/300/450 Based on Confession Stacks - Radius: 30y
Cast: 0s - Recast: 60s
Duration: 10s (Confessions)
Additional Info: Casting Curaga, Curaga II, or Curaja apply a stack of Confession to all healed Allies (Max. 3).
Additional Info: Can only be cast when at least 1 ally has a stack of Confession.
Additional Info: Adds 2 Earth Aether, Wind Aether, and Water Aether to the Nature Gauge per Confession stack consumed.

Arise
Level 71 - Spell
Resurrects Target with Max HP - Range: 30y
Cast: 8s - Recast: 2.5s
Additional Info: Usable only when Caster has accumulated 200 or more of Earth Aether, Wind Aether, and Water Aether combined. Replaces Raise.

Field of Bliss
Level 73 - Ability
Creates a Barrier around all nearby allies that nullifies 90% of all damage received and delivers the absorbed damage gradually over 9 seconds. - Radius: 30y
Cast: 0s - Recast: 180s
Duration: 9 seconds.
Additional Info: Usable only when under the effect of Fervent Earth and consumes that buff.

Static Turbulence
Level 75 - Ability
Places all DoTs and HoTs applied by the Caster in Stasis, preventing their effect times from reducing, to all nearby allies and enemies. - Radius: 15y
Cast:0s - Recast: 180s
Duration: 15s
Additional Info: Usable only when under the effect of Fervent Wind and consumes that buff.

Fluid Image
Level 77 - Ability
Places a watery Replica of the Caster at a set location. This Replica will mimic Spells cast by the Caster and disappears after a short period of time. - Range: 30y
Cast: 0s - Recast: 180s
Duration 12s
Additional Info: Usable only when under the effect of Fervent Water and consumes that buff.
Additional Info: The Replica will finish the cast of the Spell even if the Caster cancel's their own cast. The Replica will not cast if the Caster's target is out of range.

Eschaton
Level 80 Job Quest - Spell
AoE Damage around Caster - Potency: 250 - Radius: 10y
Cast: 2.5s - Recast: 2.5s
Additional Info: AoE Healing around Caster - Potency: 250 - Radius 10y
Additional Info: Usable only under the effects of Quelled Earth, Quelled Wind, and Quelled Water and consumes those buffs OR when under the effect of Holy Scourge.
Additional Info: Replaces Holy.

Traits

Freecure
Level 18
Grants a 15% chance that after casting Cure, the MP cost for your next Cure II becomes 0.

Maim and Mend
Level 20
Increases base action damage and HP restoration by 10%.

Enhanced Mind
Level 20
Increases Mind by 8.

Enhanced Mind II
Level 40
Increases Mind by 16.

Maim and Mend II
Level 40
Increases base action damage and HP restoration by 30%.

Aero Mastery
Level 46
Ticks of Damage or Healing from Aero, Aeroga, Regen, and Curaga II each have a 1% chance of replacing Aero with Aero II for 1 cast.

Stone Mastery
Level 54
Critical Hits and Critical Heals from Stone, Cure, and Cure II replace Stone with Stone II for 1 cast; additionally, Critical Hits and Critical Heals from Holy and Curaga have a 20% chance of replacing Stone with Stone II for 1 cast.

Water Mastery
Level 56
Casting Benediction replaces Water with Water II for 1 cast; additionally, casting Water, Tetragrammaton or Assize has a 30% chance of replacing Water with Water II for 1 cast.

Enhanced Mind III
Level 60
Increases Mind by 24.

Natural Aether
Level 68
Allows elemental Spells and Abilities to accumulate Earth Aether, Wind Aether, and Water Aether over time to a max of 100 each. Quake, Tornado, and Flood are accessed at 100 of their respective element's Aether and take precedence over Aero Mastery, Stone Mastery, and Water Mastery (But they do not consume those effects).

Raise Mastery
Level 71
Replaces Raise with Arise when the total combined Aether between Earth Aether, Wind Aether, and Water Aether meets or exceeds 200.

Holy Scourge
Level 80
Consuming Fervent Earth, Fervent Wind, or Fervent Water grants the Caster the effects of Quelled Earth, Quelled Wind, or Quelled Water respectively. Also grants the Caster the effect of Holy Scourge for 10 seconds when Quelled Earth, Quelled Wind, and Quelled Water are consumed.

The Talk:
Alright so I know that was a lot but bare with me.

Basically, lilies are replaced with the Nature Gauge. Every time you cast elemental spells, whether offensive ones or supportive abilities, you accumulate that element's Aether. When you hit 100 of an Aether, you get to cast a powerful elemental spell that leaves you with a buff that enhances one of that element's supportive tools. This way you're rewarded for DPSing, but not locked out of the benefits if you don't.

I changed DPS spells from basically being upgraded each time to powerful versions that are occasionally accessible. This means that a White Mage's standard DPS is lower (though the addition of Water helps); however, there are many opportunities for White Mages to get powerful bursts of high damage to offset this. The reason I did this is to give White Mage players the opportunity to feel powerful when these tools show up. Having to spam the dingy Stone spell offset by those powerful opportunities to cast Stone II and Quake will give players a rush of adrenaline and excitement. You can also double up on damage with Fluid Image should you choose to use it aggressively.

I went into what 5.0 abilities could look like as well making a minor assumption of when those abilities would be acquired. Those abilities are all extremely unique and powerful, but require the buffs left behind from Quake, Tornado, and Flood. Their long cooldowns will ensure you can't use them every time, though, and you'll want to make sure it counts when you do.

This took quite a while to think about and achieve, so I'm really curious to see what others think, or if I took things too far.

*Edit 1: Boosted Aether gain on supportive abilities*
*Edit 2: Lowered Tornado Potency slightly*
*Edit 3 in progress: Updates to Mastery Traits, Aquaveil, and Munificent Aether.*

[Sylvain]

Ok brb gonna grab some popcorn this is gonna take some time

You really need to rework your skill rank order it's all over the place.
Cure - Curega - Cure2 - Cureja - curega2

So, first I would like to say that as elegent and well thought some of this could be.

Devs (Y.P?) do not want to impose dps on healer. The entire rework is around "how to make WHM a dps that can also heal"

This way you're rewarded for DPSing, but not locked out of the benefits if you don't.

Really? I went through your text twice, to be sure.
If you don't dps, you virtually cannot get a single charge of Earth/Wind/Water Eather
Every single new triats, new skills, new everything revolves around the WHM being a dps.

Are we talking about the same job right now?

Heck I'm gonna count:

Dps skill : 12
Healing skills : 13
healing cooldown locked behind dps skill (earth/wind/water eather) 4, Arise, Field of Bliss, Saticturbulence, Fluid Image (I really like that one)
healing traits: 1 (free cure)
dps traits: 6

stuff i didn't take into account: Raise, CloudNine, Thin Air and Aquaveil (neither dps/healing skill really), all rank of enhanced Mind and Maim and Mend since they're just overall boost
dps traits :

Man, if a new WHM decides to pick this job and doesn't feel comfortable dpsing, you virtually locked half his toolkit and his most powerful healing cooldown behind a ressource you generate through DPS

This way you're rewarded for DPSing, but not locked out of the benefits if you don't.

I really fail to see how.

I'm not saying your ideas are bad, I actually find this, overall well thought and interesting but man, you cannot honestly think something remotely close from that could ever happen?
I mean, just remove all the healing spells and add a few cd there and there and this could be renamed "Geomancer" and become an entirely new dps. This rework would make the WHM have a more interesting dps rotation than half the dps....

There are currently 0 mechanic that rewards you with more healing if you do dps.
Before someone reply "SCH can use Bane/Mana Drain to get fairy healing", yup, but here you weren't rewarded with healing because you used a dps skill. You were rewarded with healing because you spent an Aetherflux. And that's entirely different.
Asyze doesn't reward you with healing if you dps because the healing is the same not matter how many target you hit.

Here, you are rewarded with healing if you dps, and nothing else can reliably grant you Aether except for dps skills. (Planetary Indulgence isn't a reliable source of Aether, it's at best 3x8 once a min. It's a source, but a bad one)
You cannot stack Earth Aether without spamming Stone
You cannot stack Wind Aether without using DoT spells
You cannot stack Water Aether without weaving Water (well there's aquaveil i guess)

In other words, you canno't have access to Field of Bliss, Staticturbulence, Fluid Image, AoE StoneSkin, Enhanced Asylum, AoE Aquaveil and Reduced Thin Air if you do not dps.

[ty_taurus]

Hello and good morning! Just want to say thank you for taking the time to look over this design and comment. I do really appreciate it.

So let's dig into your main concern of there being too much emphasis on DPS in this kit because I believe there is some misunderstanding in certain areas, and I want to figure out if it's an issue of how these abilities are described.

Fervent Earth, Fervent Wind, Fervent Water
As you described, casting your DPS tools of Stone, Aero, and Water reward you with the corresponding Aether that can be used to cast their ultimate forms of Quake, Tornado, and Flood. Casting those three spells results in the Fervent buffs that enhance or allow certain aspects of this kit. Beyond casting Stone, Aero, and Water, there are several other tools that reward you with Aether:

Stoneskin and Munificent Efflorescence each reward you with 10 Earth Aether each, and Stoneskin in particular has a short cooldown.
Cloud Nine and Thin Air reward you with 15 Wind Aether each.
Asylum and Aquaveil reward you with 20 Water Aether each.
Plenary Indulgence rewards you with 1 of each Aether per stack of confession consumed per character.

Looking at this now, I will probably bump these up by 5 points each, but they allow pure healer players to still access all the tools in their kit, and actually give them a wider window for casting Arise since they'll sit on more Aether over longer periods of time.

It's true that players would be required to cast Quake, Tornado, and Flood in order to use Field of Bliss, Static Turbulence, and Fluid Image; however, my reasoning is that a single cast of those abilities, which is not gated by a time limit, is something that low DPS healers wouldn't mind managing, especially since it wouldn't come up as quickly. Additionally, the current tools that are enhanced by the Fervent buffs are the same as they currently are, meaning they can still be used at their current efficiency. Do you still find this part unappealing? I'd love to hear your thoughts on that aspect.

If you don't mind taking a glance back at these abilities, can you share with me if you caught this information your first time around and just forgot, didn't catch it the first time but caught it the second time, or still don't see how that information is clear based on how I wrote it? I'll be glad to increase the visibility and wording of those effects if they aren't prominent enough.

Regarding Skill Order
The order of the spells for: Cure - Curaga - Cure II - Curaja - Curaga II are effectively the same as Cure - Medica - Cure II - Cure III - Medica II. The spells are all identical, but I wanted to rename them in traditional Final Fantasy format. Cure II is the only outlier, as it's acquired earlier than in the current build, but that's largely due to me needing to bump a spell down to level 18, and not wanting it to be Cloud Nine (Formerly known as Presence of Mind).

Lastly, I do want to mention that a part of my inspiration behind this build was the Conjurer Class Quests which focus on the NPC Sylphie. As a Conjurer, all she wants to do is heal, but the entire quest line is all about teaching her that relying only on the healing aspect of Conjury is dangerous, and that the harmony of Earth, Wind, and Water is vital to her training.

I don't want to force players to DPS heavily, but I want to encourage at least some occasional use of Earth, Wind, and Water spells in this kit in a way that isn't demanding. Not placing any kind of timer on effects like Fervent Earth, Fervent Wind, and Fervent Water, as well as Aether never declining means that players can build additional Aether and savor their Fervent buffs to use at their own pace.

Again, your thoughts on this concept would be most appreciated.

[Sylvain]

Hello and good morning! Just want to say thank you for taking the time to look over this design and comment. I do really appreciate it.

Oh yeah it's morning in the US! Good morning sir.
Here i'm dying under a scorching sun x_x

#castfloodonmeplz

Btw, this was a good read! I definitely see you putted a lot of thought into it. And this is actually great, but I just believe this is not adapted for WHM (or any healer).
And unfortunately for the dps lovers, Y.P doesn't seem to share everyone's excitement for healer dps.

I'm sure with some tweaking you could make that a new caster, the "Geomancer joins the fight!"

P.S for the spell name, perahaps go with "cure, cura, curega, cureja, medica, medicara, medicaga, medicaja"
For some reason the english translator dumped the -ra -ga -ja for 2 3 4
The german kept it, which is nice.
French has a... "european" mode, like "Fire, Extra Fire, Mega Fire, Giga Fire" (Giga fire sounds nice, but I'm hoping for a Omega Fire in 5.0) Except for AST (dunno why)

The best part is that there's a insanely long post of the jp forum where they ask to have their spell name rework to the ENG version because they think "-ra -ga -ja" is weird and unintuitive. (and here we want the opposite T_T)

[Rosa_Frandlia]

I know we all mainly talk in dungeons and trials comparing healers, but there is another place too that healer DPS is key. Instanced battles is where that is, for instance in the last 4 Lords quest. The worst though for me was the Dark Warriors, where I needed the echo going to deal enough damage so that I could keep them from coming back and prolonging the battle so long my MP pool was gone.

[Leidiriv]

I really like this, honestly. Healers, for the most part, feel like their kit is divorced from itself, with their DPS skills in one little space and their heals in another, with no interaction between these two major pieces of the kit, and that's sad because it could be so much more imo.

Your concept does just what I wanted for without even knowing I wanted it. It marries damage and healing together, creating an exciting balancing act leading to massive power surges that seem immensely satisfying, thanks to the pseudo-combo of Q/F/T > cooldown > Escha. My only concern is about Fluid Image, since it seems like an absolutely massive thoroughput buff that would get focused above all else, with little thought to its usage. Also, the order of the skills is very well done, in my opinion, as the various stages of the class's mechanics are steadily introduced, allowing tenprospective player to become accustomed to each portion of the proposed WHM before upping the ante.

(Also, if you're looking for alternate names for the Cure spells without using the II prefix, might I recommend Cure > Cura > Curaga > Curaja > Curada for the setup you have so far, with Cura replacing Medica and Curada replacing Medica II?)

[Arkfrost]

Regarding Skill Order
The order of the spells for: Cure - Curaga - Cure II - Curaja - Curaga II are effectively the same as Cure - Medica - Cure II - Cure III - Medica II. The spells are all identical, but I wanted to rename them in traditional Final Fantasy format.

This is absolutely all over the place and definitely not according to the traditional FF naming format. This is the official naming (English numbered, English suffixed, German):
Cure 1 = Cure = Vita
Cure 2 = Cura = Vitra
Cure 3 = Curaga = Vitaga
Cure 4 = Curaja = Vitaka
Medica 1 = Medica = Reseda
Medica 2 = Medicara = Resedra

You see the problem? Curaga 2 is like saying Curagara in the official naming format. -ra = 2, -ga = 3 and -ja = 4.

[Sylvain]

This is absolutely all over the place and definitely not according to the traditional FF naming format. This is the official naming (English numbered, English suffixed, German):
Cure 1 = Cure = Vita
Cure 2 = Cura = Vitra
Cure 3 = Curaga = Vitaga
Cure 4 = Curaja = Vitaka
Medica 1 = Medica = Reseda
Medica 2 = Medicara = Resedra

You see the problem? Curaga 2 is like saying Curagara in the official naming format. -ra = 2, -ga = 3 and -ja = 4.

In french the naming goes as follow, "extra = 2, mega = 3, giga = 4"
I'm expecting Omega for 5

[Raminax]

Overall, I kind of like the suggestions here, even if I personally find a rework a bit overkill. Personally I'd like to see Squeenix shift the White Mage identity from 'pure healer' to 'raw' or 'brute-force healer'. In other words, it's fine if White Mage is simple, but they'd be breaking enemies' spines across their knee with their DPS and grant practical immortality in the form of their heals. That said, I find this concept enjoyable and certainly wouldn't mind trying it. It benefits active healers that utilize their entire toolkit to allow them to use their cool stuff more often. It's one of the things that generally attract my interest; Clerics and Chanters in AION had great buffing and debuffing capability tied to their offensive skills. Similarly, Spellslingers in WildStar pretty much had the same shtick. Discipline Priests had the whole Atonement and Archangel toolkit to encourage DPS in exchange for additional healing later on, among other examples.

If I'd have to give some sort of criticism to the ideas here, it's that I personally dislike random procs, and I dislike them even more as a healer. Most of the Elemental Mastery traits would make me blow a fuse, to be frank. Not to mention, the procs don't feel particularly exciting either, only giving you a potency increase and higher elemental aether generation. That said, it's really just opinion, so I can't really fault you for it.

I also feel that elemental aether generation is a bit unbalanced. Water in particular would feel pretty slow if I base my fantasies on the current damage and healing rhythm of FFXIV encounters (and if it keeps up). It feels like I'd have to use niche skills like Aquaveil on cooldown purely just to keep up with the other two elements at a reasonable pace. Which kinda makes me feel half terrible, using abilities for their secondary benefits rather than primary. Although one could argue that building elemental aether is just as important as the usual shebang of dealing damage, healing and supporting.

Another thing are the Fervent element effects. They feel unbalanced as well. As an example, I'd feel like a moron wasting my Fervent Water on Aquaveil, compared to using a Fluid Image or doubling the duration on Asylum. Similarly, using Fervent Earth on Munificent Efflorescence would feel kinda wasteful, because you'll probably never need that long of a duration on its effect to handle upcoming spikes that an AoE Stoneskin or Field of Bliss can't handle. Fervent Wind feels overall alright, can't find anything that particularly bugs me there.

Overall, feels solid. Have a Crimson Cider, on the house.

[ty_taurus]

snip

I agree with some of the things you said and want to address those concerns. I'm thinking of a way to streamline the Mastery Traits in a way that feels satisfying as well as buffs/redesigns for Aquaveil and Munificent Efflorescence. It's taking me some time to come up with some solid solutions to all those, but I will update my post when it all comes together.

Stay tuned.