Just a random thought on WHM Asylum

[Ghishlain]

Well, you see it as cumbersome. I see it as interesting. Using CU or Whispering Dawn is less satisfying for me, because it's just a click-and-done thing. Since I already enjoy optimizing fights to minimize necessary movement for casters and maintain maximum positional uptime for melee DPS, and since that optimization generally revolves around scaling down positioning to utilize boss midpoints and the properties of shapes, Asylum is fun for me to tie into my strategies.

A ground-based regen field is already unique. The issue is more about how it compares to CU and WD, as has been discussed here. While some are suggesting that Asylum be buffed somehow to make it easier to use, if it has to be changed, I'd rather keep its unique method of use and instead either buff its potency or nerf CU and WD. Buffing it's potency would make it broken overpowered, in my opinion, since it's already very strong, when you actually get the full potency out of it. I'd prefer looking at how to change WD and/or CU to make them less of a braindead skill to use, with awesome power o boot.

Personally, I'd say WD is fine as is. SCH has no other regen, and so it serves its purpose well. AST, on the other hand, got way too much of a good thing with the instant buff application changes. I'd rather see that changed instead, by perhaps reducing the actual regen duration to 8s or so, but letting it reset every tick, as before. This way, ASTs can drive-by CU if they want, but it doesn't last as long. If they want a longer regen effect, they'd need to spend a couple GCDs with the shield up. This would hurt their DPS, but it's a tradeoff for substantial healing at no MP cost. Alternatively, they always have the option of extending it as before (which was already incredibly potent, since it extended it to 23s). This would extend it to 18s, which would be plenty. If they skipped out on 1 GCD, they could get an extra 3s out of it, for a maximum total of 21s, which is similar to WD and Asylum.

I can respect the thought of Asylum being interesting and needs to be worked around. With that being said, I feel reward-effort ratio is absolutely terrible.

Collective Unconscious - everyone stays around the AST for one second and gets 750 potency worth of healing. They can run any direction they want
Asylum - coordinated team movement for 24 seconds to deal with mechanics without making Asylum impossible to reach for access to 800 potency worth of healing.

So, 1 second of coordination for 750 potency worth of healing or 24 seconds of coordination for 800 potency worth of healing.

If we're going to go with the logic that Asylum is okay, then CU would need the nerf. A reduction to 9s would make it a 450 potency heal. I'd say that's a fair trade for the ease at which CU can be used compared to Asylum's current iteration.

I'm more inclined to give Asylum a potency buff though if we're not going to give it a HoT component that'll stick onto any player that leaves the Asylum. This way you can retain Asylum's uniqueness while rewarding teams that can take full advantage of the small circle of movement that Asylum gives you. Buffing Ayslum's potency from 100 to 200 would net 1,600 potency worth of healing if your party can stay within the circle the entire time while dealing with mechanics.

So, 1 second of coordination for 750 potency worth of healing or 24 seconds of coordination for 1,600 potency worth of healing.

This post is more about some food for thought to consider than an actual suggestion to change Asylum. Reward-effort ratio should be consideration in this discussion.

[NocturniaUzuki]

I can respect the thought of Asylum being interesting and needs to be worked around. With that being said, I feel reward-effort ratio is absolutely terrible.

Collective Unconscious - everyone stays around the AST for one second and gets 750 potency worth of healing. They can run any direction they want
Asylum - coordinated team movement for 24 seconds to deal with mechanics without making Asylum impossible to reach for access to 800 potency worth of healing.

So, 1 second of coordination for 750 potency worth of healing or 24 seconds of coordination for 800 potency worth of healing.

If we're going to go with the logic that Asylum is okay, then CU would need the nerf. A reduction to 9s would make it a 450 potency heal. I'd say that's a fair trade for the ease at which CU can be used compared to Asylum's current iteration.

I'm more inclined to give Asylum a potency buff though if we're not going to give it a HoT component that'll stick onto any player that leaves the Asylum. This way you can retain Asylum's uniqueness while rewarding teams that can take full advantage of the small circle of movement that Asylum gives you. Buffing Ayslum's potency from 100 to 200 would net 1,600 potency worth of healing if your party can stay within the circle the entire time while dealing with mechanics.

So, 1 second of coordination for 750 potency worth of healing or 24 seconds of coordination for 1,600 potency worth of healing.

This post is more about some food for thought to consider than an actual suggestion to change Asylum. Reward-effort ratio should be consideration in this discussion.

I can appreciate the effort to reward ratio being unfair between them, though that's kind of what makes it so awesome to use. It's hard to use, so that makes you feel better when you figure out nifty ways to use it.

Buffing the potency would be fair, I think, but I'm not sure about doubling it! 1600 potency? That's insane. With that much potency, I could basically ignore major mechanics and raid-wides just by having Asylum down. I think 150 might work though. That puts it more in line with others.

[MoroMurasaki]

I can appreciate the effort to reward ratio being unfair between them, though that's kind of what makes it so awesome to use. It's hard to use, so that makes you feel better when you figure out nifty ways to use it.

Buffing the potency would be fair, I think, but I'm not sure about doubling it! 1600 potency? That's insane. With that much potency, I could basically ignore major mechanics and raid-wides just by having Asylum down. I think 150 might work though. That puts it more in line with others.

I mean if WHM is supposed to be "the big green numbers healer" I don't see why it's bubble ability shouldn't produce significantly higher HPS than the alternatives. It would also address the WHM weakness of needing to rely on GCDs for almost all their raidwide healing, though admittedly still limiting in a similar fashion to Cure III for the range which sucks for Alphascape.

[Exiled_Tonberry]

1600 potency? That's insane. With that much potency, I could basically ignore major mechanics and raid-wides just by having Asylum down.

To be fair, this is what CU is capable of now. Just scoffing at raid wide damage. And even at 1600 potency, no one is going to stand in Asylum for 24 seconds, so it's more like half of that potency.

I said it before, but WHM really doesn't have anything absurdly strong like AST and SCH has, I don't think super charging Asylum would be too bad. If anything it'll be a step in the right direction if they want to stick with WHM being the "pure" healer, because right now the only thing that suggests WHM is more powerful is Cure III, and we don't need to get into how flawed that idea is.

[NobleWinter]

Now that we are supposed to be losing TP as a resource in the 5.0 Expansion I don't think it's impossible for Asylum to gain an MP recovery component. It would turn the lack luster skill into a way to churn out more DPS in large mobs in dungeons and be universally useful for every character as well. The limited space would definitely be a lot more impactful if it both healed and gave a small refresh as well.