What are things you ENJOY about Healers right now?

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Originally Posted by Icecylee

The current PvP iterations of the healers are all pretty cool and distinct on both a aesthetic/thematic *and* mechanical level.

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I would say that they really are distinct , and for myself that variety makes the healer roles in PVP much more interesting as a result, so kudos to the PVP designers for that. Mechanically they are a good base and could still use some improvements, in comparison to the other jobs in PVP I'd say that a couple of skills could be added for healers.

AST's spells are pretty I guess.

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Originally Posted by Icecylee

The current PvP iterations of the healers are all pretty cool and distinct on both a aesthetic/thematic *and* mechanical level.

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Agreed, I just wish there was an actual Healer. I think AST is the only one that feels like a Healer. It's the only one that doesn't oddly think it needs to be a Melee and the only one that has consistent access to heals if you use your Doublecasts exclusively on Essential Dignity. All the "Healers" in PvP seem like DPSers. WHM radiates healing/mitigation while DPSing, SGE is entirely DPS focused, SGE only does healing when using its LB (Adlo is okay, but it's actually a buffing ability and has a really weak heal). AST is the only one that actually seems to be a Healer, having 4 ready access heals (via Doublecast), Macrocosmos (which is also kind of a damage spell but doesn't require melee), and it does this WHILE having party buffs.

AST and WHM I can consistently top the healing charts at least somewhat reliably. SCH and SGE almost always lose unless there aren't any Tanks. DRK, in particular, does stupid amounts of healing. But DRK is kinda broken...

None of them besides AST really feel like Healers, they feel like RDMs.

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In the spirit of this thread:

I like AST in PvP. The buffs are clean and straightforward to use (no hypertargeting burst phase like PvE), it feels like I always have a heal to use when I want to try spot healing a party member (the others do not feel this way in Frontlines across an 8 member party), and it has a good mix of party buffs/enemy debuffs and slate of heals. AST, my least favorite Healer in both PvE and Aesthetics, is the most (and somewhat only) Healer in PvP, but it's fun to play in PvP and actually feels like a Healer and support buffer. (It would be nice if at least one of the others was like that, but whatever.)

AST feels like you can actually help keep party members alive well, but requires focus to do so, and its buffing, conversely, is straightforward with different effects that feel useful, its LB feels like twisting fate for control of the battle because of the way it affects both friends and enemies, Macrocosmos is the only AOE heal for your party with a good range that you can use whenever you like (Cure 3 is the only other non-LB AOE heal, and requires using Seraph Strike and going stupidly into Melee range), and even its strong DPS attack (Gravity) can be used for party support either slowing or rooting enemies for your party members to pounce.

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Originally Posted by Sebazy

For me, the first time in new battle content is still pretty good fun.

Doing random stuff in PF with a couple of friends is also enjoyable if/when things go south. Even 24 mans get exciting on the occasion that Jin ends up tanking on Sam ;)

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This, day 1 content is where the healer gameplay shines brightest as it stands. Or rather, content that you don't have on farm, yet clearing is a real possibility, and the people playing aren't angry that the content isn't on farm yet.

I like that our damage contribution, as a percentage of an equally geared DPS, is a high enough percentage (over 50%) that people have at least a slight pause to consider whether to just drop a healer and bring an extra DPS instead. Other MMO ended up with 1tank 4DPS runs of +22 Mythic+ keys because the Prot Paladin had so much healing it could give to other people the healer was not needed, and the damage the healer contributes is so low (even as a damage-heal healer like Holy Pala, Disc Priest, MW Monk) that they're like 20% of the DPS's output, so bringing an extra DPS instead is multiplying that party slot's damage output by 5, whereas here it's multiplying it by 2, maybe slightly less than 2. In Shadowlands Holy Paladin was dominating the meta because it got a 4min CD called Ashen Hallow which did insane DPS and HPS to the point where paths in M+ were plotted around it. 'Pull big here, you have Hallow up for it' kind of decisions. People weren't angry that Holy Paladin was doing massive damage (and it shouldn't because it's a healer), they were angry because it did massive damage and the other healers couldn't compete. If every healer had a move as impactful as Ashen Hallow was they'd all have been over the moon. Convoke was pretty cool looking at least and sometimes gave you a free Starfall if you used it in Boomkin form, that was nice for AOE damage

Now the question is, can we have our damage contribution come from more sources in our kit than just the one main button

Fast queues and rescue!

Kind of sad eh... ^^

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Originally Posted by Renathras

Agreed, I just wish there was an actual Healer. I think AST is the only one that feels like a Healer. It's the only one that doesn't oddly think it needs to be a Melee and the only one that has consistent access to heals if you use your Doublecasts exclusively on Essential Dignity. All the "Healers" in PvP seem like DPSers. WHM radiates healing/mitigation while DPSing, SGE is entirely DPS focused, SGE only does healing when using its LB (Adlo is okay, but it's actually a buffing ability and has a really weak heal). AST is the only one that actually seems to be a Healer, having 4 ready access heals (via Doublecast), Macrocosmos (which is also kind of a damage spell but doesn't require melee), and it does this WHILE having party buffs.

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They all are actual healers with good healing throughput (other than SGE in terms of healing throughput because most of the required healing is done through Pneuma and LB). Rather than saying you're looking for "an actual healer that can handle damage", you're looking more for "a pure healer that doesn't need to interact with the enemies to handle damage" because that's what all the PvE healers oGCD toolkits resembles.

WHM applies DPS through Seraph and miracle with Cure III and debuff removal through aquaveil - offensive support healer with some single target utility and high damage burst potential with crowd control. It's a straightforward all-in-one healer with some ability in all aspects. It's the most balanced of the 4 healers in terms of what they want to focus on their skillset, but requires to engage on the enemy to fully make use of their advantages.

SCH applies debuffs through DoTs and buffs allies with shields, both being a spread mechanic. Their LB and party speed buff also align to this gameplay style - defensive support healer with strong group wide battlefield support utility with low burst dps potential and 0 Crowd control. This job has a high flexibility to deal with weak, medium, and strong burst damage, especially with their LB acting as a group-wide crowd control cleanse. SCH's role is mitigation, a very good example of what a shield healer looks like, but the toolkit also depends on the SCH to interact with the enemy through DoT spread debuffs to best reduce the pressure towards your allies to best utilize their toolkit before you have LB up.

SGE applies debuffs through DPS skills and have offensive attacks. They have the weakest on-demand healing as it is tied to both their eukrasian DoT and their haima shields, but they have the strongest weak/medium sustained pressure and the strongest burst defensive pressure and situational control through their LB, except it has a high cd for its cost. High burst and DPS potential, low healing potential, decent sustainability through Pneuma shields and situational strength through Metoses. SGE is the offensive healer where the saying "you don't need as much healing if the enemy is dead" is aptly applied, but you have to constantly engage on the enemies to best utilize your healing or you would run out of healing power.

AST applies buffs through their cards and debuffs through their LB. They have decent crowd control with their Gravity + Doublecast, but have the manage their timing the most through it. Macrocosmos gives them a good burst potential and healing, giving them the most straightforward healing out of the 3 healers in prepping its activation. - This job does very well against medium burst damage, and their LB allows them to be able to tank high burst damage as well with strong battlefield situational control when timed correctly. AST is the best representation of "a pure healer" with decent mitigation abilities and support utility in this regard because it doesn't need to interact with the opponents as often to do fairly well on just healing numbers-wise, giving it a lot more ease of control to heal like the traditional PvE healers.

In that regard, I do like PvP healers, but as for PvE healers... there's not a lot for me to like since it's so dependent on actually having damage to heal when a lot of the content doesn't have that damage unless someone messes up. Maybe... I like the instant queue and aesthetics?

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Originally Posted by AnotherPerson

They all are actual healers with good healing throughput (other than SGE in terms of healing throughput because most of the required healing is done through Pneuma and LB).

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PVP Sage reminds me a lot of Kannagi from Log Horizon. Log Horizon isn't a real MMO, but an anime about an MMO (but is actually written by someone who likes and plays MMOs and not someone who things video games are a waste of time *cough* SAO *cough*). In the show, the Kannagi is a healer, but very heavily leans into damage prevention, so much so that their healing throughput is almost non-existent from what the show explains to the viewer (and from what you can find on the wiki). Their 24 hour cooldown is something that seemingly makes the entire party invincible for a set duration. Kannagi is also the most offensive healer in that anime as well.

What I like about healers is the same gimmick that makes XIV combat still interesting to me, and that's weaving.
Healers have plenty of heals to weave, but unfortunately, their use is conditional on the party needing them or not. That's when AST comes in. The only one that has an alternative from this restriction, and it's certainly my favorite healer.

I like making lists, so I'll divide what I like about each one:

WHM

• Not letting the lilies over-cap is a nice distraction from all the glare spam;
• Effectively using the blood lily during a burst window is satisfying;

SCH

• A "Spreadlo" and Expedience are fun when pulled off at the right time;

SGE

• Having so many oGCDs heals to choose from is a plus for me;
• I like swapping Kardia around when someone steps on bad. Those are one of the few times I see Soteria shine;
• Icarus is fun;

AST

• Playing cards is by far the best distraction that any healer has from the dreadful one-button spam;
• Hoarding all our cards for the 2min burst is not very fun, but perfectly pulling it off can be satisfying;
• A perfectly timed Earthly Star heal feels great;
• Macrocosmos swiftly filling up health bars is satisfying.

General

• Pulling off a clutch healer LB3 can be such an adrenaline rush;
• Really fast/instant queues;
• I like that on PVP, healers are pretty distinct from one another. I wish some of that could bleed more into PVE.

I tend to think so negatively about healer design that sometimes it's easy to forget the nicer things. Thanks for helping me remember, Ren. :)

I would add to AnotherPerson that

"AST applies buffs through their cards and debuffs through their LB. They have decent crowd control with their Gravity + Doublecast, but have the manage their timing the most through it. Macrocosmos gives them a good burst potential and healing, giving them the most straightforward healing out of the 3 healers in prepping its activation. - This job does very well against medium burst damage, and their LB allows them to be able to tank high burst damage as well with strong battlefield situational control when timed correctly. AST is the best representation of "a pure healer" with decent mitigation abilities and support utility in this regard because it doesn't need to interact with the opponents as often to do fairly well on just healing numbers-wise, giving it a lot more ease of control to heal like the traditional PvE healers."

AST LB not only applies a debuff but increases damage, as you say it requires situational awareness- partially due to applying it at the best time( objectives, party) also due to its animation lock and how easy to easy to be locked down during that time.

However the CC ability can be very valuable. I would prioritize that far more that spot healing anyone, I can probably count spot heals on one hand, whereas a well timed Gravity and Macrocosmos can help turn a zerg. It's quite possible for an AST to be able to have both significant heals, assists and a decent number of kills if the party is able to stay together.

One thing that I haven't seen anyone remark upon is how well the healers can interact together in PVP - if a party has (for example) an AST, a SCH their skills can potentially synergize very well.