Originally Posted by
AnotherPerson
Curative magic in FFXIV doesn't prevent fatal wounds. IIRC, It's more like very good first aid by helping the body jumpstart its own healing process and expediting it. Magic will not work on targets whose lifeforce is depleted and cannot be replenished, or is suffering from a disease that will not heal naturally (terminal). For that reason, raise doesn't actually bring someone back to life, it brings someone back from unconsciousness. Weakness and Brink of Death are both states where their life force reached the absolute minimum required to stay alive. Recoverable, but just barely, and leaves the body in a state of weakness.
That being said, Benediction is still a pretty good skill to bring over, pretty much a fix-all wound recovery skill, even if it can't remove ailments. I'd consider Esuna or Exuviation as well, but there's only so many limited status ailments you can remove (some poison debuffs aren't removeable either, so Esuna and Exuviation can't do much against fatal ailments), so I expect it has a similar effect to current medicine other than the convenience of not needing multiple types of specific antidotes and antibiotics on the spur of the moment.
Hm. But if we had the Lost Restorative Magicks of Ronka on the other hand, that might be a different story. It might not be able to bring back the dead, but it seems to be exempt from the 'unable to heal targets whose lifeforce is depleted' rule and can remove diseases that will not heal naturally. Sounds like a boon to me.