Miasma II: My thoughts

Just wanted to share my thoughts on Miasma II, not sure if a thread like this has been made or not but wanted to share from my point of view.

So Miasma II, back when it was a thing before it got cancelled I didn't use it. I saw absolutely no point in having a close ranged DoT when I need to keep distance, never went on my hot bar. Then they got rid of it and I thought "Good riddance".

Now it came back as an extra DoT for us and I reluctantly experiment with it. Big thing that throws me off: ITS VERY EXPENSIVE.
However, I really tried to think about how it could actually be useful, what situations would I be in that actually have me within range?

Big thing that came to mind are dungeons and mobs. I don't keep that much of a distance very often, and it does help kill things faster. The more I used it the better it kinda started to feel although it is very expensive to use it so often, if you do want to be very careful with your MP management. Often at the very end of mobs when I felt like I overused it my MP was almost gone.

Then I figured other good ways: Boss fights where there are stack mechanics that have you near the boss, or other times when you need to be near the boss. Those seemed like excellent times to throw it out and it did work out pretty well. I found myself using it less in boss fights but thats besides the point.

All in all, the move is not terrible but ideally would be nice if it was a ranged spell. I wish it wasn't so expensive but I guess we do need to pay some price for extra healer dps. Figuring out ways to make the move optimal was kinda fun.

I'm curious what are everyone's thoughts on the move?

These boss fights you're using it on, they aren't Single Target, right? It'll be a DPS loss on ST unless you use it and weave it with an Energy Drain on the move. I personally don't mind it being melee range, it gets the same treatment as Holy without actually having diminishing returns on multiple targets. Plus I find that if I'm not in melee range, I'll still be close enough anyway as I stay centered around the party for AoE heals and such.

The MP cost is decent considering how potent it is, and that it's beneficial on 2 targets plus. It's still less than Gravity/Holy and it's essentially the same potency with the DoT, you just can't spam it.

Overall I'm really happy with this addition. I honestly did not expect them to give Miasma II such a buff.

Pretty much most of the Boss fights were single target and I'd always use it during the stack or when I'm up close, but it did feel better to use an energy drain after not just for the extra dps but there's that MP I get back.

Blizzard II wasn't ranged it was the go to AoE for healers for a good chunk of dungeons. Also, Holy requires WHMs to run within range of mobs... And both Holy and Gravity cost more than Miasma II.

I think Miasma II is fine the way it is now. Maybe increase the area to 8y like Holy? But other than that it needs nothing changed.

Thats your Aoe spell for junk clear.... i mean its your Holy/Gravity, you dont see a WHM using holy on a boss, neither an AST using gravity on a boss, so there's no reason for you to use it on a boss since it is a DPS lose (tho, becuase if it being a dot and insta, its better than Ruin 2 for movement), its your Go-to aoe spell just like the one the other healers have.

There's something you're missing about Miasma II. It's an amazing move, even on single-target bosses. The thing is that 4.0 basically made all healers clipping hell, and SCH in particular. We lost an instant-cast spell as part of our rotation (Aero), while on the other hand we and we got more OGCDs to weave (Chain Stratagem, and a now-OGCD Shadow Flare). So, outside of the once every 30s you have to reapply Bio II, having to use even one OGCD meant you had two options, and both felt bad. Either bite the bullet, use Broil II and clip, or change a 230-potency Broil II for a 100-potency Ruin II to weave without clipping. Like I said, both felt pretty bad. Using Broil II was a gain for a single OGCD, while if you had to weave two, Ruin II or double-clipped Broil II were about even, depending on your latency.

BUT NOW, we have another option! Another instant cast, which if you allow to tick fully, is 200 potency on a single target. That's twice the damage of Ruin II, and not that far off from a Broil II, just 30 potency. Any time you have to weave something and Bio II doesn't have to be reapplied, Miasma II is your best bet as it is better than either Ruin II or clipping Broil II. It's a DPS loss to keep it up throughout the fight as you would with other DoTs, but SCH DPS went way up ever since Miasma II was put back in the game. No more clipping. Have to Rouse? Miasma II. Got one stack with 5s left on Aetherflow? Miasma II, Energy Drain + Aetherflow, no clipping. It's beautiful.

My only problem with it, it should be flashier like gravity and holy. Miasma 2 is visually underwhelming for its power and purpose now.

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Originally Posted by Volene

The thing is that 4.0 basically made all healers clipping hell, and SCH in particular. We lost an instant-cast spell as part of our rotation (Aero), while on the other hand we and we got more OGCDs to weave (Chain Stratagem, and a now-OGCD Shadow Flare). So, outside of the once every 30s you have to reapply Bio II, having to use even one OGCD meant you had two options, and both felt bad. Either bite the bullet, use Broil II and clip, or change a 230-potency Broil II for a 100-potency Ruin II to weave without clipping. Like I said, both felt pretty bad. Using Broil II was a gain for a single OGCD, while if you had to weave two, Ruin II or double-clipped Broil II were about even, depending on your latency.

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There's actually another option that most healers don't really think about (mainly because we had so many DoTs and cleric stance dancing before), but Cure/Physick/Benefic all have 2 second cast times and 2.5 second recast times.

If you're tight on mana (or think you might be soon) and don't want to Miasma II, chaining an oGCD IMMEDIATELY after Cure/Physick/Benefic basically causes either no clipping or so little it's negligible. Just know that it won't work with targeted oGCDs (Asylum, Shadow Flare) because of inherent additional lag in setting them up, and that you can't double weave oGCDs this way.

If you do it right, weaving necessary physicks while doing DPS, throwing your oGCDs in that half second afterwards, and doing a Broil II instead of Miasma II is a 30 potency gain, a small optimization that adds up over time.

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Originally Posted by Volene

and not that far off from a Broil II, just 30 potency. Any time you have to weave something and Bio II doesn't have to be reapplied, Miasma II is your best bet as it is better than either Ruin II or clipping Broil II.

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But with a heck of a lot more in mana expenditure.

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Originally Posted by Deceptus

But with a heck of a lot more in mana expenditure.

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Well, yeah, but at the same time we got a reduction in Aetherflow's cooldown to 45s. Our MP problems were exaggerated, but now they're really a thing of the past unless you're spamming Adlo/Succor (which you were never meant to, even before 4.0) or having to raise a lot, which voids your warranty as a healer. Miasma II is expensive but not to the point where it's not sustainable, especially since you're using it only once in a while and not keeping it up like your other DoTs.