Healer/Caster --> Melee/TP Class

I know the title could be kind of confusing, allow me to try to explain without getting too wordy. (Totes gonna fail)

I have mained a healer throughout my FFXIV career, generally WHM but I've spent a fair amount if time on AST lately and I mained SCH in HW. I feel like other than the WHM/Diurnal AST overlap these are all fairly different playstyles overall.

I still have an incredibly hard time switching to a non-healer!

My first real attempt at this (and the only class I've played above 60 that isn't a healer) is BRD. I recieved some amazing BRD advice from HyoMinPark when I started playing it and did a fair amount of research on my own... it did not translate into skill. I know a portion of this is something that comes with time and reflex memory but I feel like I was never so ineffective on a healer as I am on BRD.

I feel a similar sense of dread while tanking (my PLD is only 30 or so) though it is less overwhelming since I can (for the most part) hold aggro which I see as the most important part of tanking. On BRD I feel responsible for living up to BRD DPS and I just can't manage it.

I just feel like I have more time to think on a healer. My GCDs are essentially the same length (I use a fair bit of SpS on my WHM so it could be faster) but when I'm playing something TP based I always feel very rushed.

I don't know. I am at my wits end. Does anyone else coming from a healer/caster role feel this change like I do? Do people moving in the oposite direction observe the opposite? What could I do to combat this?

At this point I'm wondering if I just have to roll BLM to DPS efectively, or SMN. I would like to break out of this if I can, any help beyond "just keep doing it till it works" would be much appreciated. I know everything will take some practice.

I mained WHM [read: raided on WHM] up until 4.0, with BRD being the first DPS I picked up. I can't say I feel rushed, but if I was just starting on FFXIV with gauges and songs and DoTs to keep up on BRD, I'd have more trouble with it than I had in 2.0 and getting to where I am right now in terms of skill with that class.

The best advice I can offer you? Just practice. You can't really get better without playing a class you're weak at, or practicing mechanics you have trouble with unless you invest time into mastering it. Unless you're doing things that have tight DPS checks, take the time and just learn what you need to learn while playing the game.

Other than that, what about it makes you feel rushed?

I'm genuinely unsure why I feel so rushed, I just do? I know that isn't helpful and I appreciate the response.

I suppose it could be the management of songs/debuffs/procs on BRD in particular. I haven't tried anything else but since I have SMN leveled because of SCH I am going to try that and see if it feels different at all.

I guess I'm also open to suggestions of DPS that aren't BRD which might feel a bit less swamped in micromanagement. It's odd, I'm a compulsive fairy manager on SCH which people say is too complicated for them all the time and yet BRD just overwhelms me.

I suppose I need to park at a training dummy for a while no matter what I wind up doing -_-;

Maybe it's the nature of instant cast moves that makes you feel rushed? You feel like you're on a timer to use your next GCD whereas on healer you're waiting to see what you will need to do next. This is something that will fix naturally as you transition to a DPS. Going from healer to DPS you probably wanna start with the casters. Black mage has a lot of casting so..you should go ahead and try that. xD

One thing I'll say about BRD is that you can probably study up on it and perform well, but it takes a lot of finesse to master. It may seem like a simple enough class, but it has a lot to consider. I believe the saying is, easy to learn hard to master? Don't feel discouraged though, learning takes time and you can only get better.

I wouldn't reccomend BLM if you have trouble tanking, I've tried BLM and SMN and found them both extremely difficult to maintain good dps, meanwhile tanks are far easier for me. Having fun with Dragoon so far, so hoping melee classes will prove to be less of a pain.

I used to main Healer from 2.1 up until 3.2 and I refused to play anything else. My first real attempt at a dps was blm I started out awful it was really hard to keep up the rotation and I would drop Eno all the time. My blm friend at the time who was very skilled brung me to a dummy and had me sit there learning the rotation. After grasping the rotation we went to do a 24man and I was still dropping it after a few days I got mostly used to it.

Its mainly due to healers not having a set rotation so learning a rotation felt weird. After learning Blm other classes were easier to pickup like Bard, Monk ect.

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Originally Posted by Coatl

Maybe it's the nature of instant cast moves that makes you feel rushed? You feel like you're on a timer to use your next GCD whereas on healer you're waiting to see what you will need to do next. This is something that will fix naturally as you transition to a DPS. Going from healer to DPS you probably wanna start with the casters. Black mage has a lot of casting so..you should go ahead and try that. xD

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At least my BLM is almost 30 xD

I've wondered if it has anything to do with instant cast moves but I just don't understand how that works. A 2.5 second GCD is still 2.5 seconds whether you're casting during it or not.

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Originally Posted by Coatl

One thing I'll say about BRD is that you can probably study up on it and perform well, but it takes a lot of finesse to master. It may seem like a simple enough class, but it has a lot to consider. I believe the saying is, easy to learn hard to master? Don't feel discouraged though, learning takes time and you can only get better.

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I appreciate the kind words. They're the opposite of what is going on in my head right about now.

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Originally Posted by Sylvina

I wouldn't reccomend BLM if you have trouble tanking, I've tried BLM and SMN and found them both extremely difficult to maintain good dps, meanwhile tanks are far easier for me. Having fun with Dragoon so far, so hoping melee classes will prove to be less of a pain.

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I assumed melee would only make me feel this even worse, kinda like how I feel on PLD. Honestly DRG has always interested me but I've never played it because I assumed it would make me feel similarly anxious.

I'm curious what you mean by linking BLM and trouble tanking? I just don't understand what they have to do with each other. I hope I never end up tanking on BLM, if I do something has gone horribly wrong xD

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Originally Posted by Jxnibbles

I used to main Healer from 2.1 up until 3.2 and I refused to play anything else. My first real attempt at a dps was blm I started out awful it was really hard to keep up the rotation and I would drop Eno all the time. My blm friend at the time who was very skilled brung me to a dummy and had me sit there learning the rotation. After grasping the rotation we went to do a 24man and I was still dropping it after a few days I got mostly used to it.

Its mainly due to healers not having a set rotation so learning a rotation felt weird. After learning Blm other classes were easier to pickup like Bard, Monk ect.

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Maybe I have to give BLM a shot. It seems like it was a lot of peoples "gateway drug" to other DPS.