What's Scholar like?

Hi! So recently I've been going around hoping from job to job, trying to find the missing piece. I liked healing, so I started on AST, but it feels lacking. I find WHM weird, and I do not want to try it. So I wanted to know more about the Job, and what sets it apart from others. As well as it's uses in raid's and the like.

I hear that Noct. AST is better, but Ive also heard that the healer meta is SCH/AST. So I don't really want to understand what's the deal with that.

Also, I'd like to know how SCH plays in game.

I got to be honest, I have never even unlocked arcanist, Im actually about to start leveling it now. Thank you in advance answering.

The short version is that the Sch can do better personal dps than the Noct Astro, it has free heals in the form of numerous ogcds and the fairy, the shields are only slightly weaker and Sch carries a reliable form of raid dps in the form of chain stratagem.

Personally I'm not enjoying it. I'm only at level 66 so far but healing dungeons seems like a huge struggle ever since around level 55. At 60 I got all the 260 gear and even level 60 dungeons it felt horrible. I'm comparing it to both AST and WHM which I already got up to 70. Both of those classes felt fine in dungeons. With SCH I'm non-stop spamming heals just to keep the tank stable. If I stop to do anything and get behind then I'm screwed. I HATE the whole Afterflow system.

Once I get it to 70 I'll never heal with it again. Not in it's current state anyways.

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Originally Posted by Maltothoris

The short version is that the Sch can do better personal dps than the Noct Astro, it has free heals in the form of numerous ogcds and the fairy, the shields are only slightly weaker and Sch carries a reliable form of raid dps in the form of chain stratagem.

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Can you offer more information? I'd like to have a pretty thorough idea of the Job.

I had something nice typed out but my brain decided to die on me at the half way mark. Ergo, here's a link to a comprehensive guide that explains the job in a fairly decent manner.

https://www.mooglemedia.com/sch-class-guide/

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Originally Posted by Krojack

Once I get it to 70 I'll never heal with it again. Not in it's current state anyways.

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SCH is, imo, the most gear dependent healer. Like you, I also found that it was the hardest healer to level.
I think there are plenty of reasons for it but a lot of leveling content is downsynched in odd ways, your tanks often aren't geared properly, you're often undergeared yourself, you don't have your full skill set (excog and fey union are a huge relief with tank healing), it's often hard to anticipate damage in that content, etc. etc.

It really shines at cap however with a bit of gear. And is probably the most reliable healer in 8 man. I only ran a couple of expert roulettes (usually prefer running those with whm) but it was a breeze.

SCH is however not for you if you like to keep people topped off. That's just a huge mana drain/waste of aetherflow stacks. It's also not a good match if you would rather react to damage intake rather than anticipate it.

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Originally Posted by Kontai

Can you offer more information? I'd like to have a pretty thorough idea of the Job.

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In general in raid settings SCH has the highest personal and raid dps of the three healers. It also has the lowest sustained HPS of the three but this usually isn't too much of an issue.
The reason for this is that most of their healing is ogcd so they spend less time actually casting healing spells. Due to this, they can maintain more dps uptime.

This comes with some caveats however. SHC ogcd skills are walled behind the aetherflow system so you're limited in how often you can use those skills (3 every 45-60s). This means that you need to have good knowledge of the fights and some coordination with your co-healer if you want to leverage your kit properly.
It's also made even harder from the fact that part of your dps kit also uses aetherflow stacks. So you need to know when you can use them for dps and when you should hold onto them.

The other part of your kit is shielding. Just like above you'll need to know the fights well enough to anticipate the damage and know when shielding is an advantage and when you simply shouldn't bother wasting a gcd.
The lower HPS for SCH usually isn't an issue because the healing checks aren't too bad. You will however find that when things go lopsided you have way less ability to reverse a bad situation than a powerhouse class like WHM. (ie: losing your co healer can be tricky)

In a dungeon setting however WHM is king. Their tool set is just a perfect match for that type of content. Regens are perfect for freeing you from having to heal the tank. Your aoe kit is ridiculous. Bosses require little healing so you can get a lot of dps uptime.

Bottom line is, sch has a pretty steep learning curve compared to the others but it's also very rewarding since you can essentially top the charts if you do well.

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Originally Posted by Kontai

I hear that Noct. AST is better, but Ive also heard that the healer meta is SCH/AST. So I don't really want to understand what's the deal with that.

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I first want to talk about this specific point.

Noct AST is not competitive for a raid slot and never has been. If you doubt this, feel free to check FFlogs -- for any raid tier, not just current. If you're wondering more about the meta, SCH is basically the guaranteed slot (and has been for 3 years now, no sign of changing), while AST/WHM compete for the last slot depending on the current round of buffs/nerfs.

The explanation for this ties into what makes SCH so good. Basically, SCH has a lot of oGCD healing, allowing it to respond fast and without upsetting the cadence of DPS. Then there is the fairy, which provides external, free healing. Free in two senses: It takes neither a GCD away from SCH, and obviously costs no MP. As an example, one of the savage raid bosses, Guardian, will target a DPS player for a burn and/or bleed type DoT attack with ticks that are very strong. SCH can simply have the fairy use Fey Union (perhaps on top of Whispering Dawn as well), and that mechanic is handled. The SCH (and his/her cohealer) can then DPS, or heal the tanks, or whatever else as needed.

In comparison, Noct AST would have to use GCDs and spend MP to accomplish the same thing. The whole duration of the DoT, and possibly some extra healing to top up after if it's immediately followed by a raidbuster. A considerable amount of MP for a single target shield at that. (SCH's shield is even more expensive, but SCH has the advantage of having more tools to work around it).

Anyways if you're looking for a really 'different' healer, Scholar is definitely the way to go.

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Originally Posted by EaMett

SCH is, imo, the most gear dependent healer. Like you, I also found that it was the hardest healer to level.
I think there are plenty of reasons for it but a lot of leveling content is downsynched in odd ways, your tanks often aren't geared properly, you're often undergeared yourself, you don't have your full skill set (excog and fey union are a huge relief with tank healing), it's often hard to anticipate damage in that content, etc. etc.

It really shines at cap however with a bit of gear. And is probably the most reliable healer in 8 man. I only ran a couple of expert roulettes (usually prefer running those with whm) but it was a breeze.

SCH is however not for you if you like to keep people topped off. That's just a huge mana drain/waste of aetherflow stacks. It's also not a good match if you would rather react to damage intake rather than anticipate it.

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This. I used to /hate/ SCH as well when I looked at it from the viewpoint of a WHM main and frankly couldn't understand any of the appeal my friends were raving about. It wasn't until I learned to mitigate damage and anticipate it before it even happened that I started to enjoy the class. Between Rouse + Whispering Dawn, Crit Adlo, Excogitation at higher levels, and macros you really have all you need in dungeon content to be effective. Even to the point that I'm mostly DPSing during content with only a few moments needed to top off the tank before I go on my merry way. It's only in very rare circumstances that I find my aetherflow stacks being chewed through like candy, and it's often due to people repeatedly standing in the bad rather than any outright issue with the class.

More than anything else, what I recommend newbie SCH's learn is not just the class itself but also the content they're running. SCH shines the most when you know what cast is coming next and can nullify it's affect before it even has the chance to hit. There's really nothing quite like placing a Crit Adlo and Excogitation on a tank before a boss does a tank buster mechanic, only to see them healed almost back to full by the end of it. It makes me giddy every time it happens. If waiting for the damage to happen before healing it is more your style however, SCH will seem PAINFUL by comparison because it lacks the ability to actually react beyond a few minimal and limited casts.

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Originally Posted by Krojack

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Sounds like you're doing something wrong. The Aetherflow system is ver integral to their gameplay, but compared to the other systems, its one of the better implimented. Also question, if you just want the class/job at 70 why not just play SMN.

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Originally Posted by EaMett

SCH is, imo, the most gear dependent healer. Like you, I also found that it was the hardest healer to level.

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I can't say I agree with that. SCH is no more dependant than the other two. When SB launched and it was discovered SCH was the healer that got shafted, while WHM and AST got buffs, I was furious, but I persisted with my main job, right up until the end. And while there was a bit of a curve at first, I had no problem healing everything right up to Ala Mhigo. And I was in upgraded Shire gear right up until I got the relic gear. Now if you aren't familiar with how the job plays than yes you might struggle, but if you know the intricacies, it's a breeze.

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