Healer Limit Breaks

I've recently been thinking about how to make limit breaks more interesting, especially for healers. The thing is, healers rarely, if ever, get to use their limit breaks. I've played for about three months now, and I think I've used a limit break in battle as a WHM exactly once. Otherwise, it's almost always better to let a DPS player use it (which is rather boring in the long run), at least in my experience.

I would be interested in hearing stories or opinions about how people use or feel about the limit breaking as a healer. As I've said, I haven't played for long, so I've never done any progression content so far. Have there been fights where a healer LB was important, mechanic-wise (I heard a few fights in CoB needed a tank LB to survive some mechanics, but correct me if I'm wrong)?

DPS LB is almost always the way to go--however, I've saved parties with healer LB 1, 2, and 3(especially as BRD which now has a DPS LB). As a tank, which is my main, I've had fewer practical uses for it.

One thing that annoys me about LBs is that people are constantly saving it, or afraid to use it. I've seen wipes happen where practically ANY of the LBs (tank being iffy) would have saved us. Healer coulda healed us all, DRG or even BLM coulda finished off the target, but instead we all died. It's a shame, but the fact is there's a lot of people out there who would complain if the melee DPS didn't get to LB, even when it's not ideal. In speedruns for example, I would much rather see a caster LB on a large pull, than a melee LB on a boss.

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Originally Posted by GeekMatt

I've seen wipes happen where practically ANY of the LBs (tank being iffy) would have saved us.

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Really? In my experience, in situations where I could have saved the fight with an LB3, I can't, because a DPS (usually a MNK for whatever reason) blew the load as soon as the meter filled.

As someone who cleared all of coil and having done all the current content except Ravana EX, I use my LB all the time.

While it is true LB1 and LB2 are pretty useless, LB3 is great and can easily prevent a wipe, though I will say there are some fights that it is unfeasible to win without a DPS LB, these are few and far between.

I remember several Turn 10 runs, for example, where someone derped on mechanics and I had to healer limit break to bring everyone back to get that last 10 or so percent off the boss. And just 2 days ago I was doing alexander floor 1 and all the DPS died due to a missile hitting and I used the healer LB, everyone rezzed, and we finished the fight.

Healer LB3 is very strong. If anything, the tank LB should get buffed or tweaked. The only time you ever use it is when mechanics require you to.

I did have a Titan HM run yesterday that went really, really far south, and I ended up using limit break to give our WHM some MP to work with.

Never ever used LB1 or LB2 as a healer, did use LB3 in my life several times and maybe a few times happened to save and get a win for a team. But mostly it's indeed for DPS, and DPS usually blow it as soon as possible

I have only ever used it twice, lb3. Both to try and save some really bad groups in chrysalis who were wiping the floor like swiffers-which was bad because then they couldn't dps lb3 the tear.

I would like to use it more too. I feel like anytime I would use it to try and save a group I would get peeved on for 'stealing' it from the dps. Or it's one of the few fights you need a tank lb for a mechanic. I feel if people didn't feel tank/dps lb so necessary we could have more wiggle room for it but then again...you would only be using it for probably bad groups anyways since much of damage is avoidable.

I saved a few Ravana Ex runs with healer LB3 and it's been mostly useful throughout, even though an obvious last resort. I just wish they removed the stupid amount of animation lock (on all 3 of them) because it'll get you killed very often.

I dislike using healer LB3. I can count on one hand how many times it has actually saved a raid I have been in when I was demanded to do so. The animation is unnecessarily long and the brief period after the fact that leaves you a sitting duck doesn't help at all.

If it were possible to get rid of weakness debuffs, or add some protection after use like stoneskin or galvanize (related to whatever job uses it) so people don't die immediately after use would help.

But as it stands, if tanks are dead, you are screwed. If DPS are dead during during a crunch phase, you are screwed. Not to detract though from raids that have actuality benefited from it though. I prefer not to use it and just wipe if a boss still has a considerable amount of HP left.

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Originally Posted by FoxyAreku

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I have never thought to use it as a preventative measure rather than a desperation one because, on my server at least, LB3 is almost exclusive to DPS unless say T13 where Tanks used it for Teraflare.

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Originally Posted by Kietsu

Really? In my experience, in situations where I could have saved the fight with an LB3, I can't, because a DPS (usually a MNK for whatever reason) blew the load as soon as the meter filled.

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That makes me want to punch a wall. In a fight with 40% left on boss, one Tank one Healer and one DPS down. If something goes wrong I might have to use LB3 to save the run. Try raising the other Healer then work on getting the DPS up because it's a SMN and could have with raising where needed and during that process some melee sees the LB bar fill and uses it instantly then dies because they got hit and couldn't move while the other Healer also goes down again. And everything goes downhill and party wipes.

I don't like having to tell people when to use a LB but I wish more DPS had the common sense to read the fight before they pull the trigger on it. It should be used to boost DPS when a fight looks a kill over used as soon as it's available.

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Originally Posted by Kietsu

Really? In my experience, in situations where I could have saved the fight with an LB3, I can't, because a DPS (usually a MNK for whatever reason) blew the load as soon as the meter filled.

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My example situations were mostly dungeons, ST, and WoD. I think it was one of the HW dungeons where the boss was near dead, we had a LB and we wiped--I see people afraid to use their LB all the time, especially melee who don't realize we've been doing a full clear and will have LBs for every boss including 2bar on final, so they don't touch LB until last boss.

WoDs Hydra fight; other two parties had nearly wiped, our party was all up but with heat wave or whatever the mechanic is, we were all near death and dropping, my BRD LB picked up the party, healers were able to sustain us from there and start rezing other healers.

I wish each class had a separate limit break they could use based off their own individual limit break bar that didn't effect the group limit break bar.

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Originally Posted by AlexanderThorolund

I wish each class had a separate limit break they could use based off their own individual limit break bar that didn't effect the group limit break bar.

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do you have any idea how op that would be... imagine 4 dps using LB3 at the same time the poor boss monster would be ripped to shreds...

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Originally Posted by Kerrigen

I just wish they removed the stupid amount of animation lock (on all 3 of them) because it'll get you killed very often.

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I have never not died when doing an LB3 as healer. The animation lock is so long and usually if I'm required to LB3 most of the party is dead... which leads to everything targeted at me.

I really wish SE would give everyone their own LB bar (that still only fills in group) and balance them accordingly.

That would be sweet if everyone got their own separate limit break bar. Doesn't have to be some hardcore damage dealing type thing, even just some buff for the party. Like for example when a Healers LB is full, it does some kind of 15 or 20 second super Protect or Shell type thing on the party. Or for DPS it boosts damage dealt by 15% type thing. Would be hard to balance it of course so that it's not TOO powerful, but something along those lines.

I never want to have to use LB as a healer, it did save a run yesterday though.

My problem with it as well is because it's pretty much only used by DPS, there's so many times that it just doesn't get used. Like I was in one one time, the other healer the only person left and LB3 fully charged but they didn't use it. Same with another time, had the boss down to like 3% HP in just some hard mode primal, somehow everyone had wiped except a BLM and LB3 was fully charged. Instead they just kept casting Fire and got killed. Because it's so specific on who gets to use it I find that many times people like myself aren't even paying attention to it since it's so rare we'd use it.

Got to use the Astro LB3 two nights ago for the 1st time, and it looks AWESOME