WHM vs AST vs SCH

So I've finally dedicated myself to FFXIV, coming over from WoW. I was a raider over there during Mists of Pandaria/Warlords of Draenor and a little bit of Legion and I primarily played a resto druid.

Now I've managed to get my RDM to 70 I really want to level up a healer I can play end game.

Ideally I'd like to play something that can solo PVE content when it comes out relatively easily without being TOO squishy.

I'm also a sucker for lore, so I'd love to focus on levelling a healer that has particularly amazing/interesting lore if anyone has any suggestions?

In terms of playstyle, I'm quite laid back and happy to read through guides, etcs. The story and the ability to solo content would be the key things I'm looking for.

Thanks for your help guys!

Decent solo capability via an independent healing pet, and IMO the best job story of all three healers in the game - I'd go SCH. I can elaborate more when I get home (at work now), but also being someone who plays WoW I will say that SCH does tread some healing ground that Warcraft hasn't yet (namely the pet). I think you'll like it.

SCH has Tonberries.

Do you like Tonberries?

Everybody likes Tonberries.

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Originally Posted by Pyitoechito

SCH has Tonberries.

Do you like Tonberries?

Everybody likes Tonberries.

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Tonberries are literally my favorite. <3 SOLD. SCH is my highest ATM as well - levelled my SUM to 53 before switching to RDM!

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Originally Posted by richmothy

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Here's my take. I have all three leveled. WHM and SCH are 70 and AST is 61 and heading for 70. (SCH is only 70 because I lvl'd SMN to 70) WHM has the most utility right now. Large heals and great DPS and, imo, the easiest to learn. AST has the prettiest spells and is really fun to play, plus has cards which help boost dps or mitigate damage. SCH is all about damage mitigation instead of big heals. I absolutely hate SCH (personal opinion and don't base your choice on that), also SCH got gimped in Stormblood.

Solo-battle-content really doesn't exist in this game outside of quests, single-person maps, and hunts, which all jobs can do (especially if you use your Companion Chocobo).
Most of the PvE content in XIV is designed to be done in a party or large group (dungeons, trials, raids, A and S ranked hunts, FATEs, etc).

All the healers pretty much have the same amount of "squish" to them, although, SCH and AST can place shields on themselves and others freely (SCH at level 30, AST at level 50), while WHM can't until level 66.
If you're looking for something that can do damage, WHM can do the highest burst damage out of the three healers and has a lot of oGCD heals.
SCH has a fairy that will autonomously cast its basic heal on partymembers (i.e. you) when you get below like 75% HP. They can also place shields on themselves and others to absorb damage and they do have a few oGCD heals too. SCH's damage focuses more of Damage-over-time effects. They lack an AoE burst damage ability like WHM and AST have though.
AST does the least amount of damage out of the three and focuses more on using their cards to buff partymembers. It also has the least amount of oGCD heals. They do however have an instant cast shield ability when in Nocturnal Sect and an AoE Burst damage ability.

White Mages have very little utility what.. Astros and Schs have way more.
If you only care for solo experience then it really doesn't matter.
Astros are probably the best in almost every piece of content outside of aoeing dungeon pulls as a Whm.

I started the game with a WHM, and stuck with it until HW came out. It was dreadfully boring imo, and it actually made me sink my time into other games until someone wanted to play. Doing dungeons/Trials wasn't so bad, but solo questing felt like a chore. Once I picked up AST it completely changed. I actually enjoy playing solo with AST, as the class feels more interactive. Again, these are just my opinions.
I never played WoW, but if you're used to any RNG aspects from that game, I think you would enjoy AST. Keeps you on your toes :P
As for SCH, I only just started leveling it. It's not bad! I find myself DPSing a lot more than I would if I were playing WHM/AST, since your Faerie will be doing a lot of healing. Keep in mind though that a lot of SCH DPS is from DoTs, and while not a bad thing, i know a lot of people feel like that kind of damage is underwhelming.

If you want Lore+Healer, I'd go SCH as it's the only one of the 3 with a detailed lore based story. The downside is that it has the highest skill ceiling of the 3 healers and is arguably the "weakest" overall as a healer ATM, at least when HPS is concerned. Their damage is fairly average, as far as healers go as well.

WHM is nice and has some tidbits of lore but not as much as SCH. It's the most damaging healer and has plenty of oGCD heals as well, making it great as a pure healer, just don't expect much in the way of utility as, apart from a damage shield at level 66, WHM is pretty much just pure heals.

AST does go into detail about it's whole little card system and how they draw power from the stars but it's sort of pushed to the wayside for a different conflict, and then rehashed again later on. Lore's there but sort of underplayed. You have plenty of utility and decent heals but your damage is crap.

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Originally Posted by richmothy

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First off, welcome!

As far as soloing goes, you already have the best current soloing class in the game at 70 - your RDM. Since you only need to play the story on one class, there's really no reason to play through the story as a healer when you have an RDM at your disposal. The solo story stuff is built around DPSing and the group content just requires you switch classes over to heals before you queue up for the fight. SCH can solo a fair amount too, but cannot put out nearly the DPS an RDM can.

Since the story group content will be either a 4-man party (all healers fine) or an 8-man party (slight edge to the AST, as they can switch between HoTs/shields), any healer will work for story mode stuff.

As far as Lore goes, WHM is close to a Resto Druid. AST's questing is funny. SCH is all about Tonberries. I personally prefer SCH > AST > WHM. Hope it helps!

For Solo content, definitely SCH.
You can have your fairy be a healer, your chocobo be a tank, and you can DPS. It's like you have a three man party as long as you're not inside duty. But then again, it will only be reduced to two man party when that happens.

I've Solo'd some FATEs using that composition as SCH. Even some boss FATEs.

Solo content and primarily proactive healing / utility with pet management - SCH
Lower personal DPS but powerful party buffs /utility and decent OGCDs and great GCD healing spells. Mix of proactive and reactive healing - AST
Big D dps and big d heals with best MP management but low utility and mainly reactive healing - WHM

Thanks so much for the help & support guys!

So I played a couple of dungeons as a SCH, something didn't quite click for me.. I thought I was enjoying it, but then I decided to unlock AST and I loveeeee it.

The characters involved in the quests are hilarious and I just really enjoy the gameplay. Actually managed to get to 35 last night, and I can't wait to get back on!

Any advice tips/tricks for getting the most out of it? I've been researching the card system and it looks a little complex, but I'm sure as the abilities will unlock one by one as I'm levelling it will give me time to get to grips with it.

Thanks again for all of your help!

AST is a better WHM and a better SCH and also adds utility that stomps on Chain Strategem and WHm doesn't bring any Utility at all so.. AST wins. And they'll probably buff them next patch because they can't solo heal content on release yet.

Comparison to WoW classes + themes & story:

- WHM is like a resto druid (its base class, conjurer, is literally "druid" in the German version): powerful HoTs and AoE heals, nature themed. Highest raw healing and damage. Quests evolve around communing with the elements of nature, ridding the land of corruption and restoring the natural balance. Your class icon is a tree. Your teachers are horned children.

- Astrologian is like a holy paladin: short time buffs (similar to hands/blessings); when in nocturnal sect, heals create shields; shields are replaced with HoTs in diurnal sect - highest utility & flexibility. Yu-gi-oh… Tarot/star-reading themed. Quests evolve around a Sharlayan who wants to share the nation’s art with the rest of the world. Your class icon is a card. Your teacher’s sidekick is horny.

- Scholar feels like a mix of shaman and discipline priest: two types of fairies that provide healing/utility similar to totems but unlike totems, they can follow you and be controlled manually; shielding, proactive class; while damaging spells don't convert into healing like they do for discipline priests, the fairies can heal moderate amounts of damage on their own, thus allowing you to keep dps-ing while healing. Strategist themed. Your class icon is glasses. Quests evolve around exploring the history and art of strategists from an ancient civilization. Your twin-class, Summoner, gets a hat with a horn but you don’t.


*I haven’t done the Stormblood quests for Astrologian and Scholar

IMO : More fun : AST
Easiest to play : WHM
Need tweaking : SCH

I dont like sch, never has and never will (Even in 2.0 I didnt like it)

My main is AST and , atm, its in a really really good spot! It can solo heal both extreme primals(Whm can too but ast is more fun lol) with so much ease , I just love this job soooo much