5.X WHM Change Wishlist

I know that this is a bit late considering the 5.1 patch notes just came out, but since barely anyone is talking about WHM in these forums, I feel like a thread like this is necessary.

WHM was the first job I leveled up to 70 in SB. I loved the job despite it being the weakest healer in the game. 5.0 gave the job some changes, both good and bad, and is considered to be the most stable healing job out of all three.

Now, I'm aware I may not be in the best position to criticize or demand any changes to the job, since I just got back into the game, and haven't reached max level on it nor have I beaten the main scenario quest. But I still want the job to do well. Square did an okay rework of WHM, BUT some of the job's glaring flaws are still there.

I made a doc a few months ago that contains a list of changes that I think should help WHM. I just leave my notes here so that people can look and discuss what I have suggested.

And given their record with the healing jobs, I doubt Square will take into consideration what I proposed. But hey, a man can dream. :rolleyes:

One more thing. This isn't a 6.0 wish list. This change list is built off of 5.0. As such, the purpose of this wish list is to improve on the current build of WHM. No over the top changes. Just some things that I believe should help the job in the 5.X lifespan.

Lily System
Have the WHM lily regeneration changed from 30 seconds to 25.
Have the WHM start with one lily at the start of every dungeon and raid.
Move the trait Secret of the Lily down to Level 38. WHM will gain only ONE lily instead of three.
Add the trait Secret of the Lily II at level 52. WHM can now use three lilies.

Add Skills at level 38
Stoneskin
Description: Forms a barrier around the caster and the party, absorbing physical damage totaling 10% of the target’s maximum HP
Duration: 8 seconds
Recast: 30 seconds
Additional Effect: Shares a recast timer with the skill, Shell (If cast, both skills will be on cooldown).

Shell
Description Forms a barrier around the caster and the party, absorbing magical damage totaling 10% of the target’s maximum HP
Duration: 8 seconds
Recast: 30 seconds
Additional Effect: Shares a recast timer with the skill, Stoneskin (If cast, both skills will be on cooldown).

Add Skill at level 58
New AoE Water Skill
Description: Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby.
Additional Effect: Depending on how many lilies the WHM has available, the damage potency to the target may change. The use of a blood lily allows the spell to be cast at its strongest form.
One Lily: 300 damage potency for the first enemy, 10% less for the second, 20% for the third, 30% less for the fourth, 40% less for the fifth, and 50% less for all remaining enemies.
Two Lilies: 400 damage potency for the first enemy, 10% less for the second, 20% for the third, 30% less for the fourth, 40% less for the fifth, and 50% less for all remaining enemies.
Three Lilies: 600 damage potency for the first enemy, 10% less for the second, 20% for the third, 30% less for the fourth, 40% less for the fifth, and 50% less for all remaining enemies.
Recast: 2.5 seconds (GCD)

This skill will morph to Afflatus Misery at level 78.
Changes to Afflatus Misery
Description: Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby.
Additional Effect: Depending on how many lilies the WHM has available, the damage potency to the target may change. The use of a blood lily allows the spell to be cast at its strongest form.
One Lily: 500 damage potency for the first enemy, 10% less for the second, 20% for the third, 30% less for the fourth, 40% less for the fifth, and 50% less for all remaining enemies.
Two Lilies: 750 damage potency for the first enemy, 10% less for the second, 20% for the third, 30% less for the fourth, 40% less for the fifth, and 50% less for all remaining enemies.
Three Lilies: 900 damage potency for the first enemy, 10% less for the second, 20% for the third, 30% less for the fourth, 40% less for the fifth, and 50% less for all remaining enemies.
Recast: 2.5 seconds (GCD)

Afflatus Rapture is now gained at level 68.

Add Skills at level 76
Bravery
Description: Empowers a nearby ally, increasing their physical damage output by 30%.
Duration: 10 seconds
Can only be executed when the Blood Lily is in full bloom.

Faith
Description: Empowers a nearby ally, increasing their magical damage output by 30%.
Duration: 10 seconds
Can only be executed when the Blood Lily is in full bloom.

Miscellaneous Changes
WHM receives the skill Aero III at level 72.

Tetragrammation Changes
Cure Potency has been reduced from 700 to 500.
Additional Effect: Regenerates One Lily upon use.

Fluid Aura Changes
Description: Deals water damage with a potency of 180.
Additional Effect: 15-yalm knockback and Bind effect on hit. Duration: 6 seconds.
Recast: 25 seconds.

Add Skill at level 40
Divine Seal
Description: Increases healing magic potency by 20% for 15 seconds
Recast: 120 seconds
The skill will morph to Temperance at level 80.

Cure III is now gained at level 42.

If WHM got bravery or faith, their personal DPS should be reduced.
30% damage increase is too much (compare it with DNC and AST).
I prefer WHM to have more tools for DPS than for buffing.
Let AST have the buff and SCH have the debuff.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bobsmiaw

Snip

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Well, considering that WHM would have to wait 90 sec (25/50 sec with my changes) to use Bravery or Faith, I figured the damage increase needs to be high enough for players to use it over a lvl. 3 Afflatus Misery. 30% does seem a bit too much, so let's compensate.

Add Skills at level 76
Bravery
Description: Empowers a nearby ally, increasing their physical damage output by 20%.
Duration: 10 seconds
Can only be executed when the Blood Lily is in full bloom.

Faith
Description: Empowers a nearby ally, increasing their magical damage output by 20%.
Duration: 10 seconds
Can only be executed when the Blood Lily is in full bloom.

And perhaps some potency nerfs to some of the job would compensate for the changes I'm requesting. Hmm, not sure which DPS skills would need to be nerfed.

Tbh it's clear that they don't want to make WHM a support job so requesting insanely strong buff such as "faith" sounds a bit... unrealistic
They also seem to want WHM to be the "GCD" healer with the Lilies spells being all on the gcd

I personally really like the direction they took with the lilies, heal granting dps.
With spells like Assize that could definitely be something the WHM could be built uppon, some skills heal and grant damage, and some damage and grant healing.

For instance we could have something like

"Afflatus Despair" : Instant, Spell, 60s recharge
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 200.
Additional Effect : Refresh the duration of all Regen and MedicaII effect on allies.
Additional Effect: Nourishes the Blood Lily
Healing Gauge Cost: 1 Lily

"Afflatus Wither" : Spell, Instant, 2.5s cd
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 300.
Additionnal Effect : Wither a Lily making it unusable for the next 15s. If no Lily are available, potency is reduced to 200.
Additionnal Effect : If Afflatus Wither is used while a Lily is withered, consumes the Lily and grant a Blood Lily

[Trait] Garden of Pain
Everytime Regen heals an ally, advance the Lily gauge by 3s. This effect can only be triggered once every 3s.

[Trait] Soothing Misery
Afflatus Misery now refresh Regen and heals allies affected by Regen equal to the damage dealt by Afflatus Misery.


People often complain that healers have no identity, but I believe WHM identity could definitely be expanded around the Lilies with the idea that healing grant damage and damage grant healing with more abilities such as Assize and specific Afflatus spells

I'm finding that GCD healing is under powered 71+

Cure II cast time reduced from 2s to 1.7s. (1.94 for most healers, but still too slow)
Cure II potency increased from 700 to 720.
Regen duration increased from 18s to 21s (why did they reduce this to 18 anyway...)
Medica potency increased from 300 to 350. (to cut down on the amount of casts needed)
Medica mp cost increased from 1000 to 1100.

The GCD instants are fine.

All ability that consume Lily should not be DPS ability and should not be a buff ability.
SE can give a new ability that consume 2-3 Lily for medica 2 equivalent or party mitigation (protect, sheel, or shield).

On the other hand, all ability that consume Blood Lily should be DPS ability.
Ex: single nuke and aoe nuke.
The damage potency can be adjusted based on the amount of Blood Lily.

WHM will heal more with Lily in cost of a GCD. However, they can redem the damage loss via Blood Liliy in the end.

Raid buffs have been something WHMs have been asking for since falling out of the meta Heavensward. Let me know when it happens because I'll need to verify that hell has frozen over. That, and, WHM has the highest personal DPS exactly because it has no DPS buffs to offer the party. I'd rather WHM keep this.

Honestly at this point, right now, all I'd really like is a cast time reduction for the Stones & Glare. Make weaving not so cumbersome.

This ability should be changed to actually be an "aura of water" around the healer and nearby party members. Either giving them a shield/damage reduction and/or even some sort of stat buff? Not sure about recast length.

This is the only ability I have removed from my hotbar since ShB started. I'd very much like it to work how I described above. I'd love if it was an AoE buff of some sort to the party.

Actually, life for me would be much easier if the afflatus spells were oGCD.

I personally don't trust square enix when it comes to healer changes. I would rather whm left alone then given square enix's version of an "upgrade".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rasikko

Actually, life for me would be much easier if the afflatus spells were oGCD.

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Sure, since you'd then make us absurdly overpowered.

Oh, except of course for the 5+ oGCD weaves you have to do per minute, which you now have only Dia to leave space for (twice per minute) unless you use Regen.

But what's disgusting amounts of a little clipping in the face of an extra 1400 healing and 450 damage potency per minute?...

Helluuu boom boom

For me, those changes can be made for 5.2:

Return to WHM:

Protect
Type: Ability
Cast: Instant
Recast: 90s
Effect: Reduces damage taken by a party member or self by 20%. It doesn't stack with Divine Benison, SCH or AST shields.
Duration: 10s
Cost: 1 Lily

Aero 3
Type: Spell
Cast: 2.5s
Recast: 2.5s (GCD)
Range: 25y
Radius: 5y
Effect: Deals wind damage with a potency of 50 to target and all enemies nearby it.
Additional Effect: Wind damage over time
Potency: 40
Duration: 24s
Cost: 700MP

Change:

Fluid Aura: Add damage
Presence of Mind: Reduce recast to 120s

1. Get rid of Lilies. They weren't compelling or even needed in Stormblood, and they're even more pointless now. We've never needed clones of Cure II and Medica tied to an unnecessary meter between Tetragrammaton and precasting Cures.
2. Bring back Aero III.
2. Bring back Stoneskin.
4. Return Fluid Aura's damage and knockback.

Also, one role skill request: bring back Protect, but in the way its implemented in PvP.

I don't think WHM will see any significant changes for pretty much the rest of this expansion, unless SE screw up royally and overbuff AST, in which case I can see Presence of Mind getting a CD reduction but that would be the absolute extent of it.

Something I would like to see is Fluid Aura becoming something actually useful, be it by doing damage, being a damage down debuff akin to Reprisal, a means of generating a Lily, or literally anything that isn't a worthless bind effect.

All I really want (unless we can get an overhaul) is getting Aero 3 back or at least a 2nd DoT with another time. it really breaks up the monotony when you gotta keep track of another DoT. same thing with sch also.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Silver-Strider

I don't think WHM will see any significant changes for pretty much the rest of this expansion, unless SE screw up royally and overbuff AST, in which case I can see Presence of Mind getting a CD reduction but that would be the absolute extent of it.

Something I would like to see is Fluid Aura becoming something actually useful, be it by doing damage, being a damage down debuff akin to Reprisal, a means of generating a Lily, or literally anything that isn't a worthless bind effect.

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I doubt they will ever touch WHM before 6.0. Unless there are something utterly broken, like PI on 4.0, that was fixed on 4.1.

AST overbuff was never an issue that forced them to feel the urge to give some spell to WHM mid-patch. At most, they did some potency buffs to band aid the situation, but don't solve nothing.

I like WHM as is honestly.

I've stuck with WHM through thick and thin for awhile now and given the past track record I'd guess little to no alterations until 6.0. One of the things I'd like to see is a more proactive way to use Lilies as it is without overhealing it's only reactive usage so maybe a small defensive buff / shield to burn a lily on. It also doesn't help that I almost exclusively overheal with the Lilies if the tank isn't pulling wall to wall, which I don't think every tank should do, do what you're comfortable with.

It'd also be nice to see some form of raid wide buff but I think that's particularly unlikely. Partly cause they seem to be a pain to balance but also given how much of a song and dance you go through to get one out on AST I could only see such a buff being tied to burning the blood lily.

I'd like to not be cynical about WHM.....but it wouldn't surprise me if they get put on the back burner since SCH and AST felt the changes much more this expansion and WHM will wind up being completely ignored. Hopefully I'm wrong, I never want to stop healing would like to see some love for WHM.