Honest question from a sprout, healer dps versus actual dps?

OK, so new player still only about a month in.

I generally prefer to play ranged hybrid style classes in these games, which is to say dps that can also heal, i enjoy the survivability of the playstyle, but that doesnt really exist in FF14. Most dps have 1 heal maybe but its not really going to do much other than give you time to escape or finish someone off then you wait to regen etc...

Im looking over the healer options and it seems most of them have dps skills that hit about as hard as comparative dps in terms of typical rotations. Obviously lacking in amplifiers and whatnot but the base potency and whatnot seems similar.

So my question is this, random day to day gameplay, questing, leveling and such, outside of group content as i assume the discrepancy is large enough to prevent this.. what is the comparative dps of a healer, versus and actual dps?

In what little ive player a healer so far im finding it significantly easier to play over an actual dps due to the self heal abilities they they lack and the lessened downtime etc... and im curious if this continues, or falls off, before investing.

Thanks

A healer does around 60% of the damage of an 'actual DPS' usually, assuming equal gear. This varies somewhat, as some DPS are more focused on contributing damage via buffs rather than their own personal damage output.

For the most part, DPS while levelling will want to have their Chocobo set to Healer stance to assist with their selfsustain, and making use of role actions like Bloodbath (melee only), Second Wind, or barrier type things for the casters like Manawall and Radiant Aegis.

If you want a ranged hybrid with supporty elements (ie can heal), Dancer has a 60s cooldown that gives healing in an AOE around yourself and your 'partner' (and it can stack so you get healed twice), a cooldown that applies a regen and an optional shield, and a mitigation that reduces damage taken for the team. Alternatively, Red Mage has a heal that can be spammed (it's a GCD), a Raise (very handy if the healer gets killed), way later a mitigation tool that reduces damage taken and increases healing received by allies. Both also have various ways to increase the damage of the team, with Dancer having more of a focus on it. The unfortunate side of these recommendations is that RDM requires a level 50 class to be able to pick it up, and DNC requires a level 60.

There was a thread a while back on here, where a player was struggling with a solo instance as AST because of it's damage output being what it is (it's very focused on buffing allies), so while you can survive easier as a healer, that also applies to the enemies, you deal less damage on average compared to a DPS class and so the enemy lives longer too. The good thing about this game though is that you can swap between them and try both. In which case, you could look into SCH and SMN, as the two share a base class and so levelling as one gives you the other for free, you just need to buy gear for them and they're good to go. SMN doesn't have healing per se (the one heal it has is a literal meme in the community at this point), but it does have a way to give itself a shield that blocks damage, and later a summon that gives a regen when you summon it.

For now though, the main thing is to make sure you have your chocobo out, regardless of your role. If you're a DPS it will help cover the healing you're missing. If you're healer, it'll help cover the damage difference. Good luck!

edit: just noticed your main class is listed as level 73 BRD. In which case, you might have hit a 'bump' where the game suddenly expects you to have more current gear, so you might wish to double check your gear situation

Because healer DPS gameplay does not change very much between level 1 and level 90, while DPS jobs get lots of buffs and extra instant abilities to squeeze in between their core combo attacks as they level, healer DPS falls off quite a bit.

An endgame healer will be capable of 50-60% of the DPS of a same-level DPS job, assuming both players are of equal skill and equipment level.

The main story content is designed to be forgiving enough that any job can clear it, though. And when it comes to leveling, healers level faster because they have much shorter queues to get into leveling dungeons.

Presumably you're talking about soloing open-world content like FATEs, in which case I'm spoiled by my Chocobo, which is at max level and heals me quite well. If you aren't already fighting with your Chocobo, I'd recommend it!

And if you want a ranged class that can dish out DPS while having the sustained ability to heal itself, there's one option: Red Mage. Once it learns Vercure, you'll have the best of both worlds. I recommend giving the class a try!

Thanks so much for the replies.
Looks like ill be trying red mage over the long weekend.

It might seem counterintuitive, but if you're looking for a job that's self-sufficient, warrior is hands-down #1. They tank, their damage is partway between healer and dps, as might be expected. And their self-healing abilities are considered unfair by some. I've been in many raids where a warrior would finish the instance by themselves after the rest of the party wiped.

A big +1 on the Chocobo, once you get the hang of it's positioning quirks and keeping it out of AoEs, your Chocobo in healer stance is actually pretty solid and will give you a good chunk of self sustain. If you've not been leveling it, definitely consider doing so as it really opens up options for soloing or small group content like chests.

Ive heard this, but im just not a melee main.
Thanks for the feedback though

For leveling your Chocobo companion: There are a couple of weekly Challenge Log entries that give them EXP. They're easy enough to complete via a few FATEs.

What Roe said is pretty accurate overall.

RDM is probably the closest to what you're looking for if you prefer more staying at range and a hybrid. It also does let you play a little melee if you want, but for the most part you just do it for your big damage phase, and it's just 3 quick slashes before you're out again. Between the healing and raising and a pretty straightforward rotation and gameplay, it's pretty solid.

SMN actually does have healing, but it's weird. Up until level 60 or so, your base heal (Physic) is generally somewhat useful, but it drops off pretty hard between 50 and 60, then isn't worth it past that point. On the other hand, at level 80, you get Phoenix, which gives you party heal as part of your rotation and a strong single target heal you can apply on the tank (or yourself or anyone you feel like needs it). This isn't as on-demand as RDM since it only comes at a set point in your rotation, though, but it is very powerful. SMN also has a raise, though it's not as powerful as RDM's since RDM can basically chain raise 4-5 people in quick succession and SMN is more like a healer as it can Swiftcast (instant) one but then has to slowcast any additional ones.

DNC has a party heal you can use at any point in your rotation (unlike SMN), and it has half the time span (once per 1 mins) between uses. You can just move it around where SMN's is more rigid in where it comes in the rotation. DNC doesn't have a raise, though.

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As for healers doing damage;

WHM and SGE do about the same damage and around 60-70% of DPS Jobs, which is pretty good.

SCH does a bit less, though has the strongest AOE spam spell, and the faerie can help you heal while you're doing other things. SCH is kind of a "party in a box" if you have a tanking Chocobo since, for most overworld stuff, your Choco can tank, you can dish out damage, and Eos can keep you both healed. And as said above, SCH levels with SMN, giving you that option.

AST does the least damage of any Job in the game BECAUSE it's balanced around its party buffs increasing the damage of your allies. This means AST itself does low damage personally. When in a party with good damage dealers, AST's total damage contribution (if you include, say, you buffing that SAM so it can do more damage) is arguably the highest of the healers. But the flip side is that it does less damage ITSELF to make up for this and not make it OP vs the others. It's...arguably the worst Job in the game to solo with in terms of damage races.

And yeah, Choco advise is good, whether you play a Tank or Healer or DPSer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Renathras

SMN actually does have healing, but it's weird. Up until level 60 or so, your base heal (Physic) is generally somewhat useful, but it drops off pretty hard between 50 and 60, then isn't worth it past that point.

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No SMN's Physick just completely drops off after 50. SMN starts getting casting gear (see: Tomestone gear is now separated into casting and healing), and Physick only scales on MND stat. The MND stat is removed from lv 50 onwards for casters, and thus physick goes from:

Lv 1 to 20: useful
Lv 20 to 45: mildly useful (Healers get an upgraded healing spell so Physick is no longer as comparable but their base stats and Maim and Mend II are still there)
Lv 45 to 49: not really useful but still usable in a pinch (MND Stats will start to vary significantly here if you are using artifact gear)
Lv 50 onwards: completely useless (healers gain bigger scaling on MND, casters lose MND stat from gear, reducing its potency to be even lower than previous levels since it can only rely on base MND from levels).

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Originally Posted by AnotherPerson

No SMN's Physick just completely drops off after 50. SMN starts getting casting gear (see: Tomestone gear is now separated into casting and healing), and Physick only scales on MND stat. The MND stat is removed from lv 50 onwards for casters, and thus physick goes from:

Lv 1 to 20: useful
Lv 20 to 45: mildly useful (Healers get an upgraded healing spell so Physick is no longer as comparable but their base stats and Maim and Mend II are still there)
Lv 45 to 49: not really useful but still usable in a pinch (MND Stats will start to vary significantly here if you are using artifact gear)
Lv 50 onwards: completely useless (healers gain bigger scaling on MND, casters lose MND stat from gear, reducing its potency to be even lower than previous levels since it can only rely on base MND from levels).

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I use SMN Physick in Coils and Alex MINE like I'm Selene Jr.. Who's not at max HP? Physick.

It's wonderful in fights with lots of downtime like T9 and A6S.

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Originally Posted by vetch

I use SMN Physick in Coils and Alex MINE like I'm Selene Jr.. Who's not at max HP? Physick.

It's wonderful in fights with lots of downtime like T9 and A6S.

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This.

It's also helpful doing at-level stuff for the ARR relic, which is level 50. Does depend on the gear you're using, but at its worst, it still heals around 10% of your health, which isn't bad if you're doing things like soloing boss FATEs.

By the time you get level 60, though, your HP is just too big for it to matter and the enemies are hitting for that much damage per hit.

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But I'm not going to argue over it. Suffice to say it's useful early on, but becomes not useful later, but then you eventually get Phoenix and can heal more, but on a schedule.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vetch

I use SMN Physick in Coils and Alex MINE like I'm Selene Jr.. Who's not at max HP? Physick.

It's wonderful in fights with lots of downtime like T9 and A6S.

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If there is enough downtime for you to Physick people to full health, there is between 2 and 8 times more downtime than healers need to get everyone to full health. And during uptime, you're better off just killing the boss faster and never casting Physick.

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Originally Posted by Rongway

If there is enough downtime for you to Physick people to full health, there is between 2 and 8 times more downtime than healers need to get everyone to full health. And during uptime, you're better off just killing the boss faster and never casting Physick.

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Go play T9 MINE/T9S and watch healers struggle to top people off in meteor phase with their hardcast heals while also placing and dodging markers. An extra 1200-1600 HP of healing from a SMN throwing out well-placed Physicks is a godsend, particularly on pulls where a healer has died and lost all their MP which is their main way to heal at 50.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vetch

Go play T9 MINE/T9S and watch healers struggle to top people off in meteor phase with their hardcast heals while also placing and dodging markers. An extra 1200-1600 HP of healing from a SMN throwing out well-placed Physicks is a godsend, particularly on pulls where a healer has died and lost all their MP which is their main way to heal at 50.

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Too be fair that was the time the healer in general we’re pretty weak healing wise. Pulse all aoe heals were on cast time plus the bad server back in the day. Until we got a overload of ogcd skills.