Give WHM Reactive Heals

I like that scholars got a unique heal mechanic with shields. I think that is very useful and great for grouping or tanks.

The WHM is still the plain old basic toolbox healer without much that makes it very special.

I would like to see some healing that other classes can't just cross-class out of the WHM. Specifically, I would like to see WHM get a single target and possibly group reactive heal.

For those that don't know, a reactive heal is a buff with a certain amount of charges. Each time the target is hit, a charge is expended and heals the person buffed by a certain amount.

It can lead to overheal (which is consistent with the current WHM limitation).. but timed when the target is lower on health can help you "catch up"... or can help normalize damage.

It would help the WHM bring something unique to the table, while allowing SCH to keep it's distinctive flavor.

Thoughts?

I've always been a fan of how EQ2 did their 3 healer bases. Dots, Wards, and then Reactives. Worked really well and brought a lot of variety.

I think White Mage should be the "Classic" Final Fantasy healer. Using cast time Cures, and Regen to heal their allies. Scholars should be about the Shields and Reactive. Gives them both different play styles and feels. I like how the White Mage is so far.

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Originally Posted by Cariborne

I think White Mage should be the "Classic" Final Fantasy healer. Using cast time Cures, and Regen to heal their allies. Scholars should be about the Shields and Reactive. Gives them both different play styles and feels. I like how the White Mage is so far.

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Yup I chose the WHM over the Scholar exactly because it's a classic healer type. No need to change that.

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Originally Posted by Sebyos

Yup I chose the WHM over the Scholar exactly because it's a classic healer type. No need to change that.

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agreed... if i want to play a reactive healing/shielding class id go back to boring ol' rift..

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Originally Posted by kidxdynamite

agreed... if i want to play a reactive healing/shielding class id go back to boring ol' rift..

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Hahah, yep good ol' Symbol of the Sun macro. That was as ez mode as healing could ever get.

If I'm not mistaken, WHM has a shield that covers 18% of the targets health. I'm not sure how effective it will be in level 50 content but my assumption is that it will be pretty boss - at least when used on the tank.

So far my only gripe with WHM is that I feel there aren't enough instant cast abilities. And the base cast time of 2s for cure/cure2 can be very frustrating. Hopefully spell speed will be a big deal for healers at level 50.

I am also really enjoying White Mage so far. I'm level 42 and love the classic healing style. I have always enjoyed AoE heals and HoT's so WHM fits my style perfectly.

I was tempted to try out Scholar until I saw the Faeries AI and decided against it.

White Mage is fine. If you require something different, go ahead and try Scholar. Just realize that they excel in different areas. WHM's make better tank healers in my experience, because of Benediction ohh-f button and PoM/DS spamming heals to overpower incoming damage. Scholar seems to be more adept at group management though, so both will have their places in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by dragonflyseksparade

Hahah, yep good ol' Symbol of the Sun macro. That was as ez mode as healing could ever get.

If I'm not mistaken, WHM has a shield that covers 18% of the targets health. I'm not sure how effective it will be in level 50 content but my assumption is that it will be pretty boss - at least when used on the tank.

So far my only gripe with WHM is that I feel there aren't enough instant cast abilities. And the base cast time of 2s for cure/cure2 can be very frustrating. Hopefully spell speed will be a big deal for healers at level 50.

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The only shield whm has is stoneskin. It has a long cast time and based off HP% of target. It's ok.. no symbol of the sun lol.... We do have instant cast regen spell which is really op but a small heal with less potency than cure, and could instant cast would be awesome!

I like the general style of WHM healing. Scrap Overcure for something not absolutely idiotic, make Stoneskin way more potent with a longish cooldown (and remove if from cross class), and give the WHM a more dependable mana mechanic(ie less luck based) than freecure... And the class is solid.

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Originally Posted by Arale

White Mage is fine. If you require something different, go ahead and try Scholar. Just realize that they excel in different areas. WHM's make better tank healers in my experience, because of Benediction ohh-f button and PoM/DS spamming heals to overpower incoming damage. Scholar seems to be more adept at group management though, so both will have their places in my opinion.

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I feel like you're backwards. WHM are much better AoE healers and SCH shields are better utilized by tanks who take consistent damage(ie the shield isn't wasted). The 20% HP heal from Aether-charge also screams tank healer to me, along with staggering heals from the fairy to mitigate spikes.

what about Pray? a small AoE heal (50 potency) costs 0 MP and has a chance to remove status effects (30%)?
overkill? maybe SCH should have it but they are ATHEISTS.

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Originally Posted by Draemos

I like the general style of WHM healing. Scrap Overcure for something not absolutely idiotic, make Stoneskin way more potent with a longish cooldown (and remove if from cross class), and give the WHM a more dependable mana mechanic(ie less luck based) than freecure... And the class is solid.

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Just FYI,

Cure -> Freecure -> Cure II is for 4 man content.
Cure II -> Overcure -> Cure III is for 8 man+ content with mage ballad from BRD.

Yes, you can't waste time casting Cure on DPS when got hit in 8man+ content.

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Originally Posted by Aedra

Just FYI,

Cure -> Freecure -> Cure II is for 4 man content.
Cure II -> Overcure -> Cure III is for 8 man+ content with mage ballad from BRD.

Yes, you can't waste time casting Cure on DPS when got hit in 8man+ content.

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Cure 3 is a conditional spell (big AoE burst heal) based on a 15% random proc on a spell you use primarily when another spell randomly procs. Even assuming you didn't use Cure I in 8 man content; which from every WHM I've seen streaming 8 man content is a complete falsity; it's still just bad design.... because then you're invalidating Free-cure.

If Overcure had more than a 15 second duration, it would be fine... but it doesn't, so it sucks. Every now and then the stars align and give you that proc @ the time you need it; but asking a class to rely on luck like that to justify a mechanic is bad design.

RNG healing isn't reliable and is traditionally not a favorite.

Also, what I was suggesting was not like the Rift Symbols spells- those are wards... it is more like the Orbs of the Stream spell. Reactives are a common and fun way to heal in many games. They just kind of help out your main heals.

We also don't have a divine intervention type buff for tanks

A reraise buff for ourselves

Bar-spells for magic resistance (just improved protect)

Hitpoint buffs

Shell (just protect)

Haste

Slow

Maybe these are planned for future abilities

Edit: To the post that call WHM "Classic"... it's really not. It's just an incredibly simplistic healer. Classic healers have direct heals for situations, a nice selection of buffs, and are generally the prime and unparalleled healer in a game. Once they are not the only healer, they generaly have the best selection of healing tools.

I think of the EQ cleric... that transitioned from the best basic direct heal tools... to the more sophisticated, yet still superior toolset once other healers became competent.

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Originally Posted by Sebyos

Yup I chose the WHM over the Scholar exactly because it's a classic healer type. No need to change that.

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EXACTLY

After GW2 I was excited to see a healer that represented something I also considered more of a "classic healer type".

I find Haste and Slow will be better with a Time Mage Job down the line. Shell is built into Protect and we don't need Bar Spells. Now Auto-Raise I find should be usable on anyone who's about to die with in the duration and have a length cooldown. As for an HP Buff, I find that better to come from a tank who'll really use it. Maybe the Marauder. I don't think a Divine Intervention is really needed. What I do think is they should buff our Stoneskin, maybe make Graniteskin shield 15% Health instead of 18%, but restore half the mana cost when it's broken. They also need to make Cure, Cure II and Cure III flow better with each other. I think Cure and Cure II should be best used on Tanks, with Cure III being a great way to beef the party up. Cure II should be the one that has a higher chance to Crit from Cure, and Cure III should be a free cost when Cure II is used.

You could be right about the time mage… if that’s planned. There are a lot of things that the whm had that made it fun and unique that are no longer needed. No more sneak/invis/deodorize. (Which I am happy about)… no more group ports. No more bar spells. With a lot of the non-healing aspects of the class going away, I feel like that is a large part of why the class itself is kind of one dimensional an feels a bit obsolete.
Aside from the healing… most of the other aspects are “outdated”… it creates a feeling of a class that was necessary, because the game needed a healer… but beyond that is kind of flat. Now that there is another healer that offers robust features beyond healing… the class seems like it needs a new direction.