What's more difficult to use end game? SCH or WHM

[Poosammich]

So I just wanted to weigh in on this as I've only recently started healing in FF legitimately on my SCH. Initially in my eyes the WHM was a "better" healer due to the fact that they can drop bigger heals. For me as a Cleric in EQ, and a Priest in WoW those big heals were what I was accustomed to. That said getting more comfortable with my SCH, and now controlling the fairy by macroing Embrace to Physick, and AOE regens I'd say they are on par, BUT <- big but. They do the job quite differently. Also in my experience where a WHM, and a WHM can gel together well. Most often when I see SCH/SCH in 8 mans I know I'm in for a workout. It simply takes A LOT more effort to get a whole group topped up when you aren't synergizing with a WHM. Also the fact that Galvanize doesn't stack also plays a part here.

So the result here at least from my observation is this: WHM drops bigger heals, and has a legitimate "OH SH**" button with Benediction. SCH is great for mitigating damage, and in dishing some DPS(not in 8 mans) when able, and is also quite mobile thanks to instant Lustrate. Also MP is easier to manage typically on a SCH than a WHM. Together they are a phenomenal team, but you'll have to get used double casting Succor, and/or burning Rouse, and Whispering Dawn on the big AOE's when teaming with another SCH. As always YMMV.

[Loam]

I play both SCH and WHM in endgame and I find the SCH to be muuuuuch easier to play than WHM. With WHM I have to watch out my MP constantly and I need to HEAL al the damage incoming instead of simply prevent it with shields (Adloqiuoum, Succor, Sacred Soil etc.). This makes the WHM a reactive healer, more frustrating to play than SCH, which is a proactive healer instead. The shield from Adloquium or Succor and the fairy's cures, besides, help a lot in managing aggro, while WHM sometimes can take too much hate due to big heals like Cure II or Cure III. Yes, WHM has SoS, which actually helps, but sometimes you need to watch out both aggro and your MP in the same fight, making your use of SoS pretty much ponderous.

[Lyrinn]

I play both WHM and SCH but haven't quite reached "endgame" yet. That being said, I find WHM "easier" in the sense that if there's a lot of AoE or multi-target damage going out, Regen, Medica II, or even Cure III lets you be somewhat lazy - prime example is CT, where I can use Medica II on half the fights and ignore everyone until the regen wears off, whereas SCH has to work harder with single target or spam Adloquium. SCH felt harder to pick up and learn, but it feels much more forgiving once mastered than WHM.

[Sebazy]

Both jobs near enough best in slot with everything cleared etcetc. Whm and Sch achieve a similar result in a very different manner and as such, the difficulty of either is rather subjective...

Whm is more about exercising control and restraint, the difficulty comes not from 'healing all the things' but rather, knowing when you can hold back for efficiencies sake. Do you really need to cure 2 that DPS or is it safe to simply let regen do it's work. The other aspect is timing heals to land with big boss hits as well as having sufficient spatial awareness to get the most out of Cure III. All told, whm is quite a slow paced job that requires less actions per minute and a little bit more thought.

Sch is the polar opposite, I find myself hammering away at my hotkeys significantly faster than on whm for a multitude of reasons. Micromanaging the fairy requires the most work with most stuff boiling down to either mashing two keys at a time or a combination of hotkey and mouse work for <mo>, macros simplify things a little but due to the difference in cast/recast on embrace and physick, key mashing is still the order of the day. A far more liberal sprinkling of abilities that are off the GCD only serves to heighten the APM count. The other noteworthy facet of SCH is that it is much more cooldown centric than WHM, with Selene out you've got 3 cool downs to keep on the boil as well as trying to ensure you get the most out of your Aetherflow charges. Lastly, understanding boss patterns and being able to pre-empt damage spikes with galvanize is the difference between a good and great sch.

So TLDR version, whm is more of a thinker, sch is more of a doer. My personal opinion is that Sch is mildly more difficult due to the added depth to the job. It's pretty hard to be a bad whm (and most bad whms still usually heal ok, they just waste mp or pull more enmity than they should), whereas sch is rather more intricate to play and hence substantially easier to play at a significantly sub par level.

[SeraviEdalborez]

SCH has an easier time healing in general in my opinion, outside of heavy AoE-fests like Ifrit EX. The entry barrier to the job itself is a bit more daunting compared to WHM though.

Experienced SCH > Experienced WHM > so-so WHM >> so-so SCH

[Viviza]

I play both, and I find them about equal.

SCH has more to manage with pets and tracking aetherflow, but they can play a lot more freely with their MP, and lustrate has fantastic utility.

The cure spam comparison is silly. Both jobs can do this, and are at nowhere near their potential if they do so.

[Hollowed]

I play both SCH and WHM in endgame and I find the SCH to be muuuuuch easier to play than WHM. With WHM I have to watch out my MP constantly and I need to HEAL al the damage incoming instead of simply prevent it with shields (Adloqiuoum, Succor, Sacred Soil etc.). This makes the WHM a reactive healer, more frustrating to play than SCH, which is a proactive healer instead. The shield from Adloquium or Succor and the fairy's cures, besides, help a lot in managing aggro, while WHM sometimes can take too much hate due to big heals like Cure II or Cure III. Yes, WHM has SoS, which actually helps, but sometimes you need to watch out both aggro and your MP in the same fight, making your use of SoS pretty much ponderous.

^ this xoxoxo

[wildgalax]

I haven't played a WHM in T5 but I can't imagine it being more difficult than SCH. You have no Faerie to watch over, no Aetherflow to watch over, Adloquium needs to be up before a Death Sentence hits. Putting Sacred Soil and try to Succor before Fireballs. I believe the WHM is an "after-care" job while SCH is a "preventive" one.

not true, as a whm also needs to stoneskin tanks prior to death sentence, and timing has to be spot on too early means plummet will take it off, too late means it wont proc even though its on the tank during ds. Also whm has a lot of utility to use, like cleric stancing to help out in important areas, and aoe healing the whole party, keeping regen on tank, keeping an eye on procs to not run out of mana, proper management of mana and cds, and lots more.

[Sebazy]

I'll certainly agree that it's harder to time stoneskin between the plummet and death sentence, and then follow up with a cure 2 + regen before infirmity hits. Adloq is easier at this stage due to it's faster cast and healing element.

[DreamWeaver]

Sebazy has summarized everything quite nicely, IMHO, BY THEMSELVES, WHM will be harder to play compared to SCH, mainly due to mana management.

But with the existence of bards, semi-competent healers can just go nuts with their MP, and yell at the bard for Mage's Ballad when they run dry, thus completely annihilating the challenge of Mana Managing as a WHM.

Thus as there's tons of bards running around (9/10 DF for 8-mans will have a bard for me), the difficulty of playing a WHM is somewhat diminished.