Please disable changing Cleric Stance during combat for make healer focus on healing.

[Tranquil]

Did you (OP) even read the thing you're referring to in your OP? Yes, Yoshi is saying they're designing the encounters without accounting in for healer DPS, as at a world first -level they are expecting people to push for clears below the "designated overall ilvl needed for the clear", something made possible by healer DPS among other things.

Designing the encounters' DPS checks so that they also account in for healer DPS would be a harsh decision to make because it would remove that skill element of the game (among many other things) that rewards the elite players for their tight playing and thus them clearing an encounter whilst undergeared.

As Yoshi says, you don't need to DPS, but it's a bonus-kind of thing that good players can do. I think this is the ideal stance the devs can take on this issue.

Fail thread.

[Seryl199]

The sky will not fall if you don't get to DPS. It will not end the world, nor the people who play the class. If you are so aggressive about DPSing while you heal, and it's more important than healing, I encourage you to roll a DPS class instead- I feel you may enjoy it more, as the focus on DPS is much greater. People will still play healers- because most people who play healers do so to heal, I would like to think.

If the number of healers is too low, I imagine they could implement some achievements for it a la the tank ones, where healing 500 expert dungeons gets you a gilded unicorn or a faerie palanquin or some such thing.

The problem is that SE has designed healers with very powerful toolkits, abilities that far exceed the amount of healing that we typically need in most scenarios outside of raids. I have the option of pressing Cure for the duration of a pull, or popping some CD's, Divine Seal, Presence of Mind, and start laying down the hurt WHILE maintaining an efficient healing presence. Will I need Benediction in the next 5 minutes? Sincerely doubt it, unless a NIN is dancing in front of ten mobs eating AoE's. Use it on the tank to have more DPS uptime. And since your main healer utilities are on such a low timer (60 seconds for the almighty Divine Seal, 2.5 minutes on the high end for the admittedly more lackluster Presence of Mind) there is no reason not to use these abilities and use them frequently.

DPS healers have arisen because these tools are great, and they provide us with a lot of breathing room, especially when seen in conjunction with a tank's mitigative abilities. What this leaves you with are healers that are very good, using all of the abilities in their toolkit, and then standing around with nothing to do, waiting for incoming damage to be greater than the HP that their HoT's are providing, not a thrilling waiting game to be sure. Tanks sought to tax us a little more, with speed runs and mass pulls. Our abilities were more than a match. Fending off 9+ mobs, many healers are STILL able to pitch in DPS, and consistently keep the party alive.

These tactics have been fostered by patch after patch of trash and bosses that typically don't tax a healer in a way that keeps them busy for the duration of the fight outside of Coil content. The reason this is such a hot button issue when it is brought up among healers is that it has become a play style, very much ingrained in how some of us play. Much in the same way that a DRG will retaliate if you remark on them only using Heavy Thrust ("I'll play how I want!!!"), healers have a way of playing that they enjoy, whether it be the extremely cautious turtle healer, or the aggressive (but vigilant!) DPS healer, or somewhere in between. Until your average level of play in light party content and all things in between actually reach the level where it taxes a healer to the best of their ability (which will never happen, raids are where this is at, and even then, healer DPS is still relevant), you will have healers that are better at their job than the content requires, thus, DPS healers. Taking away Cleric Stance will only leave these healers with less to do, and since buffs like Stoneskin are MP intensive, they may as well start /dancing until the next mechanic rolls around.

TLDR: Good healers use cooldowns to heal less often. Bored healers fill in this time with DPS.

[Aeyis]

LOL please learn to read. Go find the quote where I said I was unable to play a healer in any game. You won't be able to because I never said it.

Unable ment not enjoying it. There is no need to feel like you need to defend your ability as a healer.

[SpookyGhost]

Cardinal mage rule: ABC (Always Be Casting)

If it's not a heal, make it a DPS spell. Don't just sit there waiting for damage to happen so you can finally start casting something.

Healers that just heal and do it well, are average - and that's fine if that's all you want to be. Healers that recognize when they can contribute DPS and when they need to focus on healing are the good ones, the exceptional ones, the ones you want in your party more than the former.

I never complain when a healer doesn't DPS, but I do acknowledge when a healer does and those usually get my commendation/respect.

So, to the OP, no we should definitely keep CS the way it is so that healers have the option to DPS if they choose to.

[Atlaworks]

Snip!

This is a good post. I like your post. And I agree with a lot of it- I understand the purpose of Cleric Stance and believe it should be kept in, as I outlined at the top of page 11. The ability to do other things and DPS in between heals is pretty great, and while I think they should in general be doing less damage with it, the ability to toss out aeros and stones when they're not healing is a good idea. I simply believe this mentality of "If I can't DPS then I won't heal" is silly, because it's not what they signed up for in the first place; and if it is, some priorities may need to be checked. Loss of DPS abilities for a healing class is not the end of the world- it's not a good thing either, but it won't break the class because it's not the main job of the class anyway.

It'd just make it a lot less interesting.

[NorthernLadMSP]

And for some of us, taking away the fun and extra challenge of doing both successfully would make the job boring. Sorry, but don't punish me because of people who lack skill.

[Highwilds]

Stuff is situational. I will keep DPSing and stance dancing as a WHM when I see fit. Thank you. See you again!

[Risvertasashi]

Cardinal mage rule: ABC (Always Be Casting)

If it's not a heal, make it a DPS spell. Don't just sit there waiting for damage to happen so you can finally start casting something.

Healers that just heal and do it well, are average - and that's fine if that's all you want to be. Healers that recognize when they can contribute DPS and when they need to focus on healing are the good ones, the exceptional ones, the ones you want in your party more than the former.

Regenerating MP is a valid reason to not cast. Now this does depend on content a bit... faceroll stuff, yes, never going to have MP issues. T13 though... it can still be a bit intense, especially with rezzing going on.

[Hiragawa]

If I'm not permitted to DPS when healing isn't needed, I'll stop healing. (Mana preservation in certain situations aside, of course).

Seriously, outside of raid Complete Heal rotations, you still saw the top Clerics swinging hammers around and tossing out Yaulp as a self dps buff back in EQ. If a healer doesn't want to dps on content that doesn't require it of them? Fine. But quit trying to punish those of us that do/are able.

This constant back and forth bickering just needs to end. Really now, you're listed as an Arcanist, which means if you're healing it's as a Scholar. How bloody boring do you find it standing around doing nothing on many fights when you could easily be popping up Aldo and tossing out some dots, or at least a Shadow Flare when you don't need Sacred Soil up? Do you enjoy sleeping through content?

[Verdan]

This thread is a perfect example of why these official forums are considered to be a joke by the playerbase at large.

Yeah it's reaaaaally stupid