White Mage or Scholar?

[FearingFenris]

I started the game off as an Arcanist and loved it, but then moved onto Summoner and ditched it for Ninja so that I could be a close ranged dps. When I reached lvl 40, I realized that, even though dps is plenty helpful, I wanted to do more than damage the enemy. So I reached out to Scholar, ran a few lower level dungeons, and realized it was just the challenge I had been looking for. However, when I made my way into Brayflox and had the tank wipe twice in a row against the first mini-boss, I rethought my position. I know I'll have to level Conjurer and Thaumaturge to receive their essential skills, but should I make the swap to White Mage and heal after damage, or still stay on the preventative side of Scholar? Maybe I just can't handle everything the Scholar has to offer?

[Raminax]

Keep trucking on; don't get discouraged by one poor attempt. Brayflox's Longstop is where damage intake jumps sharply, because Squeenix expects people to have their Job unlocked by then. There are a lot of factors to consider for a tank death:

- If it was a Warrior or Dark Knight you were healing, were they playing in their tanking stance (Defiance/Grit)? Not using tanking stances can put a lot of stress on healers, especially inexperienced ones. Likewise, defensive cooldowns can be important for survival too. Paladins get their tanking stance later (Shield Oath) at lvl40, but the same stuff applies to them at that point.
- What was your own skill usage like? Did you feel that you simply couldn't keep up despite constant Physick and Embrace usage on the tank, or were you running out of MP for some reason? Gear, fairy control or mashing buttons harder can solve the first issue, using Aetherflow as frequently as possible and minimizing the need for Adloquium can help with the latter. Can also shamelessly Energy Drain if MP proves to continue being an issue; it restores the same amount of MP regardless of how hard you hit.
- Gear! While gear can only carry as much, if the tank is running about in lvl15 DPS gear in a place like Brayflox, they're simply going to die horribly and repeatedly if they don't play flawlessly. Likewise, if your heals aren't up to snuff, it might be time to look into a new book (new weapons are especially important, NEVER neglect those if you have to choose) or updating especially old armour/accessories.

As for the crossclass skills, you definitely want to get Thaumaturge to 26 at some point for Swiftcast; it greatly increases flexibility in general, even if it's most commonly used for instant resurrection. Conjurer is fine until Lvl8 for starters to get Cleric Stance and Protect. Stoneskin is pretty meh. When you're solohealing, you likely aren't doing content that's hard enough for it to be necessary, and your time and MP is better spent using Adloquium for absorption instead.

Also, I just want you to get this out of your system early: Even as a White Mage, you're going to benefit immensely from thinking forward and precasting big hits like a Scholar. You may not have the same tools for absorption as a Scholar does, but a good healer, regardless of Job, will be casting big heals to land split moments after big hits to reduce the risk of people being instantly picked off by minor damage afterwards.

[FearingFenris]

Yeah, our tank was a Dark Knight and wasn't in battle stance. The damage was incredibly high, only on him, and he would rush off without the rest of the party. Besides that, I did run out of mp on the second run when I tried to keep up with him, he was too far gone. I have read up recently on what tactics to use; like aetherflow every time it pops up and then doing energy drain. Using Adloquium as a shield for large hits and to top off slacking health. Eos is doing fine and I guess it was just a beginner's fluke on my part. Soloing is easy, and I can do fates my level by myself with plenty of mana to spare. I guess it'll all come down to practice! Thank you so much!

[Delily]

Play both, I found leveling both to 50 (and soon 60), helped me be a better healer overall.

[Akyio]

I was originally SMN in 2.0, then i switched to Scholar right away. I had to get my conjurer up to 34 or something to get stoneskin. I hated healing as WHM in low dungeons, as typical "holy priest".
SCH imo just has more to offer and is wayyyy more interesting to play with. The fun things you can do(which are nearly impossible on ps4 with controller), like healing two prefered targets at the same time with fairy, or pushing some massive burst heal on a tank with crit adlo, lustrate and fairy on top. Also situations where you do a mistake and you're silenced or paralyzed, but fairy not and saves someone from death.

I dont think there is a lot to handle with SCH or any other class. If you play on ps4 controller it can be a bit difficult with macro's or managing your fairy's abilities, because your skill bars will be a bit filled with their skills.

What you probably need is a bit experience, encountering various situations where you use various kind of skills you have, then you will get a grip on what where to do and will be better

[Blessedbythesun]

If you play on ps4 controller it can be a bit difficult with macro's or managing your fairy's abilities, because your skill bars will be a bit filled with their skills.

As a PS4 player, this statement annoys me but mostly because I don't understand it. I started out knowing that I would main SCH so I leveled CNJ for running dungeon until level 30. It isn't difficult, but more along the lines of placing the abilities on the hotbar as well as comfortable hotbar sets for switching naturally.

[Makeda]

Yeah, our tank ... and he would rush off without the rest of the party. ... when I tried to keep up with him, he was too far gone.

Nobody can heal a tank that is out of range.

I wish more tanks knew this...

This is one thing I love about Wildstar healing over this game - telegraphs there are player side as well. When you can a heal it is a telegraph, not a target (save for a few odd spells) - and there is nothing like seeing the whole party stop running away from you and run towards the green spots.
- Wish I could do that here.

[WingsOfAzrael]

I'd say level both to 60 and play which one you like better. But having variety in the classes you can play even as a healer is good.

[FearingFenris]

Thanks everybody!