What makes WHM special? Nothing anymore.

[Kosmos992k]

So you want all three healing classes to be WHMs? Let's take ranged attacks away from BRD and MCH while we're at it, and seriously, why should some classes use magic attacks while others use physical damage? Get rid of THAT crap...

How, exactly, did you glean that from my post? Perhaps I should put sarcasm tags around things in future for the hard of understanding. Far from wanting homogenization I want WHM to have some of it's individuality returned, or perhaps you should just re-read my post(s) understanding that I do not wish to have a single healer job/class, and simply want WHM to have it's own identity just as AST and SCH do. That was rather the point I was making since the poster I was replying to was the one talking about healers as nothing more than a way to make the blue bars go up - hence my sarcasm in response to him.

Oh, and please let's not have anyone else respond to me saying how powerful WHM is as a burst healer, that is not an identity. I mean really? AST says, I'm an Astrolgian, see my disco ball and Deck O'Wonder, how they sparkle and shine? SCH says, I' a scholarly healer, with my great tome of healing and companion faerie can you not see how we work together to heal your wounds? WHM says, I'm the mighty White Mage, see my big stick and watch me cure your bursty needs...yeah, kinda needs some work there.

I think that one of the things I miss most with playing my WHM is my wand and shield. So, where AST has it's disco ball and Deck O'Wonder and SCH has it's grimoire and Faerie, WHM should have it's wand and shield. In closing, give me my bloody shield back!

[RichardButte]

Not really, there are plenty of ways to make healers different. A class can focus on HoTs, one can focus on shields and damage prevention, one can focus on speedy smaller heals, one can focus on single target heals, one can be a hybrid damage and healing, one can focus on big expensive heals but must spend time doing some another thing to get that mana back etc.

The problem with this line of thinking is that it doesn't account for what actually works in an encounter. Sure, you could have a healer that focuses on mobility, but then you have to make it weaker in other areas and then it's crap when they try to use it in a situation where its mobility isn't an advantage.

It was basically the same idea they had for ASTs which ultimately didn't work: a healer with weaker heals that compensates with buffs, except that a healer's job is to first and foremost keep the group ALIVE.

WoW's healers had tons of overlapping abilities as well, and many of their raid encounters were just flat out miserable for some of them because there's only so much you can really do when it comes to accommodating all types of healing styles.

I want WHM to have some of it's individuality returned

You cannot return that which was never taken. As I said earlier, AST having crappier versions of some of WHMs heals doesn't suddenly make WHM worthless.

and simply want WHM to have it's own identity just as AST and SCH do.

"Most powerful healer in the game" is still an identity. If it's not the identity you want, play "crappier version of WMH with unreliable RNG buffs" or "WHM that uses shields and has a fairy pet" instead.

[winsock]

What makes WHM special? PoM and DS. Not saying they're bad skills, but SE could stand to make WHM a bit more unique.

[Kosmos992k]

You cannot return that which was never taken.

"Most powerful healer in the game" is still an identity. If it's not the identity you want, play "crappier version of WMH with unreliable RNG buffs" or "WHM that uses shields and has a fairy pet" instead.

I think that some of the individuality has been removed. Prior to HW, and through most of ARR it was possible to play WHM with a wand and shield, but that was effectively phased out once you got to Relic Zenith. The changes in traits removed two specific skills from the "bag of tricks that WHM brings to the party" and handed them out to 3 other jobs. I'll grant you that the role of straight up healer still belongs to WHM, and in that way I will agree with you, but as I have said before, some of the flavor has been lost in my opinion. As others have pointed out, once you hit end-game and overgearing starts to have an impact, the worth of raw healing power in content other than end-game raids starts to diminish.

I understand that the removal of Granite Skin is unlikely to be reversed, although if they made it a 5% boost instead of 8%, and returned it, it would be nice. Given that monsters scale with our levels, I can't see how SS was a balance issue in the first place...but that's neither here nor there since they are unlikely to give it back. I get why they made the change to Protect, but again, is it too much to ask that the class/job who the skill originates with be able to cast a stronger version, even if it's only 5% stronger? Again though, I doubt that this will change.

IMHO it leaves WHM feeling a bit bland and pigeon holed as the supposed "raw power" or pure healer. I think that one of the things that set WHM/CNJ apart from SCH/ACN in ARR was the ability to opt for extra defense with a physical shield at the expense of a bit of the raw healing power. Once the playerbase starts overgearing content, raw power is less important, I'd love to be able to pick up a wand and shield with a suitable ilvl as an option. I would play WHM with wand and shield almost exclusively unless that raw power were needed in a fight, when I'd switch back to the big stick in order to scale my healing power appropriately to the need of the fight.

WHM should have it's wand and shield. In closing, give me my bloody shield back!

[Edit]Actually, I'd like to go one further and add this. WHM and Paladin have always seemed like a natural team to me. SCH is almost made to be a ranged healer since the faerie can be placed much closer to the action to keep the melee folks topped up while the Scholar stands a little way off to avoid getting stepped on. Not sure about AST, since I've not played it, and probably won't - it's simply not my personal preference. However going back to Paladin/White Mage. The WHM is potentially able to be a much closer support healer because in theory they can pick up their wand and shield to better withstand getting stepped on and offer closer support to the Melee players and tanks. Perhaps it's because I main PLD and so am used to be closer to the action, but I enjoy(ed) playing WHM with that option because I can be closer to the action. It's personal preference of course, but it always seemed like this was one of the aspects of CNJ/WHM that gave it flavor.

[GideonHighmourn]

IMHO it leaves WHM feeling a bit bland and pigeon holed as the supposed "raw power" or pure healer. I think that one of the things that set WHM/CNJ apart from SCH/ACN in ARR was the ability to opt for extra defense with a physical shield at the expense of a bit of the raw healing power. Once the playerbase starts overgearing content, raw power is less important, I'd love to be able to pick up a wand and shield with a suitable ilvl as an option.

You must be joking. Wand and shield is more a remnant of 1.0 than it is a WHM/BLM (THM also gets wands) specific identity/mechanic. Even if you were to get this, it wouldn't change how WHM plays, which is what you seem to have a problem with, so you'd likely still be here complaining that either: A) Getting a wand and shield is more difficult than getting a staff or B) Having wand/shield isn't enough, and doesn't change WHM's play style enough.

Stoneskin was a necessary evil, in my mind, much in the same way that Lustrate was changed from a percentage-based heal to a potency-based heal; SE has tried to phase out any percentage based healing in an effort to prevent mechanic avoidance, and I have a feeling Stoneskin was part of that movement.

[EinherjarLucian]

Well, that's a revelation...In truth we need no special anything. ASTs put down your disco ball and Deck O'Wonder, SCHs, take your pets of their leash and return your book to the library, all either of you need is a bigstick, because as EinherjarLucian just pointed out, our job is to "keep the blue bars full" everything else is icing on the cake.

I think I have come to the conclusion that there is a large group of players who treat this game as some version of The Matrix were they see the numbers but not the people, the algorithms but not the trees, and there is nothing we can do to help you see beyond that. I also think that one of the things I miss most with playing my WHM is my wand and shield. So I think that where AST has it's disco ball and Deck O'Wonder and SCH has it's grimoire and Faerie, WHM should have it's wand and shield. In closing, give me my bloody shield back!

Okay, look at it from an in-character perspective. If I'm a member of a party of adventurers delving into a deep dangerous place to battle unspeakable horrors... I want to know the healer has my back. That she'll keep me alive (and not be so busy focused on some other silly thing that I get my head lobbed off like a certain star-crossed couple). If I'm, say, a Warrior... do I even know how healing works? Do I care? All I know is that this one guy has a spinning globe, this one girl has a stick (or a stick and a shield), and this one other girl has a book and a fairy.

They wiggle some fingers, glow and have sparkles, then I glow and have sparkles and that nasty gash across my chest from some Elder Wyvern has magically gone away. I have no idea how it works because my job is hitting things with a giant axe and looking tough.

Do healers care? If I'm a healer in a party with another healer, going to beat up Titan again, I'm too busy keeping the warrior alive after Titan hits him with a chunk of ground. Meanwhile, my friend is busy keeping the rest of the party alive while Titan's throwing his tantrums and dropping rocks on people. Maybe we have some professional rivalry? Whatever. At the end of the day, we walk out of the place alive carrying away some rocks and a new gun for our Machinist friend and the satisfaction of knowing we put a Primal in its place. Again.

[Edit] And another thing: Having a WHM in the party while I'm SCH means I have the confidence that the WHM is taking care of most of the healing, and I can turn the page in my book to the Dark Magic section, shift my stance, and start melting faces. Up until recently, I wasn't sure if AST could. There's your identity: Nobody argues that a White Mage can keep the party healed. It's what he does. No distractions, no fairies to command or cards to shuffle. All of that gets in the way of commanding nature itself to bend to your will and keep people alive.

As a healer, I care that my friends survive, and I'm going to bring the tools I know how to use to do it. I shouldn't have to worry if my new Astrologian friend is going to be able to pull his weight and keep the party alive or not, because he simply can't keep up with the damage Titan is dishing out.

[EinherjarLucian]

If everyone has the same toolkit with different names what's the point in having jobs at all?

Homogenization is killing this game and it has gotten orders of magnitude worse since heavensward.

How is my SCH toolkit different if a WHM has Supervirus now? They had Virus already, anyway. I don't see WHMs casting from a spellbook or using a Fairy or casting Shadow Flare or casting Adloquium. They're NOT doing the same thing I do. And the feel of AST is different than WHM, too. AST is more "Time Mage", WHM is more "Traditional Holy Healer".

[Edit] And beyond that, if a BLM or WHM uses Virus, the target gains an immunity, meaning that if they use it and I don't, theirs is half as effective and I can't fix it for another minute or so. I'd much rather know that someone can pop that debuff on the target and it'll have its full effect, while I'm keeping the tank alive.

[Slib]

I know this isn't the place since everyone's busy bitching. But please tell me ...

Pop Synastry on off tank (war) and get the 20% potency healing while also healing him. make sure both preys are topped before they start hitting, benefic 1 one pray about 3x (should be enough to live after) and save essential dignity for other pray target at low HP. if that wouldn't be enough I'd advise a quick swiftcast + benefic 1 or 2 on him. Then top the main tank off after that with benefic while disabling the off tanks boss. Both tanks should be fine at that point.

it's a plus if you. save Arrow card for yourself for faster cast speed or Bole card for tanks.

Doable as Diurnal sect. regens help if you pre regen before damage going out.

tight as hell since disable lasts only 6 seconds and lots of target swapping :X



Edit: If your dps popped blood for blood you will have a hard time. Prey is physical damage and things like forsight work to lower the damage and anyone with second wind can help you get through it. So the swiftcast benefic 2 might be necessary

[Risvertasashi]

Stoneskin was a necessary evil, in my mind, much in the same way that Lustrate was changed from a percentage-based heal to a potency-based heal; SE has tried to phase out any percentage based healing in an effort to prevent mechanic avoidance, and I have a feeling Stoneskin was part of that movement.

Spot on, I think. Benediction is now the only % based heal that can ignore all debuffs (well, except max health reductions of course).

...As far as traditional WHM weapons go, that would... going back to FF1... be hammers I believe, not wands and shields (although they did have staves that healed instead of dealing damage with 'attack' actions too).

[RichardButte]

I think that some of the individuality has been removed.

...And me and numerous others think you have no idea what you're talking about.

This is like trying to debate with flat earthers or creationists: these are people who have already decided that they are 100% correct and no force on earth will convince them otherwise. Then, when people get angry and mock them, they draw the conclusion that, "Since they're mad at us, it must mean that out argument must hold merit!"

Listing all of the flaws in their arguments doesn't convince them, showing them math proving them wrong doesn't convince them...

It's literally at the point where there's no reason to even bother trying to engage these people. Why bother when you're in a situation where the person wholeheartedly believes that never admitting that they're wrong somehow means they're right?