How does SE plan to restore White Mage's identity as a healer?

[Docteur_Fluttershy]

I just hope they did this and have some way to help WHM later on. WHM can't stay like this.

the thing that saddens me is we will have to stay like this for 8-9 more months.
I wonder if we will have the same "no WHM" that AST had in early 3.0 when you can farm the raids, just because WHM cant bring utility or dps (by utility, or by himself alone).

[Exiled_Tonberry]

the thing that saddens me is we will have to stay like this for 8-9 more months.
I wonder if we will have the same "no WHM" that AST had in early 3.0 when you can farm the raids, just because WHM cant bring utility or dps (by utility, or by himself alone).

Luckily, I doubt we'll be subject to that. AST was kicked out of raids because it was actually bad at both healing and support.
At the very least, WHM remains a decent healer. You'll probably get looked at weird for not bringing AST in fast farm parties but that's it.

[Docteur_Fluttershy]

i doubt it too, but you never know what people will think after 5-6 month of doing nothing but farm easy raids while overgearing it by far ^^

Anyway, let's refocus here, the point is to actualy speak of what can be done to put AST/SCH and WHM on the same spot. We all agree all 3 healers can play, we all agree WHM isnt bad, but that AST and SCh are better, so lets just focus on what can be done to improve the situation.

[Exiled_Tonberry]

Well I still stand by I don\\'t want WHM to just be thrown utility just because AST has it.
I still think that taking advantage of their high dps would be a nice option. Otherwise give them back their original stoneskin for now. If WHM wants to truly focus on regen, expand on that.

This may be OP, but I was thinking of an ability on a long CD that turns the remaining potency of the regens you placed on the tank into a barrier.
For instance if Regen was going to heal the tank for a total of 10k, using this ability would give the tank a 10k barrier. You would have to choose if you want the regen effect or the shield effect. This effect would have a chance to proc from a crit heal on your regen.

If not a barrier, turn the remaining potency of the regen into a direct heal. Kind of like how Thundercloud on BLM works

[Neela]

I just hope they did this and have some way to help WHM later on. WHM can't stay like this.

its just your opinion - it would be fine if they let their identity like it is with even more area heals and HoTs.
if you don't like it don't play it? o.O

[Dzian]

@Dzlan: There's no such thing as a reactive healer. Healing in it's nature is reactive,

your second sentence directly contradicts your first. you do realise that?

WHM is a reactive healer by very definition of the word Reactive. it is a job that reacts to the damage the party takes and heals accordingly. thus it is a reactive job.

SCH is a proactive job. because the idea is to shield the party before the damage happens and thus mitigate it.

if A boss is going to whack the tank for 15k. the whm typically waits for the hit to land and then heals it up after wards. (Reactive)

A scholar should shield the tank before that 15k hit lands and thus mitigate as much of it as possible thus the tank only takes 6 or 7k damage instead of 15k. (proactive)

the problem many scholars seem to have is they play it reactively like whm. they wait for that 15k to hit the tank and then try to heal it all. and this is why they struggle and say scholars lack powerful healing power. if they had shieleded the tank then theyd only have 6-7k to heal and not 15.

WHM identity is fine. if there's a problem it would be with asts identity as seems a fairly common opinion from various reading its a carbon copy of a whm with a couple of gimmicks.

[Exiled_Tonberry]

its just your opinion - it would be fine if they let their identity like it is with even more area heals and HoTs.
if you don't like it don't play it? o.O

Do you endgame raid? Utility is preferred vastly over raw heals or raw dps.
Why do you think Monk is undesirable?
If WHM stays like this while AST continues getting both heals and support utility, WHM isn't going to last. And WHM will never have truly superior heals, because that would make them mandatory, so their stuck with only heals, but never too strong.

@Dzian: What I meant by that is, WHMs identity is not a reactive healer, because all healers need to be reactive with the sole exception of mitigation.

Or are you going to convince me that AST isn't a reactive healer while in Diurnal stance?

[Docteur_Fluttershy]

its just your opinion - it would be fine if they let their identity like it is with even more area heals and HoTs.
if you don't like it don't play it? o.O

What you want could be an option, if we had a lot more HP and if damage hitted way harder.
At the moment, you can already top a tank with 2 spells (lets say a crit cure II with divine seal is enough) as whm.

If WHM's identity want to stay the 'healer with most potent heals', we will need tank with twice the HP they have now, and mechanics that deals so much damage that mitigation cant remove more than half of it with every CD possible. But if you go with this optic in mind, AST and SCH wont have enough healing power to withstand it, resulting in either sch or ast being left out again, and whm becoming mandatory, and the cycle continue.

The raids at the moment doesnt need high healing. (and dont even talk about the dungeons, for the last two i find myself 95% of the time doing dps since there is so little damage incoming)

[Kabzy]

people are all whining beacause AST seems too powerfull ? No one was doing it when AST was underpowered

LOL. Okay make your point, but lets not blatantly lie. The healer forums were flooded with AST threads back when they were underpowered. There were literally no other topics for a good few months.

Also OP wasn't saying that WHM is a bad healer, it's just not as desirable now because AST got buffed one patch too many, and the utility and near-identical healing they provide is simply better. For 4.0 I reckon it would be nice to get a few conjurer-like spells for WHM. I like the idea of a 'flood' as an AoE water attack, and maybe some earth based attacks that actually cause healing as an AoE effect. I don't really think they can take WHM much further than that, given that it's such an iconic job and has to fit a certain image.

[Morzy]

Either give it some sort of advantage or just make raids so healer intensive that you need a WHM.

Funny, WHM is kinda like Monk. Never looked at it like that before..

High heals:High damage
little utility:little utility


Personally I'm pissed they took away 18% stoneskin. I don't ever use that skill anymore in combat..