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

[Rawrz]

Benediction is nice, but 1,000 potency goes pretty far, especially if it crits. Essential dignity pairs so well with an ASTs weave openings.

Combust/Aero -> CS off -> Essential Dignity -> Aspected Benefic
Aspected Benefic -> Essential Dignity

It has ungodly syngergy with Aspected Benefic. It does place an upfront heal, but has a very powerful shield/regen behind it, so Essential Dignity still sees the HP as low. therefore heals more ON TOP OF the shielding/regen! Pretty nifty stuff.

What I'm fixated on for WHM is more specialized use of Cleric Stance and the ability to really coddle your party. WHM should be the rock that can carry a party through progression, even after mistakes are made. Its when they shine.

Stuff I posted in another idea thread-

WHM [borderline broken] wishlist:

62- Tetragrammaton- Splash heals for 300 potency around the target cure with 700 potency with a Radius of 8 yalms.

64- Cleric Stance- Upon entering Cleric Stance, "Miraculous Cure" is gained for 20 seconds. The next cure will have no casting time and will cause the "Free Cure" trait to become 100%. Ends upon execution of cure or when the buff times out. (Cure II will cost no mana after casting an instant cast cure upon entering Cleric Stance.)

66- Asylum- Damage taken while within Asylum will be reduced by 5%, the effects of Weakness are nullified within Asylum. Current effect remains.

68- Benediction- HP, MP, and TP are restored to Maximum.

70- Omen of Ole- Absolute waters wash away all sin, dealing 250 potency AOE damage and cleansing all debuffs on surrounding party members. 15 yalms. 60 seconds.

Odds and Ends-
Quicker Stoneskin trait changed to "One with Earth" - Casting Stone, Stone II, Stone III or Stoneskin has a 15% chance to reduce the cast time to instant and the MP cost to 0 for the next Stoneskin cast. Duration: 20 Seconds.

[Deceptus]

Restore? They are a perfectly viable healer as it is.

[Exiled_Tonberry]

Restore? They are a perfectly viable healer as it is.

Viable yes, underwhelming and lacking identity as well though.
I think people are running with this idea that a job being viable means that it's perfectly fine, when that's far from the truth.

[Nicobo]

IMO WHM should have significantly better heal than SCH and AST, otherwise why WHM?
no fairy no card, period. ^^;

[VanilleFang]

62- Tetragrammaton- Splash heals for 300 potency around the target cure with 700 potency with a Radius of 8 yalms.

This could be good, but it could lead to unnecessary overhealing and enmity gain. Tetra is a nice oGCD burst heal, I'm not sure an AoE would really benefit it.

64- Cleric Stance- Upon entering Cleric Stance, "Miraculous Cure" is gained for 20 seconds. The next cure will have no casting time and will cause the "Free Cure" trait to become 100%. Ends upon execution of cure or when the buff times out. (Cure II will cost no mana after casting an instant cast cure upon entering Cleric Stance.)

I really like this idea. This is something I could get behind 100%.

66- Asylum- Damage taken while within Asylum will be reduced by 5%, the effects of Weakness are nullified within Asylum. Current effect remains.

This is a nice effect. Doesn't seem too overly powerful.

68- Benediction- HP, MP, and TP are restored to Maximum.

This on the other hand? Overpowered as all hell. Restoring resources like MP and TP to full in an instant is ridiculous.

70- Omen of Ole- Absolute waters wash away all sin, dealing 250 potency AOE damage and cleansing all debuffs on surrounding party members. 15 yalms. 60 seconds.

I want to see more abilities like this and Assize, where they have dual uses. Damage/debilitating plus healing/buffing.

Quicker Stoneskin trait changed to "One with Earth" - Casting Stone, Stone II, Stone III or Stoneskin has a 15% chance to reduce the cast time to instant and the MP cost to 0 for the next Stoneskin cast. Duration: 20 Seconds.

Why isn't this already a thing? This would be so awesome. I get that WHM aren't supposed to be the "mitigators" but come on, this is great. Quick Stoneskin is a garbage trait.

[basketofseals]

Viable yes, underwhelming and lacking identity as well though.
I think people are running with this idea that a job being viable means that it's perfectly fine, when that's far from the truth.

WHM has a well defined niche, it's just that pure potency isn't a viable niche. Actual pure healing throughput is generally not necessary. Blowing a cure 3 on a stacked group feels great, but 99% of the time it's better to throw a medica 2 out.

[Llynd]

I like the non weakness thing with Asylum but not the 5% reduction... Let's avoid to become mitigators :P

[Exiled_Tonberry]

I like the non weakness thing with Asylum but not the 5% reduction... Let's avoid to become mitigators :P

I personally don't think an extremely small mitigation effect will make us mitigators. SCH has 3 very strong burst heals and it's still completely known as the shield healer.

That being said, all WHm really needs as far as mitigation goes is there old stoneskin back really. Or a better trait because quick stoneskin is the worst trait in the game by far.

[Lyth]

I don't think that you can design a support job that is better at performing its primary function than its peers. Just as every tank should be able to mitigate every encounter, every healer should be able to heal every encounter. If this weren't the case, certain jobs would be excluded from serious content. The difference is in what additional benefits the jobs bring to the table, when you're not busy mitigating or healing.

I think the reason why WHM's dps enters into this discussion is because AST's auxiliary function is to provide raid dps buffs, and raid dps boosts on jobs within the same role are typically balanced against personal dps. I don't think boosting WHM's destructive potential is a stretch; many of WHM's existing offensive spells are already capable of doing solid damage, if given the opportunity to do so.

Also, bear in mind too that historically, during the War of the Magi, the elemental-based white magic of Amdapor was pitted against the void-based black magic of Mhach, culminating in an elementally driven flood that wrecked Mhach/Yafaem, and nearly all of civilisation along with it. When you belong to an order of mages which has historically stood up to BLM's destructive magic and held its own, I think it's fair to say that WHM's own destructive potential is nothing to sneeze at. It just needs to be brought out in the gameplay a bit more clearly.

[lordparanoia]

what about

62 - Reflex: reduces incoming magic damage on the target by 10% for 10s. Also reflects the magic damages with a maximum potency of 300 for every hit.
64 - Vanish: reduces incoming physical damage of ONE enemy's attack of 50% on the target. The other attacks are reduced by 10% for 10s. Also reflects the physical damages with a maximum potency of 300 for every hit.
66 - Personification of White: restores 10% of Mana and 10% TP, aoe effect.
68 - Blessed Resurrection: Resurrects the target with no weakness state and with 50% of HP.
70 - Megaene: Grants the effects of Megaene for 10s. Under the effect of Megaene the MP cost of the next healing magic is nullified and healing output increased of 50% for first ability, then the other skills ares increased of 10% potency.

Maybe OP. But we wouldn't have any more problems with MANA and it would be more focused on healing.