As a healer, is it my job to DPS? A new perspective.

[Taika]

I just did a dungeon on AST and I mainly healed. I did dps whenever i could do so comfortably. I could not always dps though. If i felt over-stressed things would go south and so i chose to gimp out on dps until I knew my party was ok. Just healing alone and no dpsing, I know for certain i was active more than 70% of that dungeon. If you include dots and my single target attack spam.. id say i was active more than 95% of time my party was in combat.

Sure there may be cases in which the required healing is enough to keep the healer active, and that's of course alright, no one is objecting that. What people are objecting is exactly what I did in that dungeon: I healed enough to keep people alive but was afk for everything else, resulting in 83% of inactivity (was parsed by someone so it's a fact, not my own estimation). It's not ok to afk over 80% of the dungeon, and because of the low healing requirements and major overgearing, that is exactly what a healer will do in many cases if they don't DPS (or do ridiculous overhealing, which doesn't help the group any more).

In short, the argument is: a healer should be as active as their other group members and they should contribute in a meaninful manner. If the healing requirement in a situation isn't enough to keep them active, they should be contributing with DPS.

[xJimmehx]

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I agree with you that being afk in a duty is wrong. I do not believe a healer must dps though. As long as they are trying to keep everyone safe and not watching Netflix I'm happy. If we don't need healing for several GCDs it would not hurt to help dps. I agree it would be good if they did so. I still believe as long as they do not cause failure, they should be left alone. Its not what people want, but thats life. You cant always get what you want. Especially by bossing people you dont even know around and/or passing out insults. Demanding a person to play your way as if you own them and control them is wrong. Nobody here has that right. Unless of course you're paying them or have some sort of contract/agreement.
If there is an OH or a phase that does not require healing at all for a long period of time. Yes i do believe the healer should help. Theres no reason to stand idle for 3 whole minutes watching others play.

Edit: Saw your bold text, I agree with you mostly. Afk is an option for vote kick in game btw. There is no point in debating afk party members. No matter the role, they are all wrong if they are afk and letting others carry them.

[Taika]

I agree with you that being afk in a duty is wrong. I do not believe a healer must dps though. As long as they are trying to keep everyone safe and not watching Netflix I'm happy. If we don't need healing for several GCDs it would not hurt to help dps. I agree it would be good if they did so. I still believe as long as they do not cause failure, they should be left alone.

So if there's an off tank that doesn't do anything while there aren't any adds up, should they be left alone also as long as they're not causing failure? Or a DD who doesn't do anything for 80% of the time, if they don't directly wipe the party?

I think everyone should be contributing for as much as they can to help the party, and if someone is just leeching the majority of the time, they should be asked to step up and then removed if they refuse to do so. No matter what the role. Being a healer is not an excuse to slack.

[xJimmehx]

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"As long as they are trying"
"If we don't need healing for several GCDs it would not hurt to help" but not required. (Because they are doing something.)
If they are doing nothing... no matter the job/class it is wrong.

If they heal once per minute they should also dps. If they heal actively then thats all they really need to do. (Extra dps is welcome but not required, just like a dragoon pulling world first dps in duty finder dungeons is not required)

Demand people to play a certain way is like demanding them to give you their lunch money. You have no right. If they are at least actively playing and trying to keep people alive, leave em be. That is my stance.

[Dsync]

Demanding a person to play your way as if you own them and control them is wrong. Nobody here has that right. Unless of course you're paying them or have some sort of contract/agreement.
.

You do have the right to ask someone to perform differently, otherwise SE would just ban you for doing so. You then have the right to ignore that request. You both have the right to initiate a vote kick, then the group decides if they want to support or get rid of you. You have the right to leave the party if you don't want to play to their expectations. The group choice is the most important, not the individual.

Saying "you don't have the right" doesn't make it magically so.