Should healers now be allowed to play how they choose to play?

[Feyona]

Really this wasnt meant to be about laziness, or people 'pulling their weight', It was a question about whether healers can be healers as a chosen, preferred playstyle, which many players may prefer or enjoy more. We have already had the debates about those issues above, about everyone needing to be busy doing something 100% of the time or seen to be 'working'. No one is coercing any dps to choose healing as a playstyle, so I feel this is possibly a little one sided. If a healer that has chosen that playstyle, has gaps in between healing and cannot tolerate it, they could play dps instead, Ast has their cards to buff in 'gaps'. In reply to the guy that tells people to leave if they dont like things how they are, this is not really a solution for people that would like to play in their preferred way.

[Dsync]

In reply to the guy that tells people to leave if they dont like things how they are, this is not really a solution for people that would like to play in their preferred way.

Yes it is. If you're so upset that people want you to put in more effort, in a group game, then leaving and finding a party who are willing to waste their time on you is a perfect solution. There will always be parties who will put up with it, so it's not like they have no other options.

[Feyona]

Yes it is. If you're so upset that people want you to put in more effort, in a group game, then leaving and finding a party who are willing to waste their time on you is a perfect solution. There will always be parties who will put up with it, so it's not like they have no other options.

Again this is not about more effort it is about being able to choose what playstyle you prefer, tanking, dps, or healing. Just those three roles. Not how much or how little you do in them.

[Dsync]

It's in your very first post that healers should be allowed to ignore most of their toolkit because "preferred playstyle" (read: "my sub" using different words). That directly relates to laziness. I believe you know this and are simply trolling. I'm out. Wasted enough time here.

[Feyona]

It's in your very first post that healers should be allowed to ignore most of their toolkit because "preferred playstyle" (read: "my sub" using different words). That directly relates to laziness. I believe you know this and are simply trolling. I'm out. Wasted enough time here.

Not really, I was hoping to have an open minded discussion about the subject. Is it so wrong to enjoy healing more than dps? Well if so why do people prefer dps to healing? People may prefer a different playstyle to dpsing. just wondering if it could be possible, to allow a healer to use their healing abilities a little more often because thats their most potent toolkit and the most enjoyable to play with.

[Lyrica_Ashtine]

Not really, I was hoping to have an open minded discussion about the subject

Well, if you wanted that you could view the past umph-topics related to this one/yours. You'll notice that there's a good number of players who don't mind either way and a group who advocates healing only and another group who advocates maximum efficiency. The "balance" in this matter is somewhat even. Sadly, our opinion as healers alone only holds a small share of the votes in a group. As much as you are free to decide on what your style is, others are as well. And, sadly, the gamemasters in the game tolerate expelling players from their group (in duty) if the style of the player in question is not to their liking. Likewise, you could do the very same if you wish. Not that I believe it'll be successful considering the mentality a part of the community has displayed so far. Repeat: A part of the community. I'd like to empathize on this.

Rather than having another conversation where two small groups headbutt with each other while a large group just enjoys the drama, advocate for tolerance from other roles instead. I believe this'll be more effective in the long run. If you're not comfortable contributing damage, simply tell the group. Tell the forum. Tell the server. Tell -anyone- really. Yes, you'll get friction with those who would tell you to "get good". But likewise you'll probably run into tolerant people who will understand as well. And most probably don't even care. At worst you won't earn some commendation. At best you don't have to get cranky by sticking with salty players who are constantly nagging and watching your every step. In a nutshell: Learn not to give a damn about who don't give a damn about you.

And just so it's out there: Yes, I do try to maximize my potential and do contribute damage whenever possible

[Feyona]

Yes you are right Lyrica, thanks for your response Maybe someone, somewhere will care if people enjoy the game experience or not, in the way it was designed to be enjoyed. That it was intended for people to have different roles to choose to play. I am sure. You see the posts here that completey insist that you do not really have a choice on whether you dps or not. Your only choice on how to play the game is dps, dps or leave. Well yes ive asked if this is fair and not wanting to head butt I will try not to do that just hope that some people would notice. That it is actually possible to enjoy the game if some do just heal. Hoping that SE will give healers their choice back

[Neophyte]

Really this wasnt meant to be about laziness, or people 'pulling their weight', It was a question about whether healers can be healers as a chosen, preferred playstyle, which many players may prefer or enjoy more. We have
How much dps a healer should do is determined by skill, experience and, above all of these, the current incoming damage to the grop.
already had the debates about those issues above, about everyone needing to be busy doing something 100% of the time or seen to be 'working'. No one is coercing any dps to choose healing as a playstyle, so I feel this is possibly a little one sided. If a healer that has chosen that playstyle, has gaps in between healing and cannot tolerate it, they could play dps instead, Ast has their cards to buff in 'gaps'. In reply to the guy that tells people to leave if they dont like things how they are, this is not really a solution for people that would like to play in their preferred way.

There is nothing to choose. If there is big damage, you heal it. If there is no damage, you dps.

If there will be content, which requires more healing, then it's still not your choice. You either heal much (on initial ilvl) or people will die. But there will still be open spaces for dpsing, e.g. the very first 15-20s of literally every fight in this game.

[Fernosaur]

Really this wasnt meant to be about laziness, or people 'pulling their weight', It was a question about whether healers can be healers as a chosen, preferred playstyle, which many players may prefer or enjoy more. We have already had the debates about those issues above, about everyone needing to be busy doing something 100% of the time or seen to be 'working'. No one is coercing any dps to choose healing as a playstyle, so I feel this is possibly a little one sided. If a healer that has chosen that playstyle, has gaps in between healing and cannot tolerate it, they could play dps instead, Ast has their cards to buff in 'gaps'. In reply to the guy that tells people to leave if they dont like things how they are, this is not really a solution for people that would like to play in their preferred way.

While I understand your point entirely, I'm gonna repeat what I posted a long time ago in one of those countless "I don't wanna DPS" healer threads.

Healing in FFXIV is DPSing, as is tanking too. I understand what you mean with people wanting to play their preferred playstyle, I really do, but FFXIV doesn't really offer different playstyles, because the game is SO streamlined that all classes have the same final purpose, regardless of their role. There are no builds here, there are no alternate gear sets, there is virtually no variation at all in how a job can be played, because the game is designed that way. You can argue that the devs didn't intend healers to DPS or whatnot, but the tools are there, the way the fights are designed, the way tanks are designed, the power of the healing spells, etc, etc, etc. Fights are even scripted, so there's absolutely no variation to how a job is played other than what cooldowns are used at what specific timings, and even that can be argued to have an optimal execution.

This is coming from someone who loves to heal. I love stressing out as I look as HP bars in the party list go low and keeping up supportive buffs with short duration and etc etc etc. But that's not FFXIV. I used to hate the healer DPSing meta, but as I kept playing and learning more about the role, I came to like DPSing because that is how you play the game to the fullest. That's the real skill ceiling, and now that I see the game for what it is, I thoroughly enjoy DPSing as a healer and push myself to do so, because it means I'm good at being a healer in FFXIV. The game is objectively not designed to have pure healers, it is not a community thing.

Again, anyone is 100% free to not DPS as a healer at all, but all that is doing is basically ignoring the game's design. If you really want to only heal, then FFXIV really isn't the game for you.