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.

[Feyona]

It's the same with all other classes...

BRDs not using WM can claim they don't want to play bowmage, tanks can claim they only need to hold aggro and thus completely ignore they DPS stances, SMNs can have a full MP bar and choose to let a whole alliance burn to the ground because they're busy doing whatever stuff they'r



However you play you'll be criticized at some point - for one team that gives you cheek for not broiling all the things there'll be another scrunching up their brows at a healer that isn't keeping everyone topped up. Just do what you want, have fun ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Again you are correct but a healer has a completely different role than a dps or a tank, give me those buffs, I will gladly use them to support my team. My role is healer, not a dps support.

[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

[Hasrat]

If kicking healers for no DPS is allowed, because they're not playing the way you want them to, isn't it also just as valid for kicking players for expecting it, because that's its own differing play style?

[Zosimo]

Healers are designed to heal, not DPS. If parties want more DPS then talk to DPS players about it. Because if I am joining as a healer, I heal and that's it.

It's not being "lazy" as some ignorant people call it, it's playing the role the chose to play, period.

[Thrivaios]

I liken loosely this argument to how I view the USA's rights around free speech. For example, You're free to say whatever you want but there are consequences to your words. Like others have said in this thread, you're free to play how you like. But in group content if the overarching view is that you're not contributing enough by just healing, then there should be no surprise about being vote kicked. The same could be said about all the examples Spiroglyph offered (SMN, tanks, BRD, I would even throw those RPing "Ice mage" BLMs in there).