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

[Spiroglyph]

You missed out pet buffs Seriousy though, your an optimal player I get that, but do you realize your putting two classes together? That scholar has much more healing potential than dps and do you understand that it is beyond some people's capabilty to 1. Play 2 classes at once, and 2. Play to the most optimal efficiency at all times in all instances

Pet buffs?... I wouldn't put it past most DF scholars to set their pets on sic, in which case pet buffs is one less thing they're doing themselves.

Okay. Then, let me ask you something. What do you think of the following skills: Second Wind, Bloodbath, Manawall/ward, Equilibrium, Clemency?... And besides this, literally all defensive cooldowns in every job ever. Is this optimizing or min maxing? I wouldn't say so, no. Since people have access to these skills, they should be expected to make full use of them. Some of them restore HP (looking specifically at Equilibrium and Clemency), and means a tank could potentially save themselves if the healer doesn't react quickly enough. Now, they are not healer jobs, right? Why do they have these skills at all then?

Is this also combining two classes? Or are these skills meant for solo content?

EDIT FOR WORD LIMIT:I would also like to point out that you're seriously underestimating a healer's ability to dps, specially in large amounts of mobs. As scholar, I can place my fairy in a set position, set up rouse+whispering dawn, use a mouse over embrace spam macro and I hardly have to bother with healing for a while (let's assume for a while that your tank does use his/her cooldowns as they should be used) - now, I have at my disposal 3 dots which I can spread out with bane, shadow flare, and miasma 2, AND blizzard 2 in case the fact is indeed taking negligible damage.

I won't post maths or graphs, but do you actually believe our DPS is negligible? If so, I'm sorry, but you don't know/understand your skills.

Also, it might be that you have indeed very potent healing spells - they still won't be used for much if you're overhealing.

Now, as I've said before, you're absolutely, undeniably allowed to play however you want - but don't try and convince others than you're doing anything besides a mediocre job.

EDIT BECAUSE I REMEMBERED THINGS I WANT TO ADD: I would also like to point out a few things - mostly because after reading a few more of your comments on this thread I believe you lack the confidence to stance dance, I assume because you've tried and it didn't go well.

1) No healer is immediately able to perfectly stance dance and optimize all their skills at the drop of a hat - most of us have caused quite a few wipes in the process of learning (I still do derp sometimes).

2) You don't need to use CS to dish out some DPS! - if you lack the confidence to use CS, try out using some damage spells in dungeons and roulettes, just to test out and see how comfortable you are with letting the tank's HP drop, and such.

3) As a scholar, it's useful to try and place your fairy in a set position when you can, because fairy AI is set to prioritize following you instead of healing. As such, if you're in the middle of a pack of mobs and have to focus on avoiding AOEs, it's a lot of downtime for the fairy - instead, place it somewhere close to the tank and have it follow it again when the mobs go down.

4) Practise rotations in striking dummies! They're great help for us healers too!

5) Listen and pay attention to advice randomly given, even if by people in DF - I started maining schat the start of heavensward, and at the time I had minimal understanding of the job. Most advice I've been given, was given to me not by FC mates or friends, but people I did comtent with - a random DPS that once mentioned I could sub in aero to add to DPS (at the time I had surecast /rolleye), someone once commented that if the tank was squishier than normal I could set down sacred soil, cast dots and bane and THEN cast shadow flare (by this time SS will have worn off so it's not a wasted AF stack), and so on.

6) PRACTISE
7) PRACTISE
8) PRACTISE

In case you really just don't like/want to DPS though, as I've pointed out before - it's up to you to do it or not. You're free not to, like those tanks (that I absolutely despise) are free to not pop a single damn cooldown, and rebelious BLMs and BRDs can ignore all their HW skills and choose to ignore enochian and WM and stick to their old rotations. But when I'm casting something every time I can, and using all skills available to me, I can damn well feel annoyed at them for such behaviors.

I honestly do not know how any healer can stand to run instances like expert roulette dungeons without DPSing though - I do not mean this as an insult; it's just that the healing required is so little, and the content so predictable and repetitive, I'd be bored to death if I didn't dish out some DPS.

FINAL EDIT, REALLY I SWEAR: tl;dr play however you want, others will do the same, some will gree other will not, you might get kicked or you might meet people who sympathize and you'll make new friends. Not DPSing doesn't make you a bad player, perhaps a less active one, but some people just won't care, overall it's more important to have a good attitude toward people - if they comment on your playstyle, DO NOT SNAP BACK. Explain that DPSing is simply something you don't like to do, or that you don't feel comfortable with. High chances are, they'll be chill with it.

[Feyona]

Pet buf

Now, as I've said before, you're absolutely, undeniably allowed to play however you want - but don't try and convince others than you're doing anything besides a mediocre job.

you are so right some are mdiocre players though and that may be their limit, or they may belazy but please let people enjoy themselves, is it so bad if some arnt as good as others? Your enjoying yourself too if you clear content? I really dont even mind if some are lazy I just love helping the 'bad' players out and seeing them happy.To add to this I will always do everything to the best of my capabability, that is my mindset and will always attempt to improve. I wish I could be better so I can help more poeple be happy and I dont care if they give back. This aspect of the game is fun for me too -seeing people happy like helping people get a bird, cos they work and havent got the time to grind gear etc.

[Spiroglyph]

you are so right some are mdiocre players though and that may be their limit, or they may belazy but please let people enjoy themselves, is it so bad if some arnt as good as others? Your enjoying yourself too if you clear content? I really dont even mind if some are lazy I just love helping the 'bad' players out and seeing them happy.

I've posted numerous times in this thread, and in ost of my replies I've said the same.

YOU ARE FREE TO NOT DPS, IF THAT IS HOW YOU HAVE FUN. I am not disagreeing with you here, at all. It is not "bad" that some people "aren't as good as others" - it's something a great deal of people are aware of, and don't care.

There's even a chance that people who might eventually kick you for not DPSing are just... you know, having a bad day. It happens to everyone, it happens to me - if some days I'll be chill with spending full timer in any instance in mentor roulette teaching players, or running that Sohm Al HM while telling the tank how to be more confident and rotate his cooldowns, other days I simply will NOT, and will get annoyed and leave an instance for way less than lack of defensive cooldowns.

What I have been trying to point out is that, this being an online game where you have to interact with different people, you WILL be confronted with people who don't approve/like, will not put up with your style of playing. I'm not saying to have to do whatever they tell you to - I'm telling you that you need to accept that some people simply will not like it, and I assure you that you WILL find players like this.

I would also like to point out that, as Lauren said, being optimal is NOT the same as being active. I don't do maths to see if I should reapply my dots for packs of mobs if they run out, instead of spamming Blizz2 - instead I 'll do whichver option looks more fun to me at the time. I'm a huge lootw*ore, so chances are, I'll stop DPS altogether if the team has passed by and ignored a treasure chest - I'll place my fairy and sprint off, have fun stayin' alive suckers !

At the end of the day, it's important to remember that this being a game, you're here to have fun - however, it's also important to remember that this being AN ONLINE MULTIPLAYER game, you'll not always agree with everyone.