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

[Feyona]

You do not need spells as potent as Holy or the numerous dots healers have if they are only meant to DPS in solo content. In fact, why allow Cleric Stance at all? In PvP, the devs took it away yet chose not to for group based PvE. Sort of telling what's expected of you.

I think cleric was taken away in pvp because players were to op, imagine trying to kill someone wth damage and healing spells. Although I see your point it could be argued that healers are too op in pve content as well, and only the very skilled groups can pull it off so was left there for choice. I for one cant just go in alex and stance dance, so Im not sure if its expected as it is optimal play.

[Rubiss]

I think cleric was taken away in pvp because players were to op, imagine trying to kill someone wth damage and healing spells. Although I see your point it could be argued that healers are too op in pve content as well, and only the very skilled groups can pull it off so was left there for choice. I for one cant just go in alex and stance dance, so Im not sure if its expected as it is optimal play.

Novice hall literally tells you that you should be doing damage between healing.

[Feyona]

Novice hall literally tells you that you should be doing damage between healing.

It tells you to weave in offensive spells doesnt say anything about cleric. Dps can be done without it

[Rubiss]

It tells you to weave in offensive spells doesnt say anything about cleric. Dps can be done without it

Pretty sure it's implied. I don't think anyone cares about someone doing 300 damage when they could have done well over 2k with the same spell. If you refuse to heal and DPS, then do solo content without cleric stance.

[Feyona]

Pretty sure it's implied. I don't think anyone cares about someone doing 300 damage when they could have done well over 2k with the same spell. If you refuse to heal and DPS, then do solo content without cleric stance.

Well ony saying and would have thought if cleric was meant to be used so 'obligatorily'' that you would have been 'trained' to use that too

[seekified]

To be fair, without Cleric Stance your INT is so ridiculously low that you may as well not bother casting.

EDIT: As a sidenote, it'll be interesting to see what they do with this situation in Stormblood, as Cleric Stance will either become a role-based ability or be removed altogether.

[Feyona]

To be fair, without Cleric Stance your INT is so ridiculously low that you may as well not bother casting.

Thats true, but in the case of sch offensive spells have added effects which makes their use more 'useful'. Maybe the other heals should have that too to more extent. Even so cleric or not, no healer has to stand doing nothing a little help is still effort

[Lambdafish]

I think cleric was taken away in pvp because players were to op, imagine trying to kill someone wth damage and healing spells. Although I see your point it could be argued that healers are too op in pve content as well, and only the very skilled groups can pull it off so was left there for choice. I for one cant just go in alex and stance dance, so Im not sure if its expected as it is optimal play.

Two things:

A) Yes you are right that cleric was taken away in PVP because IN PVP having a player that is able to heal, shield, and do reasonable damage is both able to kill players while being difficult to be killed themselves. This is a PVP exclusive problems, as PVE bosses are handled very differently

B) I want to ask what your raid composition has been in alex, because stance dancing is handled very differently to how it is handled in dungeons. What job do you play and how do you divide your healing between the two healers? You might find it difficult to stance dance because you are the primary healer, at which point your "cleric stance" is actually to heal as much as possible and create windows for the other healer to DPS, and if you aren't the primary healer, you will be the one in cleric stance. This is entirely dependant on communication between healers however, but this is the optimal play that is expected, and doesn't need a particularly skilled group (only the ability to talk).

I should mention that unless people are overgeared or the group is very good, it is doubtful that the OH will be in cleric stance for all phases, and some phases will require both healers, the MH will almost never be in cleric stance though. It is up to you to experiment and work out where those gaps are, and which phases are the low damage phases. That is how you use cleric stance in raids, and should only really be attempted after you are comfortable with the fight (i.e. a learning/clear party is perfectly fine to 100% heal, a farm party might want a bit more than that).

[Feyona]

Two things

At the moment Im primary healer on ast, having changed from wmg recently because of the request for the buffs on Zurvan ex. So Ive stayed with it to do alex as well. Other healer is sch and dpses. Having said that I have done a9s on sch frequently too. With good co healer I can stance dance easily, but was a completely different set up on first attempts. Plus at that time I was maining on sch and had not been 'trained' as dps/heal. Still after was expected to go in a10s and stance dance straight away before learning the fight, which I found impossible due to not being given space plus the wipes and ko's. Thats what I mean you cant just go in there and 'do it'

[Feyona]

The only reason I know how to play dps/healer on sch was because I was fortunate enough to be shown. Before that point was only given tips to macro dots with embrace (which is not considered optimal btw, but some may disagree, it delays dps too much) My point being that this is not something everyone is taught everywhere, neither is the thought that this optimal play is expected. If you have a good fc or get in touch with people being able to show you and have the patience to allow you to learn then you can do it. I may be wrong but my point was that its a distance from what the hall of the novice tells you.