Consolidated White Mage 4.0 Feedback Thread

[Arg0n]

Add me to the list of the dissapointed WHMs too.
I’m maining WHM since I started playing FF14 over 3 years ago. I felt so happy which skills they gave them in Heavensward. All the skills harmonized so well with each other.
But it was really sad that WHM not viable anymore in this AST/SCH meta. But neverthless, i still mained WHM cause I hate AST (I tried it in raids, but i sucked hard lol).
I was still happy to play WHM, if I had the chance to (Midas WHM, in Creator I switched to SCH - but raid-only).
But this changes in 4.0, it’s so heartbreaking. I don’t know if I really want to level my WHM first, or try another class, or even delete this game…
How can this happen? It feels like SE hates WHM and want to delete them from the game.
No, I can’t believe this changes, this RNG, this useless new Skills, etc… No, that must definitely be a joke.

btw does anyone got a picture of the holy discription in 4.0?

[Nicodemus_Mercy]

That may very well be true, but it still comes down to the point that Stormblood is still not here yet, none have a level 70 whm nor have tried all of it's abilities, etc..
Not trying to take away from your point though, as you do make sense

Many of the reviewers who attended the media tour and actually played with level 70 characters (and made vids you can watch right now), have given indepth analysis of the new skills, changes, and their opinions on each job. I am hard pressed to find a single one of them that has glowing praise for the 4.0 WHM. The consensus seems to be "meh".

It's clear to see to anyone paying attention that whm will be able to perform its role (healing) just as well as it ever has. But then healing has never been a problem for WHM. Its providing any other way to help their party that's been lacking, been asked for, and summarily denied.

The issues in 4.0 are mostly these (at least for me):

WHM lost the most class/job specific skills to shared role and outright removal of all the healers.

One of the new skills (Divine Benison) is just giving us back something we had taken away (Stoneskin) but with a cooldown

The new level 70 skill (Plenary Indulgence) is just more healing that WHM doesn't need and the way it works makes it kinda suck.

And the real biggie of the bunch, WHM didn't get the one thing it needs and the one thing players have been asking for so it can compete with the other healers: a party-wide buff that improves the group's dps in some way.


SCH will improve their entire group's crit vs a boss by 20% periodically

AST will improve their entire group's damage by 20% periodically

WHM will... spam cure trying to stack Confession so its level 70 skill can actually heal something? Yea, you'd have to be blind to not see the disparity... which I suppose makes your choice in headslot glamour quite fitting.

[KarstenS]

Wait to see how Omega will work before saying White Mage has no raid utility or if they made a mistake.

This meta looks to be really defensive so I guess the damages could be really heavy and sometimes, White Mage could make the different.

As they don't seem to increase the difficulty over what we got with creator: no, we don't will need heavy healing.

Maybe in that "Super-Savage" bossfight. But not in the regular Savage raid. But even this will be balanced to be doable with AST/SCH too. So again: Not that much healing will be needed.

[KDSilver]

Their mistake with the new spells is to rely it on rng.

The fact that we have to use cure and cure ii to get confessions et lily is badly design cause, let's be honest, you don't spam cure that much on anyone else than the tank, so how to you want to put some stack of confessions on other.
For massive aoe damages, we use spells like medica, medica ii and assize (or even cure iii).

Some spells should basically grant confession stack on people aside cure.

[BlueMageQuina]

I just wanted to add myself to the conversation here.

I will play WHM to see and understand how it is at 70 but as it stands now I may stop healing and play some boring DPS instead until it's rebalanced (especially if AST and SCH become preferred AGAIN). I have SCH and AST to 60 but I'm not the fan of the playstyle either bring to the table. I'd prefer to keep playing WHM, but with losing so many skills, with spells replacing each other at higher levels with the Stone/Aero Mastery traits and RNG buffs based on spam healing, I can't help but feel that I've received a significant nerf in lieu of the AST's new toys.

[ValenciaL]

I could probably deal with them taking a bunch of our best skills and turning them over to cross-role if they had given us anything worthwhile in return, but they didn't. The ONLY new ability that looks good is Thin Air.
Unless the single-target damage is drastically increasing in SB, the lilies and Plenary Indulgence won't see any real use because our HoTs and oGCDs take care of so much. No WHM worth their salt sits around spamming Cure/Cure II. The lilies are also counter-intuitive. Delaying a CD in order to get a CD reduction...what? The whole thing is just a hot mess.
Plus, we won't even have Stoneskin/Stoneskin II anymore.
I hope SE fixes this, because otherwise it's AST/SCH for me from here on out. I have such a soft spot for WHM, but I hate the direction they're taking it in.

[Keridwyn]

When I saw the live letter and saw how we had contributed virtually everything to the 'Role System' (SCH gave us one ability and AST gave us half an MP regen ability that we lost) I was nervous but cautiously optimistic for what the new heals might be and the lilies might do. I was flat out excited that I didn't have to stance dance anymore. But now...all I can hope is that potency and proc rate is adjusted before the class goes live. I will level WHM to 70 but if the gameplay is as meh as the tooltips make it seem I won't be actively using it beyond that. I'll go play AST for the eyecandy effects and better utility.

[NubSM]

Everything written here is just my opinion. I main WHM, but only started playing around 3 months ago so don't take my word for it.

Also these changes are just my fantasy. They will never happen in 4.0 since they require too many changes.

Introduction

OK so new 4.0 WHM "changes" wasn't really well received by people.

• WHM feel forced to rely on Cure/Cure II.

• Plenary Indulgence will generally only ever heal 1/2 people.

• Lilies will be a pain to get.

• Stoneskin removed (granted it wasn't really all that great to begin with).

• WHM is "pure healer". Meanwhile Divine Seal becomes cross healer skill lol (and gets nerfed).

• Once again no group utility except the sheer pure healer-ness.

My changes

One thing that might not bother most people but bothers me alot is the thematic value of the Lily mechanic. Most classes got a gauge that matches their class aesthetic very well. BLMs got fire/ice + enochian, MNK got chakra, PLD got sword/shield oath, etc.

Meanwhile I feel like WHM got lilies because the designers just had to slap on a mechanic for the WHM because, honestly, we didn't really have a gauge-worthy mechanic to begin with.

I know WHM is a class with mainly Light magic supplemented by Wind, Earth and Water elements. Lilies kinda make sense, but it's still very random and off-putting for me. There were no mentions of lilies throughout the entire WHM storyline (It's possible lilies might be mentioned in 4.0 storyline).

My idea for the WHM gauge/mechanic is this:

Mock-up:
http://imgur.com/Nm94zaa

• Three orbs representing Wind, Earth and Water.

• Additional middle orb for Light/White magic.

• Each orb has a meter (could be the perimeter of the orb for aesthetic purposes). Meter goes up to 100.

• Orbs are dim. Glow when their meter reaches 100. Middle orb glows when all 3 other orbs are at 100.

• Each orb meter gets filled by different actions. (Rate of filling not balanced)
  
  Earth orb: filled by heal/overheal. Direct overheal will fill very little (or not at all). Regen overheal will fill moderate. Non-overheal will fill the most.
  
  Wind orb: filled by Aero DOT tick. Aoe Aero will probably fill less.
  
  Water orb: filled by (not sure). Mana spent? Healing done?

• Each orb will be fully filled in around 60 seconds if you pay moderate attention to that particular mechanic. You can have Regen up on 8 ppl and fill Earth orb really fast, but you'll waste a shitton of GCDs applying them.

New skills/traits:

• Trait - Blessing of the Elementals: Allows the accumulation of Elemental Blessings. Blessing of Earth can be earned by healing/overhealing. Blessing of Wind can be earned by dealing damage over time with aero effects. Blessing of Water idk lol. When all three Blessings are acquired, acquire Blessing of the White.
  
  This trait unlocks the WHM gauge.

• Ability - Divine Seal: Expend one (100 point) of each Blessing (doesn't consume if Blessing meter < 100), and apply the following effects to yourself according the blessings used.
  
  Earth: Decrease enmity generation by (25)%
  Wind: Increase attack spell potency by (10)%
  Water: Increase healing spell potency by (20)%
  White: Next Raise spell cast has MP cost and cast time halved. (not sure)
  
  Duration: 15s
  Cooldown: 60s (its like the divine seal that was robbed from WHM!)

• Ability - Will of the Elementals: Expend one of each Blessing, and apply the following effects to all party members.
  
  Earth: Grant a damage shield for 10% of max HP.
  Wind: Increase movement speed by x% (idk, but i put this here since it seems like movement will be important in 4.0)
  Water: Increase healing received by (10)%.
  White: Don't know yet.
  
  Duration: (20)s, damage shield might last 30min like stoneskin
  Cooldown: 120s
  
  Group buff!

• Trait - Elemental Attunement: Blessing meter have 200 capacity. Can store up to 2 of each Blessing. Meter fill rate after 100 is halved.

• Ability - (no cool name in mind): Gain 100 points for each Blessing meter.
  
  Cooldown: 180s

Stuff:

• Earth gets filled by overheal since regen is a big mechanic that WHM has. Meter filling will probably be on a by-tick basis, since engine limitation and stuff?

• Cooldowns and durations aren't really finalized. Neither are buff %.

• Since the Blessings take time to fill up, and the abilities themselves have cooldown, skilled players can guarantee maximum uptime, while most people can guarantee uptime on atleast one Blessing or 2 (Non DPS WHM won't ever get Wind/White :P)

After writing all this I'm ever sadder about WHM in 4.0. Atleast the 15% off GCD shield and the no MP cost abilities are pretty nice.

TL/DR: lilies mechanic feels like it was slapped on WHM since WHM didn't have a gauge-worthy mechanic to begin with. Feels random. Elemental theme is better!

[Seraphyna]

Stoneskin removed (granted it wasn't really all that great to begin with).

Because I feel a need to correct you on this, stoneskin was great before it was nerfed. It was 18% on Whm. They nerfed it to 10% to "equalize it". It was the one good mitigation Whm had.

[Kethic]

Just delete WHM and allow for ACN to heal for the 1-30 wasteland where no real healers exist.

Permanent solutions to temporary problems.

On paper, WHM needs help. It's been my main since 2013, and I'm nervous right now. Hopefully we can get enough constructive feedback that SE will make some adjustments.