White Mage just might be okay

[RhettSerris]

Rhett Serris of Cactuar here I’ve been following the WHM discussion here on the official forums has been a bit of a roller coaster to watch so I want to finally weigh in on this subject. For credentials? I cleared A3S on WHM when it was relevant ‘cause that means a lot, I have a horrible sense of humor, and I’m good at giving hugs. Now then.

I’ll get down to brass tacks; White Mage might not be as dead as you think. Is it what you expected? No. Is it what you wanted? Something tells me maybe that’s a no too, but I’m not entirely sure. The main problems I’m noticing are thus:

A: The lily mechanic is being examined from too narrow a point of view
B: The party utility White Mage does have being entirely glossed over
C: Assuming that White Mage’s lack of on-demand, constant shields is a deal breaker

The first one is exactly what it says on the tin: Everyone is looking at White Mage’s new resource as a standalone mechanic. It’s not. Like, at all.
Yes, a 20% proc rate is pretty low compared to stuff like the base MCH procs at 50%. But what about—and this part is crucial—what about Freecure? Do lily procs exist in a vacuum? Was Freecure suddenly removed? I’m almost (read: somewhat) completely positive that the answer to both of those is no.
But wait—there’s more! What about Planetary Indignation Plenary Indulgence? Do Confession odds also get rolled in a void?
Nothing in any of these mechanics says they are mutually exclusive; in fact, they seem to synergize very nicely.


So yes, 20% is bad. But let’s combine that with Freecure’s 15% and Confession’s 20% and the fact that you could get any of them off one cast. Suddenly we’re at—and yeah I napkin mathed this part but I think I got it—about 45. Percent. For the cost of one Cure you have something happening almost half the time. And if you crit that Cure? Ohhh if you do, the chances of something happening is now at least 56%. I say at least because Lily 2 does not specify if the reduction odds are rolled as two separate entries or not, if they aren’t, 56. If they are? 65% is the odds of something happening off that Cure.
“But Regen is so much more effecientttttttttt” it is, it also contributes to a good chunk of overcure in raids, no? Let’s look at what you could spend all these crazy procs on which—again—aren’t mutually exclusive!
Freecure—Yes you’re burning a second GCD to use this bad boy but it’s also free which means more MP for ROCK CHUCKING
Precious neglected flower—MORE ASSIZE GIVE ME MORE ALWAYS MORE FOREVER AND EVER (more to follow on that one because oh boy I am far from done)
And Confession—INTRODUCING! TETRAGRAMMATON: LITE! It’s slimming, it does 200 less potency (potencymayvarybystack), but you can pretty much use it whenever you proc one and it’s oGCD! You heard right, you can use that pesky healing GCD on EVEN MORE ROCK CHUCKING

AND SPEAKING OF ROCK CHUCKING, let’s talk about something very near and dear to my heart.

Job utility. (points B and C)
There if you were skimming this is the part where it’s important. White Mage has no job utility. Now before you copypaste that back in my face let me add, they don’t need it. Now before you copypaste that back in my face let me add, their personal DPS is the utility.
No, it’s not single target litany bossness. No, it’s not Balance (approximately what like 30 percent of the time on average but who’s counting tbh not me). But what is the point of these utilities? They increase partywide DPS. Utility is basically a different way of saying “this is an ability I can use to somehow (usually convolutedly and AWESOMELY) increase partywide DPS”.

White Mage says honey badgers to that; they’ll just boost their OWN DPS to compensate. Scholar and AST both got hit pretty hard in the personal DPS department—Scholar with Stormblood and AST on release (rip yugioh). WHM lost some tools too (a moment of silence for Fluid Aura’s free potency please) but they also gained quite a bit. Stone 4 is a 30 potency boost over Broil 2 and a 50 potency boost over Malefic 3. Every five Stone 4s? You just pulled ahead of the SCH by one Energy Drain and ahead of the AST by one full buffed Earthly Star with change. And you did all of that for less MP than the Scholar but probably the same cost as the AST.
But like the SCH can also push out an extra 450 potency a minute because of Energy Drain (a little more on average probably because of science math and that new Aetherflow reduction trait) AND the AST can throw out two 300 potency damage cards a minute, so like 600 a minute.

And in both cases they take away from either emergency resources (SCH) or both utility and emergency resources (AST). Scholar, that 450 could’ve gone to Lustrate, Page throwing Lustrate, or Indom! The cards could’ve been an emergency heal or—heaven forbid—A BALANCE. Personal DPS though so totes fair trade off.

Meanwhile, White Mage? ASSIZE (I told you I was getting back to this). How do I love you, let me count the ways.
1: You’re 60 seconds now instead of 90
2: Because of system changes you are not only a free Holy plus one but also a Medica that not only restores my MP but also rewards me for using you as a Medica by saving that Medica MP FOR EVER MORE ROCK CHUCKING
3: Everything’s Better With Spinning (source: tvtropes)
4: I can further reduce your cooldown sometimes which is neat I guess even if I can’t really do it reliably
1-2-3-4 I want to use you more and more, right? Anyway.

You’re pushing this bad boy out for 300 more potency, which now is on par with Aetherflow for MP restored, complete with complimentary in-flight Indom and Holy 2 Eclectic Burgerflu while SCH and AST have to choose like peasants which effect is more important to them. It’s not, like, 600 potency every minute no, AST, but then you’re just trying to pad your own numbers aren’t you? And at that point you’re like those guys who stack the deck in their favor. Dirty, but probably nice smelling.

And dots? Well…you’re beating SCH there now too. Miasma is 300/24s Bio 2 is 350/30s. WHM still only really has Aero 3 to compete on that front at 370/24s. But if you want to be a jerk and really show off then you can toss Aero 2 for an unchanged 250/12s. Napkin math says wind is the winner. I think. And technically Aero 2 is a DPS loss if you aren’t pairing it with Assize, not naming names—Stone 4.

What about MP management—the elephant in the corner of the room constantly shackled to White Mage. Well we lost Shroud—yes I’m sad you have to take it from cross-role too but the tradeoff is two extra MP ticks. Net gain! Assize is 60 seconds, gain! And we whipped up this new ability right out of Thin Air (no, I’m not sorry) for FREE ROCK CHUCKING free spellcasting 12 seconds every 120—10% of the time though it’s probably better paired with Presence of Mind making it more like 12 every 150 (8%) if used exclusively on cooldown. All together WHM gained a good chunk of MP sustainability on top of the fact that Stone 4 is comparatively cheap (Malefic 3+ anyone?)

So let’s tl;dr that massive cluster:
1: WHM’s superior DPS to AST and SCH is the utility it brings
1B: All utility (barring shields) is for the express purpose of raising partywide DPS
1C: Ergo if WHM can bring enough personal DPS to outstrip Balance/Chain Stratagem, its brought “support” utility
2: WHM has gone from worst DPS sustain to arguably best (again I’m so sorry SCH)
3: Stone 4’s potency is awesome
3B: Like, really awesome. 5 Stone 4s = 1 Energy Drain / 1.2 buffed Earthly Stars
4: WHM oGCD doesn’t force WHM to burn any resources (except precious lilies) for extra damage
5: WHM wins AOE, no questions.

And now a hypothetical chart! (Applause please)
Let’s assume 2.5 GCD because laziness and I’ll add dot totals when they expire
No CDs over 60s, no Cleric Stance
(Shadow Flare is 15s oGCD now iirc?)
Also assuming no prep (WHM lily fishing, AST balance fishing, SCH pre-AFing)
Link: http://i.imgur.com/wULmwZG.jpg

“But but but they won’t make content that can’t be cleared by all healer comps though! Also you’re looking very stylish today.”
Well first of all thank you, this is my favorite shirt. Second, you are correct that they won’t. All healer comps will be able clear content, that’s the goal. That means SCH/AST will be able to get by without a WHM. Conversely though? This means WHM/WHM will be able get by without either other healer.

Lastly, let me leave this rambling, shambling mess with a bit of an emotional plea. Remember in the leadup 3.0 when White Mage was going to be shoved out of its position by AST. It was amazing. The stats were amazing. It was THE WHM killer. We were scared, I mained WHM back then, I was scared. Stressed that I would lose my place and usefulness. Then 3.0 was released and AST turned out to not be able to kill a wet paper bag, let alone WHM. Instead of WHMs being turned away, it was ASTs who were actively shunned.

White Mage is not in a position as bad as AST was in 3.0. You will not be actively shunned. I know you are scared, I know you are hurt, I know you feel betrayed. I know you want to throw up your hands and get the pitchforks but please, please wait as best you can. Hold on until we can access Stormblood’s endgame content before we draw definite conclusions. It’s frustrating to wait, to be unsure, I know, but we can do it—we can be patient. Be strong.

If you followed me this far down the rabbit hole, thank you. Thank you so, so much for listening.

[RhettSerris]

I didn't need the space I feel dumb.

[Reiryuu]

C: Assuming that White Mage’s lack of on-demand, constant shields is a deal breaker

Dark Knight's Black Night shield ability gives any party member a shield equal to 10% of THEIR max HP (the dark knight's, not the target) Going by numbers we were seeing in some videos uploaded by people who went to the media tour,

Dark Knight has about 41k hps in stormblood at 70. That means they have a shield of 4100 every 15 seconds for the cost of 50 blood which replenishes fairly quickly.

DPS have around 26k (RDM) to 28k (SAM) which means the whm shield will be 3900 - 4200, every 60 seconds for the cost of at least one lily which has a 20% chance to be gained from a cure 1 or cure 2 cast.

The DRK has a better shield than the WHM now.

But wait—there’s more! What about Planetary Indignation Plenary Indulgence? Do Confession odds also get rolled in a void?
Nothing in any of these mechanics says they are mutually exclusive; in fact, they seem to synergize very nicely.

But wait! You forget! Confessions are given to people the WHM cures with Cure I or Cure II and last for 30 seconds. Plenary Indulgence does not heal players with no stacks of confessions meaning that the only person you're going to be healing this consistently with cure I and cure II to receive any benefit from this spell is the tank.

And uh... your percentage math is just bizzare. 15+20 does not equal 45 if percentages were to even work that way. The game will not roll one die for both to proc. It will roll separately for each check so you still just have a 15% for free cure and a 20% chance for a lily. You're not rolling a d100 and expecting 0-14 = free cure and 15-35 = lily.

But the elephant in the room is: So what? Tell me one thing that a WHM can do that an AST or SCH cannot do as well while still providing group and raid utility that the WHM simply does not have? I don't raid and I care about these things. The only reason I'm not playing AST or SCH now is because it feels weird to stance dance differently from whm because I'm so used to playing it and if I'm playing a healer now, I may as well just stick to it. With cleric stance gone, this awkwardness is gone too.

[RhettSerris]

Dark Knight's Black Night shield ability gives any party member a shield equal to 10% of THEIR max HP (the dark knight's, not the target) Going by numbers we were seeing in some videos uploaded by people who went to the media tour,

The DRK has a better shield than the WHM now.

Wouldn't that mean for single target shielding you don't need a dedicated shielder if you have a Dark Knight? I'm not entirely sure how that contradicts what I wrote

[Saraphin]

I think Reiryuu means that even DRKs have better shields than WHM now?

[RhettSerris]

I think Reiryuu means that even DRKs have better shields than WHM now?

Is that...bad, though? Is there anything wrong with shuffling utility around? SCH and SMN (yes I know I'm sorry I keep bringing them up) used to be the only ones with traited Virus and now that's being split and spread across melee DPS and casters. Maybe I've been poking around the wrong parts of the forums but I've yet to see any outcry about that. (Granted I haven't poked around at all really.) Why is it shielding is only allowed to be a healer-specific thing?

[Metsonm]

Do you think, hand on heart, the personal DPS surplus WHM brings to the table is more valuable than the rDPS the others still bring?

[Cynfael]

Rhett, that's a nice post, but there's only so much turd-polishing you can do with the Lily mechanic.

Simply the fact that, as of the media reveal, it works only with Cure and Cure II is enough to knock it down a few pegs just at first glance, and that's before you get into what it might actually do by the time you get some damned flowers in your gauge.

Frankly, screw Freecure. It's one of the most useless passives since WHMs rarely cast enough Cures to proc it frequently and even more rarely actually have a need to cast a follow-up Cure II. Chances are, unless you are doing some serious Cure spam, your Freecure will proc just to fall off your status bar because you don't need to cast a Cure II within that timeframe (and choose not to do it for free since it would be a waste of an action and serious overhealing).

[Exira]

You can say whatever you want , you can analyze the healing spells as much as you want , the fact is THERE IS NO CONTENT where a particular healer will be needed SO since the astro is almost a Whm what you get is the buff from the cards that every1 benefit . Thats the point , yoshida wants to make the Whm a pure healer? Pld a pure tank ? WHERE IS THE CONTENT FOR THEM LOL the savage is ridicolous so are the primals ex

[Keridwyn]

While being the dps healer is awesome could we maybe just get like a reflect buff? Here, take this sleep spell Im never going to use and make it a single target % reflect. If you really loved me you make its upgraded version group wide. That one change would make us equal.