Will Healers Still be Forced to DPS in 4.0 Due to Lax Content?

[MoroMurasaki]

I feel like this is now basically just an argument about which role is treated the worst and I think the difference between the rate of healers being called out in casual content is definitely higher but for a very obvious reason; when it comes to DF pug groups it is very easy to see a healer not pulling their weight in DPS (they aren't casting damage spells so either they're overhealing a ton or doing nothing) where as DPS being called out for poor performance is a bit harder.

[MoroMurasaki]

As I've played other classes and watched my boyfriend do the same I've learned what good DPS looks like from them in a casual setting. There are still some that I don't understand fully but overall I have a much better idea now than I did when I'd only played WHM. I'm sure most of you can gauge this as well if not better than I can, you care enough to be on the forums which already sets you apart from most players. That being said most people running casual content dont care this much, its easier to pick on the healer standing there doing nothing (or jumping, god I hate the jumping around while waiting) than it is to notice the DRG didnt use heavy thrust or the WAR hasn't left tank stance.

[MoroMurasaki]

This doesn't mean those things aren't bad, just that if you're playing casual content (as the vast majority of the player base do) then you're not very prepared to spot flaws beyond someone literally doing nothing.

All that aside in response to the OP is if damage scaled off MND is viable I look forward to still pumping out a ton of it, I wish more healers would try it before saying its not for them. The removal of stance dancing only makes it more accessible.

Damn character limit >.<

[Zojha]

Damn character limit >.<

We need a giant, bolded sticky PSA in every forum that you can circumvent that by editing the post >_>

Or just finally get it removed.

[Belhi]

The OP's point was that healing mechanics in this game are underwhelming and healers have way too much downtime, both of which are true. Healer Jobs are designed to heal. Their dps component is very shallow mechanically. SCH has the most and they originate from a dps class. If your going to spend most of your time dpsing it makes more sense frankly to just play a Job designed for it rather than the half assed dps design healers have.

Of course that quickly got derailed into an rather pointless argument over if healers should dps or not which wasn't what the thread was about. Seriously this discussion is getting old. Its not like either side is changing the others mind and its not like either side can force the other side to change their play style. People who don't want to dps will still not dps no matter how much people hate at them. People who kick healers not dpsing will still do it regardless. Both sides will fume and be salty about the other and in the end all this arguing will achieve nothing.

With all that said, I think the OP's point is something worth discussing. What should be the direction of healing gameplay in this game. Should SE be designing healers to be more like support dps rather than trying to fit them into a design the gameplay doesn't support? Or should they move back towards a healing model more similar to other games?

As a person who has mained healer on different MMOs for the past 12 years, I can say that FF14's healing mechanics are by far the most underwhelming. I have never had that much downtime healing in any other game I have played. I have never seen this argument in any other MMO I have played. Healing is way too powerful in this game and too automated. This is something that really needs to get sorted or it will continue causing problems. I don't want healer balance to be an excuse for healers to get sidelined again for new Jobs.

[HappyHubris]

As a person who has mained healer on different MMOs for the past 12 years, I can say that FF14's healing mechanics are by far the most underwhelming. I have never had that much downtime healing in any other game I have played. I have never seen this argument in any other MMO I have played. Healing is way too powerful in this game and too automated. This is something that really needs to get sorted or it will continue causing problems. I don't want healer balance to be an excuse for healers to get sidelined again for new Jobs.

Well written. We are in complete agreement. I enjoy healing immensely, but the limited mechanics/UI and dearth of healing needed make it a questionable role in FFXIV.

[TaleraRistain]

As a person who has mained healer on different MMOs for the past 12 years, I can say that FF14's healing mechanics are by far the most underwhelming. I have never had that much downtime healing in any other game I have played. I have never seen this argument in any other MMO I have played. Healing is way too powerful in this game and too automated. This is something that really needs to get sorted or it will continue causing problems.

Definitely agree there's way too much downtime with healing in this game. However, I wouldn't want to be a healbot. That was clerics back in EverQuest. I played a druid and they had a wider toolkit. But my cleric friend got bored being a healbot. Clerics had this spell called Yaulp that was a battle buff and the normal use was on others. But he would cast that on himself and dive right into the fray with his hammer. They need to balance things so we're not forced to turn to just dps to stay busy.

[Zephanoa]

Hmm I am not wondering if the title is a bit misleading. No one knows if it will be "Lax" or not yet. Not even those who had media tour exposure. From the perspective of someone who heals sometimes I never feel like I need to DPS to keep myself busy (unless its SCH pre-50, lucky d00ds.) It's all about comfort, and shouldn't be about expectation in my eyes.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

As a person who has mained healer on different MMOs for the past 12 years, I can say that FF14's healing mechanics are by far the most underwhelming. I have never had that much downtime healing in any other game I have played. I have never seen this argument in any other MMO I have played. Healing is way too powerful in this game and too automated. This is something that really needs to get sorted or it will continue causing problems. I don't want healer balance to be an excuse for healers to get sidelined again for new Jobs.

I feel the same. For all the talk of healer DPS and the devs dislike of our expectations for it, this meta declines rapidly if content were tuned with volatile damage in mind. While I enjoy DPSing on my healers, I hate the sheer amount of downtime I'm given since it takes away part of the reward. Say I were only able to reasonably weave in 20-30% Cleric. That feeling rewarding, especially if I couldn't do it for the first couple weeks. Granted, tanking has a similar problem where you only ever feel like one if you pull the whole room. You certainly won't need CDs otherwise. Hopefully, Stormblood pushes the boundaries a little.

[SwarleyMcSwarls]

That's not really how healing works in this game though. All classes are built to be able to deal damage and do their support roles. That's part of the whole learning process of playing a job efficiently and effectively in this game. I do get that people want the jobs to fall into certain categories; however, I can't think of a single game where a "tank" is just a rock that absorbs damage while doing nothing else. Or a healer/support literally only makes their teammates HP go up. And yes, each role has specific functions before all else, but a dps that is only doing stuff half the time and makes the healers/tanks/other dps work harder is just as guilty of not contributing. The unfortunate thing for tanks and healers is that it's MUCH easier to see when they aren't doing what they are supposed to.

And I feel like it's hard for SE to really push the boundaries in normal, duty finder content. They definitely have content that allows players to do that. But there is sort of a tone set for the difficulty and speed through which people can do certain content. For instance, if you ramp up the outgoing damage for ALL stormblood dungeons (thus bumping up the healing and tank requirements) doing damage would still mean that the enemies die faster and that your tanks and healers would need to mitigate and heal less damage. So would SE then bump up the HP of the enemies too? So you couldn't cheese the healing/tank mechanics by just rapidly killing things? This would then slow down the dungeons a great deal. And make them VERY long and frustrating for players who aren't used to challenging themselves to max out their class and their role. With that said, there isn't as much of a middle ground between the "casual" content and savage raiding though. So I do hope that all players who are interested in playing or do enjoy the game find their niche and way to enjoy the game. I just think it's quite difficult from a design standpoint to cater to all skill levels and and all interests in an MMO.