From Yoshida himself

[Ayer2015]

Have people stopped to consider they want WHNM to play differently than current? Clearly people want the job to play the same as at present, but perhaps Cure - Cure 2 - Cure 3 will be the direction they want WHM to be played..... The job traits are based around this type of play after all.

If this is the case I hope Cure 3 gets a larger radius.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

"Everything will be fine!" was said in regards to:

2.0 Warrior
2.0 Dragoon
2.4 Ninja (They never expected us to use Huton pre-pull)
3.0 Astro
3.0 Bard
3.0 Machinist
3.x Paladin

Now I do want to clarify, White Mage is by no means as bad as Warrior, Dragoon or Astro were. That being said, this isn't the dev's first rodeo on balance design. They have something a spotty record. Furthermore, people don't need to play a job to notice immediate flaws. The primary complaint about White Mage has little to do with it not being "meta," but rather the Lily mechanic being neither engaging nor rewarding. Cooldown reduction simply isn't a valued attribute in this game because we pre-plan everything in content that matters. I only blow off Assize on cooldown when I already know I won't need it for actual healing. During prog, I would hold onto it for high aoe damage. It doesn't matter if I get it back 12s faster if I've already planned the spot I'll want it for. That is the fundamental issue. It isn't just "White Mage is dead" noise.

Have people stopped to consider they want WHNM to play differently than current? Clearly people want the job to play the same as at present, but perhaps Cure - Cure 2 - Cure 3 will be the direction they want WHM to be played..... The job traits are based around this type of play after all.

If this is the case I hope Cure 3 gets a larger radius.

What they want is irrelevant. All that matters is functionality. If the Lily mechanic isn't improved, people aren't just going to default to Cure spam when Regen remains a better heal. It's the same with mass pulling and healer DPS. They want us to focus less on speeding through dungeons. We don't.

[Ceasaria]

If the Lily mechanic isn't improved, people aren't just going to default to Cure spam when Regen remains a better heal. It's the same with mass pulling and healer DPS.

You don't know how it will evolve.
Using more Cure could become optimal in Stormblood than doing mass Regen.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

You don't know how it will evolve.
Using more Cure could become optimal in Stormblood than doing mass Regen.

The likelihood of that is slim to none. They aren't going to make Cure or Cure II significantly stronger than their counterparts on Astro and Scholar. Regardless, it still doesn't change the fact cooldown reduction just isn't a worthwhile attribute in this game. Like I already said, everything is pre-planned. It's why Spear is considered fodder. An Astro giving me Spear doesn't mean I'll use Living Dead or Shadow Wall anymore than I did before. Likewise, it won't have me using Assize more unless I know the fight and am blowing it for DPS.