[Opinion] Why I'm disappointed by most changes to healers.

[loreleidiangelo]

Am I really reading a thread where someone is claiming that pre-4.05 garbage Spear is somehow BETTER than the current Spear??? What nega universe have I fallen into? People have been begging for that awful card to get adjustments since practically it came out.

[Anastacy]

Am I really reading a thread where someone is claiming that pre-4.05 garbage Spear is somehow BETTER than the current Spear??? What nega universe have I fallen into? People have been begging for that awful card to get adjustments since practically it came out.

Yup.

I haven't even seen the OP acknowledge that Spear also affects healing, either. He/she keeps going on about DPS. Kinda feels like I'm in a salt mine.

[NocturniaUzuki]

Yup.

I haven't even seen the OP acknowledge that Spear also affects healing, either. He/she keeps going on about DPS. Kinda feels like I'm in a salt mine.

Are you referring to the new Spear and the idea that "More DPS = Less Healing"?

If that's the case, then my response is that the "More DPS = Less Healing" mantra is not true in FF14 in almost all raid circumstances. Killing mobs faster does reduce healing, and increasing DPS is an important part of healing in mob-filled dungeons (and also add phases in raids, to some extent). According to Sebazy, at least, it also applies to certain "required" phase pushes.

However, it does not apply outside of those situations. FF14 boss encounters are entirely scripted, there is only one enemy, and that enemy is balanced to not cause the healer to run out of MP unless the party kills the boss within a certain time limit. Technically, you don't have to heal as much if the boss dies faster. Maybe you only have to cast 13 AoE heals instead of 18. But the problem is that once the boss is dead, the question of DPS letting you heal less is irrelevant. Once the boss is dead, there is no combat; there's nothing that is going to cost you cooldowns and MP. It's only relevant in mob-clear situations with large pulls because the rate of healing required drains the healer's MP and cooldowns extremely fast. If the mobs don't die, then eventually the tank dies. Bosses, on the other hand, are balanced differently. Healers will never run out of MP on a boss as long as they are being smart with their MP regen skills, not overhealing excessively, and their party isn't taking ridiculous amounts of avoidable damage. There is no "If the boss doesn't die, the party will die." Except for enrage, obviously. But then if the boss enrages, being able to heal less is irrelevant.

[Fortune_Cookie]

If that's the case, then my response is that the "More DPS = Less Healing" mantra is not true in FF14 in almost all raid circumstances.

I didn't want to reply to this thread again because it's going round in circles, but this warrants a comment.

By your own admission, your ultra-defensive play style is only applicable to parties where things don't go according to plan. Where players take avoidable damage and require additional healing. And it's precisely to deliver that additional healing that you prioritise defensive measures over offensive ones. Therefore you are precisely not in a situation where:

Healers will never run out of MP on a boss as long as they are being smart with their MP regen skills, not overhealing excessively, and their party isn't taking ridiculous amounts of avoidable damage.

On the contrary:

Technically, you don't have to heal as much if the boss dies faster. Maybe you only have to cast 13 AoE heals instead of 18.

This becomes particularly relevant when all the additional damage your party is taking is depleting your mp?

I'm not making a general case here that the defensive value of an AoE balance will always outweigh the benefit of one extra Lucid. I'm just pointing out that your assertion (essentially that the benefit of a shorter kill only manifests itself once the boss is dead) is not true in exactly the sort of situation that you keep going on about. Frankly I don't get why you engage in these mental contortions to justify to yourself that the pursuit of DPS is to blame for all the woes in the world. You obviously enjoy your play style, you don't need anybody else's validation, do you?