What I've realized about healing in XIV...

[KalinOrthos]

snip :3

Actually, I'm going to have to disagree with you on this. Like I said before, I've really drifted away from healing for a good number of reasons, but I don't hate healing. Hell, back in WoW, Holy Priest, Mistweaver Monk, and Restoration Shamans were my jam, they were fun and engaging. Healing in this game just...isn't. I can speculate a few reasons as to why that is, but really, there's nothing here for me to keep playing AST when I have more fun and engaging and dynamic gameplay with MCH, PLD, BRD, and even SMN and SAM.

There's also a reason why we didn't see a massive influx of healers and tanks in Heavensward; people who do heal and tank, will heal and tank, and the people who won't, won't. It's that same song and dance for every MMO, with every expansion: you will always, ALWAYS have dedicated DPS, tanks, and healers, because that's the role that the player wants to play. By making a certain role unengaging, all you are going to do is push people away who enjoy the gameplay of a healer towards something more supporty and engaging.

Should a lower skill floor exist to make a class easy for new players to pick up and learn? Definitely. But low skill floor does not equal simple with no complexity.

[Jade3173]

By making a certain role unengaging, all you are going to do is push people away who enjoy the gameplay of a healer towards something more supporty and engaging.

I healed through 2.X as WHM, healed through 3.X as AST, tried to stay as AST in 4.0 but found Bard to be far more interesting now that it really fills in that "supporty" feel and feels so much more amazing than being an AST, even with the shield healing style that I prefer. Trying SCH at the moment and just...no. Still hate pet healing (unless it's super low dungeon and I'm just a green symbol DPS cause Eos can heal everything) and the shields just feel like wet paper that cost 1/8th of my MP bar. Seriously, kudos to people who raid as SCH nowadays.