Isn't it about time for WHM to get an AOE mitigation tool?

[Sebazy]

“White mage isn’t supposed to have mitigation.” Uh, what, why? Because you’ve dreamed up some identity definitions for the classes on your own, and won’t allow anything other than this ideal to fit? There’s nothing that says WHM can’t have mitigation.

Actually I'd say SE doesn't want WHM to have mitigation. Yes we used to have stoneskin, but look back a little further and see how SE have reacted over the years to strategy that have revolved around it. Early T5 required timed Stoneskin+Adlo for the tank to survive death sentence (And a timed Cure II between the DS and infirmity for good measure). Oh hey, WHM proceeded to lose it's % bonus on SS. Remember how quickly the SS2 in combat bug after a raise got stomped out? Whilst Benison is powerful, I can't help but feel that tying it to the Lily mechanic was a deliberate move to make it awkward to rely on rather than an effort to make Lilys seem more valuable.

Groups in PFs DO actively exclude WHM (among other classes).

I can't find a single O4S or Shinryu in PF currently that's excluding WHM and I can't say I've noticed it with any degree of regularity when I've had the pug itch. I've pretty much played WHM exclusively since Omega Savage hit and I've had no issues. Maybe it's an NA thing? /shrug.

One thing I will add here tho, for ARR through to early Gordias I ran with an FC where the leadership formed groups for us, I was clearly known as a WHM 'main' yet ended up on SCH for every single last early progression push I took part in. Did we exclude WHM? Of course not, it was because A) There were never enough SCHs and B) I was always willing to be flexible for the good of the FC. Personally, I still think that shortage of SCHs (and natural Noct ASTs) is still a thing even if it is likely to a lesser degree now.

Rolling over into your point about WHM and speed runs, maybe it's because of the company I keep, but I see highly active WHMs in highly skilled company that have been working hard the last few weeks and are ready and prepped for tomorrow.

What does this mean? That WHM literally can’t do as much and doesn’t have nearly as much variation or ability as their co-healers. I’m not saying give them 5 new skills to balance it out - that wouldn’t be balanced of course, but they are missing something. My personal vote is still for raid damage utility over mitigation, but I digress.

Personally I like WHM's comparative simplicity but I do agree with you here.

(and please, it’s tiny, no decent WHM builds up 3 stacks in anything, pretty much ever. Especially not during almagest because you’d rip ago)

Anything is possible with good Shroud timing it seems <3 Fun fact: Despite my Cure III addiction, the other WHM was pulling more hate than me on the occasions where we overstepped the line (despite me healing faster and harder for the most part). Fun Fact 2: I didn't screenshot it, but we got 4 or 5 first kills on that linked run. Gogo late and hideously overgeared progression =(

Also not one person has said why giving WHM a small long oGCD mitigation skill is a bad thing.

I thought I did a few times TBH? Simply put, being able to handily get squishies up to 50k eHP without some massive caveats would be problematic for mechanics centred around aoe damage. Flares would virtually trivialised greatly reducing the difficulty of Faustdeath in particular, not to mention I suspect it'd have a significant impact on several of O3S's mechanics as well. This is of course based on the thinking that a WHM bubble would stack with SCH/AST Galvs, if that isn't your thinking then I'll accept that my point is void here.

On the bright side, I suspect we can both agree that AST was a bit of a dumpster fire all told