4.3 Thought on 3 healers

[VanilleFang]

WHM: God healer. Crushes foes with its massive healing power.

SCH: Wishes it healed as much as WHM.

AST: Wishes it was WHM.

Disclaimer for those who need one: This is a joke. I actually think all healers are fairly balanced. I do think WHM is really strong right now though, especially with the Divine Benison change.

[Rasikko]

So.. this thread: SCH is the premier undisputed definition of healer. WHM has big heals, but otherwise, kind of just there. AST = WHM ripoff.

Gotcha.

[Ceasaria]

White Mage: Easy to learn, hard to master...

Actually, the 3 healers jobs are hard to master, but WHM is way more easier than the 2 others.

[Coltvoyance]

I appreciate the opinions WHM is receiving. It used to definitely be a class many would refer to as "Baby's first healer" "Boring" "Zero difficulty".

I'm glad the perception has changed to one that's "easy to pick up, but difficult to master."

As a WHM main, I'd say that the class feels more powerful than ever in what it's capable of. To me, it feels like the traditional rules of healing don't apply to me anymore and I can bend situations to my will by using everything in my kit. Class definitely benefits from speedy fingers. With all of its oGCDs, you can pull some serious miracles out of your ass and still pump DPS.

Strategic use of HoTs and insta-heals gives you enormous DPS uptime. I've thought about recording myself doing a dungeon run to show some people what I mean about how much you can pull off with WHM. The class feels really solid and complete to me at the moment - barring a possible tweak to Confession stacks maybe... Only thing on my wishlist for the class is a new attack that isn't stone or wind. An insta-cast GCD Attack would be nice so I could spam something other than Aero 2 while running/dodging.

As for SCH and AST? Not as familiar... They don't speak to me in the same way, so my opinions are light. Pet and Card management is an extra layer of complexity to doing Heals and Damage that makes me (individually) feel less hands-on with the task, and less accomplished and confident in the results... Probably why I enjoy the straight forwardness of WHM so much.

As for who I prefer to partner with? SCH. Always feel like most AST are too distracted with their cards...

[loreleidiangelo]

I appreciate the opinions WHM is receiving. It used to definitely be a class many would refer to as "Baby's first healer" "Boring" "Zero difficulty".

I'm glad the perception has changed to one that's "easy to pick up, but difficult to master."

I think 2.0 WHM was really reliant on GCDs, which made it feel "slow". 3.x WHM actually received nothing BUT oGCDs (alongside upgrades to their damage spells), and while in 4.0 they kinda got some lackluster upgrades IMO Divine Benison after the change is now another powerful, short CD oGCD that really adds to WHM's engagement factor.

[Risvertasashi]

I appreciate the opinions WHM is receiving. It used to definitely be a class many would refer to as "Baby's first healer" "Boring" "Zero difficulty".

Yeah, 2.0 WHM particularly got a lot of hate -- but I never agreed with it, it's always had nuances and things to master.

As for who I prefer to partner with? SCH. Always feel like most AST are too distracted with their cards...

AST's always been a test of multitasking and yeah, a lot of players do get distracted... but there's no shortage of... less proficient WHMs and SCHs out there either.

[Braven]

While they are all pretty balanced overall at level 70, I tend to prefer different healers at different level caps snd content.

For dungeons: WHM and SCH have more fun AOE skills. Gravity comes later, and while very safe (being able to stay far away), it is pretty boring to use. Holy has stun, large radius, and looks sweet. Miasma 2 is instant cast so you can cast while staying mobile, dodging attacks, and using oGLDs for a more active playstyle. Also, AST has no AOE dots.

For Trials: AST is king. Your cards are more helpful expanded and your stances allow you to fill in the drawbacks of your co-healer perfectly. Trials often require heavily healing and AST has very high potency heals and lightspeed to power-heal through anything. Next is whm since regens stack with other healers and their heals are also very solid. SCH is worst because of the possibilty of double SCH being less than ideal.

For pre-50: AST can be super boring if you are level capped before cards at level 30. SCH always has the pet and whm has cool looking stone spells. AST is stuck with a basic, weak attack spell that sounds like you are attacking with a wet noodle. Only upside is the powerful essential dignity ability which makes it so you basically don’t have to heal at all in the beginner dungeons.

For level 50 cap: I like scholar best since the pet is as powerful as ever and they get their aetherpact early for the most off global cooldowns at this level. Also SCH MP management is great early, while WHM has the power-hungry holy without thin air or assize to help power it. AST is worst since they are missing AOE at this point and, since level 50 content is easy, it makes things boring.

For level 60 cap: SCH most situational abilities are between 50-60, but WHM gets their core, always helpful skills during these levels. As a result, I like WHM best.

After level 60, WHM is relatively less exciting with duds like secret of the lily 2. Divine Benison and Thin Air are nice, but it kind of feels like getting what the other healers already had. In the end, they are all quite balanced.

[Capn_Goggles]

The fact that they managed to make all three of the healers at least somewhat distinct while still keeping a decent amount of parity makes me wonder how they manage to do the complete opposite with tanks. WHM is a "baby's first healer" with ultra straightforward mechanics and strong heals, but still manages to have plenty to offer to experienced players; SCH has the most interesting and (in my opinion) proactive gameplay of the three, and spends a lot less active time healing which is fairly unique; AST is a bit of an odd duck because it's mostly just borrowed mechanics, but the cards offer a unique niche and its spells are among the most visually spectacular.

It's not perfect, but if they stayed the way they are until the next expansion (where they completely butcher the job balance again) then I wouldn't be upset in the slightest.

[Kacho_Nacho]

Yeah, 2.0 WHM particularly got a lot of hate -- but I never agreed with it, it's always had nuances and things to master.

AST's always been a test of multitasking and yeah, a lot of players do get distracted... but there's no shortage of... less proficient WHMs and SCHs out there either.

For sure, I just ignored the haters. It was always a stupid argument.

You bring up a good point about astrologians. There are times when I blank on a card. But, I have to wonder, which healer demands the most multi-tasking, astrologians or scholars?

[Sebazy]

You bring up a good point about astrologians. There are times when I blank on a card. But, I have to wonder, which healer demands the most multi-tasking, astrologians or scholars?

IMHO they have rather different demands on the player.

SCH is more about mindless APM much of which can be done on autopilot. Embrace spam is the big one here of course, but working for that 45 second aetherflow is a pretty similar story.

AST has a much lower work rate but demands more mental agility of the player with the somewhat unpredictable nature of cards. You can streamline it somewhat with flowchart style prioritisation but on the flipside, Sleeve Draw can be an absolute pig at times.