Buffs to WHM on 4.5 patch

[Coltvoyance]

We weren't asking for a huge shakeup before 5.0. We were asking for potency bumps to stone and maybe the aeros. It would have taken almost no development effort to change the numbers a la MCH and MNK in this very same patch, and would have made WHM more competitive in the raid scene.

Of course the changes we got are still nice in terms of general playability/making WHM more pleasant, but they're not changes that change WHM's standing.

Riiiight... and I was explaining that prior to the patch, Yoshi had stated that those kind of changes to WHM weren't going to happen until 5.0. And people should realize that.

My understanding was that throughout 4.X, WHM was planned to be a pure healer and they decided to keep it that way for the rest of 4.X. Boosting it's core damaging skills is not part of that vision. The changes help us heal better, which is what our class is currently designed to do. Just like MCH and MNK got buffs for what their classes are designed to do.

There's only 5-ish months left before the new expansion drops and the class gets revamped anyway. The last thing that the Dev. team is probably focused on is trying to change our place in a soon to be obsolete meta. They're likely too busy making sure we have a place in the new meta.

[NocturniaUzuki]

Enter a thread about new changes to a healer class:

Everyone starts talking about how they affect DPS numbers instead of how they affect actual healing strategies.

I mean talking about DPS is fine. But at least talk about how the adjustments to how you will heal will increase DPS via more time to cast offensive spells, rather than going googley-eyed over potency changes.

[Risvertasashi]

Riiiight... and I was explaining that prior to the patch, Yoshi had stated that those kind of changes to WHM weren't going to happen until 5.0. And people should realize that.

Not sure how you got that from what the devs said. Potency buffs are exactly the sort of thing in line with the bandaid changes they'd do before the big changes of the next expac.

WHM even got one, just they put it on a CD instead of a GCD.

Enter a thread about new changes to a healer class:

Everyone starts talking about how they affect DPS numbers instead of how they affect actual healing strategies.

I mean talking about DPS is fine. But at least talk about how the adjustments to how you will heal will increase DPS via more time to cast offensive spells, rather than going googley-eyed over potency changes.

Because more healing isn't needed. All healers have ridiculous healing output and can easily overcome the healchecks of the very hardest content in the game.

But since you asked. Assize no longer lines up with TA. It does still line up with BV. In general timings and planning need to be somewhat reworked around the new CD length, but they're minor adjustments. Not that much really changes because fight mechanics and other CDs haven't changed. TAs will still happen as often as possible, heals will still be aligned to the same mechanics, and so on.

PI now sticks long enough to be more than just an extra 150 potency on your last AoE heal, and can be a heal in its own right, allowing an extra GCD for other uses here and there. Tanks are sighing in relief that they don't have to do extra enmity combos with a WHM in the party, but may still be a bit grumpy about DPS.

[NobleWinter]

While MP economy definitely wasn't a problem before it is interesting to note that the changes to both Assize and Plenary were still a huge boon to MP regulation. Assize added more dps potential, MP generation, and healing all in one fell swoop. It was a really interesting change to me since the awkward trait for WHM still allows them to reduce the Assize cool down further. It makes me wonder if future content is going to allow this intentional wellspirng of MP to be useful. I definitely enjoy the fact that Plenary and Assive are going to replace Medica in a way they couldn't before. It means a lot less hard casting heals and MP free healing means more Holy Spam on add phases. I actually think reworking Holy so that it was 300 Potency if only one enemy was affected, but 200 and diminishing for multiple enemies, would be neat so that it warranted using Holy on a single enemy for the dps increase at a massive cost to your MP giving you a way to utilise all your extra resource.

[miraidensetsu]

They're likely too busy making sure we have a no place in the new meta.

Fixed that for you.

Remember, there is a chance that a new healer will be released. And they are making sure that the new healer has a place in the groups, even if that means they must sacrifice AST or SCH.

WHM will be benched over again. Write down this.

[Raikai]

Enter a thread about new changes to a healer class:

Everyone starts talking about how they affect DPS numbers instead of how they affect actual healing strategies.

I mean talking about DPS is fine. But at least talk about how the adjustments to how you will heal will increase DPS via more time to cast offensive spells, rather than going googley-eyed over potency changes.

The issue on why people are advocating for a DPS increase instead, for WHM, is just because the job's problems were all but the need to extra healing.

[Deceptus]

We weren't asking for a huge shakeup before 5.0. We were asking for potency bumps to stone and maybe the aeros. It would have taken almost no development effort to change the numbers a la MCH and MNK in this very same patch, and would have made WHM more competitive in the raid scene.

Of course the changes we got are still nice in terms of general playability/making WHM more pleasant, but they're not changes that change WHM's standing.

WHM's are already the best DPS of any healer. Why would bumps to Stone and Aero be justified? . . . Their aggro was the biggest problem (other than the lily system) and it's now fixed. Lilies will require a redesign.

[Ghishlain]

WHM's are already the best DPS of any healer. Why would bumps to Stone and Aero be justified? . . . Their aggro was the biggest problem (other than the lily system) and it's now fixed. Lilies will require a redesign.

In theory this is the case, as shown with SSS numbers.

In actual practice, WHM falls behind by about 10% of the other two healers *points to resource that shall not be named*

[Erakir]

WHM's are already the best DPS of any healer. Why would bumps to Stone and Aero be justified? . . . Their aggro was the biggest problem (other than the lily system) and it's now fixed. Lilies will require a redesign.

No, WHM is not the best DPS of any healer. Not in practice.

This whole thing has been about how WHM is intended to have the most personal DPS, but WHM falls BEHIND the other healers in raid encounters due to several factors, especially since AST cast times were adjusted. This is not just at the top end of speedkills. WHM is and has been behind both healers since the AST changes, and if I recall correctly has been behind SCH the entire expansion. At best, WHM pulls equal personal numbers than jobs that also offer massive raid damage boosts. The Assize and PI changes will push it up, I'm estimating slightly above other healers in a typical, non-speedrun group, which still makes the job fall incredibly short. Our healing doesn't make up for it - SCH/AST have absolutely no problem since the encounters are designed around not needing a WHM. Our healing potencies aren't particularly high or anything either.

WHM doesn't even particularly shine in dungeons when it comes to damage output. Scholars have been doing quite fine for themselves there. The fairy does a boatload of legwork.

We DO have the most single target damage on a dummy fight. The Stone Sea Sky dummies DO say WHM should be doing the most damage. But we don't in actual fights. Across the board. And that's...*one* of the problems with a job that is intended to be the BLM/SAM of healers. I can point you to numerous threads detailing WHY WHM falls behind, but if you want the cliff notes version - Tons of clipping, lack of mobility, DPS lost due to needing to hardcast more spells. Encounter design plays a big role too. Its healing is fine but does not really outshine others and the game is not designed to warrant Cure III spam every 30s since it has to account for groups that have SCH/AST.

In short, WHM loses far more of its damage potential in practical settings and does not achieve its 'highest healer dps' crown. It's fallen dead last this whole tier. And that's why potency buffs would have been justified.

Edit: I don't love being in this position. I want every healer in this game to be fun, to flow well, and to be desirable. I don't love having to look at every good quality of life change for other jobs while thinking to myself "What does that mean for the job I love the most in this game?" But that is where we are. The developers have decided not to make WHM healing anything superly powerful or necessary, so all we have for what we bring to a group is damage potential. There's nothing else we really do that says "Hey that's cool, since we have a WHM we can do it this way instead of that way." If you're a summoner and black mage gets buffed - well, you still have your mobility, you still have your raise. You still have things to sell yourself. If you're a black mage and summoner/red mage get buffed, you start to sweat. It's an oversimplification, but it's how it feels.

[Orbus]

Definitely not a healer main, but I have a 70 whm.
SCH and AST have utility in shields and party buffs.
WHM utility is healing, and more healing, to the point that it's unnecessary.
So if their one selling point is being the best healer (which is not necessary even for savage content) while having less utility and doing less damage than the other two, then there's a problem here.

IMO they're probably going to give the WHM a bigger rework than the other two in 5.0.
The lily system is not good and basically acknowledge this with neutering it to the point that it's all but vestigial now.
Leaving it as it in going into 5.0 would be plain embarrassing.