Unpopular Opinion: We Needed Another rDPS

[Josco]

As a WHM main since 2.0, I personally enjoy rDPS a lot. A new rDPS would be welcome.

However, we desperately need another healer. We currently only have 2 healers, and anyone trying to meme in PF will see the abundance of green and blue open blocks. A new tank is great and certainly needed, but healing is in a sad state. You need an AST and a SCH, and ONLY an AST and SCH. As much as I love healing, this gets super stale. At least with tanks, there are 3 combinations you can use, and each changes how the two plan and use abilities.

TL;DR-- Dancer as rDPS is a good idea. Not having a new healer is a bad idea.

[Risvertasashi]

No, we don't need another healer. Even worse than only have 6 long range DPS classes, we only have 1 dexterity-using melee. So first we have to add more dex melees. I think both new jobs in 2021 will have to be dex melees, and then one more in 2023. And then we can maybe think of adding a new healer, if we don't find any more DPS shortages and if the healers are perfectly balanced. If they aren't then new healers will need to be delayed longer.

[Skeith9]

Agreed. Physical Ranged has been waiting for a new class just as long as us and they have 2 we have 3. Being entitled because you think maining healer gives you some special rights is just something else.

Also DNC would be a terrible choice for next healer, when we haven't even gotten chemist or necromancer. If we got DNC healer, it would be 4 ot more years until Chemist!!! Or they make chemist a dps since we got dnc, which would be worse!

P.S. Physical Ranged and Magic Ranged play nothing alike.

[Shurrikhan]

Agreed. Physical Ranged has been waiting for a new class just as long as us and they have 2 we have 3. Being entitled because you think maining healer gives you some special rights is just something else.

Also DNC would be a terrible choice for next healer, when we haven't even gotten chemist or necromancer. If we got DNC healer, it would be 4 ot more years until Chemist!!! Or they make chemist a dps since we got dnc, which would be worse!

P.S. Physical Ranged and Magic Ranged play nothing alike.

As a former Ranged main, I don't see how it's "entitled" to want a fourth, distinct, Healer among that role when Ranged themselves, role-wide, feel little different from casters.

Role-wise, DPS are simply DPS. Positionally, there are only Melee (Tanks, Melee) and Not-Melee (Casters, Ranged, and Healers). Beyond that, you simply have an optimal comp or you don't.

I'd prefer the most "new"-ness I can get while still having a functioning job. Maybe Dancer will surprise me with how it performs as a Ranged, but I doubt it. I'd doubt it'd be very new as a Healer, either, but at least the potential is far more readily imaginable.

[Grimoire-M]

No, we don't need another healer. Even worse than only have 6 long range DPS classes, we only have 1 dexterity-using melee. So first we have to add more dex melees. I think both new jobs in 2021 will have to be dex melees, and then one more in 2023. And then we can maybe think of adding a new healer, if we don't find any more DPS shortages and if the healers are perfectly balanced. If they aren't then new healers will need to be delayed longer.

Melee is melee. Whether it's DEX based or not does not matter. I agree we need duplicate scouting/maiming melee dps classes 'eventually' just to deal with the lopsided armor issues, but a ranged DPS made just as much sense as them. Hell a healer made just as much sense. Dancer could fit into all three of those roles. The general forum consensus is they made the most sense in the healer role, with scouting melee being a second option. SE decided to instead focus on their 'support dps' aspect, which between the melee/caster/ranged dps roles, the lattermost is considered the 'de-facto' support role, mostly in part to being TP/MP batteries and all current Ranged DPS carrying a universally applicable Raid buff of some sort. Dancer has traditionally been a counterpart to Bard in previous FF games, yet rarely if ever has access to a heal. More often it has debuffs that act as counterparts to the Bard's buffs. And practically speaking being a Ranged DPS leaves room for focusing on actual Dances without having to get mixed up in melee combat or having to bother with positionals, allowing it to be more flexible. Given that context it is a natural shoe-in for the Ranged DPS role in every way barring a suitable weapon that made it distinctive, which SE managed to settle on, opting for throwing weapons in the form of Dual Chakram.

Flavor wise I think it works conceptually, even if we all think there was a better option due to our own biases. SE themselves also said they don't want to be tied down to Healer/Tank every other expansion, so this is them making good on that promise.

Now let's hope they actually follow through on Healer Balance: The Sequel.

[Josco]

No, we don't need another healer. Even worse than only have 6 long range DPS classes, we only have 1 dexterity-using melee. So first we have to add more dex melees. I think both new jobs in 2021 will have to be dex melees, and then one more in 2023. And then we can maybe think of adding a new healer, if we don't find any more DPS shortages and if the healers are perfectly balanced. If they aren't then new healers will need to be delayed longer.

First, I don't think anyone thinks healers don't need to be balanced. WHM is basically worthless right now, since AST can do everything WHM can do plus provide buffs and mitigation (even in diurnal stance). Healers work in synergy with the other healer so much, it gets old pretty quickly playing one of two flavors over and over--either you're the AST or you're the SCH. If you don't like one of the two classes, you are locked to one possible job for the entire role. At least all 3 tanks are viable. One more healer would multiply the variety in play for a very in-demand role. It's not just that we were looking forward to healing as the new class, but we were looking forward to healing with the new class.

Second, you don't see melee DPS slots staying open for more than 10 seconds in PF unless they're locked to NIN/DRG, or have constant instapops playing DPS. Melee may have different gear sets, but you can still choose from NIN, DRG, MNK, and even SAM...if you're into that kind of thing. I wouldn't mind seeing more, but in no way is melee DPS needed more than another healer.

[Sylvain]

Saying whm is sub-par is fine, but the whole "WHM is worthless" is getting old. Whm can clear any content as well as any other healer and unless you're pushing first week clear, the ~1000 dps provided by cards shouldn't be an issue anymore.

Plenty of group have cleared all content with all 3 healers so whm is very far from bein sub-par. I find it to be quite useful on UwU personally.

Regarding dancer and a new healer,
I personally didn't want the dancer to be a new healer. As said it was more about being a physical support than a proper healer. I'm actually quite content with the choice SE made.

On the whole we do need a new healer because it's been 4 years. I don't see why we would. If anything healer is the one role that needs to take into consideration the ability of the other player the most.

Other jobs aren't as affected (beyond numerically on their DPS) by the presence or absence of a specific job.

If I play war, whether there is a DRK or or PLD, beside 1 or 2 eventual cover, nothing will change much in the way I process through the encounter.

If I play a WHM, I have to adapt to my coheal ability and change the way I might heal some part of the encounter.

Because of this, if SE hasn't found a proper way to introduce a new healer that would meld well with the 3 current one is far more important than simply adding one if this will result into the said healer becoming "mandatory" or "worthless".

I don't say "don't add new healer until the current 3 are fixed" because beside a few quirk they are in a good spot. It's only a shame that whm 4.5 change didn't occur in 4.2.

But because of healer duality in a raid setting, nailing a proper design is very important (to me at least). So if they aren't ready, I'll wait another expansion. (admittedly if next xpac they don't add one it will start getting old....)

I'm personally eager to see what they'll do with the WHM. I hope that the change will be big enough to make it feel like an entire new healer. (hope are high....)

I especially hope for the Chemist in 6.0.

[Sylvain]

Plenty of group have cleared all content with all 3 healers so whm is very far from bein sub-par. I find it to be quite useful on UwU personally

So whm is very far from being worthless *****
(can't edit on phone T_T)

[MiraKershaw]

No, we don't need another healer. Even worse than only have 6 long range DPS classes, we only have 1 dexterity-using melee. So first we have to add more dex melees. I think both new jobs in 2021 will have to be dex melees, and then one more in 2023. And then we can maybe think of adding a new healer, if we don't find any more DPS shortages and if the healers are perfectly balanced. If they aren't then new healers will need to be delayed longer.

Two dex jobs out at once would be a terrible idea although I agree I don't think dex and strength jobs are so different they require to be balanced like ranged physical dps and ranged magic dps if anything next expansion should just me one dex dps and one healer unless they do a curve ball with like a magic melee and a healer or something but a healer should be in the next one

[Tremara]

The problem isn't that Dancer is a DPS - the problem is that healers don't get a new job at all. If SE would have presented a 3rd job in Tokyo everything would have been peachy but to get ignored for two more years kinda stings.