An interview with Yoshida and his thoughts on healers in 5.0

[Deceptus]

I'm more worried now that they're going to completely overhaul Healers.

I'm worried because SE doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to reworking jobs (Bowmage anyone?) and we all know they don't do player testing.

So we're essentially going to Beta test healers once ShB drops. Why am I confident in saying this?

Because when SB was shown, all the healers raised concerns about WHM Lilies and SCH MP costs and lack of AoE. Nothing changed and both were released and criticisms were shown to be right.

I'm also concerned about this. I suspect that whm will be getting shields + utility and SCH better heals. Given that the pet has been a sticking point I suspect it's use to be significantly reduced or simply turned into a buff instrument that no longer heals.

If the homogenizing removes too much class identity I don't know how I'll feel about it.

Or they're going to take the PVP route and make it summoned when you get enough Aetherflow, an activated skill.

As much as I don't like it, it does make sense. Makes you actually have to think about it.

[Orbus]

Not mad about no new healer.
Though it may be because when I do play one it's WHM.
They need to fix WHM way more than they need to add another poorly balanced healer.
lilies have been fundamentally broken since SB started, and the role of a pure healer with no other utility just doesn't fit when both of the other healers can perform just fine in all content while offering loads of buffs or other utility.
Even Yoshi is flat out admitting that the healer roles don't work.

[technole]

I'm skeptical as well. If they screw up again we'll pay the price again whole expansion for a design mistake (Lillies).

In a sense imagine if they never screwed up lilies in the first place, we could be talking about a different subject like the next healer in 5.0.

I need to see these Scholar buffs cause the potency is still the same on all the skills since i left 6 months ago. not to mention fairy potency is not equal to scholars. embrace and adlo say they have nearly the same potency but embrace heals for less than 50% that of adlo. 250 potency is not half of 300. someone really need to check this math thoroughly.

Only Indom and Excog got potency buffs at the beginning of SB.

Fairy was nerfed when they moved it's skills to instant during Sigmascape. Rouse is no longer applicable for other fairy skills except for Embrace. Also Fey Illum doesn't affect Whispering Dawn, but they bumped it's base potency up slightly to account for the loss of that and Rouse. Still, it was a nerf in-exchange for the most responsive fairy we've ever had.

[Shurrikhan]

SCH MP costs are signficantly higher - you'd have a point if SCH spells would cost as little as the other two healing jobs. A WHM with 45 sec assize does hardly run OOM, a SCH with a 45 sec Aetherflow still can. There is no "free" healing provided by the fairy. (also remember that they had to reduce manacosts in 4.05 or 4.1 - because the situation was that bad - even though "free healing" AND a newly added lucid dreaming).

To be fair, that's only because they had jacked up MP costs while halving your native MP rewards just before the expansion was released. What followed amounted to little more than a revert.

(Personally, I would have rather gone the other way, keeping MP costs high but granting a bit more reliable power to high-cost spells in exchange for requiring Energy Drain to be weaved in over time.

Ideally, I'd also nerf DT to the likeness of Bane, give it an AF cost rather than a CD, and make it a shared hotbar slot with Bane. Crit double-shield removed. Give ET virtually no animation-lock/time and cause next Spell to be instant-cast with bonus critical strike chance based on receiving player's missing %HP, again at AF cost, and push it up to level 30 as to no longer need Swiftcast. Rouse now costs AF but enhances all manners of pet effectiveness, and pets may now perform single-target variations of their HoT/Haste abilities over their GCDs (at low but stacking durations), giving space for your own direct healing and allowing Selene to be relevant again. In balance, Arcanists (and by association SMN and SCH) would then generate a charge of Aetherflow every 20 seconds, to a maximum of 2/3/4/5/6 over levels 20-60, with any AF spell giving back some MP but Energy Drain giving back far more -- enough to maintain MP off just about 1 in 3 to 1 in 6 AFs being spent on Energy Drain. Quickened Aetherflow trait remains. Miasma regains its Heavy effect. Voila, you no longer need Role Actions, and can therefore trim 4-11 buttons from your bars.

[Coltvoyance]

Been reading through just about every post here. Some common themes I see:

"WHM shouldn't change, AST should be reworked!"
"SCH is too powerful, but untouchable because its a healing class that actually works well"
"I have no hope for WHM/Healers, same excuse etc."

I've played WHM since 2.0... WHM's progression through the years is like watching a Wolf become an abused two-legged dog left for dead in a closet until it started to stink too much and you just hose it off a little.

I'm pretty sure the first one or two balance adjustments to WHM were nerfs to Holy. Took away a fang or two, fine. NBD, BLM got hit with something similar too.

Then they flayed an ear at some point and took Protect away from us; made that universal. Kinda hurts, but okay. Fair is fair... I guess.

Then, well, Stoneskin is too powerful, better reduce that (naturally 10%, was 18% with WHM Graniteskin, took that away in HW). And, boy, that Stoneskin skill sure is useless now eh? No one uses it anymore! Better just get rid of it altogether.

Oh, and while we're at it WHM. *Leg rip* We need to borrow Regen, Holy, Medica, Presence of Mind, Aero, and... well everything really. Because we got a new puppy! And he needs toys to play with. You can share, right? Oh don't pout. Tell ya what, you can keep.... Fluid Aura and Repose, okay? Now please, get in the closet we need all the space we can get for the new arrival.

...

*Closet door creeps open* Hey Buddy! Oof, that kinda smells.... Now I know what you're thinking, but we haven't forgotten about you... in fact, we're gonna take Shroud of Saints, Divine Seal, aaaaand Cleric Stance, and improve them for you! Wow! These skills are so good now, right? Actually, *leg rip* it'd be a shame for you to keep them all to yourself, wouldn't it. Oh, don't be so selfish, WHM. Let's learn to share and give them to everyone! Mkay? Perfect!

Oooooh, it's okay baby don't worry! You're still special! And guess what? We took everyone out for ice cream earlier and we scraped some old flowers off our sho- I mean, we got some potpourii for you! We'll line the whole closet with it. And look! It's your new toy Divine Benison and Plenary Indulgence. DB here looks exactly like that Graniteskin thing you used to have; it might be a knock-off, though, we can't tell. And we haven't quite figured out how Plenary Indulgence works, but I'm sure you'll find a use for it. Such a good girl. Now off you go, back in the closet, okay?

...

*Sniff sniff...* OMG WHAT IS THAT SMELL!? Oh, WHM, it's you... uh, SCH! SCH, did you let WHM out of the closet!? What do you mean she seemed unhappy? Oh gosh, that smell is absolutely putrid. SCH, get your brother AST over here and help me hose her off. Clearly the flowers and the closet aren't working anymore. We'll have to figure something else out...


Unfortunately, like the dog in this dramatization, I'm still implicitly hopeful that my owner cares about me. Yoshi acknowledging that "Pure Healer" is a broken idea give's me a faint glimmer of hope. But I have to prop my limp body against the closet door and press my eye to the keyhole to see it.

But changing the other two classes wont help. WHM has been abused and ripped apart so much that there's almost nothing left of it. WHM is the class that needs fixing. Unless you plan on gutting AST completely, in which case, well now you've just created a different abused dog.

If WHM doesn't get the fabulous, spectacular makeover it deserves... I'll likely switch to something else and never heal again in this game.

[Ftail]

Whereas they were still whining about Adlo and Succor "costing too much", and of course that didn't change at all.

Aldoquium had its MP Cost reduced in 4.1, succor also had its MP cost reduced along with it having the barrier effect increased from 100% to 150% the amount of HP restored.
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...04942848db9539 Look at the patch notes for 4.1 if you don't believe me.

Aldo used to almost cost as much MP as a raise, this was before we had a plethora of MP from high ilevel gear as well.

[Lozza]

I'm more worried now that they're going to completely overhaul Healers.

I'm more worried that they are going to present it as a complete overhaul, and the changes will just be the logical extension of the changes to the battle system. (Healers will get zero special consideration while they completely overhaul DRK.) DRK's issues were acknowledged a while back. Aside from saying "the healer meta is stuck and we've had issues balancing it" they haven't really acknowledged any issues aside from the one where (apparently) WHM needs to be easier.

[Lambdafish]

I'm more worried that they are going to present it as a complete overhaul, and the changes will just be the logical extension of the changes to the battle system. (Healers will get zero special consideration while they completely overhaul DRK.) DRK's issues were acknowledged a while back. Aside from saying "the healer meta is stuck and we've had issues balancing it" they haven't really acknowledged any issues aside from the one where (apparently) WHM needs to be easier.

From the comments made it seems to be more than that, Yoshi P said that he hates the concept of "pure healer and "barrier healer" and that it is really limiting to the design process. I think that is the area that he wants to overhaul, and I can see why that will take another expansion to accomplish. I'm glad he said it because at least he is aware of the underlying design problem of healers.

[Reiryuu]

I'm more worried that they are going to present it as a complete overhaul, and the changes will just be the logical extension of the changes to the battle system. (Healers will get zero special consideration while they completely overhaul DRK.) DRK's issues were acknowledged a while back. Aside from saying "the healer meta is stuck and we've had issues balancing it" they haven't really acknowledged any issues aside from the one where (apparently) WHM needs to be easier.

What's worse is you know they are going to hype it up all the way till May and if they raise those expectations too high especially after the blow the healing community just had with not getting a new job, manure will hit the fan. I am expecting a giant manure maelstorm come May and I'm not even thinking it's going to be just the healers up in arms. Though, with my life I have learned "Expect the worst, hope for the best" is the best mind set for me, so keep that in mind.

Even if it's a solution, I'am not very confident about breaking the distinction between pure healer and barrier healer.
I mean, if that happen, the advantages to bring one healer rather than another will be less noticeable.
And if one healer can do both, so what about two healers together ? Will they be too strong ? Will their shields could be stacked ?

I don't know if it would work, but I think they shouldn't throw away what healers have gone through all these years from 2.0 to 4.5.
It worked well during Realm Reborn, and for me, they need to look back during this golden age.
Indeed, WHM was a powerful pure healer because SCH hadn't so much of this part and vice-versa.
And let's not forget the old Cleric Stance which helped to maintain that. By removing/changing it, I think it has weakened the whole state of healing.

If they aren't looking into entirely new ways for some of our current jobs to heal in a primary sense. (EX: making AST the HoT healer) then we are very likely going to get 1 steaming turd with 3 different names in 5.0. We need more ways to have healing done so that the effects can stack. Large ticking, short duration regens and long duration, smaller tick regens so that the healing per second curbs the incoming damage enough to get larger heals off, for example, might be enough to get WHM/AST to work. Assuming they get rid of some of the global cooldown issues.

[Ceasaria]

Even if it's a solution, I'am not very confident about breaking the distinction between pure healer and barrier healer.
I mean, if that happen, the advantages to bring one healer rather than another will be less noticeable.
And if one healer can do both, so what about two healers together ? Will they be too strong ? Will their shields could be stacked ?

I don't know if it would work, but I think they shouldn't throw away what healers have gone through all these years from 2.0 to 4.5.
It worked well during Realm Reborn, and for me, they need to look back during this golden age.
Indeed, WHM was a powerful pure healer because SCH hadn't so much of this part and vice-versa.
And let's not forget the old Cleric Stance which helped to maintain that. By removing/changing it, I think it has weakened the whole state of healing.