Dear Naoki Yoshida and the Battle Development Team,

[HyperiusUltima]

Know that I greatly appreciate the work that has been done over the years since A Realm Reborn to make Eorzea a better place to play in, along with the battle content that you’ve tested and shown to us. I still have favorites like Alexander Savage that were exhilarating to run through mechanically and with a team. Just being able to fight even Exdeath and Kefka was fun!

However, there is a fine line to be drawn between what you, the developers, have seen in testing and what people experience. In Stormblood, I’ve read about how many people have talked about White Mage not being as useful as Astrologian or Scholar, and the talk about the meta in terms of DPS.

As much as I think the correct route is there, the media tour feels like a major letdown after your media embargo was lifted. So, let’s start off with the good things that I think might have been done right:

Note - This is my opinion and is open to constructive criticism.

Removal of TP and Protect was the first things that got me hyped about the media tour from the Live Letter not too long ago. The fact that TP was becoming a redundant resource for all weaponskill users felt limiting, especially in the AoE Skills. With that gone, it gives more freedom to create combos as you have. As for Protect, it was a redundant buff that punished you for dying in raids a lot, and I’m glad it’s gone.

As for the bad news, there’s been a huge uproar in the Healer Forums recently(in case you didn’t notice, but you probably have) regarding Healers being reduced down to simple rotations and a lot of pure healing. Even though we do not know the damage output yet, this is a very drastic change given how the balance has been tipped at the mid-point in the expansion just about every time: 3.4 in Heavensward, and 4.5 in Stormblood.

What I ask is that you LISTEN TO YOUR FANBASE WHEN IT COMES TO JOB BALANCE. They’ve come up with a multitude of ideas to help fix balance issues and adjustments for QoL. White Mage also has been a big talk of discussion, namely how Lilies are even less engaging than before along with the Afflatus series being literally on the Global Cooldown. People are baffled how this came to be when the other Healers simply were reduced to simplify everything just for what you want to enforce on the entire FFXIV Healing Community. They still have things to do, but WHM is in dire need of a way to match the other Healers not in flat potencies, but handling their oGCDs(which they have more than they can swat a fly at).

With this amount of homogenization, it’ll be difficult to find Healers instead of Tanks, since the new Tank changes actually helped somewhat. So please, listen to the community as a whole to make the correct changes and make healing more engaging for everyone.

[Jeeqbit]

I just looked at the changes to WHM and don't see the problem. In fact it looks like one of the changes makes lilies consumable in exchange for oGCD heals like Aetherflow stacks are on SCH. I didn't see a problem with the changes to SCH earlier either.

In my experience healers did have simple DPS rotations already. They had a DoT, an AoE and a single target attack. Some of them had two of these things or an odd oGCD. Has it really changed in a way that matters?

[Jojokomoko]

LISTEN TO YOUR FANBASE WHEN IT COMES TO JOB BALANCE. They’ve come up with a multitude of ideas to help fix balance issues and adjustments for QoL.

Isn't what happened right now to healers is due to them listening to players as well? Those people that believe that "Healers doesn't have to DPS."

[Darkpaw]

Alright. I get the frustration and I can actually appreciate how you worded yourself, but can we address one or two elephants in the room?

Firstly: This dev team probably does more to listen to it’s fanbase than any dev team of any game in history. If not it is right up there with the best of them.

Secondly: The “fanbase” is far bigger than the people you see on these forums as this is only the forums for english. Japanese forums are actually from my understanding happy with all the changes or waiting til they get their hands on them for feedback (something these forums could learn to do). So they are listening and implementing changes to best fit fan expectations and desires even if that is not clear to some people.

Thirdly: While you have some logical basis for your assumption on dungeon balance and the necessity of heals from the past lets remember two things. Each expansion they build is ontop of a rebuilt game with jacked coding they are still sifting through so there are times that they are very limited in their design choices. Also with each expansion they sort out a little more of it and have made great strides between each of the expansion and the mechanics and damage tuning. So while there is basis to be apprehensive there is equal basis to have some hope.

Fourthly: These changes could foretell a bigger picture at play that may come to fruition down the line and with everything this dev team has done for this community i think we owe them the benefit of the doubt.

Finally: Homogenization is a word that is getting thrown around far too lightly in these forums since live letter. While especially in regards to tanks and healers there are similar tool kits they all seem to feel vastly different to play which is the big difference. I get how it can appear that way but we really have a small basis to call things homogenization. Healers heal, tanks tank, dps do dps. So in some regards all of them within a set role are going to have similiar toolkits.

[Selova]

With this amount of homogenization, it’ll be difficult to find Healers instead of Tanks, since the new Tank changes actually helped somewhat. So please, listen to the community as a whole to make the correct changes and make healing more engaging for everyone.

I'm sorry but this is simply not true. Even if the entirety of the people complaining on the forums that main healers decides to quit, it would still have no impact on player queues.


We also haven't gone down the path of homogenization yet, I think people just like throwing this around without understand what real homogenization looks like.


None of the healers play or interact the same. You dont have card buffs on scholar, White mage isnt throwing shields on people. Them pruning abilities and streamlining jobs is not the same thing as homogenizing.


Can we seriously give it a rest with the over dramatic and hyperbolic chicken little reactions to the healer changes. Healers are fine and you will be too. I promise.

[Risvertasashi]

I just looked at the changes to WHM and don't see the problem. In fact it looks like one of the changes makes lilies consumable in exchange for oGCD heals like Aetherflow stacks are on SCH. I didn't see a problem with the changes to SCH earlier either.

In my experience healers did have simple DPS rotations already. They had a DoT, an AoE and a single target attack. Some of them had two of these things or an odd oGCD. Has it really changed in a way that matters?

They are GCD heals.

That said I think lillies are an improvement. Afflatus Misery is a DPS loss compared to nuke spamming (you have to use 4 GCDs to set it up and then execute), but mitigates the cost of GCD healing.

Now... Are these the changes that WHM needed? As many people noted in SB, WHM didn't need more healing. More mobility is certain welcome, but probably not meta defining. It's more catch up to SCH and AST.

Still no rDPS buffs, so WHM will probably be off meta for another 2 years.

If WHM has the highest pDPS, I'll be OK with having that niche personally. But others might not be.

[guardin]

there is a minimal and small uproar and fear from the vocal minorities and not the vast population. Do not drag this out of proportion. most players are happy in chat and in game. There are people more excited to try out healers now that they are balanced. Healers are gonna increase. Your concerns are heard but fear not, SE made the best decisions.

love,

- the community

[Ceasaria]

there is a minimal and small uproar and fear from the vocal minorities and not the vast population. Do not drag this out of proportion. most players are happy in chat and in game. There are people more excited to try out healers now that they are balanced. Healers are gonna increase. Your concerns are heard but fear not, SE made the best decisions.

love,

- the community

What is funny is...it's not even balance.
Can you believe that WHM or AST will take the SCH spot ?
No, still not because no issues have been fixed and this is even worse now.

- one of the healer among the stars.

[Sebazy]

I made a more detailed analysis elsewhere on this. It's probably worth mentioning it here as well though.

I honestly don't think it's a problem of SE not listening to the player base (although it's fair to assume a bit of a language barrier with more NA/EU specific feedback).

Rather, the problem is just the battle team has remained unchanged since ARR. I'm fairly confident that Sato was bought over from the initial launch and 3 new people were bought in to help him modernise combat and the classes from the mush that was 1.0.

This same 4 strong team has handled things ever since, meanwhile the load placed upon them has quite clearly ballooned beyond what they can seemingly keep on top of. It's getting to the stage where they are seemingly running out of fresh ideas or the time to actually balance and implement them. Thus some jobs get rushed and end up hitting the expansion with a resounding faceplant.

I can't really say if it's a case of Yoshida stubbornly believing that they are up to the job, if SE refuse to give him the funding he needs to hire in some fresh blood or even some other internal politics that's causing this. All I can say is that Shadowbringers isn't going to change this trend.

[Melorie]

I bet that Sch and Ast will keep being the meta, they are just more boring now.
Between three things that are pretty much the same, you'll pick the ones that have utility. Which is, currently, SCH and AST.