Healers and Blu

[Jkap_Goat]

BLU healer is more fun than AST ever been in 5.0

[MOZZYSTAR]

Excuse me while I go try out this new healer called BLU. /Logs into the game

[Lastelli]

Not really surprising, as a BLU healer solves the 2 biggest issues of the healer role:

1) lack of a dps rotation: despite being very simple, BLU currently has a DPS rotation, so at least dpsing when there's nothing left to heal is more interesting than the 1 button-spamming we have on other healers;
2) overpowered oGCD/instant heals: I've already said this in the past, but 5.0 healers have too many powerful instant healing spells at their disposal. This, coupled with fight design based on burst aoe damage and tankbusters, makes healing with oGCD abilities (and, in WHM case, afflatus spells) too easy and too MP efficient. On the other hand, BLU only has a couple of AOE heals, one of which is very inefficient in terms of mana, and a ST heal (no oGCD healing abilities). In a sense, the current BLU provides a 2.0 healing experience, where precasting healing spells and thinking several GCDs ahead was actually a thing (now it's mostly "see damage->big oGCD heal").

[Gemina]

I can see this. Maybe even saw it coming. I can even admit that I would probably have fun healing as BLU, and would love to give it a go in Dun Scaith in particular. It doesn't address or take care of the problems we have with our actual healers though. The kind of problems that were there, and still are even when SCH had all of its DPS skills.

I am too winded to get into those issues today though, nor would it bring any positive spin to this thread. I much rather express that I think it's pretty neat that players are enjoying this aspect to BLU, and I believe it shows how limited jobs can be beneficial. Perhaps the feedback can be used to improve both BLU and healing in the near future.

[P0W3RK1D]

BLU is much more free than the healers are, even if your playing as a BLU healer, you can still do lotz of things on your downtime when your not healing, like: stunn locking enemies, using damage buffs or weakening enemies defenses, removing, or adding status to enemies, or really just throwing out fun amounts of dps -- and this is...well, fun.

[Saefinn]

I agree with many of the point made in that it looks like BLU address 2 of the big issues about why people don't find healers fun anymore. Too many OGCD heals and too few spells to use in my downtime.

Actually I might experiment by removing some of them off of my crossbar and see if there is a good balance that can be met, though it won't address the issue with DPS variety, but it may lessen it by reducing downtime.

BLU is much more free than the healers are, even if your playing as a BLU healer, you can still do lotz of things on your downtime when your not healing, like: stunn locking enemies, using damage buffs or weakening enemies defenses, removing, or adding status to enemies, or really just throwing out fun amounts of dps -- and this is...well, fun.

I am glad somebody else picked up on this. My argument for addressing the SCH downtime has been along those lines, originally their DPS moves gave status effects, if the game embraced this kind of mechanic more, it could be good, and if DPS balance is such an issue for a healer, enfeebling and buffing seems to be a better way to fill that down time. I think they'd have to make debuffs hit on more occasions too, even if they can't stop specific important mechanics (unless necessary to so as part of the mechanics, like stunning in E1S).

[Saefinn]

Okay, I've since been giving BLU healing a go. I was lacking Pom Cure and Aetherial Mimicry, so I grabbed them this morning and have just done a BLU run of Aetherochemical Research Facility. And I'm totally seeing the argument here, as I thought I might.
Limited to 3 GCD heals, a 5% defense buff (via Cactguard) and nothing else as I don't yet have Angel Whisper or Gobskin and the positives are:
- My downtime is reduced
- The downtime I've got has me being able to do plenty, without it even being complicated, just varied. I can debuff, I can stun, I can DPS. I have good single target stuff, good AoE stuff, and because stuff builds resistance, my opening DPS abilities are different to what I might use to sustain DPS.

And I had to pay more attention and plan a little more, because I couldn't use an oGCD to save us in a tight spot, meaning I had more incentive to be a little more pre-emptive.

Whilst there are things I would improve about Blue Mage content as I feel once people have cleared their logs and got the rewards, for the large part people will shelve it again. But I also think BLU has made positive steps in the right direction, I feel it is a job concept with the potential to revitalise old content, but feels like a work in progress. I'm not sure I entirely agree with the big complaint thread in general chat on it, but I do agree as far as I think it'll get shelves by people after a while.

But at least it has addressed half of the complaints I had on it when BLU was released, which is why I am able to enjoy running it in dungeons.

[Nicodemus_Mercy]

They need to remove the cooldown on Angel Whisper while you have Healer aetherial mimicry imo.

[Saefinn]

Okay, I've spent a bit more time playing with BLU healer. What's funny is, every time I go into a party I ask to heal, I am actually enjoying this. Healing wise I agree the cooldown on Angel Whisper needs to be lesser. Maybe one oGCD heal could be added and that's it.
But let's look at running stuff as a BLU healer:
My healing aspect is simple, spam between Pom Cure, Exuviation, White Wind and I don't yet have Gobskin, but that's fine. I also Cactguard. I am on my toes watching people's health because I need to leave enough time for me to cast a spell whilst also react to damage taken. This is engaging from a healing aspect because I am thinking more about my healing than normal. Although there is not a huge variety of healing spells that I can use, I conversely find myself have more of a healer focus than I do on my SCH or AST who have tonnes of healing spells.

But sometimes things are going well. People are together, just like the Sophia party I've just come out of. People were together and I had my moments of downtime.

What I've had is variety. First downtime, I might pop Off-guard and dump my Surpanakha in quick succession and drop an Eruption. In trash pulls, the next might be Whistles, Fazes and Sharpened Knives until stun resistance builds (obviously not effective for bosses) and then I could swap to do Whistle + Drill Cannons. If in an AoE situation, everything I've used on single target except Sharpened Knife is applicable and I can also throw in my Ram's Voice and Dragon's Voice combo. And now that I've got Quasar, it's another oGCD that's not shared with Eruption I can weave. Most of these skills as a healer BLU get weaved, as in most cases I am more compelled to heal damage more than I do on other jobs.

Now the variety I have in my current set up isn't based on "do what I feel like" either, because Surpanakha needs time to build 4 charges, Eruption and Quasar have a recast, mobs build resistance to stun and freeze so those types of attacks become less effective to spam, so I move around what I've got available that's sensible for me to use. I still have plenty of skills to learn, so with time, I'll end up refining a good balance.

Whilst I get people are disappointed with Blue Mage content, but it's this experience here in the dungeons I've got in PF that I've been enjoying and kind of makes me miss the experience I had healing back in 2.0.

[Sloprano]

Whilst I get people are disappointed with Blue Mage content, but it's this experience here in the dungeons I've got in PF that I've been enjoying and kind of makes me miss the experience I had healing back in 2.0.

Thank you Saefinn, based on your tales of Blu I decided to set aside time to level up and get some spells for it. And I'm very glad I did, as you said, this is as close to the fun I had in 2.0:

Have yet to go in as a healer, mostly tank, but it carries all the same: I've got choices, options, versatility. And it just busted every myth I had about limitations in the game and narrow game design that plague current iteration of Scholar: There really is no reason for why we couldn't have interesting debuffs, wide array of gcd spells both for restoring, damaging and support, pet hotbars and skills usable outside of combat. Sure, when tanking I can just spam Reflux and noone catches up to me, but at the same time I can choose not to be boring and use:
* Mimic a player for tank
* Mighty guard stance that actually sacrifices personal offence for personal defence.
* Eruption and Surpanakha while moving to grab mobs.
* Aqua breath and High Voltage for dot, aoe and paralysis.
* Bomb toss for stun
* Song of Torment for dot
* Bad Breath for every debuff imaginble
* Veil of the Whorl for counterattacks
* Devour for hp buff
* Toad oil for evasion buff
* Toad Tongue for grabbing ranged mobs
* White wind and Exuviation for support and cleasning (and a ton of emnity)
* Flying frenzy to jump all over the place
* Sardines for interuption and throwing fish at mobs.
And maybe many more I haven't checked out.

Doesn't matter that this was as tank, because I have the exact same availble if I had picked healer to mimic. This just blows current Pld iteration out of the water aswell in terms of tanking and is more reminiscent of 3.0. This is the kind of toolset jobs used have, and should have when leveling up and just have fun with.

Crux being: "Power and variety at your fingertips" is what I try to sum up 2.0 Scholar with and Blu is exactly that. Everything is on a gcd, and every gcd unique, what cooldowns there are short, like on one minute or less and you barely notice it for everything else you can do meanwhile. Spending time with it, talking to others about aquiring these spells, just seeing every debuff imaginable on mobs and everything available is just fun. I can chose not to just spam the same spell because I have options. As mentioned above aswell, when everything goes well I find I can look over and see which of the many different spells I want to use.

If anything Blue Mage raises even more questions how current iteration of Scholar even came to be. Here's hoping 2020 becomes the year of revelations and they look to Blu for inspiration cause I haven't looked this much forward to fighting a regular mob or dungeon pack as so much since end of Heavensward.

I'm glad I spent time with Blu mage and still have whole Carnival and half the spells to go. Might not even need a quarter of them, but it's so much more fullfilling grouping up, talking strats with people and having so many ways to fight than spending another roulette with Broil III. Now all Blu is missing is the pet hotbar and a Cleric stance.