Quote Originally Posted by Saefinn View Post
In fairness this is how I've tended to view shields, rather than to be a like-for-like to a heal but instead have a different practical use. It acts as a nice buffer for damage. To me heals have had a higher potency because they are intented to top up people's health.

Hence I generally liked SCH's initial design, because it's pure healing potential always felt weaker, but it'd handle problems differently to say, a WHM.
I suppose then it's like training wheels? They help keep you stable and safe but eventually you take them off and take the risk for more efficiency and thus a reward.