Which job to pick healing

[Awep]

Hey! I'm a Dancer main wanting to enter the world of healing

Not going to lie, i've read a lot of posts here about the current mechanics of healers, and had several opinions from my FC too, so i want to hear all possible opinions before deciding what i should use

WHM: I've heard good things about whm meta wise, but it's also the most basic one, that gets boring quickly, no depth in abilities, just heal

SCH: "The worst healer" often called, has interesting mechanics and i like the shielding utility, but its often neglected too much and i fear i wont be as useful as any other healer using it

AST: The meta pick, but also the ruined one in words of people, that lost its soul with the patch and also the most complicated of the 3. Also the most used healer

To be fair i cant really be sure of who to pick, i dont think i want AST because everyone uses it and i want variety in my FC, but the other 2 dont seem too compelling. Should i just wait for the 4th healer or are the other 2 redeemable and fun enough to be played?

[Billythepancake]

Give them a try, it's the best answer anyone is going to give you. What I find fun or boring may be completely different to you. The worst thing that'll happen to you is you'll waste a few roulettes on leveling a class if you don't enjoy it.

As for which one is fun speaking from personal experience, when I was doing normal content, and not caring about optimization, I didn't hate AST. Out of all 3 healers it's the only one that has something to do other than spam the 1 attack button and wait for a heal. I wouldn't say it's complicated, it's easy to understand, just busy. Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to you. Where I find AST fails is when you try to learn to optimize or get better at it, and suddenly you're swapping targets every 2 seconds in the opener. It's a mess. Honest advice, don't raid on AST, I can handle high APM, but not when that high APM is just swapping targets constantly.

As for WHM and SCH, do you want to spam Glare or spam Broil? The main difference between the two is that SCH has more oGCDs. Other than that, their playstyle is very similar. Which is a shame, I loved SCH back in SB, then they went and stripped it all away in ShB.

All personal opinion, of course. Give them a try, who knows, maybe you'll see something I don't.

[Rongway]

They're all good. Pick the one you like best and will be most interested in playing well.

You mention the meta, but the truth is if you're not going for world first clears and parse/speed runs of raids, meta doesn't matter. What's most important is that you enjoy whatever job you're playing at any given time, so that you're motivated to do your job well. So pick whichever healer has the best glams, or best animations, or best whatever draws you to them, and play that job well.

[KDSilver]

I'll try be as simple as possible.

If you want a straightforward gameplay, pick whm.

If you want a versatile gameplay with some planning, pick SCH.

If you want a busy mobile buffer with yet some planning, pick AST.

Difficulty curve being AST > SCH > WHM
Don't listen a single thing about meta. Currently, healers are what looks to be the "best balance" they ever had. Great healings tools and good rDPS.
No choice is real bad one, beside, before reaching the level where "meta" actually means something, the road is long and there's a lot to think about.

Otherwise, test them all and see what feeling looks to fit your playstyle or you won't know.

[EaMett]

What content are you aiming for (dungeons? ex trials? savage? etc.) and how seriously do you pan on playing healer? Are you just dabbling or are you hoping to main it if you enjoy it? I feel like the answer to these questions matters a fair bit, especially if you plan on having a more casual approach to healing.

[Saefinn]

Try them. It is hard to recommend because so many different things click differently for people. Heck, even with all the healer complaints there are people who like the changes.

And I will second the point, don't worry about what is meta, all are plenty capable and meta is for top percentile who are looking for extra optimisation. I generally hold the principle you are better at a job you enjoy.

I'd say if you find shields and faeries interesting, try SCH first, if you like more of a burst of healing and something more fluid, try WHM first. If you want something that will keep you busy with a higher apm and something only slightly more technical, try AST first.

[Elladie]

Don't be swayed by the complaints you read on the forums, all three healers are fun. Give them all a try, see which playstyle you prefer

[Rivinhal]

I hate to join in on the "just try them all out and pick what you like" crowd, but it's really the best option. I have all three healers maxed and geared, so I play them all to some degree... But tbh I often find myself going back to SCH (I guess it's my main?) because I feel more comfortable with it's proactive playstyle.

I know people are unhappy with it right now, and maybe it is at a disadvantage currently... But that disadvantage isn't big enough that you can't complete high-end content, so it truly isn't a concern. If you like the job, and can play it decently? Then meta be damned.

It really comes down to which playstyle you like the most.

[Saefinn]

I guess on the "disgruntled healers" topic, speaking as one, I think being new to healing in this game that it is unlikely you'll have the same complaints, some newer healers have, but I tend to find the complaints weighted more to those who have healed a lot. So I wouldnt be put off by these comments, I am fine with people enjoying the jobs even if I don't anymore.

I'd say there's a fair reason for this, the core complaint is around the down time which is greater the more efficient you are at your job. The healing aspect of playing a healer IMO is good and it is good when you are pushed to make use of it. When you're learning the job, you will find that you might feel more pushed and think more about what you're doing and why.

It's once your healing aspect becomes more second nature that for a lot of content you don't feel pushed, which is fine because that content needs to be accessible. You may have cleared that content by the time you get to that point and be healing higher end stuff.

But you will find with experience it can leave a downtime, which some find uninspiring and not very interesting, because for the most part it feels like a single button spam. Some are fine with it. Some of that disappointment is elevated by the fact it wasn't always that way and we liked it how it was, as a new healer, it's unlikely you will have that perspective.

[Urthdigger]

They're all viable, nobody's going to kick you for being a SCH instead of a WHM. Or at least nobody worth listening to will do so.