Quote Originally Posted by Anhra View Post
From the way i see it, the reason why we can't have nice things is because way too many people, and probably some dev's as well, prefer the efficiency aspect over the fun factor (which should be your main priority for playing any video game, otherwise it is just work which doesn't make it easier for you and the people within the community).

So instead of worrying about some dumb potency changes, it would be better to grant Jobs a better set of skills so that we can have proper gameplay that is actually fun and works at the same time. Worrying about something as trivial as "average clear times" is also just another way of saying that you don't even care about FFXIV as a game and you just stick arround for the social aspect and the MSQ (i don't blame anyone for choosing to do so, but at least have the decency to allow people who actually care for the game genuinely, to have their improvements on endgame content).

And as for the matter of improvement, the first step would be to admit that FFXIV, despite having a great story, lacks in the gameplay aspect in it's current state.
A ways back, I was back and forth with another poster about optimization, because crazy black sheep-me decided to say that it isn't always about optimization in the context of vs fun. However, it was brought to my attention that some players get a great sense of enjoyment and accomplishment learning how to optimize not only rotations, but entire encounters, and that is fun to them. I think the same can be said about efficiency, which is really just another way to say "optimal".

Where I am going with that is the healer situation is a multifacted issue wherein resolving one problem creates another in its place; sometimes even several. One player can say, "I think X and Y would be a good idea." and many players will agree and follow suit; then there is a whole other set of healers who will disagree. It's the friggin congregation from ShB right here on the forum man. Literally. The green-DPS are like agents of Zodiark recalling another time and wanting it back, while Hydaelyn and the pure-minded healer currently have reign. And who says the game doesn't represent healers?

Anywho, despite how how things are, I do think the devs care that the healer mains in FFXIV enjoy playing their job(s) of choice, but it is unquestionably a difficult role to deal with design wise, and to do so with equal footing. There are a lot of things involved. For example with potency, they may have had to cut some corners when it comes to overall DPS. I am not sure how many DPS abilities there are between all the jobs in the game, but each one has to be tested again and again when making adjustments to content design. Healers having fewer DPS abilities will ease this up a bit.

Now I don't know if that is actually the case, but I bring it up as an example of an intangible they have to deal with that us as players may not realize. I am sure there are many. When looking at the healers overall, you can tell where these corners have been cut in comparison to the design of the DPS and tank jobs in the game, and it is just really unfortunate that it has to be the healers that suffer, but the devs likely see it as the role impacted the least by such design choices. Yes, they have said things like "Pure healer", and I see no reason why they cannot disclose more information when it comes to their design choices; but then I think, "Who's asking them?"

If this is truly the case, and I hope it is, then there is hope in 6.0. They did not fully acknowledge the balance issues with healing until late 4.0, and they went to work, but had to wipe the slate clean. They've had more time, and I think at the very least we can look forward to seeing what they do with that blank canvas. However, due to the polarity in the healer community, the dissatisfaction is unavoidable.