Can Healer Balance Survive a 4th Healer?

[Lyth]

Let's be real. The only Healer reveal video that could ever top the Reaper reveal would involve a Lalafell, with an oversized backpack, lobbing potions at their teammates. Gundam newtype SCH 2.0 Alphinaud never stood a chance.

I don't think that a proactive/reactive dichotomy really works in a game like FFXIV, where everything is scripted down to the millisecond.

[Mimilu]

Let's be real. The only Healer reveal video that could ever top the Reaper reveal would involve a Lalafell, with an oversized backpack, lobbing potions at their teammates. Gundam newtype SCH 2.0 Alphinaud never stood a chance.

They really kind of screwed themselves over by teasing a Chemist-like job during the MSQ and then not really delivering (unless Sage is going to surprise use with some kind of Mix mechanic).

I don't think that a proactive/reactive dichotomy really works in a game like FFXIV, where everything is scripted down to the millisecond.

XIV's always had this dichotomy to a certain extent but it was most prevalent in ARR and got muddied as we progressed through the expansions with things like having to balance both of AST's sects, SCH getting more and more reactive heals, their shields getting nerfed with either lowered/split potencies and/or higher MP cost and their fairies getting homogenized, and WHM and Diurnal!AST getting their own mitigation oGCDs.
I think that now that there's going to be 2 of each type of healer (proactive and reactive) and that they're balancing the more high-end content around having one of each, they should focus on differentiating the two styles.

[GrimGale]

Also consider what the trailer shows us: Big pew pew lasers hurting an enemy. They could have shown a shield absorbing the attack against Alisae, they could have showed a massive heal healing both a weakened WoL and Alisae, they could have shown any "utility" part of the Sage's kit. But no, the healer part of sage is a "place your hand here and glow" thingy that could have been done by any other class with a potion.

The big eye catching moment for sage is the lasers, honestly sage could have been a caster dps at this point. Nothing about it is about healing or protecting.