My idea for Healer 'engagement'

[Kes13a]

If they were to add dps abilities, I could see something proc based to break the monotony, but I would hate to see Healers turn into pseudo-DPS with a side of heal. I'm wearing the green because I like to heal.

thats kind of my fear too. rather not be -that- homogenized into green dps

[Penthea]

As a healer the most interesting mechanics I have are for protecting and healing the party. Dpsing as a healer is pretty bland. Sure SE could make it more interesting...but if I was looking for an interesting dps experience I wouldn't choose to play a job that isn't a dps. I would play an actual dps job.

Even if SE made dpsing far more interesting to healers it wouldn't change the fact that those who play healers because they enjoy their job's support mechanics often find themselves in situations in which they don't get to use them much.

I'm not saying I hate dpsing as a healer. I really love weaving in dps among my healing spells. However when I'm in a fight in which there is very little healing to do I don't think "man I wish my dps spells were more interesting" I think "man I wish I had some incoming damage to deal with".

I don't hate how things are now. I would just like to have incoming damage more often. In dungeons I enjoy chain pulls because I pretty often do have a lot to heal but bosses can be such a snoozefest. When I'm doing boss DF content I often enjoy when poop hits the fan because then I get to use the healer mechanics that made me want to main the job in the first place.

[Mansion]

I believe that if healers would be given 2-3 DPS abilities more, it wouldn't change the mentality of healers who already don't DPS... that's the main point here. People are asking this because they are bored, and giving them what they miss wouldn't change how healing works for the whole playerbase. My experience is that "pure" healers are usually not that good, and upping the difficulty would just make them quit in a way or another. I love playing healer in roulette because there's a bit more "surprises" for me to handle, but I've always found time to be bored in a downtime. Even when the other healer is dead 4 times and I have to take care of the team by myself. Doing my relic runs of 60 and 70 dungeons, there are times where I don't even cast a healing spell for the whole dungeon. And I wouldn't consider myself a pro min-maxing healer as I have not raided as a healer for some time now. I just know which parts of my kit are strong enough to give me DPS uptime.

Back to OP's post, I frankly don't think making the game hit harder across the board would solve the issue because we are already underusing most of our healing tools in 95% of the content. We'd just weave more of that in and continue DPSing most of the time. Encounter design and healing kits need to change.

[Limecat]

They could add an HP cost to damaging skills, so the DPS have to constantly be healed even when they're not being hit directly. Bypasses the hassle of re-tuning all the mobs, and puts part of the onus on people getting low on HP whether they need to back off a bit. Think of it kind of like old MMOs where hate management was everyone's problem.

[AikenDrum]

Increasing healing requirements would not only directly contradict the accessibility of the game, but also would require redesigning 8 years worth of content. I just don't see it ever happening.

Oh and I'm not sure what did you want to do when you chose a healer in this game, but all current jobs are already green dps, whatever options they have for it don't make any difference whatsoever.

[Annihilism]

So we have two options here, increase outgoing damage in normal content (anger the casual playerbase) or add near tank level DPS rotations. It's obvious which path SE is going to take with he introduction of SGE, DPS abilities combined with healing. Sage is exactly the direction SE needs to take with healers without angering the casuals, nothing will change for curebots but for healers that want to improve we will have options to deal damage in interesting ways while healing.

I've always been a proponent of taking the green DPS path for healers not because I would hate to be pure healer but because SE will NEVER change how these duties are designed, they will always be scripted. Which is why I loved SCH, since I knew all outgoing damage ahead of time I shielded the alliance at the correct times, that was fun for me. I want SCH to be fun again, I BELIEVE in SCH, but because I love SCH I MUST play SGE as main job. If SE realizes that healers can actually manage to heal and handle a DPS rotation then maybe they will go back to the 3 other healers and add more DPS options.

Although WHM and AST seem to be in good spots with having things to do during downtime, I hope SCH gets some love in future patches, it makes zero sense that the combat medic job isn't the Lominsan Scholar Battlefield Commanders but instead the combat medic class are high tech fancy scientist professors. (not throwing shade at SGE, Sage is awesome)

[Roeshel]

If SE wants healers engaged and having fun, trash mobs need to be dialed up in damage output, make me heal, make the healer have to spend 85% of their time healing more than just the tank. Make healers have to actually heal. That will get my attention, and my engagement, and I will have fun. I suspect others who main healers would agree as well. I have a stack of buttons for healing, why do I not have to use most of them? Tanks use theirs, DPS uses theirs.. why don't I?

"Fixing" healers isnt about giving us more dps options, its about letting us do our prefered job, which is healing. If SE wants to give me another dps button in the hopes that it will improve my life, its a waste. Just another thing to add into downtime. If they change things so I have to use the rest of my buttons... thats a win.

Healers having to spend 85% GCD healing is so not going to happen. I am not sure if you realize what you are asking for.

First of all, the game has headed in the complete opposite direction with the introduction of healing oGCDs. With Sage we can see that they have taken it to the next level, giving them only 2 GCD heals and 10+ oGCDs heals.

Having to spend 85% of GCD casts on healing in the current state of the game will stress 95% of the healer player base to the point where no one will want to actually play the role, emphasis on having. Once it becomes a requirement almost no one will want to touch the role.

Many healers are already spending more than +30% of GCDs on normal heals like Cure II/Aldo/Benefic II and baby versions in level cap dungeons during pulls because they either can't play or they are trying to encourage bad tank play. And they are using so many GCD despite not needing any aside from Regen for WHM and AST which btw Sage has on oGCD.

Right now we need no GCD healing, yet there is plenty of it whenever you use the DF because of bad optimization. Try to imagine the catastrophe that mandatory 85% GCD would cause even at a decent level of optimization. Wipe after wipe after wipe because the healer pressed medica II 1 sec later. The latest ultimate released, The Epic of Alexander, doesn't even remotely get close to having intense healing. Savage runs are all about utilizing oGCDs and reaching 100% offensive GCD casting to beat enrage timer. Normal content is the easiest with the exception of some special dungeon pulls like the first gate to gate in Mt. Gulg. The game is never going to have mandatory intense healing requirements. It is stressful and people don't actually enjoy it that much. So yeah, giving healers more DPS options is how we are going to end up having a more entertaining exprience.

[Teno]

Healers have always been green dps in FF14, and this is why many play this role. Thus healers will have a tendency to advocate for more dps options. That is because intrinsically, healing in FF14 has always been a game of knowing when damage comes (save for a few/old exceptions) and dpsing added a layer of complexity distinct from healing. Sage looks good in that regard, seemingly mixing both aspects. And on a current note, healing in a competitor game that releases tomorrow nails it on many fronts, with skillshots, positional and fresh (datamined) mechanics that I'd love FF14 to borrow from.

[Misutoraru]

yeah, I am waiting for that too actually. ^^

I remember doing ARR hard content and raid we have to discuss between the two healer how we split up the heal to prevent overlapping heal on party member.
I remember when SB came, AST got tune down so much, we struggle abit in wall to wall pull in those 6X leveling dungeon. It is the satisfying moment when we eventually push through.

ShB giving so many powerful oGCD heal and generally the damage received is too low, too low to a point a tank still have more than 30% HP leave even they forget to use cooldown for tankbuster.

Now in forum you see more and more players request to push healer to more Green DPS/discount RDM. I am afraid our ideal healer engagement will be very unlikely to come true

[Lastelli]

If SE wants healers engaged and having fun, trash mobs need to be dialed up in damage output, make me heal, make the healer have to spend 85% of their time healing more than just the tank. Make healers have to actually heal. That will get my attention, and my engagement, and I will have fun. I suspect others who main healers would agree as well. I have a stack of buttons for healing, why do I not have to use most of them? Tanks use theirs, DPS uses theirs.. why don't I?

"Fixing" healers isnt about giving us more dps options, its about letting us do our prefered job, which is healing. If SE wants to give me another dps button in the hopes that it will improve my life, its a waste. Just another thing to add into downtime. If they change things so I have to use the rest of my buttons... thats a win.

You've got to be kidding. If that was the actual healing requirement, 90% of the healers would quit the role because they wouldn't be able to keep up with the incoming damage. And something tells me you would be in the first wave of people quitting.
Do we need more damage to heal? Yes. But the moment we are required to heal most of the time is the moment we don't have any leeway to save a party member that did a mistake. And you know what else would happen? Wipes. Every time you mistime a healing spell. Be careful what you ask for.