Unexplored Class Concepts I'd Love to See in FF14's Future

[kejakalope]

Is that a constant need, though? How many consecutive GCDs, and how many GCD per minute on average, must they be spread away for?

Keep in mind that even a "Melee" DPS like NIN can technically spend ~6 GCDs out of melee at a time without losing damage due to its two charges of Ninjutsu, Ten-Chi-Jin, and Phantom Kamaitachi; the problem is merely whether the movement away can also sync up with Trick Attack, since they'd want to spend those ranged GCDs under TA. Additionally, one's mobility also decreases the time each way one must be out of melee range, since a teleport (a la Icarus, even) allows you to arrive for a given stack at the last moment.

Give the "melee healer" even just 3 GCDs per minute that can be used at range, bankable to 6 in a row, and some mobility, and it will do just fine in the vast majority of serious XIV content.

Many fights are designed around the healers spending extended periods at long range. If you can't heal out there, it's not viable.

[ArkenaeuxBelmont]

Many fights are designed around the healers spending extended periods at long range. If you can't heal out there, it's not viable.

"Melee Healer" could also be a healer that just like our others, relies on DPS (but in this case via melee dmg) via GCD and healing on OGCD. Perhaps the heals radiating from them as they are the center, like a Mistweaver Monk from WoW. (Just the concept). Chain heals that radiate from them.

For instances where there absolutely has to be a split and they need to heal at range, could go with the clone concept that Wukong uses in Warframe. They could have an ability that spawns a clone of themselves that radiates their chain heal from the epicenter of the placed cast. Maybe that could be their job gauge. As you do damage, you feed energy used to spend and summon the clone up. How much energy you spend determines how long the clone stays out, bringing a level of decision on placing a quick spot heal or a longer lasting one in a safe zone when needing to split the party.

Though I guess this is more eastern aesthetic based and sort of away from the "Cleric" type vision from D&D that Haseno suggested.

[Shurrikhan]

Many fights are designed around the healers spending extended periods at long range. If you can't heal out there, it's not viable.

But, again, HOW long? Specify. How many consecutive GCDs comprises is an "extended period"? And what is the minimal interval between those forced periods?

Hydaelyn's split mechanics, for instance, require no more than a couple GCDs at range per full cycle of her mechanics -- perhaps less with enough instant mobility (Aetherial Manipulation/Icarus/Thunderclap/Elusive Jump/En Avant). Even our Ultimates requires far less than constant splits.

[kejakalope]

But, again, HOW long? Specify. How many consecutive GCDs comprises is an "extended period"? And what is the minimal interval between those forced periods?

Hydaelyn's split mechanics, for instance, require no more than a couple GCDs at range per full cycle of her mechanics -- perhaps less with enough instant mobility (Aetherial Manipulation/Icarus/Thunderclap/Elusive Jump/En Avant). Even our Ultimates requires far less than constant splits.

Long enough for the melees to be very dead by the time you can run back in, at least back when Alex was current.

That said, Arkenaeux's suggestion of being able to leave a radial clone has some merit. Geomancer works like that in FFXI.

[Shurrikhan]

Long enough for the melees to be very dead by the time you can run back in, at least back when Alex was current.

That... has nothing to do with how long you have to be out there, only to do with how quickly one can move back. You need as many GCDs of ranged action available to you as the content demands -- no more than that. It's not that complicated.

Nor is it absurd for a "melee" to be able to fill a few or more GCDs effectively from range, any more than for a caster to have access to instant casts. A melee healer could spend 90% of their time in melee range and still, if mobile, be in a ranged spot for every split mechanic, and, if merely given the equivalent of the likes of Triple-cast or even (a stronger, CD-based) Meditation, could continue to be use from range in the few GCDs they'd actually need to be.

Ninja, a "melee", can go ~6 GCDs at range without losing damage. There is no reason to assume a "melee" healer could not likewise, once in a while, continue healing for some 4-5 from range from GCDs at a time. "Melee" does not mean "literally no throughput from range ever"; there is not a single melee in this game that fits that definition. In some cases it doesn't even a throughput loss, if those moments are banked for, until having past a threshold of several consecutive GCDs.

:: To say a melee healer can't exist in FFXIV because it'll sometimes be briefly expected to play from range makes no more sense than to call Ninja a non-melee because it has over 6 GCDs worth of time per minute that can be done from range without damage loss or to call BLM not a caster just because at least 3 times per minute it will not have cast times. The roles are not nearly so brittle.

[Haseno]

Long enough for the melees to be very dead by the time you can run back in, at least back when Alex was current.

That said, Arkenaeux's suggestion of being able to leave a radial clone has some merit. Geomancer works like that in FFXI.

Being a melee orientated healer doesn't mean they wont have some ranged spells.

The vast majority of high end content in this game you're stacking a lot. This is where they they'd shine. However, they'd still have some ranged abilities in order to heal targets that must be forced to exit their effective radius. Likely some oGCD abilities. They could also have numerous gap closers which allow them to rush to an ally and deliver burst healing on impact.

People who say "it won't work" are simply undermining the human imagination in flushing out such concepts. FF14's raids are not some super secret formula that limits the potential for certain classes.