Yoshi-P: "If you want more engaging content, go play Ultimate"

[Havenchild]

This argument applies to every single role. There are DPS in this game that suck. There are BLM that stay in Umbral Ice indefinitely, Freestyle SAMs, lolDRGs, the list goes on. They can wipe a raid just as consistently as a Bad Healer or Tank in the form of failing DPS checks with Add phases and Enrage mechanics being the most common type of DPS checks in raids. There is a MASSIVE variance between a Bad BLM and a Good BLM but the primary difference between a bad WHM and a good one is how many Cures vs Glares were cast. So tell me, why is it ok for players to have a high skill ceiling on DPS but not healers?

A bad healer is far more noticeable and can wipe your raid more consistently at literally any ilvl more than any other role in the game. A bad DPS can be carried by the other three + tanks in most encounters even DPS Check heavy ones, as gearing progresses (sans the more recent Ultimates). That is a fact.

Reducing the conversation to Cures vs Glares as the deciding factor of what makes a good healer is an understatement. If it really was that simple, pretty sure alot of people would be playing healers. In actuality though, there is planning, mp management, an understanding of slide casting, cast times, damage registration, server ticks etc. Players who have played casters, already have a good understanding of this but the average DPS / Tank class? With Instant GCD to Damage feedback? Yeah there's more that plays into it for sure.

There does not need to be a higher skill ceiling on classes that are barely played to begin with. To suggest so is literally counter thesis to what the devs want, and doesn't make logistical sense in the long run. Historically, they make the most changes to the classes with the least play rates. (For EX. MNKs, AST, SMN - Constantly adjusted because of this.) The goal is to make all roles accessible to as wide of a net of players they can. Once you understand that, you inherently come to understand every single design decision they make.

Again, why would you raise the skill ceiling on classes that have low play rates as is? That makes no sense.

Despite that, I do blame players more so than the devs for the homogenization of roles to the degree it has come. On one hand, homogenization does help with balancing classes against each other, however classes that have been more difficult to play have constantly been shunned by the player base when applying the effort vs reward logic, which has directly lead to them reducing complexity on certain classes.

The complaints to make roles more accessible FAR OUTWEIGHS the complaints clamoring for more involved gameplay. They almost always comment on the "feedback" they receive from players and what their internal diagnostics is reflecting playrate wise when making adjustments. I don't see any reason to doubt them on this.