Scholar is a horribly designed job and shows zero thought goes into healer design

[Eorzean_username]

I don't have anything original to add, but in the edge case that at least one human actually reads these forums, I guess it helps to rack up the post count with affirmative statements.

Things I once liked about Scholar:

• Elegant, efficient selection of healing OGCDs, rather than superfluous bloat like "Fey Blessing"
• Fairy that felt like a distinct and unique healing style, since it was (logically) treated as a unique entity that could parallel/bypass the standard OGCD limitations
• More than 1 dot
• An AOE dot that I found both more fun and more interesting than "Art of War"
• An actual DPS rotation that felt unique, juggling varied timers and even cool stuff like maintaining a no-cooldown ground effect "Shadow Flare"
• Bane
• Made me feel slightly smart to play well, by knowing when I could get away with Cleric → heavily-buffed Dots → (optional Bane if in dungeon) → drop Cleric and heal.
• The aesthetic/concept/identity was more of a "tactical / street-level medic", rather than the "Fairy Mage" that Scholar has gradually devolved into
• Did not have a tacked-on and largely-superfluous "Fairy Gauge" that's only used for a single lackluster, weird toggle-action that's still clunky and awkward to use even after 5 years

...yeah, in general, I feel like this Job has gotten more of the aspects of its gameplay that I once enjoyed amputated over time than probably any other Job in FFXIV.

One of the few things I really didn't like about SCH classically, and I still don't like now, is that using Aetherflow for healing is DPS-negative. It's not that the system isn't "workable" in practice, it's just that it feels like a weird design message for a Healer that I actively wince every time I spend Aetherflow on something that's not Energy Drain.

Also by the way, because I feel like disclaimers like this are necessary when dealing with SE: I'm not implying "remove Energy Drain", I'm saying, "Maybe if Sage is allowed to have two different stack systems, one for Healing and one for Hurting, perhaps the technology is finally there for Scholar to have that too".

[D6Damager]

I also don't feel like I really understand what Scholar's aesthetic or thematic identity is supposed to be, on a topic independent of gameplay. What is a Scholar?

The lore is explained in the cut scenes of the job quests as you 'rediscover' the lost civilization of Nym and how Scholars fit into the military by supporting the Royal Marines of Nym as strategists using faeries. Because of the Scholars, they were able to fend off aggressors who were superior in numbers.

It's not very deep...but it's there.

[ty_taurus]

The lore is explained in the cut scenes of the job quests as you 'rediscover' the lost civilization of Nym and how Scholars fit into the military by supporting the Royal Marines of Nym as strategists using faeries. Because of the Scholars, they were able to fend off aggressors who were superior in numbers.

It's not very deep...but it's there.

Regardless, though, it's s very difficult concept to try and explain to someone. Imagine you're trying to sum up each healer to someone who's never seen FFXIV. How do you communicate what Scholar is to that person without going into a diatribe about the job quest lore?

[Kabzy]

kind of odd that scholar went from one of if not the best designed job in the game at the start, to... this.

This is the biggest gripe I have with the job now. It was definitely the best designed job alongside WAR back in the day. It's so sad how much more engaging and fun the job was 8 years ago compared to the crap today.

I think they've proven we're never going to get anything remotely as exciting in the future, but it would be great if they implemented something like new game+ for jobs where you can go back to previous iterations just for the fun of it.

[Nizzi]

This is the biggest gripe I have with the job now. It was definitely the best designed job alongside WAR back in the day. It's so sad how much more engaging and fun the job was 8 years ago compared to the crap today.

I think they've proven we're never going to get anything remotely as exciting in the future, but it would be great if they implemented something like new game+ for jobs where you can go back to previous iterations just for the fun of it.

It'd be a lot of fun if they would use the exploratory content like Eureka/Bozja for something like this. I love the "lost/logos actions" but I'd really like if we actually had the freedom of builds in there, considering it's content where meta and balance absolutely doesn't matter. Let me slot a bunch of DoTs on SCH because every job has the ability to heal itself with their actions.

[AoifeAogane]

Still my favorite job. I focus on what feels fun to play. Pressing ruin II while moving is fun, so I do it. Using energy drain instead of healing sucks, so I avoid that until I need to hit aetherflow. Hitting expedient during Thaal's Balls or Red Planets (for the new EX) is great. Plus you have a much shorter recast on your healing bubble than WHM, lots of tools to work with, higher potency shields than Sage. I love this job.

[AoifeAogane]

Right. Scholar would require studying, followed by a lecture. It's on brand.

[D6Damager]

Regardless, though, it's s very difficult concept to try and explain to someone. Imagine you're trying to sum up each healer to someone who's never seen FFXIV. How do you communicate what Scholar is to that person without going into a diatribe about the job quest lore?

That's my point. You don't need to communicate it; as the game does it for you.

[Silver-Strider]

Regardless, though, it's s very difficult concept to try and explain to someone. Imagine you're trying to sum up each healer to someone who's never seen FFXIV. How do you communicate what Scholar is to that person without going into a diatribe about the job quest lore?

WHM - DnD Cleric
AST - Tarot card readings
SGE - Lazers go brr
SCH - Nerd with Fairy Waifu

[AoifeAogane]

If I had to rank the healing jobs based on how much joy I feel playing them, it would go: Scholar, Blue Mage with healer mimicry, Sage, White Mage, Red mage, Warrior, Paladin.

But all that aside, I would like it if the fairies have different purposes again. Bumping up a little damage for ruin II and Energy drain would be appreciated, so I feel like using them is worth the trade off during progression. It did feel like a slap when they cut expedient in half, since it was the only new thing they added in EW. And, since it is the iconic shield healer class, how about an instantly deployable shield for SCH? I don't care if it's on a long cool down or something.


One idea I would really like to submit, is to let me spend my built up fairy gauge on a big attack. In some content, I don't end up using aetherpact at all.

This is my small wish list, but like I said, still my favorite job.