Do we really need two healers per alliance in 24 mans?

[Semirhage]

So, honest question: How much of what you feel might be characterized as "the game's difficulty/skill level increases more slowly than my own experience/skill level rises to meet it" vs. "the game's difficulty is remaining the same or actually decreasing over time"? My own limited experience (~1 year) places me in the former camp, so it's interesting to me if it's actually the latter.

Having been around for about a year, the biggest piece of context you're missing is job engagement. Most of the jobs in this game (and healers most pointedly) used to have FAR more engaging toolkits. They had slightly more involved damage rotations (Scholar had five DoTs, Shadowflare, WHM had three different levels of Aero and Fluid Aura to maintain, AST at least had several more DOTs), they had a few buffs and debuffs they could manage (Eye for an Eye, Virus, Disable, the fairy damage buffs, the lower level versions of damage spells had debuffs attached to them that made them worth spending a GCD on every now and then, Stone 1 used to apply Heavy, Ruin 2 used to apply Blind), the hilarious bloat of a gazillion oGCD free instant heals didn't used to be anywhere near this bad.

The general consensus is that after a major stumble on the release of Stormblood, they hit the beginning of fun design with AST and SCH. Unfortunately, though several of us former WHM mains still remember complaining in that era, WHM was designed like....well, like healers are currently designed, plus a hot diarrhea version of the lily system. We told Square over and over again that WHM sucked and they needed to do something about it. Instead they decided that WHM was the good one, and murdered the entire role.

It's not that each expansion's content is easier than the last, it's that they make the entire game easier and dumber on every expansion's release.

[Liam_Harper]

We can zero GCD heal savage, hell P1 is an absolute joke, savage barely even deserves the title now

Did a run of p1s min ilv the other day and that really brought home just how much of a joke it is. It's still practically solo-healable with no GCD heals.

[SieyaM]

I have a group of friends I play with and I swapped to DPS. That's pretty much what keeps me around. That and making fun of this game's horrible playerbase on the forums. There is *never* a low in engagement or difficulty for which you won't find a thread on the general forums raging that it's "too hard", with an alarming amount of likes.

The GCBTW meme is real, and there's a significant portion of this game's playerbase that not only wants to watch a movie that plays itself for them, but expects a shower of accolades telling them what skilled players they are for it.

I would say on the other end of the spectrum there are players who want to be exalted above all others for completing Savage or Ultimate. They want special privilege and status above other players.

[Semirhage]

I would say on the other end of the spectrum there are players who want to be exalted above all others for completing Savage or Ultimate. They want special privilege and status above other players.

I've encountered those, though very seldom. Savage and Ultimate are just content. Though it's not a guarantee, having completed those is an indicator that a player is more likely to know more about how the combat system works and how their job(s) play.

Having been on the forums since Heavensward though, I can say that the forum culture outside the healer subsection emboldens the heck out of sneering, self-assured You Don't Pay My Sub types who pat each other on the back over how hard Copperbell is and circlejerk that everyone who breathes the word "savage" is a WoWfugee sweatlord ruining the bestest casual game evar. That "unengaging job design" is meaningless technobabble because one-button jobs are super fun, knowing how much damage you do is cheeeeeeeeating, and the most pressing issue facing Final Fantasy 14 that holds it back from true greatness is not its stupidification every single expansion, but not having enough hairdos for their bunnygirl.

I have no problem with casuals. I roll my eyes at ^ those people.

[Gullis]

other than having a extra guaranteed rez, no not really. I never touch my healing buttons during alliance raids, Other than an occasional ogcd regen, if my cohealer hasn't put one out already.