The Problem with Healer Feedback, and requested changes

[glamazon]

Same.

Right now, probably the best I've got is simply to either...

• Return to a revitalized version of the Stormblood system (balancing both the Royal Roads effects and the Cards themselves, through uncapping the number of Card buffs active on a target, unnerfing Empower, splitting the power of Expand across recipient count, functional buffs to Bole, tuning buffs to Arrow and Spear, and replacements for Spire and Ewer),
  or
  
• Have every Card have a unique effect (that may synergize with others to create a degree of greater-than-sum value), with no Royal Road necessary.

In both cases, though, it seems like it might be a good idea to both have uncapped holding potential (such as per a no-CD Spread) and perhaps to split the potential outcomes (e.g., into a Northern and Southern deck, each of 3 choices).

Personally, I kind of like the Seal system, in that, per 90- or 120-second period, it gives us further reason to leverage otherwise less obviously useful Cards. It just needs a more decent pay-out, ideally capable of more than just raw damage.

I don't get why people don't like his ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNJGY9B7VW4&t=139s it seems he has a well thought out plan to make ast work

[Shurrikhan]

Gonna clip this here and post these first and keep reading. Good discussion. (I still do think a healer should be left alone, but I like hammering out more specifically WHY some things are felt boring and, more specifically, what WOULD break that up vs what would NOT...and it's also interesting seeing that you guys are also not of the exact same mind on it, with some finding oGCDs interesting vs some not, and some noting it depends on the type and frequency and how they fit into the overall kit.)

Yeah, this is seeming a lot more productive. Taking a bend towards the concrete definitely has seemed helpful.

A couple notes, from snippets of yours above.

In my reply to Askellington, I thought maybe of a metronome. Maybe that's the better way to explain it?

I... think that's a decent analogy, yeah. To me it's the difference between [A] and [B] vs. the difference between [A] and just [A+], but that's not a particularly precise analogy either, so... /shrug.

One thing I've wondered is if giving Assize a 2 charge system would help.

A quick rule of thumb, to me, is that charges only at best free up whatever number of casts per cycle necessarily cannot be buffed by the raid cycle anyways, because, as you said, "people would... put it into buff windows." For a 40s CD like Assize, a second charge offers 40s of freedom.

However, that freedom will also detract from rewards for skillful variance (e.g., for specifically wasting uptime on Assize in order to, to greater net effect, avoid GCD healing), so there's a balance even there. Because this isn't the only way to fill a function (healing), compared to a second charge on a sole gap-closer, a second charge here grants far less to accessibility compared to what it takes from skill ceiling.

As such, I'd really, really like to see oGCD healing tuned down first (which doesn't even necessarily make healing any harder so much as just reduce Glare casts over time --which can be compensated for anyways with bonus potency on offensive casts-- and make MP a little bit less of just a rez meter) such that holding Assize would be rewarded, more so than to simply embrace that "there's no point in holding CDs anyways" failing of context by jumping straight to a second charge and 1 in 3 Assize casts being freely timeable.

If there's something that fails just because of context and a fix for that context would help other areas too and isn't that far a reach, I feel like we should deal with the failing in context first and then see what feels best for each individual skill.

I don't get why people don't like his [Sariex's] ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNJGY9B7VW4&t=139s it seems he has a well thought out plan to make ast work

Not sure why this was given in response to my defense of the Seal system, but... my concerns (8 or 9 of them, iirc) were already listed out right at the top of the comments page.

[glamazon]

Oops sorry I quoted the wrong post :-(

[ty_taurus]

One thing I've wondered is if giving Assize a 2 charge system would help.

I think a better solution for Assize is removing the heal from the initial use. Assize is just damage at first, but they while it's on cooldown, you can reactivate it to perform the heal. This acknowledges how players use it on cooldown while the heal now has more room to be used as needed if needed without creating friction between the heal and the DPS.

A quick rule of thumb, to me, is that charges only at best free up whatever number of casts per cycle necessarily cannot be buffed by the raid cycle anyways, because, as you said, "people would... put it into buff windows." For a 40s CD like Assize, a second charge offers 40s of freedom.

However, that freedom will also detract from rewards for skillful variance (e.g., for specifically wasting uptime on Assize in order to, to greater net effect, avoid GCD healing), so there's a balance even there. Because this isn't the only way to fill a function (healing), compared to a second charge on a sole gap-closer, a second charge here grants far less to accessibility compared to what it takes from skill ceiling.

As such, I'd really, really like to see oGCD healing tuned down first (which doesn't even necessarily make healing any harder so much as just reduce Glare casts over time --which can be compensated for anyways with bonus potency on offensive casts-- and make MP a little bit less of just a rez meter) such that holding Assize would be rewarded, more so than to simply embrace that "there's no point in holding CDs anyways" failing of context by jumping straight to a second charge and 1 in 3 Assize casts being freely timeable.

If there's something that fails just because of context and a fix for that context would help other areas too and isn't that far a reach, I feel like we should deal with the failing in context first and then see what feels best for each individual skill.

I also agree. I think the relationship healers have between healing and damage is not a bad one, but just having a wealth of OGCD heals has not boded well for the experience of healing. While I do want wider DPS libraries, I like feeling like there's a decision I must make between my attacks and my heals. I liked playing as a SCH in ARR, HW, and SB, and feeling like Adlo and Succor were a regular part of my gameplay, not just a last ditch effort for survival. It's true, though, that there could've been a lot more interactivity between my actions that SCH could've received as time went on.

This is why I think making healer optimization about managing resources that allow your GCD heals to refund lost damage can be a part of the logic that goes into healer gameplay loops that can feel more rewarding. Your attacks aren't just about attacking--they're also about supplying yourself with the tools you need to keep your teammates alive without losing momentum.