My take on the simplicity of healers and the healer problem

[Semirhage]

I think a WHM with AOE shields would just be too much.

This isn't directed specifically at you, but this is a pattern that's been in healer discourse since Heavensward. And it confuses me every time it comes up.

"A strong ability? On White Mage? Heavens to Murgatroyd, perish the thought! White Mage is already so powerful that adding something strong would tip the balance and make it overpowered!"

>White Mage, the healer that's had the weakest damage output and the least free healing throughput, making it squarely the worst healer in the game for about seven years straight.

"Scholar/Sage (previously Noct AST and Scholar) wouldn't be able to keep up with a White Mage that had a strong ability added to it."

>Scholar, the healer that's ranged between solidly meta to so-powerful-you're-griefing-if-you-don't-take-it in every single raid tier this game's ever released, and Astro, the healer that's had the same distinction with the exception of ARR and its first two rocky raid tiers.

[CaptainLagbeard]

Personally, my suggestion for WHM.

Bring over Seraph Strike from PvP as a lily spending OGCD attack and to feed blood for the blood lily, although with an offensive Lily Spender, Afflatus Misery would be more readily available for use as you don't have to wait until you have a reason to heal with your lilies, so it's potency would probably have to be slightly dropped to compensate.

Also on the topic of WHM, one skill I would like discussed... Plenary Indulgence. 200 extra potency on your Medicas, Cure 3, and Afflatus Rapture for 10 seconds. If you wanted to give WHM AoE shielding, maybe turn that skill into something that changes Medica into one. Just take the CD up from 60 to 90-120 to compensate. It'd be a lot more useful.

[VerdeLuck]

Personally, my suggestion for WHM.

Bring over Seraph Strike from PvP as a lily spending OGCD attack and to feed blood for the blood lily, although with an offensive Lily Spender, Afflatus Misery would be more readily available for use as you don't have to wait until you have a reason to heal with your lilies, so it's potency would probably have to be slightly dropped to compensate.

Also on the topic of WHM, one skill I would like discussed... Plenary Indulgence. 200 extra potency on your Medicas, Cure 3, and Afflatus Rapture for 10 seconds. If you wanted to give WHM AoE shielding, maybe turn that skill into something that changes Medica into one. Just take the CD up from 60 to 90-120 to compensate. It'd be a lot more useful.

We just had an expansion of people complaining that WHMs only did dps and didn't heal, lets not make it a DPS loss to heal again or we're going to be going right back to where we were in Shadowbringers with the Glaremage memes.

[BelleStarlily]

I understand that a shield on WHM sounds like it would be strong but if literally compare to all the other healers - AST has neutral sect which can be used to cast shields for 20 seconds with increased potency. SCH has Whispering Dawn - a regen ability. SGE has Physis 2 - a regen with increased healing potency effect for the whole party. Additionally, AST has the same, if not better heal throughput than WHM does with all it's low CD heals, so I don't see the issue with WHM having it's own shielding ability.

[BelleStarlily]

Personally, my suggestion for WHM.

Bring over Seraph Strike from PvP as a lily spending OGCD attack and to feed blood for the blood lily, although with an offensive Lily Spender, Afflatus Misery would be more readily available for use as you don't have to wait until you have a reason to heal with your lilies, so it's potency would probably have to be slightly dropped to compensate.

Also on the topic of WHM, one skill I would like discussed... Plenary Indulgence. 200 extra potency on your Medicas, Cure 3, and Afflatus Rapture for 10 seconds. If you wanted to give WHM AoE shielding, maybe turn that skill into something that changes Medica into one. Just take the CD up from 60 to 90-120 to compensate. It'd be a lot more useful.

That's actually what I was thinking when suggesting it. It would be convenient and easier to make work than inventing a whole new ability.

[ty_taurus]

That's actually what I was thinking when suggesting it. It would be convenient and easier to make work than inventing a whole new ability.

I don't actually feel like Seraph Strike is that fitting for WHM in PVE. Holy is a point blank AoE, but I think too many people wouldn't necessarily love a forced gap closer as a part of their rotation. Instead, what you could do with a new action is a GCD DPS neutral offensive spell that provides party mitigation similarly to Seraph Strike. This makes it a little similar to Pneuma in a sense but I'd like to adjust a few details myself to make more distinctions. Additionally, this new spell can stay at range, which would feel a little less demanding than Seraph Strike.

I definitely believe WHM deserves to have key strengths, and have some elegant nuance to its consistent gameplay--gameplay that applies regardless of whether healing is needed or not, but I think this all can still be accomplished while trying to promote a more forgiving, low APM healer. Not unlike BLM in some ways.

[DiaDeem]

I don't want my fairies to do different things, UNLESS I can assign myself what I want each fairy to do on a skill-by-skill basis, that way each fairy can be different and tailor made by each SCH.

Also, I feel a lot of the simplicity could be mitigated if our healing spells could deal damage to undead (and maybe void?) enemies.

Edit: Let us summon Titania (Feo)

[CaptainLagbeard]

I don't want my fairies to do different things, UNLESS I can assign myself what I want each fairy to do on a skill-by-skill basis, that way each fairy can be different and tailor made by each SCH.

Well, it would more be that Eos and Selene having different skills like they used to way back in the day...
Whispering Dawn and Fey Illumination were Eos' skills back then, who was always a more healing based skillset. Although I the current version of Illumination is a combination of it's old form and another skill called Fey Caress.

Selene, the more utility based fairy had 3 completely different skills.
Silent Dusk, an interrupt (an effect which was done as a 1s silence back in the past),
Fey Caress, AoE Esuna.
Fey Wind, 3% skill/spell speed to the party. This skill wouldn't really work nowadays as SCH wouldn't have a reason to not use it... So that would have to become something different.

[ty_taurus]

Well, it would more be that Eos and Selene having different skills like they used to way back in the day...
Whispering Dawn and Fey Illumination were Eos' skills back then, who was always a more healing based skillset. Although I the current version of Illumination is a combination of it's old form and another skill called Fey Caress.

Selene, the more utility based fairy had 3 completely different skills.
Silent Dusk, an interrupt (an effect which was done as a 1s silence back in the past),
Fey Caress, AoE Esuna.
Fey Wind, 3% skill/spell speed to the party. This skill wouldn't really work nowadays as SCH wouldn't have a reason to not use it... So that would have to become something different.

Silent Dusk and Fey Caress were and still would be more worthless than SMN's Physick. As great as interrupt and debuff mechanics could be, SE would sooner release a pet job than include these mechanics into fights in any meaningful way. I think there is absolutely a dynamic that can be created between a healing pet and a utility pet, but there's no real point to salvaging anything from old Selene. It's also best to keep raid buffs off her as well because all that does is make Eos the crutch pet designed to be replaced by Selene, which is not a healthy balance either.

[CaptainLagbeard]

Silent Dusk and Fey Caress were and still would be more worthless than SMN's Physick. As great as interrupt and debuff mechanics could be, SE would sooner release a pet job than include these mechanics into fights in any meaningful way. I think there is absolutely a dynamic that can be created between a healing pet and a utility pet, but there's no real point to salvaging anything from old Selene. It's also best to keep raid buffs off her as well because all that does is make Eos the crutch pet designed to be replaced by Selene, which is not a healthy balance either.

Yea to salvage those skills, they would have to learn how to do new types of fights much to the team's horror. But I suppose it would have to remain something that SGE wouldn't completely fail at... Otherwise some people might complain about having to play SCH.