Change SCH Dissipation

[Katish]

Unfortunately, it's because healers are too homogenized that we notice these nuances. What should be happening is full reworks to undo this issue because what's x to x+y?
Not sure why they thought homogenizing the healers was a great idea either, given the fact that there are only 4. (3 during the time it started heading that way)
And let's face it, providing X heal, and using 1 button press 50 times over to continue damage and your occasion DoT isn't really that different. IMO, each healer should have a niche that they excel at and have the class reworked around that niche. Rather then an afterthought, the niche should be the premise as to why the class exists.

[Renathras]

This may come as something of a shock to you, but the class doesn't stop existing as soon as you unlock the job;

Did I say they did?

In lore, the classes are different than the Jobs. A THM is not a BLM. In lore, the way a BLM casts spells and uses magic is actually very distinct from a THM. While a THM relies on their own personal Aether to cast spells, a BLM uses the ambient Aether around them. This is why a THM's spells can never be as powerful as a BLM's, but it's also why the BLMs of Mhach contributed to the Calamity of Water and their craft forbidden. A THM is not a BLM. A BLM is not a THM. Indeed, a BLM is more akin to a WHM or even CNJ than to a THM, despite being a promotion of the THM in game terms. Only after many BLM quests do you even grant the discipline supervised sanction by the THM guild. Conversely, RDM was born from the union of White Magic and Black Magic after the Calamity of Water. Unlike CNJ (which is allowed limited use of ambient Aether by the Elementals), WHM (which is allowed more), or BLM (which take what they want and don't care - I wonder if BLMs would be accosted by Elementals when they enter the Black Shroud...), RDM works more akin to THM in that they use their personal Aether.

But unlike THM, they've learned extra efficient ways of using it and using their body as a secondary foci for some magical astral geometry shenanegans, akin to ACN (but only slightly), and they also perform spellcasting in such a way that they recycle expended Aether (the leftovers from a Fire spell in the air, for example) to make a feedback loop to more powerful spells. This is how a RDM generates White/Black Mana, and how they're able to cast Flare and Holy, things THMs and CNJs could not. This is also super taxing on the body and requires a high level of physical fitness and stamina. ACNs, on the other hand, use sacred geometry to channel magic through, essentially, runes of power, which focus Aether (ambient and/or personal) into effects. Theirs is far less taxing on the local Aether than WHM or BLM, though, because it appeals to natural Lay Line formations rather than bending or breaking them to cast magics.

THMs CAN attempt to cast magic like BLMs, but if they haven't mastered drawing in ambient Aether to do so, their spellcraft uses their own life force instead. This is why the proto-BLMs in the BLM quests burn up, since they're essentially consuming their own Aether for magic that needs far more and will burn up/expend their soul's energy. The CNJ quests also hint at this with Sylphie, who is attempting to cast CNJ magics - which again rely on borrowing a limited amount of ambient Aether as approved by the Elementals - using her own life force. The end result would have been similar to the BLM quest enemies that burn up trying to cast Black Magic using their own souls as their energy source.

Each of these is different in the lore, and in how they work in-universe.

Some Jobs are more and some less similar to their base Classes, but none are merely an extension of it. SCH uses Aetherflow while ACN (and SMN) use Aethercharge (until SMN's becomes DWT/Bahamut/Phoenix). NIN uses Mug but ROG has no Mudras. WAR quests often employ MRDs, but the SCH questline has a shortage of ACNs and very little work as a customs inspector and agent. Nor are ACNs shown to be powerful Allegan mages who learned how to bind Primals to their will. (Except maybe for Tataru. Jury's still out on Tataru...)

It's very clear you're being deliberately obtuse.

No. I'm pointing out to you that at best your "go play SGE/SGE is just easy SCH" is a gross oversimplifcation. At best. (I do agree with Kardia spread; not only have I proposed it as an Emergency Tactics-esque CD for party healing, it's almost as if the early design stages/tooltips were written for it, either it was planned early on and scrapped or maybe it's something they're holding for a future SGE ability)

If you look at anything from a broad enough definition and a far enough view, you can say they're similar. WAR is BASICALLY harder SCH, right?

Thing is, they aren't the same. The differences are less than between any other Healer pair, but the differences are stark and differentiate them. Removing the clunk from Dissipation won't homogenize them; SGE has no ability that looks like clunk-less Dissipation. Removing the "dismisses your Faerie" from Dissipation and giving it a 240 sec (4 min) CD if that's somehow too powerful for a 3 min one wouldn't make SCH into SGE any more than removing Misery would make WHM into SCH. (The difference is, Misery is actually a good ability)

They should do more abilities like the level 86 support skill every healer gets. They all generally function the same (make you need less healing as if we didn’t already have fairly little lol). But the way they function to reach that goal is slightly different and gives a ‘identity flavour’ to the skills. ...

Agreed. I like how they are 3/4 (Protraction is a bit different, but we can throw it in here) ways of working, that produce slightly to somewhat different effects, but they work differently to give each their own niche applications while still working somewhat interchangeably (with the rest of the Healer's kit in mind) in cases you don't have the other available. (Though I still feel Taurochole is more similar to the others than Krasis)

It's the only way I can think of for fixing Dissipation under SCH's current iteration. Still hoping for a rework eventually that adjusts SCH to feel better...again, would prefer if AF was gone and the fairy gauge was used for everything, though I admit it would result in Fey Union and Dissipation having to be redone, but everything else would easily transfer over IMO (especially if all the fairy abilities filled the gauge by differing amounts and if ED was just 2 charges of a 300 potency attack).

AF is an artifact, but honestly SCH's at this point, ACN and SMN both having abandoned it in all but the most tacked-on way. Though I could see the argument for using Fairy Gauge instead. Fey Union/Aetherpact needs to be redone anyway, as does Dissipation, so I'm not sure that'd be a massive loss.

The Herchefaunt in the room everyone's ignoring, though, is that 3 out of 4 Healers have a "average of 1 per 20 seconds, stacks to 3, used for oGCD/pseudo-oGCD abilities" mechanic. WHM with Lilies, SCH with Aetherflow, SGE with Addersgall. AST is honestly the most unique of the Healers at the moment.

Unfortunately, it's because healers are too homogenized that we notice these nuances. What should be happening is full reworks to undo this issue because what's x to x+y?
Not sure why they thought homogenizing the healers was a great idea either, given the fact that there are only 4. (3 during the time it started heading that way)
And let's face it, providing X heal, and using 1 button press 50 times over to continue damage and your occasion DoT isn't really that different. IMO, each healer should have a niche that they excel at and have the class reworked around that niche. Rather then an afterthought, the niche should be the premise as to why the class exists.

Agreed. It's why my preferred solution to the present situation is to leave one Healer alone (probably WHM, since its kit just kinda works and its identity is pretty solid within it), give SCH more DoTs and interactions, give SGE an actual damage rotation, and fix Cards so they're actually interesting, the AST has some agency in how they pick them/can put their thumb on the scale to pick another, and where drawing, targeting, and playing Arcanum isn't an exercise in carpel tunnel syndrome. Flesh out their identities and give them niches related to that. Give each the tools to do the basic job/role, but with their niches being useful in different situations and their damage rotations being different so that each one can appeal to a different player type; simple, DoT, buffs, rotational.

Can even balance them to do the same damage if the Devs want to, but at least they'd play different and so players that like different playstyles could pick the one they like and enjoy its combat mechanics and gameplay loops.

[Katish]

I would say whm brings nothing to the table outside personal dps and its exchange for safe healing isn't that grand either (i.e no ocgd aoe healing and the damage it does, does not make it up for it), they have to stop and cast healing if they are mistiming their lilies, where other healers have fall backs. Imo, whm should be the personal potential highest dps healer, where the niche could be if they stop anywhere in their dps pattern to heal it will upset a potential 1-2-3 should they implement. It would bring that flavor of being a black mage counterpart to the job. Sage on the other hand can maybe be a reflect healer where they also have a 1-2-3 combo but their combo does not get upset and the personal dmg is not as high as whm but their shields reflect dmg as well as being well a "shield", similar to warrior's vengeance. Sage brings too much utility for me to say that it could ever possibly be the main "DPS" healer. If they were to scrap that utility (they would have to remove the whole shield premise vs pure premise) then I could maybe able to see it but atm it would be far too unbalanced when vsing whm. This would also apply to SCH and AST dynamic...(but AST has their shields atm so I can't say they really stayed true to that premise). Tbh, I think they need to scratch it and restart to get rid of the "sameness"...give each class a niche they excel in be it (dps, some new element, buffing, debuffing, supporting allies), and make it the reason why that class exists (i.e if you make it debuffing, add more than just one debuff skill). Old astro had a lot of support in their cards so just revert to those cards then incorporate the system to revolve around those cards, add more ways to draw. Scholar could have more than one debuff. Whm could be the highest personal DPS. Sage could be the dancer of the healer classes that also specializes in movement. Just some thoughts, and I understand healers are healers first, but the healing could be also incorporated into the job actions themselves which would further the uniqueness and provide more slots for more unique skills.