Healer Suggestions Megathread

[TheDustyOne]

Well I'm back, this time with Yet Another Scholar Butcher Rework™ complete with more MS Paint flowcharts.

My main aim with this rework is to bring back something resembling Stormblood Scholar, at least in regards to the DPS kit, taking some inspiration from previous FF iterations of Scholar, while also giving more presence to shields and abilities that interact with the shields.

One new mechanic introduced is the Grimoire stances; White Grimoire will change your healing spells to shielding spells and summon Eos, while Black Grimoire will upgrade your DoTs and summon Selene. Swapping between the stances for when you need to reapply DoTs or shield an upcoming attack will be necessary for good Scholar play.

There'll be 3 DoTs; Bio, Miasma, and Kaustra. Bio and Miasma upgrade to Biolysis and Miasmalysis respectively while using Black Grimoire. Kaustra however is intended to be more of a refund mechanic for Scholar rather than a DoT to actively maintain, requiring the use of a heal or broken shield before it can be used, total potency being equal to 2 Broil casts. The idea being to disincentivise overhealing and staggering heals appropriately.

Eos and Selene now have distinctive abilities, both will share 2 base healing abilities, but their other abilities will be different. A general change to pets would be to decrease the animation lock for their skills considerably to make them much more responsive to inputs and prevent ghosting, swapping between the 2 faeries will be common with this rework.

Aetherflow abilities have been altered greatly, and many abilities that were standalone now require Aetherflow, many of the oGCD heals have also been removed or replaced.

Damage Spells:

Broil III
Spell - 1.5s Cast - 300 MP
Deal unaspected damage to target with a potency of 250

Broil IV
Spell - 0s Cast - 800 MP
Deal unaspected damage to target with a potency of 250

Ruin II is now upgraded and is damage neutral, but will chew through your MP quickly, be careful not to overuse this.

Bio II
Spell - 0s Cast - 400 MP
Deal unaspected damage over time with a potency of 40 per tick, 21s
10% chance to reduce Fester recast time by 15s when damage over time is dealt
Cannot be stacked with Biolysis
*Changes to Biolysis while under the effect of Black Grimoire*

Biolysis
Spell - 0s Cast - 400 MP
Deal unaspected damage over time with a potency of 60 per tick, 21s
10% chance to reduce Fester recast time by 15s when damage over time is dealt
Cannot be stacked with Bio II
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Miasma II
Spell - 2s Cast - 400 MP
Deal unaspected damage to target with a potency of 50
Unaspected damage over time with a potency of 50, 30s
10% chance to reduce Fester recast time by 15s when damage over time is dealt
Cannot be stacked with Miasmalysis
*Changes to Miasmalysis while under the effect of Black Grimoire*

Miasmalysis
Spell - 2s Cast - 400 MP
Deal unaspected damage to target with a potency of 70
Unaspected damage over time with a potency of 70, 30s
10% chance to reduce Fester recast time by 15s when damage over time is dealt
Cannot be stacked with Miasma II
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Kaustra
Spell - 0s Cast - 1 Enlightenment
Deals unaspected damage over time to target and all enemies nearby with a potency of 100 for the first enemy, and 40% less for all remaining enemies, 15s

Should be damage neutral with Broil III after all 5 ticks are up. Up to 2 stacks of Enlightenment can be stored from healing spells.

Art of War II
Spell - 0s Cast - 300 MP
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 150 to all nearby enemies

Healing Spells:

Physick
Spell - 1.5s Cast - 800 MP
Restores target's HP with a potency of 600
Grants 1 stack of Enlightenment, can be stacked up to 2 times
*Changes to Adloquium while under the effect of White Grimoire*

Adloquium
Spell - 1.5s Cast - 1000 MP
Restores target's HP with a potency of 300
Create a barrier around the target, nullifying damage equaling 170% of the amount of HP restored, 30s
Create an additional barrier upon critical restore, nullifying damage equaling 170% of the amount of HP restored, 30s
Grants 1 stack of Enlightenment when Galvanize barrier is completely absorbed, can be stacked up to 2 times
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Physick II
Spell - 2s Cast - 1000 MP
Restores own HP and HP of all nearby party members with a potency of 500
Grants 1 stack of Enlightenment, can be stacked up to 2 times
*Changes to Succor while under the effect of White Grimoire*

Succor
Spell - 2s Cast - 1300 MP
Restores own HP and HP of all nearby party members with a potency of 200
Create a barrier which nullifies damage equaling 200% of the amount of HP restored, 30s
Grants 1 stack of Enlightenment when the Galvanize barrier granted to self is absorbed, can be stacked up to 2 times
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Because of the increased potency of Physick and the inclusion of Physick II, Emergency Tactics feels redundant and has been culled

Leeches
Spell - 0s Cast - 700 MP
Removes a single detrimental effect from the target
Grants 1 stack of Enlightenment upon succesful removal, can be stacked up to 2 times
*Changes to Inoculate while under the effect of White Grimoire*

Inoculate
Spell - 1s Cast - 800 MP
Removes one single detrimental effect from the target
If the target is not enfeebled, a barrier is created nullifying the target's next detrimental effect, 30s
Grants 1 stack of enlightenment upon successful removal or successful prevention, can be stacked up to 2 times
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Inoculate can be spread via Deployment Tactics, so AoE cleansing will require some foresight and fight knowledge to make full use of.

Resurrection
Spell - 8s Cast - 2400 MP
Resurrects target to a weakened state
Grants 1 stack of enlightenment, can be stacked up to 2 times

Abilities:

White Grimoire
Ability - 1s Recast
Grants the effect of White Grimoire, upgrading healing spells and summoning Eos to your side
Effect cannot be used with Black Grimoire
*Shares a recast timer with Black Grimoire*

Black Grimoire
Ability - 1s Recast
Grants the effect of Black Grimoire, upgrading certain damage spells and summoning Selene to your side
Effect cannot be used with White Grimoire
*Shares a recast timer with White Grimoire*

Fester
Ability - 30s Recast - 2 Charges
Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby with a potency of 90 for the first enemy and 30% less for all remaining enemies
Potency increases if target is suffering from Bio, Biolysis, Miasma, or Miasmalysis, potency dealt for one effect is 150, potency dealt for two effects is 190

Unsure on the procs on the DoTs to lower the cooldown of this. But I figured it was a more fun way of including this more actively in the kit rather than just bursting both charges every minute.

Libra
Ability - 120s Recast
Analyse and locate a target's weak point, increasing the rate at which the target takes critical hits by 10%, 15s

Renamed Chain Strategem, using Libra to find and exploit weak points was Scholars gimmick in older games and I wanted to have it be represented in the kit somehow.

Tabula Rasa
Ability - 90s Recast
Allows the use of Grimoire spells without having to use that Grimoire, 20s

Aetherflow
Ability - 60s / 45s Recast
Restores 800 MP and grants Aetherflow III
Increases Faerie Gauge by 50
Recast timer is reduced by 5s upon execution of any Aetherflow abilities

Dissipation has been removed and Quickened Aetherflow returns. Faerie Gauge has also been implemented into the Aetherflow ability itself rather than on consumption

Conservation Tactics
Ability - 1 Aetherflow - 1s Recast
Drain Aether from the target, restoring 600 MP

Altered and renamed Energy Drain. Still functions as an Aetherflow dump, but won't have damage attached. Feel free to yell at me for this.

Deployment Tactics
Ability - 1 Aetherflow - 30s Recast
Extends Galvanize and Inoculate effects cast on self or target party member to nearby party members
Only the initial Galvanize or Inoculate will grant a stack of Enlightenment
When targeting an enemy, extends Bio, Biolysis, Miasma, Miasmalysis, and Sleep effects to other nearby enemies
Potency is reduced by 50% for all affected enemies, only the initial statuses will reduce the recast timer of Fester

Deployment Tactics is now also Bane, functioning closer to how it works in PvP. I figured combining the 2 effects would work well enough in PvE since most of the times the DoTs need spreading is when only the tank is taking damage. This also gives extra depth and consideration for bosses with add phases.

Assault Tactics
Ability - 1 Aetherflow - 60s Recast
Guarantees the next damage spell will critical hit and cost no MP

Using Aetherflow for damage will still be a thing, but only once every 60s. Acts as an offensive counterpart to Recitation

Recitation Tactics
Ability - 1 Aetherflow - 90s Recast
Guarantees the next healing spell will critical restore and cost no MP

Renamed Recitation to be in line with the other Aetherflow ability names

Excogitation Tactics
Ability - 1 Aetherflow - 45s Recast
The next healing spell cast will be stored on the target(s). After 15s the stored spell will increase potency by 35%. 25s
The healing spell will be released when time expires or upon executing the action a second time

A complete rework of how Excog works, the idea of it is to now be able to store and hold a spell for upcoming damage, and proper timing means gaining extra shielding or healing.

The Aetherflow abilities probably aren't all that well balanced amongst each other, but I'm too lazy to math it at the moment, and that can (probably) be fixed with some number tweaks.


Faerie Actions:

Embrace
Pet Ability - 3s Recast
Restores target's HP with a potency of 200
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Feedback on whether to incorporate an Embrace priority action similar to the Embrace macros of old i.e. Fey Union makes the Faerie focus Embrace on target until fully healed or the union is removed.

Fey Brilliance
Ability - 25 Faerie Gauge - 1s Recast
Restores target's HP with a potency of 600
*Becomes Angel's Brilliance while Seraph is on the field*

Replaces Lustrate

Fey Blessing
Ability - 25 Faerie Gauge - 60s Recast - 2 Charges
Restores the HP of all nearby party members with a potency of 400
*Becomes Angel's Blessing while Seraph is on the field*

Replaces Indomitability, but has a longer recast to be more in line with Assize on my WHM rework

Fey Illumination
Ability - 25 Fae Gauge - 30s Recast
Creates a designated area around Eos, granting increased healing recovery via healing actions to self and any party members who enter by 10%, 15s
Effect ends upon execution of other faerie actions, or upon expiration
*Shares a recast timer with Fey Sanctum*
*Becomes Fey Sanctum while Selene is on the field*

Fey Illumination has been completely reworked and is a channeled ability. It now costs Fae Gauge but has had its cooldown reduced to 30s

Fey Sanctum
Ability - 25 Fae Gauge - 30s Recast
Creates a dome around Selene in which party members will only suffer 90% of all damage inflicted, 15s
Effect ends upon execution of other faerie actions, or upon expiration
*Shares a recast timer with Fey Illumination*
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Sacred Soil replacement, also a channeled ability.

Fey Expedience
Ability - 120s Recast
Reduces damage received by 10%, 20s
Increases movement speed, 10s

Expedient is now a Faerie skill, this allows for extended reach if the Faerie is well placed.

Seraph
Ability - 50 Fae Gauge - 180s Recast
Summons Seraph to fight at your side.
Seraph reduces incoming damage to all nearby party members by 10% and increases HP recovery via healing actions by 10%, 22s

Seraph has been overhauled completely and is possibly too powerful. All her abilities are on separate cooldowns from the 2 main Faeries while providing similar, stronger, or combined effects.

Angel's Kiss
Pet Ability - 3s Recast
Restores target's HP with a potency of 270
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Angel's Brilliance
Ability - 30s Recast - 2 Charges
Restores target's HP with a potency of 700
*Shares a recast with Angel's Blessing*
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Angel's Blessing
Ability - 30s Recast - 2 Charges
Restores the HP of all nearby party members with a potency of 500
*Shares a recast timer with Angel's Brilliance*
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Removed Actions:

Esuna - Replaced with Leeches and Inoculation.
Whispering Dawn - An oGCD to cull.
Lustrate - Replaced with Fey Brilliance.
Indomitability - Replaced with a buffed Fey Blessing
Sacred Soil - Replaced with Fey Sanctum, regen effect is gone entirely
Emergency Tactics - Unnecessary with Physick changes and the inclusion of Physick II.
Dissipation - Good riddance. Quickened Aetherflow will make up for some of the lost Aetherflow stacks.
Aetherpact - Another oGCD to cull, we now have other things to spend Faerie Gauge on.
Protraction - While nice, our more frequent shields and the Fey Illumination rework makes this feel redundant.
Seraphic Veil - Replaced with Angel's Kiss.

Here's a basic, and badly made, flowchart of how this new Scholar might play.

The healing segment is very basic and doesn't go over other potential interactions. Such as Tabula Rasa allowing Selene to be present while shielding. Or how Excog can store the heal then let you swap stance for a later interaction. But it gives the gist of the general game flow of my Scholar.

Thoughts and feedback is appreciated, I find theorycrafting enjoyable, despite knowing it'll never happen.

EDIT: I've made a few changes based on feedback from Renathras and ForsakenRoe

Fey Wind and Fey Covenant have been removed and replaced with Fey Expedience, furthermore, Angel's Flight is also removed.

Fey Expedience
Ability - 120s Recast
Reduces damage received by 10%, 20s
Increases movement speed, 10s

Better to not fix what ain't broke; however, I'm still keeping Expedient attached to the fairy, as I feel it fits well as a Faerie buff and can increase reach to parties split across a large arena if the Faerie is placed correctly. Angel's Flight has been removed and Seraph can now use Fey Expedience normally.

White Grimoire and Black Grimoire recast timers have been reduced to 1s.

A nice QoL change to allow someone to quickly change their mind on whether to swap their stances back within a single GCD window.

Embrace and Angel's Kiss has been added to Faerie Actions.

Embrace
Pet Ability - 3s Recast
Restores target's HP with a potency of 200
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Was always supposed to be here, I was just forgetful.

Angel's Kiss
Pet Ability - 3s Recast
Restores target's HP with a potency of 270
*Cannot be placed on the hotbar*

Seraph's version of Embrace, replaces Seraphic Veil.