For those who main/semi-main a DPS (e.g. DNC, RDM) but like Healers...

[Renathras]

You mean like...

I thought we were talking about the role/Jobs/design, not individual players. This place DOES NOT provide a better platform for counter points and debate. I get ragged on constantly when making an opposing position, and people frequently lie about or insinuate things about my motivations. I get ratioed here all the time, and I can count 3 times in the entire 2 years I've been posting here someone came to my defense on something.

I've been downvoted there before, but that place both represents and tolerates a wider swath than this place does.

The difference you're describing is due to the system (that is, this forum mechanically doesn't have "hidden via downvote"). That's not really an adequate defense considering how often people have mentioned in regard to my posts they wish there was a dislike button...

And if you fixate the whole of the Physical Ranged role greatly around ally-dependent indirect value then you effectively remove the option to play with any of those aesthetics (bows, guns, etc.) unless one's into that degree of support (as opposed to personal carry potential / direct value, etc.).

While I sympathize, this argument isn't really a useful or practical one.

Consider that some FF fans may want to play a Black Mage...like Vivi. They love the aesthetic. They like just casting the biggest elemental spell they have over and over, Osmose to refill MP, and keep going with it.
...yeah, you can't do that here. And if someone suggested BLM should be able to just chaincast Fire 4 inter spaced with Osmose - and that be a valid playstyle - no one here would support it. "Ice Mage" is not a viable playstyle, no matter how much one might like the aesthetic.

While it's a sympathetic position, at the end of the day in game design, we have to recognize that not every aesthetic will support every playstyle and preference. I like ROG but not NIN. I like the aesthetic but not the Ninki stuff, and I don't like the burst. Does it get changed to suit me? Of course not. There will be people who like an aesthetic but not the playstyle associated with it. That's an inevitability of game design.

Ideally, you match the aesthetic as best you can to the playstyle (e.g. SCH [at least its healing kit] is a technical Job requiring setup for the biggest and most powerful ability combinations; NIN's rotation is relatively fast matching the agile and quick archetype, and so on), but there's no way that those things will suit everyone who might like the aesthetic. There will always be some people that like a particular aesthetic, but the playstyle won't suit them. And that's even with games that have specs and a lot of customization. In games like FFXIV where Jobs are pretty rigid and all have the same setup and abilities, this is even more true.

EDIT:

What is happening right now? I answered you multiple times over and over. I even gave you a flowchart answering your question in the most straightforward way possible. What else do you want from me? To answer you in seven different languages?

I'm not going to engage with you on the Support thing anymore, either.

Actually? You know what? Duck it. I don't give a damn anymore. You can answer or not, I legitimately don't care and won't respond any more to you on this derail.