Dawntrail Healer Change Predicitons

[Gember]

Since our astro Urianger has a gap closer on the first boss from Ktisis Hyperboreia, I am assuming all healers might be getting a gap closer. -shrugs- Its my best prediction.

[ASkellington]

Since our astro Urianger has a gap closer on the first boss from Ktisis Hyperboreia, I am assuming all healers might be getting a gap closer. -shrugs- Its my best prediction.

He had the gap closer back in Shb. If you did trusts for Dohn Mheg instead of walking across he "jumps" or teleports.

[Icecylee]

yeah the trust/Roleplay kits basically don't mean shit wrt player PvE kits, much like how the PvE kits don't resemble or even have half the flavor or diversity of the modern PvP kits. *stares wistfully at all the CNJ/WHM that cycle through Stone/Aero/Water 3 while not healing instead of spamming glare*

[Connor]

I can see them making all non-basic heals oGCD. Cure II, Cure III, Medica II / Adloquium and Succor / Aspected Helios / Eukrasian Prognosis and Diagnosis.

I could also see them pruning a lot of what they’d consider ‘unnecessary abilities that overcomplicate things and aren’t related to direct healing’ (lol). Presence of Mind, Thin Air, Fey Illumination, Expedient, Astrologian’s cards and Divination becoming automatic (probably tied to direct healing, heal a target and they get a card lol, I was sick in my mouth a little), Sage’s Toxicon and Phlegma.

They’re so bizarrely obsessed with making things easier that I could honestly see them saying ‘let’s give them even MORE oGCD heals and take their focus away from those not-healing things like support or damage’ (except damage taken is even less than current expansion lol).

[Nizzi]

To be honest, I really don't see them doing anything different in 7.0 with healers. Sure, they've gotten a lot of complaints about how healers play, but I don't believe there's ever been one instance of SE making any role have more complexity over the past 7 years outside of adding back buttons they removed (I'm thinking of Miasma II and Energy Drain). If anything, I think they will just continue to not push boundaries, not increase healing requirements and not change the 1 DoT 1 spam spell "rotation" because it's been around for 5 years by the time Dawntrail comes out. What incentive is there to change?
If I were to give a list of pessimistic/realistic/optimistic predictions though, I would say...

Pessimistic:

1. Cast times are made instant on every healer. This is so they can remove Ruin II from Scholar, remove Lightspeed from Astrologian, prevent White Mages from using Lilies to move so they're ONLY for healing, and also do something with Toxicon, potentially. Though considering it is SE, they would likely just not touch Toxicon at all and leave it completely the same until 7.1 or later. This frees up a button for SCH and AST so they can add two more bloated oGCD heals for DT, and Yoshida will say that is so it can be easier for healers to focus on healing and 'not get overwhelmed' or something.
2. Pruning of DoTs from some/all healers. Were they to do this, I see them removing them from AST and WHM and keeping them on SCH/SGE due to the split and how those healers are balanced numerically against each other.
3. A 'surprise' rework of Scholar, either at expansion launch or mid expansion. What this would look like, I can't say, but since Scholar was specifically said to be a job they had "no idea what to do for" and the justification for DRG's rework was "there's nothing more we can do with the design" I assume it will likely happen to Scholar to condense the large amount of weaving SCH has to do to set up things and to also rip out the last bits of skill expression still present within the job. (Aetherflow management with Energy Drain and Dissipation)
4. Energy Drain removed from Scholar, replaced with a reused old SMN/SCH PvP animation oGCD attack you use on CD or not replaced at all.
5. Any minute form of skill expression left (lol) is systematically shaved out of healers regarding movement or DPS optimization. You WILL exist to only vomit heals, and you WILL like it. Yoshi says so.

Realistic:

1. Standard upgrade to the GCD spell/potentially DoT/potentially AoE. Everyone expects this, and it's what we will 100% see. The spell potency will only go up 5-15 potency too, so nothing different.
2. Random charges added to random oGCDs. Did you want a 2nd charge of Protraction, Krasis, etc? No? Well you're getting one! Excog, Tetra, etc too!
3. SGE gets a 2nd charge to its gap closer as a trait.
4. 1 new button at level 100, the rest upgrades and animation changes. They've recently eliminated Summon Selene mid expac, WHM and SGE can spare a spot for a new button already, and AST is getting reworked and likely to lose a few. I think we'll only get 1 new button per healer in 7.0 for our capstone skill. 2 is possible too, but expect the 2nd to be a another superfluous bloated button we don't really need. (The level 100 skill will likely be too, but could potentially be interesting in usage, such as Macrocosmos or Expedient.)
5. An older removed trait or healing ability added back and reskinned. I can see them giving Quickened Aetherflow or Secrets of the Lily back in a way that's just like "When you heal with Aetherflow or Lilies, it lowers the CD of your Aetherflow heals/Lilies by 5 seconds" as a way to ""encourage"" more healing.
6. SCH/WHM GCD heals (Adlo, Succor, Medica II, Cure II, etc) become 1.5s cast times to match the nuke.
7. Crit rework turning Chain Stratagem into a generic 'Trick Attack'-like "Target takes x% more damage for 15s" button. Wouldn't change anything about how Scholar plays.
8. Repose removed. This would be overall positive as it's an absolutely useless role action, but I think it's realistic that this ability will be removed too just to make room for something else.
9. Astrologian rework is kind of terrible, gets reworked next expansion too.
10. White Mage gets shafted and stays the weakest healer because SE gives superior tools to AST, SGE and SCH to try and make WHM players play the other 3 healers - WHM will still be the most popular healer despite this.
11. Maybe not all four, but 2+ healers will get one of the long CD, GCD DPS skills like Pneuma or Macro that SE seems to think is the solution to healer players complaining about the boring DPS filler spam. They will be on 1/2/3 minute CDs and won't change anything. If this does happen, I would assume WHM's will be Purgation or Seraph Strike.

Optimistic/Unrealistic:

1. SE relents on the ShB healer direction slightly and revises the DPS kits of 2 or more healers. Realistically this would likely be Scholar as the 'historic DPS healer' and Sage as the one they active tout as a 'DPS healer', and that also happen to both be on the "shield healer" side of the split.
2. SE leans into a less homogenized DPS kit and restores a few DPS actions or adds new ones. They break up Glare/Broil/etc spam and while it's still the majority of what you press, you're pressing it a bit less. This also differentiates how healers play with their minute to minute DPS actions.
3. Removal of some oGCD heal bloat
4. Astrologian rework is actually good (lol)
5. DoTs like Miasma, Miasma II, Aero III make a return, along with varied DoT timers.
6. SE listens to healer feedback that goes beyond the tiny amount they're willing to accept.
7. We do not spend another expansion with this terrible role design.

It's maybe not comprehensive, but this is just some things I've thought about. With all of that being written though, I'm fairly certain that things will be business as usual in 7.0. Here's hoping SE will surprise me, but I am not holding my breath. Apologies for the wall of text, I spent like 2 days thinking about it.

[ForsakenRoe]

I spent like 2 days thinking about it.

Ironically, that's probably more time than SE is going to

[Nizzi]

Ironically, that's probably more time than SE is going to

Lmao I thought the same thing after I wrote that

[Renathras]

Apologies for the wall of text, I spent like 2 days thinking about it.

Honestly, despite people saying otherwise, I think "wall of text" posts are actually good. Means people put thoughts into things. And as pessimistic as you are about the game, Nizzi, I find your posts some of the most interesting and worthwhile to read.

I think your Realistic assessment is probably correct, though there may be elements of your Optimistic mixed in with it. I doubt they'll do all the stuff on your Pessimistic side. The only thing I could think they might do is remove ED again (though fairly unlikely). I don't even think they'll remove any DoTs since they seem to want the Healers to have unified damage kits for...reasons. The only way I'd see them removing a DoT from one healer is if they added a DoT to another (giving it 2). I could see that "surprise" rework of SCH happening, though, since you're right about that argument being used for DRG but also they said the same for SMN.

[SargeTheSeagull]

I'm very cautiously optimistic. At the very least, I do expect them to make healers (and every job for that matter) less top-heavy in terms of when they gain spells. WHM will get lillies in the 40's, SGE will get kardia around 15, aoe's in the 20's, stuff like that. I think it's reasonable to expect the devs have listened at least a little bit because 90% of feedback I've seen gameplay wise for a while is some variation of "stuff is too easy it's boring" and telling people to go do ultimate didn't work. So cautiously optimistic predations: (level changes aside)

WHM:
Aero 3, deals 300 potency, 15 sec cooldown, increases the potency of your next heal.
Protect, AoE barrier.

SGE:
Phlegma has a 20 sec cooldown now
Pankardia: 120 sec cooldown, applies karida to the party for 10 sec

SCH:
Miasma 3, 30 sec DoT
Energy Drain deals extra damage when both DoT's are up

AST:
Card fuckery i dont even know.

[Allegor]

• 10 potency upgrade on our dots(if not removed)
• more redundant healing ogcds
• maybe an extra stack of Assize, Phlegma and the like
• an old deleted ability given a paintjob.

Or who knows, maybe not even that. I'd be glad to be proven wrong though.

SGE:
Phlegma has a 20 sec cooldown now
Pankardia: 120 sec cooldown, applies karida to the party for 10 sec

I pray to whatever God(s) out there it's not locked to 92+ because an aoe Kardia is something that should've been there from the beginning.