#FFXIVHEALERSTRIKE

[KLuz]

Reading this - I have information I'd like from those calling for a strike. (1/2)

Firstly, it seems to me that the straw that has broke the metaphorical camel's back is the successful completion of the story dungeon in the Media Tour build of Dawntrail. With that being the case, is it a fair assessment to say that a central goal of this strike is to make it so healers are required to execute on that type of content? That is, it is this group's opinion that there should be no scenario where one can complete a dungeon without a healer present?

Secondly. what brings you joy as a healer? Why do you play the job? For me, I appreciate that the power I'm furnished with as it pertains to the health of the party. I derive joy from seeing no damage done to the party because of extra strong shields or recovering the party to full from low health with the press of a couple of buttons.

[KLuz]

(2/2)
Finally, I'd like to understand what is the highest level of content completed as a healer by any of the individuals calling for the strike. I ask this because it feels awkward to call for dungeons to be the strongest showcase of healer need. Dungeons, specifically story dungeons, are meant to be accessed by the community as a whole. Anyone who has purchased Dawntrail will have to go through the story and complete the dungeons. As is common knowledge, there is a skill bell curve and that content has to be at a threshold that would allow for successful completion, even by those that skew to the left side of it. For example, I still get healers that are incapable of esuna-ing a debuff in a dungeon (Dead Ends). Following that logic, it tracks that because of the lower threshold of difficulty, the content can be completed without a healer. So, to me, dungeons should not be how we assess healer need. If there are healers feeling like they aren't being challenged enough, but they also refuse to engage with content that centers the role more prominently (extremes, savage, ultimate), then they should assess whether they are architect of their own dismay.

I want to stay on this point for just a bit because I suspect the response will be something that alludes to content that has been completed without a healer, specifically ultimate content. UCOB being cleared without a healer is no large feat to me. Power creep has enabled all sorts of wild things to happen in that fight. And before the healer-less TOP clear is mentioned, that one clear (which undoubtedly required a great deal of effort to pull off along with some luck) is not the norm for the community. To date, I have not seen a single PF for The Omega Protocol that is seeking to complete it with less than 2 healers. In other words, it is unfair to blow up these edge cases when the reality is that the community will always opt for the path of least resistance when completing content - and that path will mostly entail having 2 healers for most 8-man content.

Final piece on this point is that I get the impression that the state of healers is being assessed in a vacuum based on healer design showcased in the job action trailer information. As such, it seems premature for us to assess the state of healers in Dawntrail without having seen what end-game content will look like. In other words, job design is meant to be complementary to fight design (see 2 minute meta for a very specific example). The addition of more mitigation and healing throughput suggests that there will be more healing-intensive mechanics that are on the horizon in Dawntrail (specifically content that is outside the range of just dungeons or even extremes). It may be more productive to assess the goals of a strike after having all the information if we are really seeking to call out for a change.

[AmiableApkallu]

(2/2)
Finally, I'd like to understand what is the highest level of content completed as a healer by any of the individuals calling for the strike. I ask this because it feels awkward to call for dungeons to be the strongest showcase of healer need. Dungeons, specifically story dungeons, are meant to be accessed by the community as a whole. ... If there are healers feeling like they aren't being challenged enough, but they also refuse to engage with content that centers the role more prominently (extremes, savage, ultimate), then they should assess whether they are architect of their own dismay.

Healers should find fulfilling gameplay in all levels of content.

I don't necessarily want to spend every moment in this game being challenged to the extreme. I do want to spend as many moments as possible having fun.

The MSQ highlights one aspect of what "healers" have been asking for: More fulfilling, more interesting ways of dealing damage than we currently have. Not more raw damage output, but more interesting ways of dealing our current output.

I can accept MSQ encounters not dealing so much damage that a healer is all but necessary. I could even accept other jobs getting more healing and mitigation in order to ease getting through the MSQ. But because those features both lessen the need for a healer to actually spend time healing, as a healer, I'd like something to be doing other than mashing a single ability, and refreshing a DoT every 30 seconds.

In an ideal world, I'd spend a good amount of time playing the game of, "should I spend this GCD on a heal? or is it safe to spend it on damage?" That's that fun I find in the role. (My healing kit should contain variety. My damage kit should contain variety. And I should need to evaluate when to use one vs. the other. And maybe these aspects of my kit could even play off of each other...)

[KLuz]

Healers should find fulfilling gameplay in all levels of content.

I don't necessarily want to spend every moment in this game being challenged to the extreme. I do want to spend as many moments as possible having fun.

The MSQ highlights one aspect of what "healers" have been asking for: More fulfilling, more interesting ways of dealing damage than we currently have. Not more raw damage output, but more interesting ways of dealing our current output.

I can accept MSQ encounters not dealing so much damage that a healer is all but necessary. I could even accept other jobs getting more healing and mitigation in order to ease getting through the MSQ. But because those features both lessen the need for a healer to actually spend time healing, as a healer, I'd like something to be doing other than mashing a single ability, and refreshing a DoT every 30 seconds.

In an ideal world, I'd spend a good amount of time playing the game of, "should I spend this GCD on a heal? or is it safe to spend it on damage?" That's that fun I find in the role. (My healing kit should contain variety. My damage kit should contain variety. And I should need to evaluate when to use one vs. the other. And maybe these aspects of my kit could even play off of each other...)

This goes back to my question of what makes healing exciting or fulfilling for you in the first place. I am fulfilled at all levels when I play healer personally, but that is because my expectations are framed appropriately with the content I'm engaging with. In a dungeon, I see that as my chance to do mostly whatever I want because that content is not aimed to challenged my specific skill level of healer. The challenge I would expect to find in those scenarios would be keeping an eye on the party that fail mechanics and cleaning that up. But dungeons are meant to be low-stress by design.

I agree that healer DPS kits aren't incredibly branched and complex; but I think that would place more pressure on gamers on the left side of the bell curve. At the end of the day, Square's goal is to try to support its entire player base and the approach they've opted for is a "choose your own adventure" kind of approach. If you're not fulfilled in a dungeon, try the next step up, and so on and so forth. I find myself assessing those questions (GCD to heal vs GCD to damage) more in prog environments, specifically Savage and Ultimate.

[AmiableApkallu]

This goes back to my question of what makes healing exciting or fulfilling for you in the first place. I am fulfilled at all levels when I play healer personally, but that is because my expectations are framed appropriately with the content I'm engaging with. In a dungeon, I see that as my chance to do mostly whatever I want because that content is not aimed to challenged my specific skill level of healer.

As long as "whatever you want" is "twiddle your thumbs", "mash one button repeatedly", "overheal just because", or some combination thereof, then sure. I prefer to actually have some fun, though.

I agree that healer DPS kits aren't incredibly branched and complex; but I think that would place more pressure on gamers on the left side of the bell curve.

If you queue into a dungeon as healer, your first job is to heal, to keep the party alive. Having the potential for more than 1111111 in terms of dealing damage doesn't change that, and you shouldn't call yourself a healer or queue as one if you can't admit that basic fact. A healer's healing kit needs to be easily grokked if you want to set the bar low, not the DPS kit.

[Silver-Strider]

Reading this - I have information I'd like from those calling for a strike.

Firstly, it seems to me that the straw that has broke the metaphorical camel's back is the successful completion of the story dungeon in the Media Tour build of Dawntrail. With that being the case, is it a fair assessment to say that a central goal of this strike is to make it so healers are required to execute on that type of content? That is, it is this group's opinion that there should be no scenario where one can complete a dungeon without a healer present?

I can't speak for everyone on this but for myself, it's not so much that content can be completed without healers but more so that Healer design runs counterintuitive to the content design; Damage is infrequent but I have 20+ healing abilities, I spent most of my time casting DPS spells, but I have all of 2-3 skills to do that with. Adding on to that is the increased survivability being added to other jobs that makes those 20+ healing abilities feel even more redundant. Even in the hardest content in the game, you can ignore half of those 20+ healing abilities and can still complete them. Furthermore, there is an increase in mechanics that are unsalvageable if people make mistakes, such as body checks, in which no amount of healing abilities is going to resolve them. It's layers upon layers of issues that have been building up for years on end now and the media tour showcasing that they've tripled down on these issues again was what finally broke me.

Secondly. what brings you joy as a healer? Why do you play the job? For me, I appreciate that the power I'm furnished with as it pertains to the health of the party. I derive joy from seeing no damage done to the party because of extra strong shields or recovering the party to full from low health with the press of a couple of buttons.

The skill expression of healing. Back in ARR, I didn't have a plethora of oGCDs and actually had to learn to manage my MP. I couldn't just Spam Cure 2 and Medica 2 thru every bit of content that was available. I had to be smart in when I cast my skills because, if I let the tank get too low, I knew I had a 2.5s Cast before the next Heal would hit them to get them out of that situation and that they didn't have a means of healing themselves within that time frame. Fast Forward to now, and not only can the Tank heal themselves to full in a master of seconds but almost every DPS can help out on top of my own instant cast heals. There's very little skill expression left for healers because there's nothing to do but memorize a fight pattern and plan out your heals accordingly while still having safeties if someone messes up, assuming it's possible to cover those mess ups in the first place. The small handful of possible skill expressions left on healers is limited to SCH's Energy Drain usage and AST's high APM burst phase, the latter of which is being streamlined away.

Finally, I'd like to understand what is the highest level of content completed as a healer by any of the individuals calling for the strike.

Mostly Savage Raids. I've long since stopped being in a Static Midway thru SB after completing Sigmascape but will periodically go into Savage PFs whenever the mood strikes me nowadays. I've tried Ultimates but I don't have the time available to dedicate to learning and clearing them sadly.

In other words, it is unfair to blow up these edge cases when the reality is that the community will always opt for the path of least resistance when completing content - and that path will mostly entail having 2 healers for most 8-man content.

While the edge cases could be dismissed as sheer skill and luck, the fact of the matter is that there are also solo heal clears of Savage and Ultimate raids as well to consider. While still edge cases, the fact is that's still a bad sign in regards to Healers that these edge cases keep popping up more and more frequently as time goes on and are even happening on patch, meaning power creep alone is not the culprit. While the community might take the path of least resistance, it also doesn't mean that it can be wholly dismissed either and should be discussed so as to identify why this is the case and as many have pointed out in the past, it is due to the ever increasing tools being made available to other jobs that reduce the need for healers on top of Healer toolkits themselves being over toned to deal with the infrequent damage that game does throw out. This wasn't a problem in the past when DPS/Tanks had 1-2 tools at most to help supplement heals but now, you're looking at 4-5+ skills that are doing so, across multiple different jobs and DT is just adding on to this problem even further. Past trends have already shown that SE is hesitant to increase incoming damage that would warrant these new tools even being needed so if they're not willing to address that issue, what else is there left for us to do but to force the issue in this manner?

[Pip_Chick]

Reading this - I have information I'd like from those calling for a strike. (1/2) [...]

1. - Yes, the media tour was the straw. You should not be able to complete a lvl 91 dungeon pre-patch/on-patch without a healer. The devs should aim to strike a balance in such way that ALL roles are required in any content. There should be no scenario that would allow a group to complete a dungeon without a healer.
As of now, 1Tank and 3 DPS managed to finish an MSQ Dungeon on patch without any healer. Both because the WAR has an absurd amount of self-sustain (at the detriment of the Healer role as a hole) and because the incoming damage is negligible and can be easily worked around by the Tank and DPS self-sustain and heals. We know that there will be potency changes, but excuse me if I don't believe they would amount to anything since they will not be able to up the difficulty and nerf some jobs (cough WAR) with 2 weeks before the Early access. There is physically not enough time for them to do that. And as we have it in game now, there should not be any way of killing a dungeon boss without a healer, I had runs where the Tank soloed a boss from 80% health, me (a sprout at the time) and 2 DPS being left to watch as the WAR killed the thing alone. It is not a fun experience.

2. - My joy is derived from the healer archetype. The heart of the party who keeps their allies alive and can pull them through the hardest challenges, by their knowledge and will! Add to that the SCH Fantasy of being a Nymian marine strategist whose strongest point is their ability to battle strategies! Understanding their shortcoming and finding solutions to them. AKA it is very hard to be on the battlefield, give fight commands, shield, do damage and heal. So they employ the power of Arcanima to manifest their Faerie allies with whom they form a bond at times as strong as family! An undefeated duo who can overcome any obstacle through their ability to outsmart their enemies and use every tactic to their advantage. NOW THAT is a power fantasy!

[Pip_Chick]

(2/2)
[...]

[1/2]
3. - My highest level of difficulty was Pandemonium 1 Savage. I am not a raider nor do I enjoy raiding. It is not a piece of content I find enjoyable. But I will engage with it if some friends need another party member. But otherwise, I am not someone who enjoys that type of gameplay nor do I see it as a credential as to why my healing complaints should be acknowledged or dismissed. As multiple people have already pointed out, all roles should be enjoyable to play in all content, not just the 1%.
- There are multiple MMOS that employ the dungeon mechanic and are completed by all players, from hardcore to casuals. So it is not a good excuse to make them easy, especially since there are no hard-mode dungeons to challenge the people who want to. JTo add to it a majority of people do play other, more difficult games which require more coordination and engagement from the player. People played Nier Automata, COD, Other FF games, Elden Ring, Dark Souls, etc. Do you think they can't go through slightly harder dungeons? They are not doing it because the game doesn't require it from them, the second it does, they will adapt.
- I'm sorry, but I am a casual and I can promise you it is very strange that this game has 0 difficulty curve from lvl 15 to lvl 90. You can use the same strategy for a lvl 15 dungeon as you do now for a lvl 90 dungeon, you just have more buttons. By the time you hit lvl 100 in any game, you should be expected to at least know what you are doing.
- Esuna on healers is not explained so a lot don't know what it does. Also, it is not used in every dungeon/Trial so the muscle memory is not there. A first-timer would not realise when to use it unless being told specifically otherwise. The game should do a better job of teaching the powers of your kit.
- All content should be engaging enough for all roles. Healers should not be punished because they are new, getting back into healing or don't know/remember the fight. If that was the case, then why not apply the same logic to all roles? DPS keep messing their positional, just remove them! Tanks keep losing aggro, give them permanent tank stance! Players keep getting hit by the markers, just remove the markers! The dungeons have to many branching paths, make them a corrido-oh wait!
It gets to a point in which there is no challenge and healers are bored. And I am a casual, I don't even want to imagine how the top healers feel. Dumbing down a role to not allow even a single chance of failure, strips all fun from an encounter, regardless of level.

[Pip_Chick]

(2/2)
[...]

[2/2]
- I don't want to engage with EX, Savage or Ultimates because I don't find it fun. I should be able to play through normal content and have fun with my job. Pressing the same button 200 times is not fun. Having nothing to heal and just spamming Broil is not fun. The healer gameplay loop is broken by the lack of active damage and an unrewarding downtime in which I can only Broil Spam, with the occasional Bio. I don't want healers to be harder to play, I want them to be fun to play. And if someone chooses to up their performance, then the reward should match the effort.
4. - The content that has already been completed with no healer is just a drop of a bigger issue in healer design.
Why is the damage so easily bypassed by tanks and DPS?
Why do the mechanics not engage all roles on an equal level to their needs in the party?
Why is it even an option to succeed, even by a hairstrand such a feat? Kudos to the people who did it. But there is a clear design flaw that allowed it, which was overlooked by the devs.
- It is very fair to focus on this because they are what catches the eye of players across the board. Tell me what catches your attention more: A healer RP walking through a dungeon hitting 1 succour every few moments OR TOP was cleared on-patch with no healer! Both are bad, but in which case do you get people to see the problem with healer design more clearly? As much as you don't like the outliers, they showcase the best example to people who don't know or understand the healer issue.

[Sebazy]

(2/2)
Finally, I'd like to understand what is the highest level of content completed as a healer by any of the individuals calling for the strike.

Washed up old ex world prog raider who never really adapted well to how the meta shifted through HW. I mention this because IMO this is the absolute worst situation to be in as a healer. If you take some pride in your performances and understand your kit and cooldowns to the point where you see the folly in wasting GCDs insta topping/overhealing people and panicking needlessly, that's where you start realising just how barren healer gameplay outside of Savage prog and up is. And of course, as a washed up old retired raider, I spend most of my time in casual content. And it bores me to tears.

I ask this because it feels awkward to call for dungeons to be the strongest showcase of healer need. Dungeons, specifically story dungeons, are meant to be accessed by the community as a whole.

Again, missing the point here. It's not that dungeons need to be the strongest showcase of healer need.

Healers just need something to do in dungeons. Doubly so if you get a War/DNC or whatnot that's doing their best to yoink what little healing there is.

Spamming 1 of 2 buttons endlessly isn't it.