Brainstorming DPS rotation changes for healers

[NegativeS]

If you've engaged in any FFXIV discourse recently, you'd know that healers are kind of in an odd spot. Most content is not challenging enough to warrant the use of the majority of their kit, but their DPS rotations are not robust enough to give them something to do during the downtime. The result is a role that feels anemic and boring to many.

In lieu of the difficulty of this game being cranked up to give healers something to do after mastering the content they're healing for, having more robust DPS rotations seems like a good addition so as not to alienate new players.

In this post, I've brainstormed some hypothetical changes to the four healers to give their DPS abilities a little more complexity. In doing so, I've brought back some old abilities, reworked some abilities, and came up with some new ones.

This is just me brainstorming on a lazy Saturday afternoon, so don't expect it to be perfect. I'm of a mind that any kind of complexity would be leagues better than what we have already, but I tried not to go too crazy with it. I specifically tried to avoid leaning on combos, as that would lead healers into the same monotony that tanks currently find themselves in. Instead, each added ability generally has its own use separate from the others, but come together when used properly to become much more powerful.

Some of the potencies might need tweaking as well, but it's mostly based on current in-game numbers.

Any suggestions for improvements are appreciated. My main goal here is to show that more complex DPSability is possible without taking away from the ability of healers to heal.

WHM

Being entirely honest, I don't play a lot of WHM, nor do I have a lot of knowledge on its past. It's DPS rotation currently is certainly impactful, though it's a little stale. We can fix that by giving it back a few old tricks.

Cleric Stance
Toggleable effect. Becomes "Priest Stance" when active, which disables the effect.
Causes magic damage dealt to increase by 10%, but reduces healing provided by 15%.
"Cleric Stance" and "Priest Stance" both have a 15s cooldown. (As in, you can turn Cleric Stance on and off in quick succession, but must wait for the cooldown to turn it back on again, and vice versa)

Dia
Becomes "Aero III" while the caster is under the effect of "Cleric Stance".

Assize
Becomes "Worldswrath" while the caster is under the effect of "Cleric Stance".

Aero III
Returning ability.
Deals 55 potency of unaspected damage over time to target and all enemies within 5y of target with a duration of 25s.
Effect does not stack with Dia.

Worldswrath
Deals 800 potency of unaspected damage to enemies within 15y of the caster.
Requires 1 Lily to cast.
Nourishes the Blood Lily.
40s cooldown, which it shares with Assize.

Afflatus Misery
Unchanged, but notably cannot be used in Cleric Stance.

Glare III & Holy III
Now reduces the cooldown of Assize/Worldswrath by 4s when cast.

Intended progression (single target):
Dia -> Cleric Stance -> Worldswrath -> Glare III -> Priest Stance -> Afflatus Misery
Intended progression (multi target):
Cleric Stance -> Aero III -> Worldswrath -> Holy III -> Priest Stance -> Afflatus Misery
Glare III or Holy III as filler otherwise.

SCH

SCH is pretty notable in that they've seen a very large share of trimming and made to fit into a WHM-shaped hole. Their existing DPS rotation sticks them with two legacy abilities that haven't seen updates in several expansions, so the changes here will be trying to breathe some new life into them while also re-introducing some of the old DoT management.

Broil IV
Now has a 25% chance to grant the "Ruination Ready" effect to caster.
"Ruination Ready" has a duration of 30s.

Ruin II
Becomes "True Ruin" while the caster is under the effect of "Ruination Ready".
Otherwise unchanged to allow its continued use as a mobile DPS filler.

True Ruin
Deals 400 potency of unaspected damage to the target, and 200 potency of unaspected damage to enemies within 5y of the target.
Enemies with active "Biolysis" effect that are struck by "True Ruin" are inflicted with "Miasma".
Resets the durations of "Biolysis" and "Miasma".

Bane
Returning ability.
Spreads a target's "Biolysis" and "Miasma" to nearby enemies within 5y.
Potency of spread effects are decreased by 30%. Resets the durations of "Biolysis" and "Miasma".
Costs 1 Aetherflow, and increases the Faerie Gauge by 10.
15s cooldown.

Miasma
Returning not as an ability, but strictly a debuff applied by striking an enemy inflicted with "Biolysis" with "True Ruin".
Deals 100 potency of unaspected damage over time with a duration of 20s. Additionally, decreases the afflicted's damage dealt by 5%.

Aethersup
Deals 200 potency of unaspected damage to enemies within 15y of the caster. Enemies with "Biolysis" or "Miasma" have these effects removed. Removed instances of "Biolysis" and "Miasma" are transformed into damage-nullifying barriers for allies within 15y of the caster. Potency of barriers is 400 base, with an additional 50 for each instance of "Biolysis" and "Miasma" removed up to a max of 700.
60s cooldown.

Energy Drain
Consumes all Aetherflow to deal increasing amounts of unaspected damage.
1 Aetherflow: 80 potency.
2 Aetherflow: 100 potency.
3 Aetherflow: 140 potency.
Still returns a portion of damage dealt to the caster as HP.
Increases Faerie Gauge by 10 per Aetherflow consumed.

Intended progression:
Biolysis -> Bane -> Broil IV -> True Ruin
Bane as filler to reset when Ruination Ready isn't active.
Aethersup when needed for mitigation.
Energy Drain to dump unused Aetherflow stacks.
Ruin II as filler when moving.
Broil IV as filler otherwise.

Also...

Aetherpact
Reworked.
When used while targeting an ally, orders Eos to execute "Fey Union", which works exactly the same as it does now.
When used while targeting an enemy, orders Eos to execute "Fey Focus", which increases damage dealt to the target by 10%.

Devastation
"Broil IV" becomes "Devastation" while under the effect of Seraphism.
Deals 400 potency of unaspected damage. Has a 50% chance to grant "Ruination Ready".
(Note: This is under the assumption that they don't just get the hint and trash Seraphism--something like Eorzean_username's 'Knowledge of Nym' would be an overall superior replacement in this vein)

AST

Oh, Astrologian... what have they done to your cards? They just can't think of what to do with you, can they?

Though it risks making some AST oldheads upset, I'm going to only go back to EW's version of AST, because it's simple enough to fit into a rotation, and what we have currently is nothing short of a travesty. This means that "Draw", "Undraw", "Play", "Redraw", and "Minor Arcana" are the same as they were before DT.

Augury
Uncastable, but transforms into a different ability depending on the most recent card played.
Solar sign cards (Balance, Bole) grant the "Solar Alignment" effect to the caster, turning this ability into "Determination."
Lunar sign cards (Arrow, Ewer) grant the "Lunar Alignment" effect to the caster, turning this ability into "Veneration."
Celestial sign cards (Spear, Spire) grant the "Cosmic Alignment" effect to the caster, turning this ability into "Excitation".
All three have one use before the ability reverts back into Augury, and using different cards overwrites the previous effect if it was unused.

Determination
Deals 200 unaspected damage to a single target.
oGCD instant cast.

Veneration
Deals 50 unaspected damage over time to the target with a duration of 20s.
oGCD instant cast.

Excitation
Causes the target to take 10% more damage for 10s.
oGCD instant cast.

Lord of Crowns
If cast while "Solar Alignment" is active, "Solar Alignment" is removed and this ability's potency is doubled.
If cast while "Lunar Alignment" is active, "Lunar Alignment" is removed and this ability afflicts all struck enemies a 100 unaspected damage over time effect with a duration of 20s, in addition to its initial damage.
If cast while "Cosmic Alignment" is active, "Cosmic Alignment" is removed and this ability causes all struck enemies to take 10% more damage for 10s, in addition to its damage.

Lady of Crowns
If cast while "Solar Alignment" is active, "Solar Alignment" is removed and this ability's potency is doubled.
If cast while "Lunar Alignment" is active, "Lunar Alignment is removed and this ability afflicts all affected allies with a 300 potency heal over time effect with a duration of 10s, in addition to its initial heal.
If cast while "Cosmic Alignment" is active, "Cosmic Alignment" is removed and this ability causes all affected allies to take 10% less damage for 10s, in addition to its heal.

Fall Malefic
Reduces the cooldown of Draw by 2s.

Earthly Star
Mostly unchanged, but using Lord or Lady of Crowns while within its circle magnifies its range to the entire area of Earthly Star.
A comparatively minor change, but would give some nice utility to Earthly Star.

Intended progression:
Combust III -> Draw -> Play -> Earthly Star -> Minor Arcana -> Fall Malefic -> Draw -> Play -> Augury
Minor Arcana used when desired effect is available.
Fall Malefic as filler otherwise.

SGE

Sage already has a decently robust DPS rotation, especially with the use of Eukrasia. However, if I had to make one change...

Eukrasian Dosis III
Tick damage has a small chance to reset the cooldown on a charge of "Phlegma II".

Eukrasian Dyskrasia
Tick damage has a small chance to make the next "Toxicon II" cast not require Addersting.

(Thanks EusisLandale for pointing out that I'm stupid)

Please keep in mind that the goal here is to give healers something to do during downtime, not give them competitive damage. SE has said in the past that their stance on making actually healing a challenge is to "go play Ultimate", which means everyone who doesn't play Ultimate can go kick rocks. They aren't going to make the game more challenging, so the very least they can do is make it more engaging.

[lolnotacat]

I don't want to have more DPS as a healer. If I wanted to DPS I'd play DPS. I want the healer role itself to be more engaging. More boss damage, more punishing mechanics, toolkits that have useful skills that don't exist to just pad hotbars (looking at you psysick and cure 1). If I wanted to just play a game where the Trinity was abandoned so everyone did damage I'd go back to Guild Wars 2.

Healer DPS should be a bonus to an encounter for everyone doing the mechs right and not needing healing outside of unavoidable damage, not an expectation because the damage is so low it can be resolved with a couple of AOE heals.

[TDawnstar]

IMHO, we need healers to do more healing, not do more DPS. What I would like, however, as a quick fix that can be implemented at once is make the DOT stackable to 1 minute (like the RPR debuff on the target is). It would be a nice QoL change.

[Tunda]

I did my own brainstoming and here is my opinion:

healers should do less healing currently heals 100% from healer

I would like to reduce it at most 60% other 40% can be managed by DPS and Tanks.

healers can be in 2 different criteria:
1- Casting wise: Hard casting (2.5 sec) , Soft casting (1.5 sec)
2- sub role wise: DPS healer, Utility Healer, Debuff healer

for example:

White mage: DPS healer, Hard casting

Scholar: Debuff healer, Soft casting

Astrologian: Utility Healer, Hard casting

Sage: DPS healer, Soft casting

from there we can design not only 4 but 6 Healers

[LuciferMournstar]

IMHO, we need healers to do more healing, not do more DPS. What I would like, however, as a quick fix that can be implemented at once is make the DOT stackable to 1 minute (like the RPR debuff on the target is). It would be a nice QoL change.

I don't want to have more DPS as a healer. If I wanted to DPS I'd play DPS. I want the healer role itself to be more engaging. More boss damage, more punishing mechanics, toolkits that have useful skills that don't exist to just pad hotbars (looking at you psysick and cure 1). If I wanted to just play a game where the Trinity was abandoned so everyone did damage I'd go back to Guild Wars 2.

Healer DPS should be a bonus to an encounter for everyone doing the mechs right and not needing healing outside of unavoidable damage, not an expectation because the damage is so low it can be resolved with a couple of AOE heals.

Thank you, both of you. I agree with this, nerf tank healing and make more healing for healers. NOT more DPS with rotations. They tried that years ago with crap like Cleric Stance stance dancing. All that lead to was deaths cause healers "Opps, I forgot I had Cleric Stance on" or "I zoned out trying to DPS more, sorry." Not to mention the amount of healers who would let people die because they wanted to focus DPS, just because they wanted to upload their numbers to FFlogs so they could grandstand and gatekeep "Top barse 95th percentile".

[Kes13a]

I did my own brainstoming and here is my opinion:

healers should do less healing currently heals 100% from healer

I would like to reduce it at most 60% other 40% can be managed by DPS and Tanks.

healers can be in 2 different criteria:
1- Casting wise: Hard casting (2.5 sec) , Soft casting (1.5 sec)
2- sub role wise: DPS healer, Utility Healer, Debuff healer

for example:

White mage: DPS healer, Hard casting

Scholar: Debuff healer, Soft casting

Astrologian: Utility Healer, Hard casting

Sage: DPS healer, Soft casting

from there we can design not only 4 but 6 Healers

why are you trying to help SE get rid of healers?

[NegativeS]

Healer DPS should be a bonus to an encounter for everyone doing the mechs right and not needing healing outside of unavoidable damage, not an expectation because the damage is so low it can be resolved with a couple of AOE heals.

IMHO, we need healers to do more healing, not do more DPS.

I agree with this, nerf tank healing and make more healing for healers. NOT more DPS with rotations.

To this I say...

Yeah, you're probably right.

However, in the past SE has made their stance on more difficult encounters for healers:
"If you want more difficult encounters, go play Ultimates."

Basically telling the other 90% of players to kick rocks.

Once we're in the swing of an expansion and all the tanks and DPS have the mechanics down, there is little for healers to do between bouts of unavoidable damage.

So, in lieu of the game actually being engaging for healing, why not give healers something else to do during downtime? Instead of giving us more "+10% increased healing" buttons to cram more overhealing down some poor BLM's throat.

[GTK0HLK]

I did my own brainstoming and here is my opinion:

healers should do less healing currently heals 100% from healer

I would like to reduce it at most 60% other 40% can be managed by DPS and Tanks.

healers can be in 2 different criteria:
1- Casting wise: Hard casting (2.5 sec) , Soft casting (1.5 sec)
2- sub role wise: DPS healer, Utility Healer, Debuff healer

for example:

White mage: DPS healer, Hard casting

Scholar: Debuff healer, Soft casting

Astrologian: Utility Healer, Hard casting

Sage: DPS healer, Soft casting

from there we can design not only 4 but 6 Healers

Tunda has some pretty decent ideas here that remind me of the concept i had been bringing up in some chats from certain respectably sized XIV Creators.

Though my idea differs based on the Concept of the jobs being affixed to archetypes.
Since it can be easlily seen in Melee Jobs. Their Duality within their Armor Type. and the Triad of Melee Armor Stats. (also the differences between Long and Shorter Casts. in Casting. Despite not being as true to either label)

Which was the 6(T)/6(H)/6(M)/6(R)/6(C).

6 of each role. Tanks, Healers, Melee, Ranged, and Casters.
Each Role is divided into the overaching archetype.
Be it Regenerative/Damage Tanks. Pure/Shielding Healers. Maiming/Striking/Scouting Melee. (Support?)/(Selfish?) Ranged. LongCast/(ShortCast?) Casters.

Though the Archetypes may end up growing into Three.
With Tanks Gaining a Defensive/Proactive. Healers get the Return of Hybrid healers. (Melee do not get anything new. Due to their Duality being almost perfectly Split between Raid/Selfish DPS. with the exception of DRG/RPR not really falling anywhere near to the Selfish Range) Ranged can finally become more specialized(fully being changed and known if they are support role. or if MCH is fully a Selfish DPS. Or Defensive/Vuln DPS). Casters become tricky with the unknown of how specific LongCast or ShortCast is within the Role. So the Third Type within being up in the air.

But ill leave it there, and get more into the topic at hand.

Since we have an idea of what the jobs Basic Concepts are. with some Pure in Healing, and others In Shielding.

We can kind start basing off their potential Damage options. as a fun game.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

WHM's

are known for being Heavy Handed Unga Bunga with their Healing Potency.(as the Stereotype Goes.) With one of the best Aoe Skills in the game for packs of Mobs. But is restrained with the concept of Directly affecting the Allies or Enemies.
Leaving only its Single/Dot/Aoe Damage buttons.

I can only imagine a System that basically is the Sister of The Lily System.
Though it may get messy, a Improved Lily System. Which offers back the AoE Dot. Though with Spending Resources on Damage. It gives you a Proc of using a new Healing Skill as well. (hence a sister to the lily system. yet inverted. Both Interacting. Keeping with the Idea that WHM's. just like BLM's, need to keep balance of their White Magics.)

But what else can be done asides a AOE Dot?(more so when its usages are clearly limited by such a system.) Well, if they truly plan to diversify. They could add certain effects that help mitigate by "transforming" Mobs. Like AOE Sleep when it was a BLM Exclusive.

SCH's

have always been Shielding Healers. who with their Fairy Companions aid them in passive Single target Healing/Shielding.(or at least used to) who they gain the power of their Seraph Powered Fairy and provide excogitation, Fairy Regens. and a Bubble Zone.

Recently we got a Follow Up to Chain Stratagem, with a damage skill. But that Yet, doesnt do much asides being another skill to be done after every cooldown.
Scholars retain their Art of War(Gain 2), Dot, and Single target. (while Simple to just add a AoE Dot/Return AoE Dots to all healers. that hardly is an interactive way to deal damage.)
Being The Tactical type, SCH's could gain a Skill that spreads a Debuff to mobs simliar to an Anti-Excog/Wildfire (with or without needing to provide constant Damage), and if it needed to have constant damage. Energy Drain Could simply provide increasing effect or damage. depending how many used. Becoming a Good Aetherflow Dump in cases of overcap.

Will Return later for more idea. RL calls

[Larirawiel]

@NegativeS

Why do you want a DPS ration for healers? If you want a DPS rotation, play a DPS.


Cheers

[LysDusoir]

Having some kind of rotation would go a long way, while taking cues from Pictomancer in having more combined actions while bringing back abilities like Shadowflare in some form or at least just having some other DPS action to manage besides that which are coupled to a 2min cooldown. I also think it would be really cool to have unique traits for each healer that procs a DPS neutral action when you GCD heal effectively, something that can occur every 60secs or so(like the oGCD dual cast nuke that PvP AST has).

I kind of just stopped playing healer even before DT released after maining/off maining the role for Asphodelos and Abyssos savage, as well as an Ultimate, with AST being the only job that still felt engaging enough for me with cards that sort of felt like a pseudo DPS rotation.. which has since been changed, of course. Every time I even remotely consider gearing up the role again I am immediately dissuaded by all the Piety gear, I am so tired of that dead stat, especially in content where body checks make raise recovery irrelevant. In my opinion I think Piety should just be removed entirely and instead have healers recover MP by actively engaging with their DPS rotation on top of any other MP recovery like Aetherflow, or at the very least it should be similar to Tenacity(being around 80% of Determination).