Pipe Dreams: Expanding the healer pool

[Duelle]

Putting the tank debate to the side, something I see we haven't exactly covered is healers.

As we all know, White Mage has been the sole healing job in Final Fantasy since pretty much the beginning of the series. Others have been introduced or tweaked throughout the years, or healing was spread around to allow better balance (Summoners in FFIX having access to White Magic, Dancers in FFXI being able to heal), but the constant has been White Mage.

Much like with tanks and DPS, we need a healer roster, as funneling all healing into one job is not smart on the long run.

The main problem I see is that White Magic is pretty restrictive, specially when taking the job description for WHM into account. Looking at how healing is done elsewhere and how it is spread about in a way that gameplay varies per class but the result is the same (which means that all healers should be able to perform equally or near equally in all content), we might be able to expand the healer pool in a way that makes sense without taking anything from White Mage.

Looking at how healing is approached in MMORPGs, we know the following types of heals exist:

- "Traditional" heals: Single-target and group heals that have to be cast and heal allies for a set amount.
- HoTs: Heals that take place over time as set values over X seconds (unlike FFXIV's and FFXI's Regen) and are usually instant-cast.
- "Smart" heals: Heals that are set to hit X number of targets, always prioritizing the party members with the lowest HP.
- Heal Auras: Recover a small amount of HP per tick for everyone in range.
- Heal "Zones": Laying an object or marker on the ground, causing anyone that steps in the zone to heal while the zone is active.
- Transfusion Heals: Deal a small amount of damage or hinder the enemy's resources and apply a multiplier that heals party members.
- "Attack" Heals: What would be your regular attack can be used to heal a target party member.

WHM is (and should be) built around traditional heals. You can really add whatever you want for utility and so on, but at the end of the day the job is a healer built around spells that have to be cast and heal for certain amounts. With that in mind, we can have healers that focus on or use the other heal types as part of their arsenal, with a traditional heal somewhere in there as filler.

Some examples of what I'd like to see:

Green Mage: Emphasis on HoT's, with possibly a smart heal. Can do whatever with utility.
Chemist: Emphasis on attack heals (CHM with a pistol or a shotgun that shoots pellets filled with healing salve? ), heal zones and a traditional single-target heal. Can do whatever with utility.
Oracle: Emphasis on transfusion and smart heals, with maybe a HoT. Can do whatever with utility.

Of course, status removal and ability to raise would be available to all healers. Can't have a healer that can't cleanse debuffs and raise the dead, after all.

---------------

Before the "if this wasn't in FFXI we don't want it" brigade comes in to (try to) shut me down, we really should stop to think about mechanics and playstyle differences. Much like tanking, different people are drawn to different types of gameplay for healing. Some may be drawn to spreading HoTs, some may be into smart heals or transfusion heals. I personally hate healing, yet attack heals found their way into my heart to the point I am willing to heal a group if the healer roster has a class built around that mechanic. Just goes to show variety is a good thing, and may help in putting groups together.

Questions, comments, flames, death threats and so on are welcome.

[Merc]

It has been said that Arcanist can aid the party. They will have different color carby's to either aid the party or deal damage.

[Niqote]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUVI5ukXcRI <- This

I am a career WHM so I am completely biased ... but I do not want to see another class healing just as well as the WHM.

In FFXI Dancer was great, SMN was great, they healed but kept their own Identity.

Those SCHs however just rode on the coat tails of the BLM and WHM... I do not want to see that happen again

[SodRansom]

Yeah I agree with Niqote. Especially the part about "They kept their own identity." If several jobs are added to each roles roster, they should all have an identity. Alchemists and Dancers would make good candidates for other types of healers imo. And I agree about scholar..they kind of just seemed like a mixed up and rehashed version of the magic jobs rolled into one...sorry for all you SCH diehards out there *^^*

[Duelle]

In FFXI Dancer was great, SMN was great, they healed but kept their own Identity.

Dancer was a pseudo healer but was used more as DPS and offtank because of high evasion. SMN was pigeonholed into curebotting because of their larger MP pool. That's very different from a job that is designed to take on the role of healer.

Not to mention, past experience shows those who are not "traditional" healers work under their own set of mechanics, so there is plenty of identity to go around.

[Decconi]

This goes along with how tanks still kept their identity. This concept works in other games. I fear that in this game since we can change jobs on the fly that different styles of healing will take precedence depending on the encounter you face... I really dislike the "change job on the fly" bull crap. If they do this, you will see more healers but in the long run people wont be able to just be WHM because "such and such" job is better at healing due to some crazy mechanic. Just like how Warrior could be better at tanking "such and such" because of some other crazy mechanic.

As much as I agree with more healers in the game (Please, oh please more healers!), I just hope that what I described above wont happen.

[Violet_Solaria]

I would love to have more options for being a healer. Though WHM is good I find myself avoiding it because its just not what I like to play. But if there were different styles theres a reasonable chance that more people like me will find a way that they can help with healing without being forced into using a job that doesn't match how they like to play. If it can be done without it somehow ending with a bias towards a particular class because of some geat mechanic it would be even better.

[Rannie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUVI5ukXcRI <- This

I am a career WHM so I am completely biased ... but I do not want to see another class healing just as well as the WHM.

In FFXI Dancer was great, SMN was great, they healed but kept their own Identity.

Those SCHs however just rode on the coat tails of the BLM and WHM... I do not want to see that happen again

don't forget that rdm in 11 got thrown into being a main healer (ie: rdm complaint) i would rather whm be the end all be all for healers and maybe some support but nothing like taking over the job completely like Rdm's did for a long time especially at higher levels ... sigh

basically what Niqote said up there

[Duelle]

I would love to have more options for being a healer. Though WHM is good I find myself avoiding it because its just not what I like to play. But if there were different styles theres a reasonable chance that more people like me will find a way that they can help with healing without being forced into using a job that doesn't match how they like to play. If it can be done without it somehow ending with a bias towards a particular class because of some geat mechanic it would be even better.

Well, yeah. There are things I didn't mention in the OP that I expect to be shared and equal between the healers. Overall performance and PvE viability in all content (so no "GRM is better for running CC, but WHM is better for Leviathan") being two. I wouldn't ask for different gameplay types for healing and not want them to be equal in performance.

[finiteHP]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUVI5ukXcRI <- This

I am a career WHM so I am completely biased ... but I do not want to see another class healing just as well as the WHM.

In FFXI Dancer was great, SMN was great, they healed but kept their own Identity.

Those SCHs however just rode on the coat tails of the BLM and WHM... I do not want to see that happen again

I totally agree. My only max level job in XI was RDM. I hated being main heal so I only ever leveled WHM to sub level. So for me RDM had its own identity- the debuffer that could heal if needed (back-up heal in other words). Oddly enough in XIV WHM is my first and greatest love (though actually I like CNJ itself more). Could we use some other healing jobs? Sure. I always found it hard getting another WHM for United We Stand and To Kill a Raven. More healer choice makes for a bigger pool, but they have to be more than *Blank*. The Other White Mage.