PS4 Healer Guide?

[Kaebora]

I found this https://sites.google.com/site/ffxivcontrollerguide/ helpful for determining my controller layout when I heal. The biggest takeaway for me was use of /chotbar copy for my pet hotbar, so I could press L2+R2 or R2+L2 and get to my fairy's actions, & the use of /chotbar change # for Cleric Stance. I settled on this Cleric Stance macro

/micon "Cleric Stance"
/ac "Cleric Stance"
/chotbar change 3
/target <f>
/echo <se.6>DPS MODE

and

/micon "Cleric Stance"
/ac "Cleric Stance"
/chotbar change 1
/target <f>
/echo <se.9>HEALING STANCE
/target <tt>

This macro targets my focus target (a boss) when I go into Cleric Stance & brings up my 3rd hotbar, which has my DPS skills. The other macro brings back the 1st hotbar, which has healing skills, and targets the target of my focus target, which should be the tank. When there's no focus target, it targets the target of the current target, which should also be the tank, but sometimes you'll target an enemy.

[giantslayer]

One helpful thing I didn't learn for a long time: you can set R3 or L3 to "Assist." Go to the system preferences menu and then to the setting for the controls. I used R3 as Assist and then found another preference (I think it was in character preferences somewhere) to do 1st person if I zoom in far enough on the camera instead.

What Assist does is it changes your target to whatever your current target is targeting. It is great for switching back and forth between boss and tank, especially if they are not in your party (Fates, helping another Alliance tank, etc). For WHM, using Assist may eliminate the need for <tt> macros, although there it is still nice to not switch targets at all.

[VisRalis]

One helpful thing I didn't learn for a long time: you can set R3 or L3 to "Assist." .../ What Assist does is it changes your target to whatever your current target is targeting.

Holy crap O_O Been using /target <tt> macro all this time when there was such a handy function!
Thanks!

[Buff_Archer]

Good advice above, a couple things I thought I'd add:

I use crossbars 1-3 on pretty much all my classes, and all the main skills I need instant access to are on two of them, with holding L2 & R2 (and the reverse) pulling up the second crossbar with things I need instant access to- so that's 2 full crossbars I have instant access to. And as for the third crossbar, hitting R1 flips between my main crossbar and that third crossbar only and not any of the others when my weapon's drawn. That way I can use the triggers to pull up my secondary crossbar and if I let go I still l have the main one up, or R1 only flips me between my main one and the third one and back again without cycling through the ones I don't need in battle. For my Scholar, things like Protect, Stoneskin, Raise macro are on my third one because I need occasional quick access but not instant access like with stuff on my secondary crossbar.

The other thing I use in addition to the target of target type macros for a couple of healing spells, is a couple of macros that hit a certain party slot which is where the tank is in 4 man instances (and where I move the MT in 8 man ones). Still want to have the regular version of the spells accessible for when you need to choose the target but when you need someone to go off without having to swap target the tank it saves a second at least since by setting it to cast on <2> it will go off on that party member even though you still have something else targeted.

This last part is Scholar specific but I have a Physick <2> Embrace <2> combo macro and while it's not usually good practice to lock Eos's healing to your GCD and target it gives you a stronger single target heal on command when you need it, and I use it more to heal the tank when dodging since the Physick cast will interrupt but the Embrace one will go off if she can do her cast without moving. When falling a tank through a dungeon who keeps pulling mobs where their HP gets to below 50% before they even stop to let you cast anything, this macro lets you spam Eos's cure with relatively low enmity generation on the run.

[416to305]

The other thing I found helpful is I think it's L3 by default does lock on target, but it's also dismount from your chocobo. So normally you're riding the chocobo, hit L3 and you hop right off. The problem I was having was if an enemy targets you or tries to attack you while you're on it, pressing L3 would automatically lock on target on that enemy, instead of jumping off the chocobo. So you'd have to press it again, then circle to deselect that target, and THEN L3 to get off the chocobo. There's a setting in the options, can't remember where as I'm not on it now, but you can change L3 so that it only dismounts or whatever it is and doesn't lock. I've never used auto lock, so that was a huge help for me since now anything can target me and I can hop off the mount easily.