But...I...I don't wanna DPS, I'm a healer...

[Asheilin]

@Astral145 You are the players I LOVE to run into.

@OP
Arcanist is a dps that gains the ability to heal; it fullfills the Healer roll but it is expected to have it's dots on pretty much every target. I stopped playing SCH after I got to 50 in ARR because I didn't want to spend so much time DPSing on a Healer Because I, too, prefer my party to be topped up at all times. Sch also is a shield Healer, which is not as fluid for the Topped Off party mentality imo.
That said, You'll probably enjoy Conj/WHM and Ast far more. Both still get expected from time to time to deal dps, but not like SCH and much more understood to be NOT dpsing.
My advice: Only use Cleric Stance when Soloing until you KNOW that dungeon well if you use it at all. 90% of the time I'll just toss my dots on the targets without. "I'd rather interupt and be able to use a proper heal, then interupt>cleric off>heal=hope it goes off fast enough/etc"

I reccomend macroing your DPS spells to the below; miasma example but all dps spells on your healer *** is macro
***
/macroicon miasma
/ac "miasma" <t>
/ac "miasma" <tt>
/ac "miasma" <ft>
***
<t> is target and able to be used whem solo <tt> is Target's Target; this enables you to target your party member and attack without switching targets; <ft> is Focus Target; this might not be useful yet but many times Focusing the Boss so you can see its castbar is best, using this macro when not targeting anything or (party isn't, tank picking up adds outta range etc) it will cast to that; Works if you're dodging crap and toss out an instant dot etc.

[UlricCraft]

fun fact:
when it comes to recommendations after a dungeon with a random group most of the time a healer which is only healing gets way more than a healer which throws in good dps as well
why? thats what i would love to know too...

You know, it bloody well feels like that sometimes.

"Why did I even bother doing DPS when I could have just watched tv at the same time... The stupid summoner didn't even use raging strikes and the paladin only flashed..."

[DGladius]

When there are times where little to no healing is needed and won't be needed for a bit, it would be good to add in dps rather than doing nothing. It's the same when you play single-player rpg games where there is a healer in your party, when no healing is needed you're gonna want your healer to attack rather than waste turns doing nothing.

[Cynfael]

90% of the time I'll just toss my dots on the targets without. "I'd rather interupt and be able to use a proper heal, then interupt>cleric off>heal=hope it goes off fast enough/etc"

Without CS your damage is so poor that you might as well spare yourself the pretense of trying.

There is no "hope" involved in weaving CS with your healing; if someone actually dies on account of you being stuck waiting for the CD on CS, either you timed your DPS incorrectly or they screwed up so horribly and unexpectedly that they're probably screwed regardless.

[CyrilLucifer]

I also suggest switching to WHM if you aren't as interested in doing damage.

You'll find the idea that you should DD much easier to accept on WHM because your major form of damage (Holy) makes your healing much, much, much easier by stunning enemies and stopping damage all on the tank for a short period. It's something of an incentive to DD early in the battle, so to speak.

[Nyalia]

Without CS your damage is so poor that you might as well spare yourself the pretense of trying.

First of all, that's flatly wrong in early dungeons with early equipment. All early equipment has equal MND and INT on it. Yes, you do more in CS with the 10% DPS boost and the fact that your mainhand and some accessories have only MND on them (some early accessories also have both MND and INT), but you do almost as much without it.

Second, not using CS at first to get the hang of juggling targeting is more than okay. Sure, you might not be contributing as much DPS (pathetic amounts with 50+ equipment), but the point is to first learn and then do. Learning to juggle both CS and target swapping (on a PS3 no less) at the same time is unnecessarily difficult. Learn one first and then learn to do both.

[Tranquil]

Overhealing is the quickest way to gain aggro in the game*. This is especially true in dungeons before level 40 if your tank is a PLD and dungeons before level 30 if your tank is a DRK or WAR. That's when each class gets their tanking stance.

Case in point: In this game's endgame, there's a Hunt mechanic, where you find a certain type of creature in the open world, get a group together, and kill it. To get full credit for the kill, your party has to generate a certain amount of aggro on the monster. The best way to ensure full credit has always been to have a healer or two do nothing but overheal. It generates about 2-3x of what a good tank can generate in the same time.

Not saying this is not true, it's a good post all in all, but I just wanted to clarify to anyone potentially not in the know that this has to do with the fact you are spamming AOE-heals when engaging one mob, in which case the enmity build up is vastly higher than it is when engaging multiple targets.

Of course, AOE-healing creates a lot of hate in general, so minimizing overhealing is key, but overhealing in itself creates the same amount of enmity per point than non-overhealing does. I know the poster I am quoting did not claim overhealing creates more enmity, but just slipping that in in case.

Nothing much to say that hasn't been covered otherwise, +1ing a few posts (Viviza, Lyrica etc.)

[Cynfael]

First of all, that's flatly wrong in early dungeons with early equipment. All early equipment has equal MND and INT on it. Yes, you do more in CS with the 10% DPS boost and the fact that your mainhand and some accessories have only MND on them (some early accessories also have both MND and INT), but you do almost as much without it.

Second, not using CS at first to get the hang of juggling targeting is more than okay. Sure, you might not be contributing as much DPS (pathetic amounts with 50+ equipment), but the point is to first learn and then do. Learning to juggle both CS and target swapping (on a PS3 no less) at the same time is unnecessarily difficult. Learn one first and then learn to do both.

I'm clearly not talking about Sastasha or Haukke normal, here. I didn't think it necessary to explain to the class how CS functioned and how low-level equipment stat distribution worked.

[Nyalia]

I'm clearly not talking about Sastasha or Haukke normal, here. I didn't think it necessary to explain to the class how CS functioned and how low-level equipment stat distribution worked.

Sure, but this post is about a level 38 healer asking if s/he has to DPS, not a level 60 one.

Also, I just realized the OP is a SCH, not a WHM. I'll go replace Aero I in my other post with Bio I <_<

[Risvertasashi]

I can't help but worry all this passionate arguing is just going to scare the OP away from the game (sounds like he was almost gone from the beginning...)