Quote Originally Posted by PriestAlseid View Post
The only real classes on WoW that heal/DPS are really a spec of Priest and some totems with Shaman. I was a Druid for 10 years which is a heal over time healer so my time was spent constantly refreshing heals on the raid and the tank, there wasn't really time to DPS because you were constantly working your HoT rotation.

If FFXIV had a class like that, I'd be in heaven. As it stands however, I'm just not comfortable DPSing at this point (At least with my WHM which I'm leveling to 34 for Stone Skin).
Don't forget Mistweaver (playfully called Fistweaver) Monks. Sadly that was ruined in WoD (imo) with the addition of stances, but in MoP it was so fluid to switch from meleeing the enemies to doing aoe healing and back, and your attacks would heal the lowest targets automatically. I will honestly cry tears of joy if this game ever gets a melee healer.

Since you are familiar with WoW, I'll give you a rough comparison of the classes. SCH is like a mix of Disco and Holydin with mitigation heals, and it's currently the healer with the most emphasis on damage. It's also the healer with smart heals in the form of a fairy, which is similar to how Shammy totems work. WHM is like Holy Priest or Druid with hot based healing. Good aoe damage but in 8 man content their job is to solo heal during easier phases because the SCH will be dps'ing. I haven't played AST but apparently it's a support/buff focused healer with crappy damage, and WoW doesn't really have any support classes to relate to. It has two stances to mimic the healing styles of the other healer jobs.

AST is the most traditional healer imo, with different ways to heal and buffing other party members. You'll have to unlock Heavensward areas to start leveling it. On the other hand you were a Druid main like I was, so WHM might feel really familiar.

Quote Originally Posted by PriestAlseid View Post
It's more like, I took a role that's traditionally focused on keeping the team alive, if I wanted to do damage I'd have rolled a damage class, that's basically what I mean.

There's nothing philosophical or moral about it, it's a game, it doesn't exist. I just know what I enjoy doing and usually, damage isn't it, at all. Obviously when you solo you're doing damage but you're not competing with anyone but yourself.
It doesn't really matter in low level dungeons if you dps or not, because no role has to give their all during leveling. When it comes to casual end game content like expert dungeons, 24 man raids and normal mode Alexander raids, it's good to throw out some damage if you find yourself having to choose between overhealing (don't do this it's a nightmare for tanks) and idling at times. You don't have to compete with the dps jobs at all though. It's just a matter of there being less damage done to your party than what you can heal, and making use of the free time in between damage spikes. I recommend binding a key for focus target and putting the tank on focus for easy target swapping.