Getting WHM on Par

[Ralts]

WHM are in a good position, but an AST, for example, who solo heals, can still help with the dmg, by giving out group-wide dmg buffs. So why not let WHM\\'s Stoneskin II to be usable in combat and reduce it\\'s CD to 4. That mitigation can help them dish in some dmg around some points of the fight.

[Medicine]

So a better version of Adloquium that's also an aoe? No thanks I prefer my sch's to be useful.
Just give whm a boost to healing potency, big heals are kind of their gimmick or lack thereof.

[Magic-Mal]

So a better version of Adloquium that's also an aoe? No thanks I prefer my sch's to be useful.
Just give whm a boost to healing potency, big heals are kind of their gimmick or lack thereof.

A Stoneskin only gives a 10% shield. So a BRD with 20,000HP can only get a shield worth 2,000HP unlike a succor which is stronger.

[Medicine]

Snip.

I did forget that it only went up to 10% of total health but I still don't want whm stepping into sch territory. I do feel that whm does need something but preferably an overhaul or a revamp not a tweaked Stone Skin, ever notice how whm is the only class in the game that doesn't have it's own unique mechanic? SE needs to show whm proper love.

[Inferiae]

People are forgetting that there'll be a whole battle system revamp, plus 10 more levels worth of skills in a few months. Do you really think they'll make big adjustments now instead of working on the expansion and attempting to fix any major issues there? The current situation is not game breaking.

[Fluffernuff]

I wasn't aware the only reason SCH was useful was because of adlo and succor alone.

I wasn't aware stoneskin 2 was such a threat to the SCH throne.

I wasn't aware stoneskin 2 was the only thing separating WHM from SCH.

I also don't remember PLD having any "unique" mechanics either

[Jib]

You said it yourself, the WHM is in a good position. In every mmo patch cycle different classes become more relevant than others. Let 3.4 be the AST era, that is fine. When Im on my WHM i still "outheal" my random co healer in my dutyfinder sophie ex and A9S. True though i cannot compete in terms of dps with a SCH for example.
Most probably there will be changes with new abilities in 4.0 we will see then.
At the moment i consider the WHM the pure healer when paired with the AST or SCH. Lets them concentrate more on dps/buffs. Its when there is two WHM that there might be a decrease on healer dps compared to other pairings. But we are still relevant. I dont think a major change is needed right now, I would wait for 4.0 and do a small tweak meanwhile perhaps, but nothing major.

[Serilda]

I like WHM. The one area where I feel I'd like improvement is in some general utility/support - not exactly like AST's card buffs (which I like) but in some other areas. I'm not for a second advocating the same bloated spell list situation we had there, but one of the things I liked about FFXI was that I had lots of things to do in between reactive healing - bar spells, refresh etc - and as great as the Grand DPS Era is, I can live with pressing buttons other than Stone 3/Holy etc from time to time and socketing acc in HW has been an annoying situation all around. I'd love to see a bit more flexibility incorporated without making us into MP-challenged wannabe BLMs whenever healing isn't required.

They can buff healing but in 99% of content it's pointless as healing is almost unnecessary most of the time, and big healing is just overhealing outside of the harshest encounters. Personally WHM is my preferred healer in PVP (because of its options for more aggressive play) while I usually rock up with AST or SCH in group content. I'm glad I have all three.

[Averax]

A 32 year cast time for a 10% shield sure is a threat to scholars. It'd give WHM's something to do to prepare for a phase change, rather than a medica 2 blanket. And if you wanted to use it effectively in the middle of a fight, you'd have to burn swiftcast.

And if you have time to hardcast it in the middle of a fight, it's probably not all that needed in the first place

[Exiled_Tonberry]

So a better version of Adloquium that's also an aoe? No thanks I prefer my sch's to be useful.
Just give whm a boost to healing potency, big heals are kind of their gimmick or lack thereof.

No no no no, WHM doesn't need a healing potency boost. The one thing they are fine in right now is healing, they do that well.
The problem is that's all they do. They need some kind of utility for themselves. Some kind of identity.

It can't be solved with simple patch fixes though, it requires new skills. New skills that hopefully 4.0 will be giving them.

What they can do this patch though is increase the time or power of Shroud of Saints and reduce the CD on Benediction.