No New Healer Job In Stormblood?

[technole]

This is the first savage tier where there is actually parity between all three healers, which is a good thing. WHM/AST is a viable comp as well now so they achieved that goal as well.

Although we can argue D.AST was fine after the Gordias buff, and was pretty good in the MH seat in Midas Savage as well. Just the 3.4 buff meta has made everyone aware that you won't be bringing PLD, MNK, or WHM if you want the fastest kills.

[Iromi]

IME it's usually not any more dangerous to be in melee range on monsters. Heck, on a lot of bosses (namely any that use a conal attack centered on random people...) I find melee range to be the SAFEST place to be.

This is true, sometimes I do find myself standing with the melee on my SMN lol but if I can stand anywhere I usually stand mid way points. But a lot of times healers do get targeted with things that they have to be away from the PT. So I dunno...would be interesting though.

[Exiled_Tonberry]

This is the first savage tier where there is actually parity between all three healers, which is a good thing. WHM/AST is a viable comp as well now so they achieved that goal as well.

Speaking of this, if the 3.4 AST buffs truly are just temporary Band-Aids, what will happen to AST/WHM after they're "fixed"?

[technole]

Speaking of this, if the 3.4 AST buffs truly are just temporary Band-Aids, what will happen to AST/WHM after they're "fixed"?

I wouldn't be surprised if balance gets toned down and they buff other cards. I'm still siding that they won't add another healer because of how difficult it was to get to this point, that way they can continue with the parity we have now.

[KarstenS]

Most WHMs I talk to mention that they start to feel like a handicap to their group after a while, and most groups "jokingly" ask their WHMs when they're going AST.

Belongs to the group and what the primary issues during progression are. I'm playing all 3 healers and know thier toolkits and the good and bad aspects of them.

With my current group I'm playing together since Midas. Damage was never an issue. The onliest fight we got killed by the enrage 2 times was A7S, which was caused by issues in mechanic handling.

My point is:

Which healer combination fits best to a group depends on the group and what is the hardest part during the progression.

For groups which have more trouble with damage than mechanics is another combination more good than for groups which have more trouble with mechanics than damage.

For the second type a WHM is not a bad choice.

Also where exactly did you get those numbers from?

I did write it within my first sentence o.O

[Accelerating]

I did write it within my first sentence o.O

I mean where exactly, can't find them.
Also in what way does a WHM make mechanics easier? AST has almost the same healing, but also brings mitigation and more DPS (which makes a12s for example way easier because you can skip the puddles with good DPS).

[KarstenS]

Also in what way does a WHM make mechanics easier?

It doesn't make the mechanics easier. But it has a wider toolkit to catchup mechanic issues. For groups like ours this fits very well, as our primary progression is: survive the mechanics and it will be done.

Even our first A8S kill (pre 3.4) was not free of minor and major mistakes. But the first time we survived till the final phase was the pull we finished it.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Just did look into the rankings on fflogs of how many healers are listed in A12S (Kills only).

1. SCH: 1940
2. WHM: 1539
3. AST: 1337

WHM doesn't seem to be so death like everybody is claiming here.

Where did you get those numbers? Looking at the statistics tab for just A12S. I have:

Scholar: 1917
Astro: 1608
White Mage: 1083

And the graph goes on to show a consistent decline in White Mages from early October onward.

[Bonkleberry]

lol You guys are losing me. I see no option in FFlogs to check how many jobs are participating which seems to be the number you are all suggesting. I can see how many times the class appears in parses, which those numbers are far higher than any being shown in this thread...

Anyway, I do not think WHM is dying or less than AST after looking at 3.4 statistics for healing. Looking at FFlogs healing rankings for 3.4, WHM dominates top 10 for every A12S boss. Based on my healing experience from other games, the reason is easy for me to see: spell bloat. An AST may have a "better" kit than WHM, but the simplicity of WHM allows it to focus more on healing and direct damage only. With simplicity comes higher success rates overall for the class during encounters. AST has an extra card mechanic to pay attention to which not only takes up mental resources for the player, but also consumes GCDs.

[Accelerating]

Looking at FFlogs healing rankings for 3.4, WHM dominates top 10 for every A12S boss.

Healing ranking lul