Are role actions a nerf?

[Nicodemus_Mercy]

and some people further up are saying how much they need E4E.

so now you're at 6/5 that's mandatory meaning they're actually really not.

somebody is going to be going without something that someone else thinks have to be had.

Swiftcast is 100% mandatory all the time, i'm willing to believe everything else will be optional in some cases and absolutely necessary in others (at least for healers, yes, even Protect).

But Eye for an Eye is categorically NOT mandatory for healers. Why do I say that? Because not all healers currently have access to it. It's also a long cooldown short duration defensive buff. It's something that can be done without as every AST can attest to. Much like Virus, it's a "nice to have" not an essential tool for the role.

I'll even go so far as to say Protect is not mandatory... if you don't care about bolstering the survival of your group with a powerful long term buff that can be reapplied at any time. But I'm willing to bet most healers would agree that a healer who isn't able to apply this buff to their group is missing an essential tool (assuming a single healer, statics with two healers can obviously coordinate). But I do remember several times people were not happy in my groups when I was a lowbie SCH and didnt have protect as my first cross-class skill (cleric stance was more important at those levels so was first, protect was next).

But Esuna? That's mandatory. Any healer who can't remove debuffs is a healer who can't fully do their job. It's why Leeches not being unlocked till level 40 was a sticking point for many scholars. The impact is less noticeable at lower levels but still felt. It's felt far more in the later levels.

Swiftcast is basically a given because of the insanely long cast times of the res spells. Were res spells made instant by default I would absolutely move Swiftcast to the optional category.

Lucid Dream is mandatory. Every healer needs a way to self sustain their MP, assuming they aren't the type to stand around doing nothing when no one needs healing. And considering how big a topic thats been and especially with the change to Cleric Stance, I think many players are going to expect more uptime dpsing out of healers in 4.0.


So Esuna, Swiftcast, Lucid Dream = things no healer should be without. Protect is arguably just as essential since its a powerful buff that applies to the whole group and can be kept up indefinitely. In 8 man statics that have 2 healers sure one of them could swap in something else, but in general, I think most people will expect healers to have Protect.

If Affection turns out to be a revamped replacement for Divine Seal, I think many healers will be hard pressed not to take it for those big tank pulls or those umber "oh crap!" moments. But I will concede that even if it is Divine Seal, it is something that one could live without... grudgingly.

[Grimmjow_Jaegerjaques]

Lucid Dream is mandatory. Every healer needs a way to self sustain their MP, assuming they aren't the type to stand around doing nothing when no one needs healing.

How can people play the Scholar in HW?
Its impossible without Lucid Dream (Shroud) D:

[Nicodemus_Mercy]

How can people play the Scholar in HW?
Its impossible without Lucid Dream (Shroud) D:

I apologize for not clarifying in that post you quoted:

Lucid Dream is the "one size fits all" MP management tool replacement for Shroud of Saints, Luminous Aether, and maybe Aetherflow as well (I am unsure if SCH are keeping Aetherflow or if it will still recover MP). needless to say, healers are generally expected to be able to manage their mp without outside help. If SCH keeps Aetherflow as is, then Lucid Dream is an optional (and likely useless) ability for them freeing up a pick. WHM and AST absolutely need this... and SCH will too if they lose mp recovery via Aetherflow. SCH is already guaranteed losing mp recovery from Drain (which is becoming a caster dps role skill).

[Grimmjow_Jaegerjaques]

I apologize for not clarifying in that post you quoted:

Energy Drain is an Arcanist Skill, so the Scholar wont lose it ^^

[Nicodemus_Mercy]

Energy Drain is an Arcanist Skill, so the Scholar wont lose it ^^

Not in 4.0 its not. Arcanists/Summoners/Scholars will no longer have Drain by default. It will have to be chosen as a shared role action and only Arcanists/Thaumaturges/Summoners/Black Mages/Red Mages will have access to it

[Ilenya]

Not in 4.0 its not. Arcanists/Summoners/Scholars will no longer have Drain by default. It will have to be chosen as a shared role action and only Arcanists/Thaumaturges/Summoners/Black Mages/Red Mages will have access to it

This seems like an odd change. Will SMN get something to replace it for Aetherflow stack usage?

[Nicodemus_Mercy]

This seems like an odd change. Will SMN get something to replace it for Aetherflow stack usage?

I'm not sure. We haven't seen the nitty gritty details of all the changes yet. What we do know is that Drain is moving to the caster dps shared role skills.

[ErryK]

Not in 4.0 its not. Arcanists/Summoners/Scholars will no longer have Drain by default. It will have to be chosen as a shared role action and only Arcanists/Thaumaturges/Summoners/Black Mages/Red Mages will have access to it

SMN uses Energy Drain in the Skill Showcase, as they gain an aethertrail stack, and lose an aetherflow stack when using it.

[Nicodemus_Mercy]

SMN uses Energy Drain in the Skill Showcase, as they gain an aethertrail stack, and lose an aetherflow stack when using it.

You are correct. Summoners can use Drain as a shared role action. Scholars however cannot. Assuming Aetherflow as a skill still exists and still restores MP, Scholars may indeed not need to take Lucid Dream, as I mentioned earlier. They will however lose some mp gain from no longer having Drain though. Likely it wont impact them too much to require Lucid Dream if Aetheflow still works as it does now.