Protect is a waste of space and should have died with Stoneskin

[amihavingfunyet]

Actually, on savage if a player die, and don't have protect when he come back, even full HP he can die on the next mechanic (Meteor O4S, for example).
So, I think it's the job of healer to keep in mind everybody need protect.
Now, it would be nice if some opponents in the futur could remove benefic conditions ^^, to allow healer to cast protect again.

I think you are drastically overestimating the mitigation from Protect, at least at the current gear level.

Where were all these protect haters at the last two expansions? Oh it's cuz you're too lazy to either swap it out or you want an extra gimme move for free.

I'm indifferent to whether it's here or gone. I just find it funny no one cares until the new cross role system.

People have been saying since HW that Protect is just a fire and forget skill, that adds no depth to any job. And in HW you wouldn't have 8 more useful skills to pick over it.
Personally I don't care if they remove it or not, since I don't use it anyway (or only once during a dungeon).

[jstamos]

Swiftcast isn't really mandatory but if you don't have a smn there's no other effective way to rez players.

I'm assuming you haven't played for a while since Red Mages are the rezzing gods now.

[YanderePrincess]

They're still similar veins of design, though. A semi-permanent buff.

Yeah, I was just noting that it wasn't FFXIV copying WoW by having it, but rather something that already existed in the previous FF MMO before WoW even came out. X3

[YanderePrincess]

Where were all these protect haters at the last two expansions? Oh it's cuz you're too lazy to either swap it out or you want an extra gimme move for free.

I'm indifferent to whether it's here or gone. I just find it funny no one cares until the new cross role system.

I know, right? It was always a mandatory cross-class selection before. Why complain now, but not then? lol

[NobleWinter]

I know, right? It was always a mandatory cross-class selection before. Why complain now, but not then? lol

Our selection of extra skills was diminished greatly in SB and that only served to highlight the shortcomings of the skills that were already bad to begin with. I love the nostalgia of Protect but would like to see it reworked to be an instant cast ability on 120 sec cool down that applies the protect effect for 30 seconds to your next healing spell. This way healers could use it as a clutch damage mitigation tool and also not be forced to have it at all. I always disliked that Protect always takes up a spot on the party list HUD for currently active buffs for party members because that space is so limited already.

[Silver-Strider]

Snip.

Was it really though?
Before, the only skills that were worth anything for Healers was Protect, Swiftcast, and Cleric Stance with the last 2 being completely optional and up to the class to decide. (Blizzard 2 and Aero on SCH for example) Now, apart from Lucid Dreaming being added to "mandatory" as a cross role ability, the rest are more flexible in terms of use. Cleric Stance is no longer mandatory but just a nice little buff, same with Largesse. Break/Surecast/Rescue are meh. Esuna is questionably mandatory, depending on the content you're running. Eye for an Eye is alright-ish but far from mandatory as well.

[Lildragora]

I would be all for making protect a WHM only utility based on the pvp version, however once removed from cross role we would need a replacement. Another note, and i'll use SAM as an example here; highest DPS little to no utility. WHM is all heals and dps with little to no utility, so to give them utility something would have to give whether it is some slight potency drops, or ect. I really wouldn't like to see the toolkit diminished a bit for the sake of extra utility, despite how much I would love for this to be a WHM exclusive.

So, to me, the best course would be to give it the PvP effect and keep it as a role skill.

[Tridus]

I know, right? It was always a mandatory cross-class selection before. Why complain now, but not then? lol

Back then you didn't need them for basic things like debuff removal and MP regen, since that was all core. When you can use all five role slots to get skills that you had as class abilities before (as WHM can), the value of the slots changes dramatically.

Now it's just a dead slot in combat unless you use the swap macro, and it seems unlikely that SE really intended for healers to be expected to macro Protect in and out.

[DacienSanderon]

According to the tank forums mitigation is useless /thread

[Tridus]

According to the tank forums mitigation is useless /thread

That explains an awful lot of the total nonsense I see from some tanks in game. They seem to think that defense lowers your incoming healing or something.