Okay i think i have discovered something that people are not aware off Scholar guide.

[Dreklore]

There is a new type in the game that was introduced called phase classes (Dragoon / Summoner / Scholar) that are situational based or have a phase mechanic now as this is the healer forum i will talk about my class and experience and that is the scholar.

Sestained healer = WHM
Preventive healer = AST
Situational healer = Scholar

Now i have found that playing scholar in days of old is gone and dead putting shields willingly on everyone will not cut it anymore now its much more complex.

[Dreklore]

Lets talk about our ability

Role ability's i take
Esuna
Swiftcast
Eye for an Eye
Largesse*
Protect*
Feel free to swap out one of the * for Rescue or lucid Dreaming if your hurting for mana

Dps skills
Broil 2 > Ruin 2 > Energy Drain (only if you need mana)
Miasma 2 > Bio 2 > Bane (only if there is more then 3 mobs)
Shadow Flare (apply's a slow so always use this)

[Dreklore]

Healer skills

Single target healing
Physick : Your filler healing spell.
(Shield) Adoquium : Use when ally is 90% hp.
(Healing) Emergency tactic + Adoquium : Use when ally is at 50% hp.
Lustrate : Use when ally is at 30% hp.
Excogitation : Use this on the tank then focus dps till it falls off the tank or heal other members if they loose hp.

AoE healing
(Shield) Sacred Soil + Succor : Use when group has taken minor damage.
(Healing) Sacred Soil + Emergency tactic + Succor : Use when group has taken major damage.
(Stack shield) Adoquium + Eye for an Eye + Deployment Tactics : Use this when everyone must huddle together as Adoquium provides a better shield then Succor.
Indomitabilty : Use this when group has taken critical damage

[Dreklore]

Buffs
Dissipation : Use when your fairy is about to die don't worry if you have fairy power as it retains the meter.
Chain Strategem : Use this at key points of the battle for max effect.
Largesse : use this when people drop to 50% and Rouse is on CD.
Swiftcast + Raise : self explanatory
Aetherflow : When it comes to aetherflow you need to make sure your always using the aether as it builds fairy power and it reduces the cool-down so you should have expelled all 3 before 10 secs when you can use aetherflow again.

Fairy
Aetherpact : Use at 50% hp deactivate at 70% hp.
Rouse : Use this when people start to drop to 50%
Eos
Fey Covenant : Use this for incoming big damage.
Fey Illumination : Use this after big damage.
Selene
Fey Caress : Use this when more then 3 despellable debuffs on group.
Fey Wind : Use this on burst phase of the battle.

[Dreklore]

The class has become much more a thinking game where you need to know the fights if you can tell what will happen next you will be rewarded with everyone not taking much damage meaning less healing and more dps but failing you will be punished with more mana cost and less dps time in a number of fights thinking like a scholar or i would like to say a tactician i can often run a hole dungeon barely dropping below 75% mana as for trials i often will stay around the 50% mark when it comes to MP.

The thing with aetherflow you must understand there is a time and place to use them if you use them too fast you will ruin yourself and possibly your group if you use them too slowly you waste possible fairy power i tend to try and burn them every 20 secs on the CD of aetherflow.

[Starflake]

The class is more braindead than ever, I think you would mean. Anticipating a fight and damage has always been part of the Scholar toolkit as it is not a responsive healer, but a healer putting on shields before the damage actually comes out. Mana cost is not an issue at all with Lucid Dream. It's by far the thing being discussed that Scholar does not need at all, it needs plenty of others things, but better MP management is not one of them. As for the rest, I don't really see the point of this thread? You basically just pointed out the obvious with little nuance to anything ...

[Dreklore]

Okay? all i hear is "i don't like the class play-style as it does not appeal to me" maybe you should comment on one of the other healers.

[Kabzy]

Okay? all i hear is "i don't like the class play-style as it does not appeal to me" maybe you should comment on one of the other healers.

It's a valid argument because obviously Scholar players will comment on the Scholar changes. Similarly how the majority of Bard players didn't like Bard in 3.x.

Also I really hope nobody follows this guide. I applaud your effort, but a lot of the stuff here is not optimal. For example using Sacred Soil and Succor when the party takes light damage, as you have stated. That is straight up a waste of an AF stack. Scholar does NOT need to be a situational healer, we need to get back to being the best at preventative healing ASAP. And I really want Virus back. :C

[Cynfael]

As Kabzy said, Sacred Soil is not something you use to mitigate minor damage; it's something you use to help prevent a lethal attack or rapid series of huge hits from outright killing people.

In dungeon play it has no useful application unless you know your party is screwing up a mechanic and you're trying to mitigate the fallout. In raid progression it can be helpful now and then, but it's generally not needed if your group knows the fight and is adequately geared.

In short, Soil is so situational that it's kind of sad.

[Dreklore]

Sacred soil has a short CD also gives you a chance for a MP free succor and you must burn 1 aether for each 20 sec tick of the cd because if aether is off CD you are wasting possible fairy power and yes it is a situational healer weather you like it or not because of the fairy power and the management of CD sorry but preventative healer is now AST role.