Why you should play a healer!

[Jerichai]

People are correcting you on your comments about timing because you've tried to equate managing complicated DPS rotations around mechanics with a SCH remembering to keep AF on CD. They aren't the same.

No one has claimed healing is 'brain dead' but by all means keep making things up to argue against because you can't respond to all the real points being made.

The only complication with any DPS rotation in any MMO is just the initial memorization. Beyond that is just following a script. Do things get a bit wonky when applying it to a specific encounter? Sure, but that's the same at any role.

Also, lol, at you saying I'm making things up when you literally did that in your previous post, like saying I asserted only healers had CDs to manage. Yes, I'm well aware that DPS have CDs as well, I spend much of my time in game switching between SCH and SMN (not idea why it's set to THM, haven't touched BLM in ages).

Let me make something clear, since a few of you seem intent on claiming I'm making an argument I'm not. By no means do I think healers are harder to play than any other role. That's not the argument I'm making. I just find it bloody stupid to try to argue that one role is any harder or easier than the others, and it irks me when I see people try to disparage the enjoyment/accomplishments of others because they feel the need to claim they're getting carried through harder content by virtue of the role they're playing. I see it happen far too often on these forums (or any MMO forum) and no it's not limited to healers (you see the assumption that DPS have it easy quite often as well). Seriously, if you're going to try and make the claim that your role is so much more challenging than everyone else's, you probably are in desperate need of a healthy dose of opposition in real life to put things in perspective.

And for the love of god, if you are going to try and make that argument, at least try to have better supporting points. What I've seen here is:

- Combos: I mean really...combos? It's literally the game suggesting what you should press as your next on GCD ability to maximize your output. I think most DPS don't even have to think about these too much with some practice of their rotation.

- Positionals: Going to assume we're referring to melee here, but we can talk about the other roles as well. With melee, positionals are the price you got to pay for having no cast times connected to one's ability...and honestly they're probably there to keep the role from feeling so boring at times. I mean, go and play a Paladin at a level range when all they have is their enmity combo (yes, I'm aware that Paladins aren't a melee DPS, I'm using them as an example for the point I'm making). And considering the length of the GCD in this game, most encounters it's not hard to reposition in time (and this is neglecting the number of fights where positional requirements are nullified). Meanwhile, ranged DPS like BRD and MCH are laughing about any positional requirement while never having to stop moving. Casters have to factor in movement, but now all those jobs have mechanics that nullify/mitigate that requirement (RDM: dual cast, BLM: triple cast, SMN: DWT; just to name a handful off the top of my head). Healers have to factor in casting times as well into how they act (can I get this cast off before the ability goes off or do I need to opt for an instant, off GCD heal...can I afford to burn the cooldown on that heal here). Not to mention ensuring you're in range of your whole party to mitigate movement time for your dps so they can focus on their output (I see you 75% of the BLM population that insists on attacking from the next county over...). Maybe melee dps's positional requirements are more strictly enforced by virtue of their rotation, but to argue that positional considerations are unique to DPS is just wrong.

- Timers: I still hold this is a silly argument that requires a needless hierarchy that people seem to insist on enforcing. All roles have some form of timer that they need to monitor to optimize their performance. I don't care if that's a class specific ability (and we've already gone through the fact that healers have these too to some degree) or role specific actions that must be taken in reaction to certain mechanics. Yes, everyone has a part play in following mechanics. But their are absolutely aspects to mechanics that DPS don't have to pay attention to. Let's take Shinryu EX for example. With abilities like Hypernova, Levinbolt, Hellfire, Judgment Bolt...yeah, everyone has to observe the basic positional requirements to survive those mechanics, but there are absolutely aspects of those same mechanics DPS can safely ignore. Unless you're trying to somehow argue DPS are responsible for healing up the damage received from those abilities before the next wave of damage goes out? Or if we're looking from an optimized play perspective, healers like SCHs and Noct ASTs are trying to get shielding out to the group prior to the damage hitting to lessen the burden afterwards, and well are healing through the damage ask quickly and efficiently as possible so as to maximize DPS time wherever possible. Not to mention, there's also the more unique aspect where healers often must coordinate these actions with their co-healers so as not to needless burn more CDs than what is needed at any given time and to ensure your group has something for the next big hit (admittedly DPS may look too coordinate DPS cooldowns like trick attack, embolden, etc...but these factors can also apply to healers in this game with abilities like chain stratagem and AST buffs).

Again, I say none of this to try to argue that healers are harder to play than DPS. Every role has factors they responsible for, and every role in any encounter are reacting to the same mechanics (some more than others). I'm just tired of seeing arguments on MMO forums that one role is superior to another, especially with such weak arguments.

[Sebazy]

The only complication with any DPS rotation in any MMO is just the initial memorization.

DPS and healer 'timers' and rotations are very different beasts, I'm surprised you seem to think that they are so similar?

Healers are not bound to rotations and combinations in anything like the same way DPS jobs are. If I need to throw a GCD Cure II during my PoM opener window, it's a minor DPS loss and nothing else (It costs me a GCD and very little else). If a PLD needs a throw a Clemency part way through a combo or leading into their Req/Holy Spirit phase, it's a far more significant DPS hit as it not only costs them GCDs, but potentially enmity, dot uptime or outright costs them a nukes worth of MP. DPS have it worse still, drop a combo or buff at a bad time due to a mistake, distraction or even just a failed positional and it can have a very significant impact on the raids DPS. If I delay a card for 10 seconds because I'm dealing with mechanics, it's no big deal. If a Nin delays Trick Attack for 10 seconds? That's massive.

Saying it's all just a script is well and good, actually executing it like such is a whole different matter and you know it.