Finding WHM too boring. Should I push through the MSQ or change class?

[JohnJacobAstor]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum for this kind of question, but I recently returned to FFXIV and beat the ARR MSQ and am on HW now. I'm playing White Mage, and the last time I played was pre-Stormblood. It seems, compared to back then, White Mage has even less going for it as a class. Lots of stuff has been stripped from it and given to other healers with nothing in return. I was already past level 30 when I returned so I figured I would push on and max WHM first before reconsidering my class but now, at level 56, partway through the Heavensward story, I don't think I can go on with this class cause it's just so, incredibly mind-numbingly boring to play.

Not to offend anybody that likes White Mage, but I don't think running around spamming Stone at enemies is compelling gameplay. Even in Dungeons and Trials, healing is never really a challenge. I have never once had a reason to use the spell "Cure III", for instance. Nor has not knowing anything about how the lily system works been a detriment to my performance. Apparently, 56 levels into White Mage I'm learning most of my time has to be spent not healing, but DPSing, which consists of spamming Stone and Aero. It's boring!

But the worst problem is getting through the MSQ with White Mage. Filler quests are boring as it is, but even the combat quests become a chore when I only have 2 spells I need to use, the same spells that I've been using since Level 1 but in an "upgraded" form. Multiple times I've paused the MSQ to focus on Fishing ior CUL nstead, it's that bad. Still I'm told I need to finish MSQ if I'm to get the most out of gathering/crafting.

So I'm debating whether to push through the MSQ at this point, or change class. Are SCH/AST more engaging than WHM, or should I change to a DPS or Tank class?

[Nixxe]

While it's true that WHM provided most of the role abilities for healers, it hasn't really seen any significant losses in terms of abilities. You can have the entire kit you had previously. The abilities that were actually lost were mostly things like Stone II, which you were only using when you synced down anyway, but those now automatically transition based on your level. I don't think SCH or AST DPS are any more exciting, and AST in particular basically has the same DPS abilities that WHM has, but as they're healers, not DPS, that's kind of to be expected.

At any rate, if you want to change jobs, Palace of the Dead makes it simple enough to level up something new, and if you've reached floor 50 in Palace and completed the level 63 MSQ "Tide Goes In, Imperials Go Out," you can unlock Heaven on High, which is the 61+ deep dungeon. Between the two of them, it shouldn't take terribly long to get a different job, perhaps a DPS job, up to where you are now.

[Lorgana]

TBH any class that you play for an extended period will become boring until you begin to challenge yourself. Which on that note brings me to Cure 3, the best healing spell in the whole friggin game brah. Got a party of 8 people? Huge aoe damage coming out? Stack for cure 3 you worthless peasants, one cast and everyone has so much hp that stuff just slides off them. Cure 3 is so OP that white mage can notoriously solo heal a lot of high damage fights that don't require huge shielding.

[Erakir]

It's funny that you mention Cure 3, as it's one of the only things WHM really has 'going for it' in 70 content these days, and there are times we lean on it. However, that's really only seen in harder content like savages (or like mentioned above, solo healing). There's hardly a reason to use Cure 3 in leveling and story content; people have to be doing a fair amount of things wrong to really warrant it, or you just feel like playing it extra safe with everyone's HP and have the MP to do so.

Story dungeons and trials only become difficult if people make it difficult. There are some that can be difficult to heal if the other healer takes a tumble off the cliff and can't be raised, some that can be more difficult if your tank decides he wants to eat 6-8 stacks of vulnerability, so on and so forth. If people play alright and generally do mechanics, you're really not gonna see any healing challenge in story content. This is part of why you won't really find a pressing NEED to hit Cure 3 most of the time.

You mention DPS, though, and personally it's not much more compelling on the other side of the two fences. AST has more to juggle with cards which was just made easier by reducing the cast time of their primary nuke, and Scholar has lost a lot of its former DoT management as well, now with 2 normal DoTs, a nuke, shadowflare, and a super expensive DoT that is meant to mirror holy usage but can be weaved in for more single target damage at the cost of heavy mana. You'll unlock Aero 3 soon but you're probably not gonna find it much more engaging - it just becomes rolling two DoTs and spamming Stone as far as single target goes. I wouldn't say any of the healers have super interesting DPS, but Scholar probably has the most going for it just for the decision on whether or not to weave in Miasma II for the MP cost - and if you find most of your time is spent on damage on WHM, that won't really change on the other healers. We all spend just as much time throwing rocks, stars, or poisonous math at our enemies.

Meanwhile lilies have been awful since inception, and most over on the healer forums will echo that sentiment with various reasons why. I know many WHMs simply disable the lily gauge from their UI. Mine's still up but it's not like it impacts what I do in any serious way ever. You may also enjoy the decision making of what to do with your Aetherflow charges (likewise with AST cards), so it very well may be worth giving SCH or AST a try.

Tetra really helps WHM's feel. It's a simple ability gained at 60, but it's something I sorely miss in synced content. I'd say WHM losing its old MP management necessity would contribute to it feeling boring for some people earlier on, too, as it was at least something to make conscious decisions about that isn't as needed anymore even before Thin Air and Assize simply due to nukes costing less than they used to and getting more ticks of Lucid Dreaming than we had from Shroud of Saints.

[PyurBlue]

At level 56, Holy should definitely be incorporated into your DPS when facing multiple enemies. It's also a good defensive tool because of its stun. You also have Assize, and soon Aero III to add to the mix. Healer DPS is simple compared to a real DPS class, so it will never feel like you have a complex rotation, but it should make it a little more interesting.

If you're finding dungeons too easy to heal, you might like some of the harder end game content like Savage, but you need to get through the story first. Regular dungeons usually aren't very demanding and may not make much use of skills like Cure III.

If you're not particularly interested in WHM, I think it would be best for you to try another class. SCH will level SMN at the same time and give you two classes to play of different roles. I think SCH is also a little more engaging than WHM once you get midway through the game (level 40+). I enjoy managing AST cards and you'll start at level 30, which will save you a little time in leveling. Also remember that you get an XP bonus for classes at levels less than your highest leveled class. So this will ease both switching from WHM and returning to WHM later if you decide to give it another chance after you level a different class.

[Iscah]

Arcanist/Scholar has a little more variety from the start (two/three DoTs, insert Aetherflow skills between basic attacks when available) and gives you the DPS class Summoner as well, which is probably more useful for solo play.

Solo Astrologian will be very similar to solo White Mage. I liked the job quest storyline better though.

Or you could try out a purely DPS class instead. Red Mage and Samurai start at Lv50 so you can pick up either and quickly get them up to MSQ level, if that appeals to you. (The unlock quests for both classes are in Ul'dah.)


I found that if you like doing all the sidequests as you go, and you're also running daily roulettes, you can level two classes at once all the way to the end of the game - so you could keep using White Mage for dungeons (if you enjoy the multiplayer aspect of it) while leveling a DPS class through solo play and quests.

[Gemina]

I'd honestly take the job to at least 60 and run some content to get a better idea of how it plays outside of leveling to get a better assessment and see if you want to continue to use it in SB. Fun Scaith and the warring triad can still provide some difficulty for PUGs.

If you like healing specifically, both SCH and AST provide additional gimmicks that might make things more interesting. All in all, it isn't too difficult to level a job to Max, or go back to it if you decide to level something else. Play them all and see which you enjoy most.

[InkstainedGwyn]

Personally, I levelled WHM to 60, then got my AST to 60 the week before SB dropped, and have mained AST ever since (though I'll take my RDM on kill-heavy MSQ quests, since some are friendlier to dps and some are friendlier to healers). It's 100% subjective, but I prefer AST massively to WHM. You get a lot of your "quick heals" a lot faster, meaning you can focus more on dps and cards; the really fun toys don't come until later, with things like Earthly Star, but I really enjoy throwing out buffs and I enjoy the RNG aspect since it doesn't actually nerf my heal ability.

In the end, if you're not enjoying yourself, it might be worth taking the time to level a second class, especially since your WHM progress will always be there if you're bored of levelling something else and just want to go back to the MSQ. So far I've found AST and RDM to be my faves, but again, I understand it's all subjective.

[AeroCry]

Healing is going to be pretty easy u till you start getting into exs and savage, I don't think as far as leveling goes playing a different healer will change much. Holy spam is fun at least for me just abuse bene, and tetra when you get it, cure 3 is amazing in some savage content, I will say this although I am a healer main I perfer doing main story as a dps because you can use that exp on a dps that would take longer to level due to que times etc and kill your mobs faster, I liked playing red mage in sb story, was able to kill things pretty quick and keep myself healed with vercure as needed, I just dungeon spam on my healers to get them up and that's where you can play how low you can get the tanks hp game :3

[Vidu]

I would recommend the following:

First you need to think about what kind of playstyle you prefer - do you actually want to be a healer? Would you really be okay with playing a tank - remember that they're often expected to take a leading-role in a dungeon?
DPSing will always be more engaging on DPS-classes, obviously, so if you want the most engaging combat, you're probably best served with one of those. Which opens a whole lot of new questions: Do you want to go melee, caster or ranged?

Answer those questions for yourself and pick some of the classes that you could imagine would fit your playstyle. Now go an pick them up and head into the southshroud and into PotD. I dont know wether you've cleared that yet or not, but if you have, you can start from 51 which puts you right at level 60 (for this dungeon only though) and gives you all skills etc. (so it might be best to take a look at them and the general mechanics of the job before heading in there). And even if you havent unlocked that yet, you'll level a LOT faster on your "PotD-level" and get a taste of how the job you've picked plays out at higher levels. That way you can better judge wether or not one of those jobs is worth putting the MSQ on hold to level it up.

Personally I would recommend to try out samurai and redmage first though - both start at level 50, so you wont have that much of catching up to do.
If you dont like either, take a look at darkknight, astrologian and maschinst - all start at 30, so more catching up, but at least not through the dreadful first 15 levels.