What if DNC is SHOMHOW a DPS?

[SoleilAlphi]

it is exactly the argument that is happening on many threads. "I play dps therefore every class must cater to me because I cba to tank or heal, oh as you are also a minority, you don't need new jobs". It is not the people who main tanks and healers who create the divisive argument, but the opposite. Heck, I main dps, and yet i'm very happy tanks get something new. I also heal often enough to be bored with 3 jobs, and would really like dancer to be the 4th healer. Variety is good.

[Floortank]

Play every job. Play every role. If you don't enjoy one of the three healers, but only want to play healer, maybe don't play FFXIV. It's just a truth of this game's design that it will be much harder to add interesting, diverse healers. And FFXIV is not alone, other games have the same problem. See also: Overwatch.

There's only so many ways to make "wave your hands, restore numbers" interesting. Meanwhile, there's countless ways to represent swinging a weapon and subtracting numbers. Or shooting and subtracting numbers. It's not some sort of favoritism. It's just straight up harder to make healers diverse.

Also, SE didn't help by painting themselves into a corner with assuming tanks would be wearing plate for tankbusters, and healers would always be on the backline for healer-targeting mechanics.

[loreleidiangelo]

There's only so many ways to make "wave your hands, restore numbers" interesting. Meanwhile, there's countless ways to represent swinging a weapon and subtracting numbers. Or shooting and subtracting numbers. It's not some sort of favoritism. It's just straight up harder to make healers diverse.

This is just...untrue, tbh. World of Warcraft, Wildstar, SWTOR, TERA...just the surface of games I could list that had pretty interesting, varied healer design. Just because XIV copy-pastes the same 300-600 potency heals on all its healers doesn't mean that's the only way it can be done.

[NorthernLadMSP]

This is just...untrue, tbh. World of Warcraft, Wildstar, SWTOR, TERA...just the surface of games I could list that had pretty interesting, varied healer design. Just because XIV copy-pastes the same 300-600 potency heals on all its healers doesn't mean that's the only way it can be done.

DCUO also has wildly varying healing styles that make each style incredibly unique and fun.

[loreleidiangelo]

DCUO also has wildly varying healing styles that make each style incredibly unique and fun.

So did Dark Age of Camelot, though that was arguably because of a variety of things like the build/skill system as well as the heavy PVP focus of the game allowing more niche support-esque classes and CC bots like Theurgist/Minstrel to be a thing.

DAOC is a bit of an oldie though, and I thought keeping my examples restricted to newer games might help readers relate better. I mean, I'll be honest, even in TERA their healers DPS a ton, but a lot of it either comes with pretty high risk (Shocking Implosion into Fiery Backstep on Priest for instance, Metamorphic Smite on both healers), high opportunity cost (Mystic's Thrall of Wrath being a TEN-MINUTE COOLDOWN that deals massive damage), or applies a valuable buff/debuff component that still makes you "feel" like a supporting/healing player even though you're hitting the boss (Corruption Ring on Mystic sucks HP from nearby enemies which then gets converted to positive MP for your party, and Energy Stars gives your party a crit buff and attack speed buff whenever it hits an enemy). I think there's absolutely ideas Square can borrow or take inspiration from when it comes to making healer gameplay in XIV feel better and more rewarding, without being a direct copy of those games or turning us into the dreaded "healbots" (even though I think that term is extremely specious and should die in a fire). The problem is that they seem afraid to branch out and both a.) make healers possible to fail at in this game outside of dying to mechanics, and b.) deconstruct every healer's kit a bit so that they're not good at everything and have actual strengths and weaknesses outside of "herp derp do I buff rDPS".

[Vaer]

I kinda thought that maybe they were hinting at AST getting some of the geomancer abilities this coming expansion since they seem to be sort of related. AST being the sky/stars and GEO being the land/earth. We'll see though.

I think there's absolutely ideas Square can borrow or take inspiration from when it comes to making healer gameplay in XIV feel better and more rewarding, without being a direct copy of those games or turning us into the dreaded "healbots" .

Yeah recently the photon/white hole/everything is on fire for a bit then nothing for a while is kinda bland.

One of the most fun times I've had healing in this game was in a4s. The big Jagd doll that uses Wirbelwind. It cuts everyone's MP to near nil. Admittedly it was supposed to function as sort of a soft enrage, but people kinda just let it go off since you could use that dps time to hit the boss instead and the add just kinda kills itself.

Those 10 or so seconds where you had almost no resources and having to actually think and decide who to heal with the limited resources was kinda fun. Having to prep for it so you could keep the party afloat during it when you bottomed out is more engaging to me instead of just smashing 2 buttons and everyone is full HP then going back to DPS.

Honestly I think I've had more trouble healing wow leveling dungeons on expansion release than current savage fights. Savage fights for me just mostly end up as an equation of how little healing/how much risk do I want to take to increase the amount of DPS I can do without causing a wipe. Since I have a more cautious gameplay style that is really boring and unrewarding to me.

[Drakkaelus]

Play every job. Play every role. If you don't enjoy one of the three healers, but only want to play healer, maybe don't play FFXIV. It's just a truth of this game's design that it will be much harder to add interesting, diverse healers. And FFXIV is not alone, other games have the same problem. See also: Overwatch.

There's only so many ways to make "wave your hands, restore numbers" interesting. Meanwhile, there's countless ways to represent swinging a weapon and subtracting numbers. Or shooting and subtracting numbers. It's not some sort of favoritism. It's just straight up harder to make healers diverse.

Also, SE didn't help by painting themselves into a corner with assuming tanks would be wearing plate for tankbusters, and healers would always be on the backline for healer-targeting mechanics.

Man, Medics in Wildstar and Disciples of Khaine in Warhammer: AoR were ridiculously fun. Some of the most fun classes I've ever played in any MMO and I usually don't even mess with healers like that.

It is possible to make a healer more than, "wave your hands, restore numbers" sadly, most MMOs don't make the effort.

[kikix12]

There's only so many ways to make "wave your hands, restore numbers" interesting. Meanwhile, there's countless ways to represent swinging a weapon and subtracting numbers. Or shooting and subtracting numbers. It's not some sort of favoritism. It's just straight up harder to make healers diverse.

You're kidding, right?! Please tell me you're kidding. Seriously...

If you count as "diversity" whether the effect of your spell is blue (ice) or red (fire) or purple (lightning) or whatever...then what stops healing to be as diverse?!
There's phoenix (the most powerful healing power in all of final fantasy games is the FFVII I believe Phoenix...full party heal and revive with big-ass damage to the enemy party), so clearly fire can be used to heal. Wind and water both are traditional healing elements. Then there's holy because...you know...holiness and healing go hand in hand. Gaia, the loving mother earth, is often represented as restoring strength...so we can use earth as healing element as well. Dark arts are used for just about anything under the sun...for the right price. So add that to the bag. Then there are natural energies like KI, Chakra (Final Fantasy Tactics had monks with a good non-magical healing skill...called Chakra...and even a free revive skill). Then there's also the good old-fashioned medicine. You can also "reverse time" to unwind wounds or cheat life and body with "real" illusions.

There are TONS of means of showing healing thematically as shown above. Those are not all even. You could find tons of them.

And you are missing a massive thing. Healers ALSO DPS...Even if their healing would be the same, the manner in which they attack can be different.


Or maybe you are talking about mechanical variety?! Then healing is exactly the same as DPS. Burst healing, healing over time, health drain, max and current HP cap increase. You can also add shields as a de-facto healing. Damage is the same. Even if the animation and weapon changes, there's just so many ways it can happen. Ultimate it's just numbers that are detracted from bigger numbers.


As for the topic, healers need a HIGH PROFILE class to be added. Dancer just happens to be a high profile class. It needs a class that will make players want to try healing with it. If Dancer wouldn't be a healer, they'd be high-pressed for another class. Because no, I do not think that Chemist or Geomancer fit the bill. The former is the most basic healing class from Final Fantasy games that you don't use after the first few missions in general, while all the "rave" for geomancer began only with Stormblood, even though there were mentions of it before it.

[Barraind]

Have you not played FFVI or FFT? It was definitely a DPS job in its early days.

Calling dancers dps in tactics would be like calling white mages tanks in tactics because sometimes stuff might hit them.

Dancers debuffed. I guess they also moved around too, but they didnt really have to do that, because dances hit everyone.

[MorbolvampireQueen6]

Play every job. Play every role. If you don't enjoy one of the three healers, but only want to play healer, maybe don't play FFXIV. It's just a truth of this game's design that it will be much harder to add interesting, diverse healers. And FFXIV is not alone, other games have the same problem. See also: Overwatch.

There's only so many ways to make "wave your hands, restore numbers" interesting. Meanwhile, there's countless ways to represent swinging a weapon and subtracting numbers. Or shooting and subtracting numbers. It's not some sort of favoritism. It's just straight up harder to make healers diverse.

Also, SE didn't help by painting themselves into a corner with assuming tanks would be wearing plate for tankbusters, and healers would always be on the backline for healer-targeting mechanics.

Mean while dps get to cry over every job not being a dps when they have unlimited option but healers wanting more than 3 is not reasonable ....

I rlly hope your nxt healer lets you die in df