Thread: Healer identity in 5.0

I think WHM could be significantly improved with just a few tweaks and additions:

Shell
30s cooldown.
Bestow a 10% damage resistance buff on target for 15s.
Additional effect: Magic damage received by target has a 20% chance of granting you a Lily.

Protect
60s cooldown.
Bestow a 5% damage resistant buff on all party members in range for 30s.
Additional effect: Physical damage received by targets has a 10% chance of granting them a confession stack.

(Shell/Protect would stack with each other)

Lilies are generated only by Medica and Medica II, or by hits received via Shell.
Lilies are only spent when using Cure, Cure II or Cure III.
1 Lily = Cast time of Cure/II/III reduced by 0.5s
2 Lilies = Cast time reduced by 1.5s
3 Lilies = Cast time reduced to 0.

This would give WHM some useful utility in Shell/Protect, and the other healers losing Protect would give WHM some edge over them. They would interact with their Lily mechanic, which in turn would be useful in granting mobility.
Mechanically, it’s not a major shift to the way they function, Lilies are still pretty much passive but with a greater effect, it’s just two additional cooldowns, and WHM doesn’t have enough buttons as it is if you ask me.

Then you only need to add in a couple new dps spells.

WHM currently does not suffer from a lack in healing spells or throughput. What I would like to see is some interactivity between spells/abilities and faster cast times. Also, lilies can just go. Gone. Please. I'm begging. Can we lose lilies and get a meaningful gauge for WHM?

I love ideas like holy shield/brand, because they really stick to WHM flavor and bring low-key utility. I understand that the design goal so far for WHM has been the low utility, powerhouse healer, but I feel like there are still a lot of tools that could be designed while still keeping that feel, and giving WHM something more to do when the powerhouse healing is not needed. Like adding a magic vuln up effect to Aero--something small, or it applies an additional debuff that doesn't last the whole duration. A few minor effects to a few things in the toolkit they already have would keep the toolkit small and powerful as is the design goal, while giving WHM some utility and not changing the flavor or straightforward, powerhouse feel of WHM.

More WHM thoughts...

One of the things I keep coming back to is shields vs. not shields, because while we have the setup we do, we will always revert to "need a shield healer, then we can fill the other spot with whatever."

By nature, shields are powerful. Preventing damage smooths out an encounter and lets players survive mechanics. Shields add to a player's effective health. We use them for some tankbusters, and a variety of other mechanics for raidwide AOE bursts/bleeds, including ones where the healers both must move while the damage is going out, and mechanics that have two damage components back to back, usually ticking faster and stronger than hots.

Players might use shields more often, but in essence, these mechanics are why we bring the shield healer.

I anticipate that shields will be less potent looking ahead, but no amount of nerfing numbers will change why we dedicate a shielder spot in raiding.

Instead, I hope that SE looks at tools for non-shielders to respond to these types of damage that aren't just "everybody gets shields and hots and that's balanced!"

I would like a tool for WHM that grants effective health or heals on a conditional delay--like excog but not. A raidwide buff with (3-5) stacks where each stack represents X potency. When damage is taken that drops a player below (50 or 75) percent health, stacks of this buff get used to bring them back up to 75%. If stacks are left, they will activate on the next damage taken with no hidden internal cooldown (making them faster than hots, essentially, and it can keep up with each pulse Akh Morn, Flamethrower, Earthshaker, etc).

A spell or ability (perhaps an ability that modifies the next qualifying spell cast) that grants effective health to a player, for tankbusters or targeted mechanics (and probably also heals what effective health is given, because otherwise that extra health doesn’t matter). Short duration and somewhat short cooldown.

FFXIV doesn’t utilize channeling, and I understand why—maximized play is all about the GCD, and that’s why PLDs really only use Passage during ultimates/no enemies up. But what if WHM had a single target, channeled mitigation that was powerful enough to justify losing a GCD or two? While channeling, WHM’s target is 50 or 80 or 90% invulnerable to most things (same considerations as tank invulns, long cooldown). Would this be stepping on tank toes? Or would a get-out-of-tankbuster-free card help tanks stay in dps stance a little more often, thus the WHM brings utility?

These ideas are powerful, but honestly, so are Indom, fairy skills, Earthly Star, Collective Unconscious. That’s kind of my point—these abilities make an encounter “easier” or more manageable, and WHM should have tools beyond just “I cast Cure III until whack-a-mole is over.”

Originally Posted by NYCAcimStudent

^ Thank you, Gemina! You just succinctly phrased what I have been trying to say for 2 years. I have been playing MMOs since the original Everquest and I have never seen the "healer" role require healing less than 50% of the time. Sometimes in FFXIV, I am actively healing less than 25% of the time. If I want to play mostly DPS, I would just play DPS.

If we want a revolution in Healer identity, healers need to actively heal again. This oGCD and GCD split is madness. Our healers aren't healers. They are hybrids.

I don’t see it getting better on 5.0, now tanks will have 2 categories (OT and MT). So it will be probably less healing, specially for 2 healers. They could make the auto ataque deal a decent dmg so 1 healer will need to be on the duty to actually heal the tank between mechanics. But the other one will be a green dps till a mechanic.

I'm really starting to suspect I'm one of the few people in this forum who actually likes the fact that healers in this game focus on trying to minimize their gcd healing and try to push out as much damage as possible. With that being said, I'm of the mind of WHM's getting better options for weaving and minor utility.

Personally I'd keep the core identities they already have the same, with minor adjustments.

WHM: High personal dps, minor raid utility (emphasis on defensive utility more then offensive) Solid emphasis on pure healing with limited shielding.

SCH: the healer who should be the middle ground. Moderate personal dps emphasized with sustain and damage over time., balanced raid utility. Higher emphasis on utilizing your pet to optimize your play.

AST: Low personal dps, High raid utility (more offensive oriented). Straightforward healing emphasizing mobility and buff manipulation but ultimately lacking compared to whm's output and sch's potential.

Originally Posted by Brandedblade

I'm really starting to suspect I'm one of the few people in this forum who actually likes the fact that healers in this game focus on trying to minimize their gcd healing and try to push out as much damage as possible.

I'm with you on this.
I love weaving oGCD heals in-between my DPS casts.
I don't know if I would want to main Healer anymore if it became more cast/gcd-heal focused... :B

Originally Posted by Mimilu

I'm with you on this.
I love weaving oGCD heals in-between my DPS casts.
I don't know if I would want to main Healer anymore if it became more cast/gcd-heal focused... :B

This just makes me wonder why you aren't playing an oGCD heavy damage dealer.

Originally Posted by lordcruxis

This just makes me wonder why you aren't playing an oGCD heavy damage dealer.

I do flip-flop between maining a healer or BRD, actually (I'm currently maining WHM after maining BRD for two patches, which before that I mained AST). >w>
I'm sure it's only going to get worse (not only for me but for others) once DNC comes out. >w>

For me, the idea of just standing around and not contributing to lowering the enemy's/enemies' HP is boring (especially considering the only way to clear a fight is to get said enemy's HP to 0).
Spamming DPS spells then healing a tank that just got tankbustered to below 50% with a oGCD heal just feels way more thrilling (and kind of empowering) to me. ♥

Originally Posted by Mimilu

I do flip-flop between maining a healer or BRD, actually (I'm currently maining WHM after maining BRD for two patches, which before that I mained AST). >w>
I'm sure it's only going to get worse (not only for me but for others) once DNC comes out. >w>

For me, the idea of just standing around and not contributing to lowering the enemy's/enemies' HP is boring (especially considering the only way to clear a fight is to get said enemy's HP to 0).
Spamming DPS spells then healing a tank that just got tankbustered to below 50% with a oGCD heal just feels way more thrilling (and kind of empowering) to me. ♥

I agree with this. With how content is designed, just healing is boring. Trying to pump out as much dps and buffs as I can while still keeping people alive is way more fun. I even tried playing healer in WoW recently, but I just couldn’t get into it. I like contributing more than just heals.