Time to expand a little on my comments about SE needing to hire a healer designer.

[ThorneDynasty]

I have no intention of getting rid of assize, just saying that their entire argument to get rid of needless abilities applies both ways. WHM has a ton of skills that are functionally the same.

Cure 2/Solace
Medica/Rapture
I'd argue even Lilybell and PI are functionally the same because they're just buffers for AoE healing in niche situations such as constant raid wide damage.

If we're going to remove needless abilities, then that expands to Healing abilities as well as DPS abilities and WHM has a lot of room to cut in over bloated Healing abilities.

Seems like you'd get rid of a lot of button bloat just making Cure 2 and Medica use lilies for instant casting. I don't think anyone playing effectively is "saving lilies for later" when you need to GCD heal, and Medica 2 is your downtime ability already.

Scholar has a similar issue where both the fairy gauge abilities feel pretty superfluous, I'd much rather Dissipation was redesigned into a stance where you actually consume the gauge, changing the fairy abilities into something else. They are just dead buttons during Dissipation anyway, hence some of the biggest complaints about that job.

[Silver-Strider]

Seems like you'd get rid of a lot of button bloat just making Cure 2 and Medica use lilies for instant casting. I don't think anyone playing effectively is "saving lilies for later" when you need to GCD heal, and Medica 2 is your downtime ability already.

Scholar has a similar issue where both the fairy gauge abilities feel pretty superfluous, I'd much rather Dissipation was redesigned into a stance where you actually consume the gauge, changing the fairy abilities into something else. They are just dead buttons during Dissipation anyway, hence some of the biggest complaints about that job.

There was another topic about Merging Esuna into Cure 1 equivalent skills that I thought was pretty good. Would at least make it so that Cure 1/Physick/Benefic 1 had more of a purpose outside of synched content because chances are if you got hit with a removable Debuff, you need to be healed anyways so let me kill 2 birds with one stone.

[Sebazy]

^^ Yes but first they can remove pointless dps actions like astrodyne and lord/lady, energy drain, toxicon, pneuma that just add more unecessary things to think about for no reason.

^ as I said picking skills from a tree doesn't mean anything because the guide just tells you what to pick and when you play you are just pressing the one button

Minor Arcana is an interesting case study really. I'm in agreement that I don't really feel that it provides enough value to offset the extra bloat that it adds to the card system. Personally I'd rather see a GCD redraw ability when you're out of clarifying redraw charges. That offers a use for unwanted cards without needing 2 additional binds.

Irrespective of my opinions on that, don't you feel that Minor Arcana getting added, removed, and then readded (and in a rather clunky manner no less) is just further proof that the current battle system team don't really know what they are doing with healers?

There was another topic about Merging Esuna into Cure 1 equivalent skills that I thought was pretty good.

That was a suggestion that gets a +1 vote from me. It's a great idea I think

[lisaa]

In SHB is needed to manage seals, it feels good to convert useless seal to a bigger buff. In EW it is just another ogcd but needs two buttons.

[Sebazy]

In SHB is needed to manage seals, it feels good to convert useless seal to a bigger buff. In EW it is just another ogcd but needs two buttons.

Exactly, they could have done something useful with it again, instead it's just SB Minor arcana all over again, an ability they previously decided to rework/remove.

Why? IMO it's a lack of imagination.

[ForteNightshade]

Exactly, they could have done something useful with it again, instead it's just SB Minor arcana all over again, an ability they previously decided to rework/remove.

Why? IMO it's a lack of imagination.

I suspect they went this route because of all the backlash towards Astro losing the old card system. They don't want to balance Royal Road because it'd make things "too complex" for new healers. Instead, we get this watered down version of Minor Arcana that has some RNG component to it.

[Shurrikhan]

I suspect they went this route because of all the backlash towards Astro losing the old card system. They don't want to balance Royal Road because it'd make things "too complex" for new healers. Instead, we get this watered down version of Minor Arcana that has some RNG component to it.

Which, honestly, is the worst possible way to go about it.

:: There should be no RNG in Minor Arcana. You should be able to bank it for a heal or for damage, knowing exactly what you'd get from the card. The original card itself is RNG enough.

Royal Road isn't difficult to balance. If balanced, it also wouldn't be difficult to explain, because you wouldn't have to remind new AST's with every other sentence that only one option is competitive in a full party setting.

1. Enhance = Double its effect.
2. Extend = Double its duration.
3. Expand = Double the effect and then split it evenly among all party members.

If I had my druthers...

• Card effects are back in full, but more tightly balanced and made slightly shorter and more impactful. Durations standardized at 15 seconds -- short enough to be impactful, long enough not to feel overly rushed.
• Divination is gone, but the Seals remain, now instead enhancing Celestial Opposition, which has been empowered but increased to a 90-second cooldown. Each seal adds an additional effect that increases in power per seal of that type (though at reduced efficiency per same seal): Solar adds a DoT and HoT of increasing potency and duration, Lunar adds a Shield and a stun (that ignores diminishing returns) of 300|500|600 potency and 3|5|6 seconds' stun, and Celestial extends all your buffs/debuffs by a further 15|25|30 seconds.
• By default, Celestial Opposition simply does direct damage and healing, inflicts Slow, and extends buffs by 10 seconds.
• Minor Arcana again deal immediate damage (Lord) or healing (Lady).
• Royal Road and Minor Arcana now each generate Seals based on the card consumed. Minor Arcana always generates Lord from Balance, Arrow, and Spear, and Lady from Bole, Spire, and Ewer.
• Spear's Crit chance granted has been doubled, as to compete against Balance and Arrow (given that a Crit is only a 40+% throughput increase).
• [TBR] Spire's effect has been completely reworked. It now allows the free use of abilities currently on cooldown to a total of 45 seconds' cooldown ignored. The 'rushed' ability must have a cooldown no longer than twice one's Spire buff remaining, and will have proportionately decreased effect if its cooldown exceeds the remaining buff.
• Draw's cooldown begins the moment you draw a card, not only after you play it.
• (Re)spawn into instances with one card already drawn (and the cooldown prepared for another).
• Redraw cannot draw the same card.
• Differing powers of Cards are now IDed separately. Only a card effect with greater effect-times-remaining-duration can replace the same on a given ally. The card replaced will roll over a portion of its duration based on its strength relative to what has replaced it.
• There is no longer any limit to card effects received per AST. Using Extend and Collective Unconscious, it is technically feasible for an AST to have 3 cards up at a time on a given ally.
• Spread no longer has a cooldown. Royal Road can will now be used on Spead if no card is Drawn.
• Royal Road is now retroactive, rather than being automatically cast on your next Card. It will now add 1.5 seconds' duration (to compensate for any animation lock) and then apply the stored RR effect to your most recently cast card, doubling its strength or duration or expanding it. This should remove the need for a RR purge button, though such is still available for hotbar binding.

[CrimsonGunner]

can we revive this thread and implore SE to make changes to the job design team already or the very least dont let whoever is in charge of healers touch them again and get replaced?

[Recon1o6]

Works for me

I think at this point, there is a need for new job designers. Even some of the dps didn't get anything meaningful. Mch still has ping issues, Drg got a line aoe and nothing else.

I would like job designers that add to the battle system rather than continuously removing and homogenising it.

[Shurrikhan]

I would like job designers that add to the battle system.

*In an angered, likely Scottish voice*
You don't appreciate the new paint?!