The Healer Double Standard

[dezzmont]

Healers don't DPS in EvE and in ToR they have a DPS rotation about as basic as the 5.0 rotation plus one or two high cooldown oGCDs to allow a focus on healing efficiency games.

Dedicated healers in GW2 kinda dps but they really are setting up regen and cleanse combos doing so, and the way healing works in gw2 is... weird. Every class can play every role, and the optional thing to do is play every role while maining one, so if FFXIV treats the trinity as absolute gw2 basically doesn't have one. So the main healer focuses way less on high potency healing and more on being the guy casting two spells that combo to create an ape esuna zone because boss DOT is a way bigger part of that game. So they toss complex weaves of attacks out but for the specific goal of combining a water field type spell with a blast finisher, and will do very inefficient things to get that because in GW2 failing to cleanse dot every few seconds will wipe everyone.

I think the 'healers shouldn't heal' bit is a misaimed goal, healers attack in ToR and are fine. It is more that healers should not play essentislly as dps with an extra non-healing duty they try to minimize interaction with.

[Atlantasia]

Healers don't DPS in EvE and in ToR they have a DPS rotation about as basic as the 5.0 rotation plus one or two high cooldown oGCDs to allow a focus on healing efficiency games.

Dedicated healers in GW2 kinda dps but they really are setting up regen and cleanse combos doing so, and the way healing works in gw2 is... weird. Every class can play every role, and the optional thing to do is play every role while maining one, so if FFXIV treats the trinity as absolute gw2 basically doesn't have one. So the main healer focuses way less on high potency healing and more on being the guy casting two spells that combo to create an ape esuna zone because boss DOT is a way bigger part of that game. So they toss complex weaves of attacks out but for the specific goal of combining a water field type spell with a blast finisher, and will do very inefficient things to get that because in GW2 failing to cleanse dot every few seconds will wipe everyone.

I think the 'healers shouldn't heal' bit is a misaimed goal, healers attack in ToR and are fine. It is more that healers should not play essentislly as dps with an extra non-healing duty they try to minimize interaction with.

Ultimately, people want something engaging to do during downtime from level 1 to 80 content. Either they need downtime reduced in an engaging way or they need the things spent on downtime to be more engaging. If all they change is the ShB content for more healing... there's still the rest of the game where that isn't the case and it becomes less fun to level. As someone who has all 70s on my main and several alts with some 70s, leveling is something I enjoy. This makes it less enjoyable on healers.

Either way... healers do need DPS for solo instance content and for quests. On GW2, I had an 80 Elementalist and did some healing on her, but I also switched gear to do DPS when soloing... there isn't that option here.

[Inkpot]

I'm going to let you in a little secret.

Different people like different things.

Right, which is why people are unhappy about homogenizing the healers to all be copies of WHM.

[technole]

Right, which is why people are unhappy about homogenizing the healers to all be copies of WHM.

All at the expense of not having a forth healer.

They really want healers to be the adventurer in-need.

[Arcari]

All at the expense of not having a forth healer.

They really want healers to be the adventurer in-need.

Maybe for like a month while the GNB bandwagon is strong. I guarantee you it'll all be tank in need again afterwards, for the sole reason that people can't stand being in leadership roles (which tanks have the perception of).

[braxberry]

Here's my two biggest deals:

1 - leveling content *outside* of dungeons and trials is going to be horribly unengaging for new CNJs/WHMs. If you decided to do SCH, you'd at least have SMN (currently) as a fallback to make solo instances more interesting in the coming expansion, and if you decided to be a new AST, well.. sorry, bud, but you did it to yourself.

2 - all of the hate for the "green DPS", which is entirely presumptive based around DPS at heart, but quick queues, is literally lumping every dpsing healer into one woefully nonrepresentational bucket. As someone who mained WHM for most of HW and SCH through early SB, I more picked up healing as a way to help ensure any run goes as smoothly as possible, because it's easier to trust oneself over df woes. With the downtime that was present in those runs, the ability to have a more interesting DPS rotation than what we're going to have in a few weeks was like a way to show mastership over the role. Sure, there'd be an odd death here or there, and a sprinkle of wipes, but that's more because Bene is a fickle ability..

[Brightamethyst]

Yeah. The GNB crazy is going to last a few weeks but then it's back to the standard patterns.

[whiskeybravo]

I don't know about double standards. But I can agree on the dumbing everything down aspect.

Basically, about the only way to look at it is as punishment for the last couple years of tanks and healers acting like glorified DPS.

But hey, new players will never know the difference. They'll never get to experience dying in raids because the healer wanted to #BeLikeMomo. They'll never get to encounter tanks pulling full dungeons in DPS stance only to lose aggro and complain that managing threat is a party mechanic. They'll never get to know what it was like living on the edge.

R.I.P. Stormblood. We'll never forget you.

[braxberry]

Thing is, if you look at the changes, it's affecting more than just Shadow Bringers content. Three expansions worth of content that's going to be absolutely brain-dead because of the changes. Do you really think they're going to spend any resources going back to any ARR-SB1 instances or dungeons or trials or raids and retool *that* to be more healing intensive? If they do... They should have spent that time and effort on a new healer.

[Kabooa]

Thing is, if you look at the changes, it's affecting more than just Shadow Bringers content. Three expansions worth of content that's going to be absolutely brain-dead because of the changes. Do you really think they're going to spend any resources going back to any ARR-SB1 instances or dungeons or trials or raids and retool *that* to be more healing intensive? If they do... They should have spent that time and effort on a new healer.

Do you really think earlier leveling content was lynchpinned by having energy drain and a second dot?