Scholar changes

[Fyce]

I honestly think if they just return energy drain to sch we will be in good shape. It will just be a little boring to play.
The reason I started playing sch is because I was bored of the simplicity of whm. So much for that.

They can't really put it back.
The removal of Energy Drain (and Bane) goes inline with the new tools WHM received in the form of Afflatus skills. The goal was to make healers be able to heal without sacrificing DPS (or not much). Both changes to WHM and SCH achieve that.
The only difference is that in order to make it work, WHM received new stuff, while SCH got their removed. Feels bad, but in the end, both can now press more healing buttons without feeling bad about it. And, to be honest, it should've been like that a long time ago.

The only way to go forward but still keep Energy Drain would be to make it not cost Aetherflow. Just a standard oGCD for MP and DPS to weave with Biolysis/Ruin II. Because putting it back and let it cost Aetherflow would go against the idea that healers shouldn't feel bad for using their healing tools.
Could you imagine if Assize healed the enemy and cost MP instead of dealing damage and restoring MP? That's pretty much what it feels like every time you'd spend an aetherflow stack on something that wasn't Energy Drain (or Bane).

Whatever the case, now it lies within SE to tune encounter design in a way that pressing these buttons is relevant. And also to add more interesting stuff in healer's kit related to that new paradigm (probably in 6.0, and hopefuly with a new healer). SCH have to swallow the pill in the meantime.

Oh and, if you ask about AST: I don't have a clue as to what happened to them. Maybe SE thought that they were doing okay regarding "they can heal and not feel bad about it"? Like, giving ED a second stack, having ES, CU and CO might be good enough somehow. I just still don't really understand the huge CU nerf given that Asylum and more importantly Sacred Soil received buffs. But as they say "potencies may be changed" so... /schrug

[Ilenya]

Whatever the case, now it lies within SE to tune encounter design in a way that pressing these buttons is relevant. And also to add more interesting stuff in healer's kit related to that new paradigm (probably in 6.0, and hopefuly with a new healer). SCH have to swallow the pill in the meantime.

I feel like this isn't the type of pill we are meant to swallow.

Oh and, if you ask about AST: I don't have a clue as to what happened to them. Maybe SE thought that they were doing okay regarding "they can heal and not feel bad about it"? Like, giving ED a second stack, having ES, CU and CO might be good enough somehow. I just still don't really understand the huge CU nerf given that Asylum and more importantly Sacred Soil received buffs. But as they say "potencies may be changed" so... /schrug

I always thought Earthly Star was AST's analogue to Asylum and Sacred Soil since it came out. I suppose the other skill (Is it CU?) from AST may fit more closely for sure now, though.

[Fyce]

I feel like this isn't the type of pill we are meant to swallow.

I can't help you dealing with it, I mostly play Warrior and we go in panic mode the very second we see that we aren't the best.
But I'm pretty sure we could ask a BRD, MCH or SMN to give a TED talk on "How I somehow survived big changes that almost killed my job". These guys have some experience in the field.

Edit: Soz, I forgot to include the bit about AST when it actually was the serious part of the post I made... Dunno what happened with my copy/paste.

I always thought Earthly Star was AST's analogue to Asylum and Sacred Soil since it came out. I suppose the other skill (Is it CU?) from AST may fit more closely for sure now, though.

Yeah, but even if AST already as the tools to achieve that "not feeling bad about healing" I was talking about, there is still some weird stuff going on there with them.
Firstly, I'm worried about are potencies and cooldowns (I know they might change, but still). Like, Collective Unconscious is 50 pot for 15s (250 total pot), and Celestial Opposition is 100 base potency with 60pot/15s regen (400 total pot including initial heal) or 150% barrier... but with a 2mn cooldown on it.
Secondly, Horoscope and Neutral sect still rely on GCDs to be effective, and they don't have some kind of Afflatus Misery mechanic to make up for it. So I'm not really sure what was the intent here.

[Ilenya]

I can't help you dealing with it, I mostly play Warrior and we go in panic mode the very second we see that we aren't the best.
But I'm pretty sure we could ask a BRD, MCH or SMN to give a TED talk on "How I somehow survived big changes that almost killed my job". These guys have some experience in the field.

Eh, I'm waiting to see where it goes. It's not as if I don't have leveled tanks or DPS to run with if it ends up too boring, and I'm one of the healers that has the most fun when things start going south and I still keep everyone going. There is potential for this to work out. Just...We have to hope it does, and that everything pre-Shadowbringers doesn't turn off potential new healers.