Loss of drain on Blm...really?!

[Videra]

I mean, the number of times I've heard someone ask a question like that about something super important to a job kinda negates your reasoning there. Just because you weren't aware of it doesn't inherently mean it was useless. :P

Drain was absolutely worthless. The heal on it wasn't even equivalent to a mook's auto attack. If you ever found yourself 'needing' to use it, you have bigger issues.

[YanderePrincess]

Drain was absolutely worthless. The heal on it wasn't even equivalent to a mook's auto attack. If you ever found yourself 'needing' to use it, you have bigger issues.

I'm sorry, but you don't know what you're talking about. Just because you never made positive use of it doesn't mean it was absolutely worthless. It was very rarely useful, which is why I don't really mind it being gone; but to say it was absolutely worthless is just flat out wrong, as is accusing people of being bad at the game just because they recognized situations where it was beneficial and you didn't.

[Seraiki]

Not a fan of it being removed but it's a very underwhelming ability so understandable.

[Archwizard]

So far for this topic I've largely seen two very distinct positions:

1) The group that is considering Drain as it was in its form as a role action, and doesn't care to see it return to BLM because of how pathetic its output was compared to the damage loss.
2) The group that would like to see BLMs get some form of self-sustain for crisis scenarios and questing, and think an iteration of Drain would be a thematic backup to Manaward.

What puzzles me is that most of what I've seen of Group 1 thinks itself mutually exclusive with Group 2, even though both positions can be simultaneously satisfied by just not giving BLM an 80 potency attack with 80% damage-as-healing.
In all honesty, I expect half the reason it was so weak to start with was having to balance it against Ruin.
Give it something like 200 potency and 150% healing, that at least would be semi-worthwhile healing without replacing a healer. Sure the damage would still be pathetic but it's not like the intent is to be part of the main rotation; you don't use Sleep in raids either.

Bonus points if you remove Scathe and make either Drain or F1/B1 instant.

[Cynfael]

So far for this topic I've largely seen two very distinct positions:

1) The group that is considering Drain as it was in its form as a role action, and doesn't care to see it return to BLM because of how pathetic its output was compared to the damage loss.
2) The group that would like to see BLMs get some form of self-sustain for crisis scenarios and questing, and think an iteration of Drain would be a thematic backup to Manaward.

What puzzles me is that most of what I've seen of Group 1 thinks itself mutually exclusive with Group 2, even though both positions can be simultaneously satisfied by just not giving BLM an 80 potency attack with 80% damage-as-healing.
In all honesty, I expect half the reason it was so weak to start with was having to balance it against Ruin.
Heck, make it 200 potency and give it 150% healing, that at least would be semi-worthwhile healing without replacing a healer. Sure the damage would be pathetic but it's not like the intent is to be part of the main rotation. Not like you use Sleep in raids either.

A long-cooldown Drain that heals for more sounds fine to me. I still don't think anyone would really use it, but it wouldn't be unbalancing, so it's whatever.

It's not that there isn't room for common ground in this odd discussion; it's more that some of us don't care about Drain at all. We didn't use it while it was there, and we don't miss it now that it's gone. It's not going to hurt any of us in that camp to have some kind of Drain restored, but it's hard to understand why people ask for it when you already regarded it as unnecessary.

[Archwizard]

It's not that there isn't room for common ground in this odd discussion; it's more that some of us don't care about Drain at all. We didn't use it while it was there, and we don't miss it now that it's gone. It's not going to hurt any of us in that camp to have some kind of Drain restored, but it's hard to understand why people ask for it when you already regarded it as unnecessary.

Sure, but that's in large part because of how impotent it was. Give it enough of a healing bump and it'll be worth a bar space, even if only for rare circumstances from a raiding standpoint.

I mean don't get me wrong, even when I was using Drain it was exhausting to cast it 4-5 times in a row to get to a mild amount of HP, and that was only possible with Manaward. I can totally see why Camp 1 players would write it off. But, if Camp 2 players found reason to use even that much, that's just as valid.

[Hikelos]

While the post borders on trolling, because of how absolutely useless Drain was, I agree that it's sad it was removed as it was good flavour (together with Protect).
IMO a better solution would've been giving Drain a higher potency, a long Cooldown and making it into the spell to use after Conversion saps 20% of your max HP. Sadly BLM instead lost both Conversion and Drain, in favour of Manafont, which is just a flat and boring "restore mp".
It would have fit in there very well too since after Conversion/Manafont you only have enough MP for two more Fire 4 and the space to cast a 3rd spell before going into umbral ice.

[Hasrat]

So, sorta tangentially related, role skill I actually miss, and used way more often than Drain: Mana Shift. I always thought it was the perfect way to show thanks for the rez. "Here, have all that MP back."

[Orbus]

So, sorta tangentially related, role skill I actually miss, and used way more often than Drain: Mana Shift. I always thought it was the perfect way to show thanks for the rez. "Here, have all that MP back."

Also good for handing some mp to a tank.
Have a irl friend that plays pld and in voice chat he could tell me in a pinch that he needs some mp, and 20% of a casters mp is pretty much a full mp restore for a tank.
Guy can clutch a clemency when he needs to, let me tell ya.

[Remedi]

is this an out of season april's fools joke?