We can have a 4th healer and have balance between all of them.

[Acidblood]

Further to the OP, a 4th healer could actually lead to better balance and more unique class identity...

One of the issues with the current 3 healer setup is that WHM is direct heals, and SCH is shields, but AST is forced to choose between being a 'discount WHM' or a 'discount SCH' due to the need for a mix in savage raids. A 4th healer would let SE split the healers evenly between direct heals and shields, allowing each healer to have their own identity within their speciality without making any one healer 'required' for difficult content.

[Deceptus]

To me, its not about balance, it's more about the fact that they attempted to achieve balance by gutting all the healers of what made them fun and unique. I don't want a 4th healer, not for balance's sake, but because they can't make the 3 we have fun and unique. Why would I want a 4th WHM with a small gimmick that barely distinguishes itself from the other 3?

Basically this. For 4 years now we've been told "You can't have a new healer because we need to balance what we have" and this is the result of that. Dumbed down jobs.

[KanameYuuki]

Further to the OP, a 4th healer could actually lead to better balance and more unique class identity...

One of the issues with the current 3 healer setup is that WHM is direct heals, and SCH is shields, but AST is forced to choose between being a 'discount WHM' or a 'discount SCH' due to the need for a mix in savage raids. A 4th healer would let SE split the healers evenly between direct heals and shields, allowing each healer to have their own identity within their speciality without making any one healer 'required' for difficult content.

Hopefully SE realizes that is long overdue for AST to either be regen or shield, to make their lives easier when the eventual 4th healer comes. Better to balance regen vs regen / shield vs shield, than having a turf war between the 3.

[DenzelVilliers]

I hope there's a 4th healer in the future and that healer be a Meele. But if balance is the reason to the 4th Healer wasn't made yet i believe that a 4th Healer is out of question, unless they release a 4th healer even unbalanced, i already lost my hopes in Healers Balance after +6 years playing this game. I'm just waiting for new Jobs Updates to see WHM being nerfed directly ( nerfing their own skills ) or indirectly ( buffing af SCH/AST skills ) always being.

Anyway, SCH at SB was "almost a meele", you had to stand in Meele position to spam Miasma II always that debuff goes off ( 10 secs ) to improve your damage, a Meele Healer could be something like that where their DAMAGE skills was based on Meele style, NOT their HEALING skills, Healing Skills should be ranged like any other.

PLD and GNB are similar, as WAR and DRK are similar now as well. So AST should be focused in only one Stance, Nocturnal or Diurnal ( Nocturnal is useless to me, i just play NOC if there's another AST in my group already in DIU, so i wouldn't miss NOC at all especially now that DIU got Shields to cast ), that way we had 2 healers based on Regen Kit and 2 Healers based on Shield Kit, so the new Healer could be more Buff based too, so there's another 2 Healers for Buffs ( AST and their cards + the new one ) and 2 Healers for Raw Skills ( WHM with their Strong Healing and Damage + SCH with their strong Damage Mitigation and Shields ).

[Dalvy]

As much as I'd love a Geomancer or Chemist class, if SE's definition of balancing is to dumb all three classes down to a basic, bland toolkit, then I don't want a fourth healer.

[LukaRoselia]

Why do they even have to be balanced? Whats wrong with having 4 unique healers that all excel in different things?

What's the point in having 4 if they're just all the same homogenised class with an aesthetically different gauge?

I want to play things because they are fun, not to sit there and be all like 'Omg Astrologian can buff people and White Mage can't, that's not fair, change it!' If all the healers become 'balanced' aka, the same, then whats the point in me ever playing the other 3 out of my aesthetically preferred 1?

[Acidblood]

Why do they even have to be balanced? Whats wrong with having 4 unique healers that all excel in different things?

What's the point in having 4 if they're just all the same homogenised class with an aesthetically different gauge?

I want to play things because they are fun, not to sit there and be all like 'Omg Astrologian can buff people and White Mage can't, that's not fair, change it!' If all the healers become 'balanced' aka, the same, then whats the point in me ever playing the other 3 out of my aesthetically preferred 1?

Short answer: Savage Raids.

Savage Raids are designed so tightly around hard enrages (i.e. a DPS check) and scripted mechanics that if all classes of the same role don't bring A, B, C and D with X rDPS they are seen as 'useless' by the parser slaves and speed runners; rumours spread, party finders exclude said class, and people complain... so, Yoshi forbid any class be unique and fun, because apparently we aren't here to have fun (or think for ourselves), we are here to get a 99% parse on FFlogs :faceplam:

[Ceasaria]

It’s not mutually exclusive, but time and time again I see people saying that they want our 3 balanced before a 4th.

It's possible if they change their vision and focus their work on this role (for once).

[Arale]

Skeptical, with SE's track record. They could do it, but it may end up being like how Tanks are right now, and I'm not too sure that would be worth it.

[Miziliti]

Skeptical, with SE's track record. They could do it, but it may end up being like how Tanks are right now, and I'm not too sure that would be worth it.

True, also at least tank players got a new toy GNB to play with you know. What did healers get? Nothing. If healer just gonna end up getting homogenized like tank, why can't I have a new toy healer job to play with?

People should stop believing the "we add a 4th tank to better balance tanks" statement. Healers got treated the exact same way (if not worse) as tanks.

Add new job is one thing. Balance is another. If they can put effort into balancing/rework, add a 4th first or later doesn't matter.

Just thinking about I have the same three jobs to play as healer for at least another 2 year, I died a little inside.