Healer Unhappiness exists on the Jap Healing Forums as well.

[Truen]

I found this post to be a pretty accurate comparison to our sentiments on the English-side of the language divide. Pardon the translation. To summarize: homogonization has stripped the 3 archetypes of individuality--if not identity. Too much has been removed from dps rotations from the Scholar, the AST card system is bland, and White Mage is okay...

From KunaYuki https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...30107-KunaYuki

"Even so, I was wondering what it was like as a main healer, such as being unsatisfactory. ... I want it too. I feel that my ID has become particularly difficult. Raids are good, but scholars: I think that scholars are scientists even if they look at actions, but it seems that the scholar's peculiarity is diminishing because it has been too unified with other healers. I am also doing it [playing these jobs] . ≪Miazuma also disappeared here and bio system remains, but it is regrettable that Miazuma Biola Vane spreads, continuous damage of shadow flare, and the real pleasure of scholars have disappeared. Astrologer: I wonder what this job is like when it's gone. It's a little changed with the next patch? I had a thought. This is the point where the “wheel of fortune” changes drastically. If it is a Noctor, I think that I could not move as it was, but continued recovery, and if it was a Dyer, I could move with a damage reduction barrier, but I do not know what will happen because I will touch it, but the only damage is everyone. The astrologer's real pleasure of defending is lost. I think that the opposite property of Dyer Noctor is that good, but I think that Dyer's conventional type is also good. Couldn't it have been possible to make a range version of the crossing of stars without changing the wheel of fate? I think that at the end it is too unified and loses individuality. The white magician is the white magician, the scholar is the scholar, the astrologer is the astrologer, all have different names, and the effects are all the same. The white magician is not a scholar, not an astrologer. I don't feel like this exists anymore, so I think healers should have more personality, such as black mages, which is strong on a single unit, and casters, which is strong on a range, like magis. In terms of recovery, I hope Pure and Barrier will not lose their individuality in the future."


[Original post]: (https://bit.ly/3bxYWgj)

[Original text]そんな中でも物足りなさなどちょっとメインヒーラーとしてどうなんだろうと思ったこと 　言いたいと思います。 ...も欲しいなと思います。特にIDがしんどくなったなという気がします。レイド系はいいですけど 　学者：学者はアクションとか見てても科学者というコンセプトだと思うのですが、何か他の 　ヒーラーと統一されてしまっていて学者の独特さが薄れてきてる感じが見えたりもしてます。 　こちらもミアズマが無くなりバイオ系は残っていますがミアズマバイオラ・ベイン拡散とか、 　あとシャドウフレアの継続ダメージ、学者の醍醐味が無くなってしまったのは残念です。 　　 　占星術師：このジョブは、何か無くなってどうこうは無いのですが。次のパッチ5.1での改変で 　少し、ん？と思うことがありました。「運命の輪」が大きく変わる点です。ノクターだと 　従来の感じのまま動けず継続回復、ダイアーだとダメージ軽減バリアで動けるという事だった 　と思いますが、これから触るという事なのでどうなるかわからないところですが唯一ダメージ 　軽減バリアをはって皆を守るという占星術師の醍醐味が無くなってしまうようでならない。...cut due to length constraits.

[Loki]

There are tons of this kind of messages on JP forums since 5.0 but SE doesn't care apparently.

[Mindiori]

Hm. In a world where the path of least resistance is often the most preferred. At a time where people argue there is 'challenge' that still remains in hammering a single button ad nauseam....as long as the encounter is 'difficult'. Well, what is really expected at that point/age? Appealing to the lowest common denominator is the way all of these things usually end. A pity, I never seem to have the good sense my friends do and leave before that point is so clearly advertised/reached rather than complain.

Nothing will be done ofcourse. Always the same in these games and if anything it will get even simpler, assuming more pruning. They make more money that way. Make do or move along.

[KDSilver]

That's not surprising.

[Rasikko]

Makes you wonder who they actually listen to then.

Edit: Well if it's anything like what goes on at Bethesda, Yoshida does have to answer to the guys over him and their own ideas are law and he can't go against them.

[Vitreus]

The fact that our downtime gameplay doesn't change after level 4 insane. Loss of class identity and increased homogenization is a huge canary in the coal mine for an MMORPG's imminent decline. Especially when it's coupled with blatant disregard to player feedback.

[Truen]

The fact that our downtime gameplay doesn't change after level 4 insane. Loss of class identity and increased homogenization is a huge canary in the coal mine for an MMORPG's imminent decline. Especially when it's coupled with blatant disregard to player feedback.

I know some really like him, but I blame Yoshi for everything healers are dealing with right now.

[Vitreus]

I know some really like him, but I blame Yoshi for everything healers are dealing with right now.

Luckily he really cares about the game and it's players so I can only hope that the player data shows him the changes were a mistake. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of us are no longer maining the roll when we had before.

[Claire_Pendragon]

WHM hardly changed. But I felt it had more of a "Proc" identity before. (Also why didnt they turn protect or stoneskin into what they made benison as?) But they need to reverse the procs a bit.
Make Cure2 proc a stronger free mp cost cure1. Stone or Fluid aura could proc a stronger Aero, thats slightly stronger than stone. (it doesnt reset the DoT, but adds to the timer) (Still keep the cure1 to Cure2 proc, in case it happens, despite how rare it is in this new style)

Though, I feel "RDM styled mechanics" are probably the best system for a healer to have for its DPS phase/rotation.
You dont worry about timers ticking down (like a dps buff) or DoTs ticking down.
You look at 2 gauges, neither of which are depleting, and you just pick DPS spells based on which gauge u need to fill, and which proc is lit up.
If you lower the difference in potency between the right and wrong answer, this would be extremely easy to perform, and for the players with low skill, the difference in DPS would be minimal if they made mistakes, due to stuff going wrong, and distracting them.

AST already has a filler action to keep them busy, but the current system is weird, and less fun. (The prior system was hard to remember which card did what, until u played it long enough. Which just needed better card visuals to know what to do)

SCH had DoTs mostly as its dps identity, which isnt too bad, but unlike WHM or AST identity mechanics, DoTs are essentially timers, which WHM practically doesnt have (besides its own dots, which arent seen as its identity or job mechanic), and AST hardly feels the effects as much, due to things just lighting up when ready. SCH has to look back at the enemy, or focus target (As a gameplay mechanic). But this poor mechanic theme isnt really fixable, due to the bad design of the ACN job from the beginning. (Spell caster who uses vile poisons to slowly kill their opponents, also happens to be the job with the adorable cute fairy, who heals the ouchies)
The only alternative I can think of, would be something drastically different from its current, or past identities.

[Side-Eye]

AST already has a filler action to keep them busy, but the current system is weird, and less fun. (The prior system was hard to remember which card did what, until u played it long enough. Which just needed better card visuals to know what to do)

The main problem with the AST card system isn't that it's weird; it's just a LOT of work relative to the impact of those buffs (changing targets and clicking card buffs at least twice every fifteen seconds). And what little bit cards can contribute, even some of that is lost if you're running a light party with two range or two melee dps.

IMO, they'd be better off separating cards from buffs altogether: add a few direct actions for small group dmg+ buffs, and change the cards into utilities... some ideas have already been tossed around on the forum but I'd suggest mana regen buff, an in-combat movement buff, a damage mitigation buff, and maybe something unique like a time reversal that removes any damage incurred during the previous 10 seconds (like, somebody misses a mechanic, a dps gets caught in a cleave, etc).