Hopping on the Chemist train with a fully-fledged job concept

[Leidiriv]

After spending quite a bit of time with my static's healers to fine-tune the numbers, I'm proud to present my class concept for Medicus (just Chemist but renamed since we already have Alchemist as a crafter)!

Story: In an effort to prove Pureblood Garlean supremacy, certain factions among the Optimates endeavored to create a method of sustaining troops on the battlefield to phase out the need for savages to wield magicks. Luckily for those attempting to push into Garlemald, the designs for this equipment were intercepted by Populares spies and distributed to the Garlond Ironworks to better arm the Eorzean soldiers.

Now, with war swiftly approaching, the Medicus steps out onto the battlefield in earnest. Finally, Garlean ingenuity has managed to surpass magickal healing in its traditional role on the battlefield, and a new era of warfare is upon us.


Weapon: Two-handed hand cannon attached by a series of tubes to the Synthesis Chamber, a glass canister worn on the Medicus’s back.

Limit Break: Mega-Phoenix - The Synthesis Chamber overclocks, creating a powerful Phoenix Down that gets launched into the air, creating a large ball of light, from which smaller balls of light drift down onto the party, fully reviving them


Noiseblaster: Deliver an attack with a potency of 210/230/250.
Additional Effect: Has a 15% chance to inflict the effect of Trauma if the target is affected by Debilitator.
Duration: 30s
Cast time: 2s | Recast time: 2.5s | Range: 25y | 400 MP | Weaponskill
Level 1 MED


Debilitator: Deliver an attack with a potency of 30.
Additional effect: Damage over time
Potency: 25/35.
Duration: 30s
Additional Effect: Delivers an additional attack with a potency of 350 if the target is under the effect of Trauma, and consumes the effect of Trauma. If Trauma was consumed, this weaponskill costs no MP.
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 2.5s | Range: 25y | 400 MP | Weaponskill
Level 2 MED


S-Potion: Restores the target’s HP.
Cure Potency: 400
Additional Effect: Applies 2 Solutions to the target.
Cast time: 1.5s | Recast time: 2.5s | Range: 30y| 400 MP | Weaponskill
Level 4 MED


M-Potion: Restores the target’s HP and the HP of all party members near the target.
Cure Potency: 250
Additional Effect: Applies 1 Solution to all affected party members.
Cast time: 2.5s | Recast time: 2.5s | Range: 25y | Radius: 8y | 800 MP | Weaponskill
Level 10 MED


S-Phoenix: Resurrects the target to a weakened state.
Cast time: 8s | Recast time: 2.5s | Range: 25y | 2400 MP | Weaponskill
Level 12 MED


S-Elixir: Restores the target’s HP.
Cure Potency: 550
Additional Effect: Applies 2 Solutions to the target.
Cast Time: 1.5s | Recast time: 2.5s | Range: 30y | 1000 MP | Weaponskill
Level 30 MED


Aetherochemical Charge: Consumes all Solutions on the target to create an Aetherochemical Barrier around them that absorbs damage equivalent to a heal of the following potencies.
1 Solution: 100
2 Solutions: 175
3 Solutions: 250
4 Solutions: 350
5 Solutions: 450
Effect does not stack with Galvanize or Nocturnal Barrier.
Duration: 30s
Additional Effect: Grants 5 Feedback for each Solution consumed this way.
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 20s | Range: 30y | Ability
Level 30 MED


Aetherochemical Pulse: Consumes all Solutions on self and all nearby party members to create an Aetherochemical Barrier around each one that absorbs damage equivalent to a heal of the following potencies.
1 Solution: 70
2 Solutions: 140
3 Solutions: 210
4 Solutions: 280
5 Solutions: 350
Effect does not stack with Galvanize or Nocturnal Barrier.
Duration: 30s
Additional Effect: Grants 2 Feedback for each Solution consumed this way.
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 20s | Radius: 15y | Ability
Level 35 MED


M-Elixir: Restores the target’s HP and the HP of all party members near the target.
Cure Potency: 400
Additional Effect: Applies 1 Solution to all affected party members.
Cast time: 2.5s | Recast time: 2.5s| Range: 30y | Radius: 8y | 1300 MP | Weaponskill
Level 40 MED


Red Fang: Delivers a fire-aspected attack to the target and all enemies near the target with
a potency of 80.
Additional Effect: Burn
Burn Potency: 20
Duration: 15s
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 2.5s | Range: 15y | Radius: 6y | 600 MP | Weaponskill
Level 45 MED


Caustic Spray: Delivers damage over time to all enemies in a cone before you.
Potency: 130
Duration: 10s
Additional Effect: Continually applies Solutions to yourself and all party members in a cone
before you.
Effect ends upon using another action or moving (including facing a different direction).
Cancels auto-attack upon execution.
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 2.5s| Range: 12y | Radius: 12y | Weaponskill | 50
Feedback
Level 50 MED


Holy Water: Blesses an area with holy water, increasing the healing received by all party members who enter the area by 15%.
Additional Effect: Applies a Solution to all affected allies every 3s.
Duration: 18s
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 120s | Range: 30y | Radius: 8y | Ability
Level 52 MED


Balm of Garlemald: Restores own HP and the HP of all nearby party members.
Cure Potency: 350
Additional Effect: Applies 1 Solution to all affected party members.
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 40s | Radius: 15y | Ability
Level 56 MED


Transfusion: Grants healing over time effect to target.
Cure Potency: 275
Duration: 15s
Additional Effect: Applies 1 Solution to the target every time they are healed by this ability.
Cast time: instant| Recast time: 60s | Range: 30y | Ability
Level 58 MED


Dark Matter: Consumes all Solutions on the target to deliver an attack to all enemies near them with a potency based on how many Solutions were consumed.
1 Solution: 65
2 Solutions: 130
3 Solutions: 195
4 Solutions: 260
5 Solutions: 325
Additional Effect: Grants 5 Feedback for every Solution consumed this way.
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 40s | Range: 25y | Radius: 6y | Charges: 2 | Ability
Level 60 MED


Hero Drink: Reduces the damage that the target takes by 40%.
Duration: 15s
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 180s | Range: 30y | Ability
Level 62 MED


Bacchanalian Infusion: Increases the Direct Hit Rate of self and all nearby party members by 20%.
Duration: 15s
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 120s | Radius: 15y | Ability
Level 64 MED


Lilith’s Kiss: Delivers an attack with a potency of 20.
Additional Effect: Damage over time
Potency: 30
Duration: 30s.
Additional Effect: Grants 2 Feedback every time Lilith’s Kiss deals damage.
Additional effect: Duration is halved and damage over time potency is doubled when used against targets affected by Inferno Fang.
Cast time: 1.5s | Recast time: 2.5s | Range: 25y | 200 MP | Weaponskill
Level 66 MED


Experimental Reagent: Applies 5 Solutions to self and all nearby party members.
Additional Effect: Resets Aetherochemical Charge and Aetherochemical Pulse recast timers.
Can only be used in combat.
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 120s | Radius: 15y | Ability
Level 70 MED


Refreshing Spray: Delivers healing over time to self and all party members in a cone before you.
Cure Potency: 160
Duration: 10s
Additional Effect: Continually applies Solutions to self and all party members in a cone before you.
Effect ends upon using another action or moving (including facing a different direction).
Cancels auto-attack upon execution.
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 2.5s| Range: 12y | Radius: 12y | Weaponskill | 50 Feedback
Level 72 MED


Inferno Fang: Delivers a fire-aspected attack to the target and all enemies near the target with a potency of 100.
Additional Effect: Burn
Burn Potency: 25
Duration: 12s
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 2.5s | Range: 15y | Radius: 6y | 600 MP | Weaponskill
Level 74 MED


Soothing Pulse: Consumes all Solutions on self and all nearby party members to restore HP based on the number of Solutions consumed on each target.
Cure Potency with 1 Solution: 60
2 Solutions: 120
3 Solutions: 180
4 Solutions: 240
5 Solutions: 300
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 10s | Radius: 15y | Ability
Level 76 MED


Unstable Compound: Gradually increases your Feedback Gauge.
Duration: 15s
Effect ends upon using another action or moving.
Cancels auto-attack upon execution.
Triggers the cooldown of weaponskills upon execution. Cannot be executed during the
cooldown of weaponskills.
Can only be used in combat.
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 60s | Ability
Level 78 MED


Clinical Trial: Consumes all Solutions on the target.
Additional Effect: Grants 10 Feedback for every Solution consumed this way.
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 30s | Range: 25y | Ability
Level 80 MED


Traits-
Magiteknical Synthesis: Swiftcast now affects your Weaponskills.
Level 1 MED

Maim and Mend: Increases base action damage and HP restoration by 10%
Level 20 MED

The Perfect Mix: Certain Weaponskills and Abilities apply Solutions to their targets. Max 5 Solutions per party member.
Level 30 MED

Maim and Mend II: Increases base action damage and HP restoration by 30%
Level 40 MED

Toxic Feedback: Consuming Solutions now increases your Feedback.
Level 50 MED

Deafening Blast I: Increases Noiseblaster’s potency to 230.
Level 54 MED

Virophage: Increases the damage over time potency of Debilitator to 35.
Level 66 MED

Trauma: Grants a 15% chance that when used against a target affected by Debilitator, Noiseblaster will grant the effect of Trauma to the target. When Debilitator is used against a target suffering from the effect of Trauma, it costs no MP and adds its full damage over time to its initial damage.
Level 68 MED

Fang Mastery: Upgrades Red Fang to Inferno Fang.
Level 74 MED

Infernal Kiss: When used against an enemy affected by Inferno Fang, the over-time portion of Lilith's Kiss now has a potency of 60 and a duration of 15s.
Level 74 MED

Deafening Blast II: Increases Noiseblaster’s potency to 250.
Level 74 MED

[Volkaj]

1. I assume M/S-Potion upgrades to M/S-Elixir? Otherwise even if they are meant to be Cure I/Cure II/Medica equivalents the potencies are really low. I wouldn't want to be stuck spamming S-Elixir on a tank in a big pull for instance if my OGCDs are on cooldown.

2. From the description, Refreshing Spray and Caustic Spray work like MCH's Flamethrower does. This is really, really bad. Refreshing Spray is a HPS loss over just spamming Aetherochemical Pulse, and Caustic Spray is barely a 15p DPS gain per target over Inferno Fang in AoE scenarios. And it roots you in place, so if there's any AoEs coming your way (common in trash packs, where you'd want to use it) you have to cancel and waste the 50 gauge. This effectively renders the FB gauge completely useless.

3. The only solution spender that gives some DPS potency is Dark Matter, which is single-target and has a 60s cooldown. It consumes a maximum of 5 solutions, for 375p worth of damage. The biggest challenge would be to always have 5 solutions on at least one party member when using it. This is easily solved by alternating Experimental Reagent and Holy Water, and if you can muscle in a Transfusion on the MT. This might not seem like much of a sore point, but if it is fairly easy to use a 5 solution DM on cooldown then there isn't much of a risk-reward factor with it.

4. Outside of GCD heals, your Solution generators are Balm (300p AoE), Transfusion (250p/15s ST regen), Holy Water and Experimental Reagent. In any practical scenario a Solution stack is 70p effective healing potency on a DPS/healer and 100p on a tank. Adding these Solution potencies directly onto the skills, we get:
- Balm: 370p AoE, 40s CD
- Transfusion: 350p/15s ST regen, 60s CD
- S-Elixir: 700p ST GCD
- M-Elixir: 420p AoE GCD
- Holy Water: 700p AoE, 120s CD
- Experimental Reagent: 500p AoE, 120s CD
Compared to all other healers these potencies are fairly low, and this scenario ignores the cooldowns on Solution spenders. A lot of this potency is shielding, which offsets the lower potencies compared to other healers. But it makes this healer fairly weak in raw healing. Even worse than SB SCH.

5. DPS side looks suspiciously similar to SB SCH's DPS. Red/Inferno Fang (Miasma II) for AoE/weaving, 2 DoTs Lilith's Kiss (Miasma) and Debilitator (Bio II), and one nuke Noiseblaster (Broil II). Only thing missing would be a Ruin II equivalent, but that isn't really needed since Red/Inferno Fang aren't melee-range (and MP-hungry) like Miasma II was.

6. This healer has no MP management skill beyond Lucid Dreaming. Also a skill using MP with a cast time is a spell, making them weaponskills will just make it more confusing to tell if, say, MNK's Mantra or WHM's Asylum (healing buff) works on them.

[Leidiriv]

Lemme address these point by point quick.

1) They are meant to be stuff like the Cure/Cure II equivalents, though the point about low potencies is definitely a good one. Would a 50p buff to S-Elixir and a 40 potency buff to M-Elixir help make them more competitive overall, in your opinion?

2) yeah, now that I look at it, Caustic and Refreshing Spray do have really low potencies compared to the risk involved there. (They do also work like Flamethrower, yeah). Maybe a 20p/tick buff would help make them more equitable?

3) That's true, though I don't really know how to make it more challenging resource-wise other than dropping the cooldown a bit.

4) Maybe a slight buff to Transfusion and Balm are in order? I don't want to accidentally make things too powerful, but I dounderstand the concerns there.

5) The GCD suite was based somewhat off SB SCH, though I hoped the resource gen on Kiss would differentiate it a bit. Are there any mechanical changes you'd make to make it more distinct?

6) I mostly made them MP-costing weaponskills for logistical reasons, and since weaponskills with a cast time aren't unheard of (HW BRD/MCH), and iirc Mantra was made to work with Actions as a whole. The lack of synergy with Asylum is unfortunate, but the thematic sense and different combinations the weaponskill classification opens up is worth it imo. As for MP management, it was my hope that the MP-less Caustic/Refreshing Sprays would help alleviate MP pressure.

[Volkaj]

1. I'd say 100p buff to S-Elixir, and 50p buff to M-Elixir. This would make their base potencies much to closer to SCH's potencies on Adlo/Succor (which are already lower than the AST/WHM equivalents, if we consider regens too).

2. 20p/tick buff? I'd say to at least triple the potency. Keep in mind since you have to sit still and can't use anything else, you can't cast Noiseblaster or any DPS/healing GCD. You need to at least beat GCD skills.

3. Suggestion 1: Reduce Dark Matter cooldown to 30s. Suggestion 2:
Dark Cluster:
Consumes all Solutions on nearby party members to deal damage to enemies nearby based on how many solutions were consumed.
1 Solution: 12
2 Solutions: 24
3 Solutions: 36
4 Solutions: 48
5 Solutions: 60
Additional Effect: Grants 2 Feedback for every Solution consumed this way.
Cast time: instant | Recast time: 30s | Range: 25y | Radius: 6y | Charges: 2 | Ability
Level 60 MED

8 party members close to the boss = 480 potency, since this would be per party member. Its also a fairly solid risk since 5 solutions is a good chunk of healing.

4. Buff Soothing Pulse to 120p per Solution stack. That's raw healing instead of a shield, and already has a low cooldown.

5. There are many, many ways to make DPS GCD suites. A few simple ways to make this one feel really distinct even if the changes are small:
Trauma (Trait) : 50% chance upon using Noiseblaster on a target afflicted by Debilitator to remove Debilitator and apply the remaining damage over time immediately.
Infernal Kiss (Trait) : Reduces Lilith’s Kiss duration by 50% and increase its potency by 100% if used upon a target afflicted by Inferno Fang.

[Leidiriv]

1) The buff potencies make sense now that I think about it, gonna adjust that shortly.

2) remember, these skills are ticking once every second, like Flamethrower. That's a lot of extra healing/damage with every tick.

3) I really like Dark Cluster, and I feel like I might go a middle route of having both skills but keeping both on a 40s cooldown. (maybe in the process I should replace Clinical Trial with Dark Cluster? That skill's always felt kinda bleh)

4) That's fair, I guess I mostly intended for the shields to be a more efficient use of Solutions than Soothing Pulse, but maybe an in-between of 80 potency/Solution would be the best route? Not entirely sure here.

5) I really like both of those trait ideas. Maybe I should remove one tier of Virophage and Deafening Blast (bringing up the lower tiers to compensate) and implement those two traits? If you don't mind me borrowing those, that is.

[Volkaj]

2. And here was me thinking they ticked once per 3 seconds. Shows how little I know about MCH. The potencies make a lot more sense now.

3. Having both makes sense, since they're not completely mutually exclusive: Dark Matter deals less damage, but consumes a lot less stacks. Having it replace Clinical Trial, hmm, yeah I guess it serves the same purpose of getting DPS out of Solution stacks.

4. The usual order is regens > raw heals > shields, since shields can make you survive things you wouldn't otherwise. Shields also go away after a while, and usually do not stack. I heavily suggest buffing Soothing Pulse so it heals for a good chunk more than Aetherochemical Pulse shields.

5. I have no qualm about you incorporating those two. I mean that's one of the reasons why I made suggestions in the first place.

[AriaEnia]

This reminds me of FF Tactics chemists who throw bottles around to cure and heal.

[Leidiriv]

Hm, Volkaj, now that I actually look at it I'm not too sure about Dark Cluster. That, paired with the 3 Dark Matters every 2 minutes can already get, would be absolutely absurd burst damage for a healer to have. Every 2 minutes they can do Inferno Fang pre-buff (have Trauma up, pop Bacchanalian Infusion) > Lilith's Kiss > Dark Matter > Debilitator > Dark Matter > Caustic Spray > Noiseblaster > Lilith's Kiss for a grand total of roughly 4000 potency in those 15 seconds assuming they can channel Caustic Spray for the full 10 seconds. And then they can potentially repeat that minus one Dark Matter for 60/180s buff windows. Perhaps the damage should be brought down at some point in the rotation? Dropping Caustic Spray to 130/tick and dropping Dark Matter to somewhere between 60-70/Solution would be a good start, but maybe Debilitator's DoT potency should be dropped to 35 as well? What do you think?

Edit: preliminary calculations place the class at a pps of roughly 117 after these nerfs (not counting buff alignment shenanigans or Trauma/Infernal Kiss) Paired with the difficulty of execution compared to other healers when it comes to execution, do you think that's overall pretty fair?

[Volkaj]

Hm, Volkaj, now that I actually look at it I'm not too sure about Dark Cluster. That, paired with the 3 Dark Matters every 2 minutes can already get, would be absolutely absurd burst damage for a healer to have. Every 2 minutes they can do Inferno Fang pre-buff (have Trauma up, pop Bacchanalian Infusion) > Lilith's Kiss > Dark Matter > Debilitator > Dark Matter > Caustic Spray > Noiseblaster > Lilith's Kiss for a grand total of roughly 4000 potency in those 15 seconds assuming they can channel Caustic Spray for the full 10 seconds. And then they can potentially repeat that minus one Dark Matter for 60/180s buff windows. Perhaps the damage should be brought down at some point in the rotation? Dropping Caustic Spray to 130/tick and dropping Dark Matter to somewhere between 60-70/Solution would be a good start, but maybe Debilitator's DoT potency should be dropped to 35 as well? What do you think?

Edit: preliminary calculations place the class at a pps of roughly 117 after these nerfs (not counting buff alignment shenanigans or Trauma/Infernal Kiss) Paired with the difficulty of execution compared to other healers when it comes to execution, do you think that's overall pretty fair?

I'd say remove the charge on Dark Matter (so being able to blow 2 different targets worth of solutions isn't feasible, and Dark Cluster becomes more interesting), and nerf Caustic a bit.

That said, I was mainly looking at how the kit would work mechanically and how it would roughly compare to other healers.
Fine potency tuning is always a struggle :/

[Leidiriv]

I'd say remove the charge on Dark Matter (so being able to blow 2 different targets worth of solutions isn't feasible, and Dark Cluster becomes more interesting), and nerf Caustic a bit.

That said, I was mainly looking at how the kit would work mechanically and how it would roughly compare to other healers.
Fine potency tuning is always a struggle :/

Hmm... I'm not sure how I feel about removing the charges from Dark Matter since that makes using the ability so prohibitively strict. I think I'd rather just keep it on 40s/2 charges for now since that still allows for 2 Matters under 120s raid buffs and an extra Matter under 60s/180s buffs afterward. It's nice and flexible but still presents optimization challenges.