Developers : Healer design mentality needs to change

[ItMe]

To be honest, I think I'm seeing more "bad" healers anymore BECAUSE of how accessible they have become. The ones who decided to pick up the role and tough it out prior to Shadowbringers were usually the healers I'd want in my party, because they were largely forced to learn to get much of anywhere, because mediocre play really didn't get them very far. Far enough I suppose, but they were quickly sorted in Extreme, Savage and up. Now? Anyone with even just half a brain cell can pick up a healer and heal, but that doesn't make them better if they keep eating mechanics they shouldn't be. There has always been bad players in any job of every role, that much is true. But I think some of that comes down to how easy it is to pick up a job and go on a dime.

I wonder how different things would be if you could only enjoy gear progression and raise your ilvl by playing the job you're gearing up.
Tomes let you gear anything, and the coffer system they use in Savage now is very friendly but just exacerbated this.

If it were harder to gear up your side jobs I wonder how many sub-par part time healers (guilty) would disappear (not that I think this would necessarily be a good thing).

[Vahlnir]

I wonder how different things would be if you could only enjoy gear progression and raise your ilvl by playing the job you're gearing up.
Tomes let you gear anything, and the coffer system they use in Savage now is very friendly but just exacerbated this.

If it were harder to gear up your side jobs I wonder how many sub-par part time healers (guilty) would disappear (not that I think this would necessarily be a good thing).

It's hard to say, really. Personally, I don't see gearing being part of the problem. It doesn't matter what job someone is gearing up. They could have the best gear in the world and still be...well, sub par. This isn't a healer only issue. It can happen with any job in any role. I think the healer changes made with Shadowbringers are responsible for what we are seeing now. It just took some time to manifest, and even longer to show itself semi regularly as some long time healers have abandoned the role while new healers take their place. Maybe eventually things will even back out. Time will tell. I think addressing what healers have been complaining about since Shadowbringers launch would go a long way. Sadly, any big changes will likely be made only at the start of the next expansion, provided any changes are made at all. It's just going to be a bit of a bumpy ride until then for everyone.