Why is the healer class basically a one spell dps class?

[Recon1o6]

I have to wonder, are we playing the same game or do I just have (bad) luck? I see this assertion get thrown around here and there, and it seems like hyperbole. Oftentimes in current content, healers are everywhere. It is not uncommon to get invited into parties with 3+ healers out in Bozja, get matched with parties with 4+ healers in DR, and in the active weeks following a new EX trial's release, it can be an actual race to join a PF with a free healer spot... The only place I actively see people avoid healer like the plague is in PvP.

You seem to have luck, yesterday I was waiting for almost an hour for a healer for a diamond ex party. In addition multiple POTD runs i been suffering lately in the name of silver coffers turned up no healers. Finally we aren't long after a patch, numbers are always upticking in the first two weeks. Its in between patches where the lack of healers becomes a fundamental problem.

Bozja is the place where there are most healers because of seraph strike, chainspell, burst and some other attack actions that are available that take away some of the monotony of a 1 button dps "rotation"
in addition there is the super powerful lost death+repose+ordained wisdom combo thats exclusive to healers that is useful for 1 shotting * mobs

[Duskane]

I always find this "healer shortage" thing funny to read because if it was true probably wouldn't have gotten that far in ShB msq or a massive use in trust happened
like Healers are generally the last thing you'll get in PF ex content always been the case especially when we have new content like Bozja just released.

[Rilifane]

I always find this "healer shortage" thing funny to read because if it was true probably wouldn't have gotten that far in ShB msq or a massive use in trust happened
like Healers are generally the last thing you'll get in PF ex content always been the case especially when we have new content like Bozja just released.

At ShB release, healer always had instant invites even at the oddest hours with tanks having to wait for several minutes. This went on for many months until non-healers picked up on the perks of queueing as a healer for instant invites. Which means what we now have in DF are mostly dps who switch to healer because you get instant invite and it's braindead easy; that is a far cry from the dedicated healer mains you regulary had in DF queues before ShB. Most dps/ tank mains I know despise healer but still queue as it for quick roulettes because they can just spam one button and netflix on their 2nd monitor. But they still dislike healer and would never play it for anything other than instant invite.
Not quite as extreme but similiar in endgame content. You tend to wait for healers and the ones you get are.. clearly not well-versed in playing healer. It's rare that I get a healer in reclears or Ex farm that even reaches blue while hilariously outgearing the content. And you can even reach low purple with lots of GCD heals.
Don't think that just because you don't wait 35min as a dps for a healer anymore means we have plenty of healer mains - we don't. We have dps mains that are tired of long queues and bite the bullet by doing something they don't like, they're not good at just to get it over with.

[Duskane]

At ShB release, healer always had instant invites even at the oddest hours with tanks having to wait for several minutes.

this happens when new class you add is a tank

[Semirhage]

I always find this "no reduction in healer mains" thing funny to read because it'd take literally zero healers queuing for anything before parts of this community will admit healer design is terrible.

[Duskane]

I always find this "no reduction in healer mains" thing funny to read because it'd take literally zero healers queuing for anything before parts of this community will admit healer design is terrible.

nice try but ive already said my issues with healers and Im not saying they are perfect or not flawed but the "healer strike" or "lack there of healers" always pops up on these forums always interesting to see.

[Deceptus]

I always find this "no reduction in healer mains" thing funny to read because it'd take literally zero healers queuing for anything before parts of this community will admit healer design is terrible.

We had close to that in SHB launch. Healers were in extremely short supply.

[Semirhage]

We had close to that in SHB launch. Healers were in extremely short supply.

Oh that's because there was a new tank, you see. Nothing to do with terrible healer design or anyone quitting. Healers dropping the role? Preposterous. Low-skilled Sylphies and AFK Netflixing DPS moonlighters replacing the ones sick of it? Trick of the light. Not happening.

[Lyth]

There will always be a relative shortage of tanks and healers. These are team-focused support roles. People pick these roles so that they can have an impact.

You don't need incentives to get people to play DPS. There's just less hassle, and you can play it like it's a single player game. The problem is that because the majority of the playerbase plays DPS, that's where the majority of the focus and effort goes. You want to have impact? Play DPS. You want to have first dibs on gear upgrades? Play DPS. You want job variety? Play DPS.

You're not really giving up that much control over how the fight pans out, either. Bosses move and position themselves, so tanks don't really tank anything. Outgoing damage completely scripted, so your healers aren't reacting and making critical saves so much as they are following a set of timestamps. Anything interesting in gameplay just comes down to dps, and as we've seen in the past two expansions, there's a widening gulf between 'support' roles and the main stars of the show. Why wouldn't you play DPS? It seems obvious, in retrospect.

[Rilifane]

this happens when new class you add is a tank

Sure. The fact that they butchered every single healer had nothing to do with it. It's not like the forums and balance discord was on fire or something. Or that healers have been non-stop complaing ever since ShB release. And nobody ever admitted to quitting healing because of their terrible design choices for ShB.
Nah.
It was just because there was a new tank and it was only healer mains suddenly interested in tanking.
Man, how come I never realised this?