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

[Semirhage]

Actually the thing that matters most is teamwork, though that's always overlooked here (in NA) in favor of personal performance. Yes, tanks and healers can do damage (can even do very good damage) but for the most part its incidental--like for solo instances (from a design standpoint). IMO, the game is set up so that ideally a group of a certain iLvl, using basic skills from their kit can clear the duty in the allotted time. The only real exception being Savage and Extremes/Ultimates where time is a factor due to enrage.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for utility but I don't want to suffer through another optimization war where I'm suddenly expected to play someone else's role so someone else can play mine. (I do really miss manashift but mp management on healer seems to be less of a thing now.) Hopefully they'll give us back a little with Endwalker.

Not that I'd mind reversing course on this downward grind of support skills (though I enjoy dealing damage as a healer and would never touch the role again if they removed that facet), what impetus do they have for that? DPS are the stars of the show. They're one-character-armies that can heal themselves, damage shield, power through solo duties with the most ease. Most popular role. Most MMOs I've played have a direction that their entropy flows, and that direction is toward making DPS the king role that occasionally stoops to allowing teamwork in the increasingly smaller areas of content it remains necessary.

Teamwork in MMOs lasts as long as the DPS playerbase feels like relying on you. If they don't feel like it anymore, expect to be made redundant.