Getting to Know You (Healer Gaming Styles)

[tinythinker]

1) How long have you been playing?

I started playing in April 2016 (Patch 3.2) and was playing almost every day. But the start of June I had WHM then SCH leveled to cap. For reasons, my time in game decreased and has been largely irregular - on and off. I've been playing more over the past 8-10 months than usual, but I've also stayed out of group content during that time except for Main Scenario and PvP.

2) Do you use controller or mouse/keyboard?

M/K, and I'm always looking for ways to optimize. I mostly use buttons 1-12 and alt + 1-12 on my gaming mouse but when clicking a party member or ability is needed I notice sometimes the pointer just isn't there. Good times.

3) Do you find healing too boring, too hectic, or just right?

I'd lean toward hectic, but I don't know why. I know I don't spend enough time running content with other people, but when I do it feels like I'm playing another game from what bored healers describe. I do know how to play WHM as it's been my main since the start, and I've asked healers on the forums for guidance and advice over the years. But, for some reason even when our standard plan for something like larger dungeon pulls sound the same, the outcome is not.

I appreciate the advice I've received over the years - one person made a video of one set of pulls for me and another ran some content with me in order to help - but, I don't seem to get lots of dull or boring runs? A few once in a blue moon. I tend to find myself healing quite a lot and getting a little stressed at times. So... When I started getting worse instead of better with more practice, I took the hiatus referred to above. Thinking of getting back in soon to prep for EW.

4) Based off question 3, which content are you referring to.

I am generally referring to things like dungeons (with human party members) and normal trials. I avoid harder content in part because of the answer to 3.

5) How many healers have you maxed and which is your preferred to play? Which is your least preferred?

When I started it was WHM then SCH. I did try AST before it's massive changes but not much. I keep all at level cap. As of 5.55, WHM is definitely my fave and SCH is last. Even though I didn't fully utilize and optimize SCH in HW and StB, I did enjoy it. I am actually looking forward to seeing how AST plays in EW and of course WHM.

[Caitlyn]

1) FFXIV for 7 years, main heal since 6 months. I was tired of playing the overly simplified MCH.

2) Controller

3) mixed

4) Dungeons and alliance raids are pretty boring. Savage and Ex Primals are fun, but sometimes a bit hectic. And PvP is pure luck.

5) All to 80. Prefer AST (Noct). Dont like SCH.

[AFuzzyMu11in]

Mine: Been playing since early access first launch day in 2.0.
Controller
I find healing gameplay to be just right and prefer it to be easier in the future
Dungeons, raiding [alliance, savage extreme trials etc]
Only 1 sch. May play a new healer if this fairy jank still exists in 6.0

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

1) How long have you been playing?
I started sometime around mid-late 5.2 ; I’m an ShB baby.

2) Do you use controller or mouse/keyboard?
Mouse/Keyboard

3) Do you find healing too boring, too hectic, or just right?
This really depends, i.e what kind of players I’m paired with in said content. As of now I’m leaning toward “too boring” in general. Few things does spice up the experience but those moments are sporadic at best.

4) Based off question 3, which content are you referring to.
• Dungeons, Trials, Some NR & AR = These are most of time, boring. The only time something actually turns interesting is when the party is littered with flaws. I said some because the ones like O11n, O12n, E4n, & Orbonne are still enjoyable to me even when the players are all competent. I wish there are more raids like Orbonne.
• EX & Savage = Progging and road to smoothing the farm runs with static are the best phase to be in. Once everything are perfected however, things are starting to go stale or worse, downhill. At this point the enjoyment from healing becomes less impactful. Beyond here, I rely solely on either knowing the fact that huge responsibility sits on my hand, or playing meme shenanigan with my static sometimes just to force a mistake but never to the point of wiping.
• Eureka & Save The Queen = Possibly the peak of my healer enjoyment because I am given more tools to play around. And guess what? Those tools do make an impact. Such a shame a side content becomes more enjoyable to me than the main content, considering that I also spend most of my time doing those casual contents.

5) How many healers have you maxed and which is your preferred to play? Which is your least preferred?
They are my first 3 maxed out jobs. My favorite is the nerd SCH. Least fave? That’s hard to say. I flex around real often depending on what my static feeling like or how I want to play at the moment. But if I have to go by numbers wise, I’d say WHM is the least preferred.

[Byonka]

1) How long have you been playing?
Dabbled in 1.0, been playing since 2.0 open beta

2) Do you use controller or mouse/keyboard?
Mouse/keyboard

3) Do you find healing too boring, too hectic, or just right?
I find it just right. I find the simplicity of my 1 button DPS spam allows me to focus on what's happening in the raid around me.

4) Based off question 3, which content are you referring to.
Alliance Raids: I love that these raids really force players to work together. Lots can go wrong in a 24man and I enjoy having more people to support. Current favorite 24man is Orbonne.
When I say I love these raids... I reallly really love them..
My Coin Collection:




5) How many healers have you maxed and which is your preferred to play? Which is your least preferred?
WHM and AST. I prefer WHM. It's like worn in leather. Also Assize is just the best.... and Blood for the Blood Lily!
I do want to get better on AST, I love that I can buff my party but I always tend to crave what I'm more use to.
SCH never made it past level 50. Just never really got into it.

[ItMe]

1) How long have you been playing?
I started November 2018 (4.4ish in Stormblood)



2) Do you use controller or mouse/keyboard?
Started on mouse/keyboard, but moved to controller.



3) Do you find healing too boring, too hectic, or just right?
My static has 3 people that usually heal, so unless I'm PUGing something I normally only have an occasional chance to heal while running roulettes.

Roulettes?
They're fairly dull. I've taken to playing "how low can you go" with my friends HP in ways that have ended up totally shaking the spirit of my friends trying out tanking.

Otherwise... PUGs?
It honestly depends on the group I wind up in. Sometimes it's so smooth its effortless and, if anything, I'm fighting less with the boss and more with the other healer to be relevant and contribute.
More often than not it's a horrible, titanic mess. Sometimes I legit have to stop DPSing for minutes at a time just for my poor MP.



4) Based off question 3, which content are you referring to.
Roulettes up to Savage content.
I've tried PVP a few times and... no thank you.


5) How many healers have you maxed and which is your preferred to play? Which is your least preferred?
I've maxed SCH and AST.
AST is hands down my fav if only because it has built in weave space.

[Semirhage]

1) How long have you been playing?
Since ARR

2) Do you use controller or mouse/keyboard?
Mouse/KB

3) Do you find healing too boring, too hectic, or just right?
Too boring. There's effectively no decision-making. Damage comes in, you generally counter or fix it with the appropriate button. The kits barely have any internal synergy; WHM and SCH in particular don't really build toward anything. There's no personal class goal to achieve other than spamming one button with occasional heals tossed in. (and no, I don't count Misery as something to build toward. It's not a damage gain, it's a refund for taking losses. I don't consider that something to strive for, it's a consolation prize for needing to blow lilies on what amounts to overhealing in most content.)

4) Based off question 3, which content are you referring to.
I've healed Savage and had some forays into Ultimate. Outside the occasional niche scenario where I need to spam Cure 3 for a very brief ~10 second mini phase, I'm bored. On my WHM, I feel kind of useless. All the big hits the bosses in UWU do? There's nothing I can contribute outside regens slowly ticking everyone back up after the hit. If anyone else screws up, we're dead. I can't reduce the outgoing damage, that's the tank and DPS's job. I can't shield the party, that's the other healer's job. I bring Cure 3 and spamming Stone 4 to the table. That's it. That's my unique contribution to the party. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1. I have tons of time to keep mashing that wretched, boring excuse for a "rotation" even in Ultimate. There are no cards to manage, no buffs or assistance to give the party. Just Stone. Stone stone stone stone. And the occasional heal when it's necessary.

5) How many healers have you maxed and which is your preferred to play? Which is your least preferred?
All 3 are 80. AST at least feels like you're managing something or contributing to the party in some way, even if the percentage on Divination is hard to notice. I'm familiar enough with WHM that it's not difficult to play, but every time I return to it it reminds me how limited and hamstrung the job is purposefully designed to be, and the intentional garbage in the job design pisses me off. SCH I'm less familiar with playing, so I don't play it as much. It's just as dirt dull as WHM is this expansion, so I haven't bothered learning the little quirks in how it plays very slightly different from its other drooling sibling.

[GrimGale]

1. Since Beta ARR.

2. Controller.

3. Too boring. Glarebroil spam is not fun. I like weaving, I don't mind target juggling, even on cotroller. AST does get a bit strange on controller, I make more mistakes but it mostly works for me. Even on Savage, I find myself spamming the nuke most of the time. Dungeons are unbearabaly spammy, but instead of nuking a single target I spend most of my time slapping the ground instead.

4. Done all tiers this expansion on SCH/AST. Currently progging TEA. I honestly think I'd have more fun being the only healer in the 8-man party.

5. Maxed out all jobs. SCH is my favourite aesthetic wise. Mechanically, it's AST. WHM is my least favourite both in looks and feels.

[EaMett]

snip

Another relevant question would also have been how often do you play healer and for how long.

[WaxSw]

1: Since early 4.2 iirc

2: Keyboard/Mouse

3: Too boring, spaming one button is not fun

4: All the content with very few exceptions in the form of some parts of Ultimates (TEA comes to mind) where the damage actually push you to make proper use of your kit

5: Between all acounts I've maxed all but Whm, my personal ranking would be Sch>Ast>Whm altough Sch stays on top for not gameplay related reasons.