What’s the point of Physick for Summoner?

[MellowMink]

Note that I’m specifically talking about the spell for Arcanist and Summoner, not the more useful version that Scholar has.

I think with the exception of maybe the first few dungeons, this spell heals an absolutely pitiful percentage of HP and generally isn’t worth using, so one possibility could be just to remove what’s currently a mostly useless spell from the job like how Fluid Aura was finally removed from White Mage this expansion. However, considering that Red Mage gets to have a cure spell that’s actually pretty useful across various instances, I would prefer that Summoner’s cure spell instead be significantly buffed in healing potency or based off some other magic trait altogether.

I was excited that the spell might finally be useful after seeing it on the director’s hotbar during one of the Endwalker presentations, but that sadly didn’t seem to be the case. Can any developers shine a light on why the spell hasn’t either been removed or matched Red Mage’s useful equivalent yet? Thanks a lot to anyone who read this thread by the way!

[Doragan]

To proc Paladins Divine Veil of course! I'm not casting a GCD for that, sorry /s

I would say it's mostly useful for new players when starting the game solo as an arcanist, until level 30 or so. A low level tool, I guess.

I say that,but it's a real wonder why it hasn't gotten deleted yet.

[DPZ2]

I seriously doubt you'll get an answer from a developer, as they don't post on the forums here (or anywhere).

Resurrection is also a part of the Arcanist/Summoner/Scholar toolkit. You get that at level 12. Both serve to get the player used to the idea that healing might be a possibility at the job split at level 30, where Scholar becomes a healer.

The same argument you use for Physick could be used to remove Resurrection. Why should a DPS who doesn't utilize white magicks (aka Red Mage) heal or resurrect? Not sure if every summoner out there would object, but I could see a number of the complaining about the reduction in yet another of their skillsets.

[BokoToloko]

Since Physick is an ACN spell and essential for SCH ARR leveling experience, the only way to "remove" it would be by replacing with another spell via trait. Quickest fix would be the "same" spell with a different name and actually scaling from SMN's main stat: INT.

[Raikai]

Food for thought:

Isn't SCH and SMN Physick 2 separate instances now?

I remember back when Stormblood released, I went to check on my SMN and the Physick was greyed out on my hotbars. I thought the spell was removed... only to find it "intact" on my spellbook. I instantly thought they created a different instance of Physick for SMN, scaling properly with INT.

Also, to confirm this suspicion: https://garlandtools.org/db/#action/16230


Garlandtools database shows two separate instances of Physick, one for SCH and another one for SMN/ACN.

If this is truly the case, why SMN's physick still scales with MND rendering it useless in any kind of situation?

[Shuuli]

I seriously doubt you'll get an answer from a developer, as they don't post on the forums here (or anywhere).

Resurrection is also a part of the Arcanist/Summoner/Scholar toolkit. You get that at level 12. Both serve to get the player used to the idea that healing might be a possibility at the job split at level 30, where Scholar becomes a healer.

The same argument you use for Physick could be used to remove Resurrection. Why should a DPS who doesn't utilize white magicks (aka Red Mage) heal or resurrect? Not sure if every summoner out there would object, but I could see a number of the complaining about the reduction in yet another of their skillsets.

The difference is that res is a useful skill from the point you get it until max level. You use it in level 90 dungeons and extremes and even in raids as a last resort. Res is often mentioned as summoners "tool" that makes it the lowest magic dps now, next to its extreme low complexity of spell rotation.

In addition red mage also has a healing spell and is never turned to healer... and even though it has a longer cd and lower potency time, the RDM spell is 100% more useful for the single reason that summoner Physick scales with Mind, while summoners main stat is Intelligence so this spell never scales... for red mage this is not the situation, the heal is actually potent and is used by people.

[Raikai]

The difference is that res is a useful skill from the point you get it until max level. You use it in level 90 dungeons and extremes and even in raids as a last resort. Res is often mentioned as summoners "tool" that makes it the lowest magic dps now, next to its extreme low complexity of spell rotation.

In addition red mage also has a healing spell and is never turned to healer... and even though it has a longer cd and lower potency time, the RDM spell is 100% more useful for the single reason that summoner Physick scales with Mind, while summoners main stat is Intelligence so this spell never scales... for red mage this is not the situation, the heal is actually potent and is used by people.

Plus, adding to that, Vercure will always be more useful than a Physick scaled with INT simply because of the fact that RDM got dualcast.
The niches that you would use both spells are emergency situations, and you'd probably have to cast a few back to back in that case.

[DPZ2]

In addition red mage also has a healing spell and is never turned to healer...

From a lore standpoint, red mages heal and resurrect because they use a combination of spells associated with white magick (healer) and black magic (casters). Summoner has no such lore.

Don't like how Physick works? Don't put it on your hot bar.

[Exodus-E]

From a lore standpoint, red mages heal and resurrect because they use a combination of spells associated with white magick (healer) and black magic (casters). Summoner has no such lore.

Don't like how Physick works? Don't put it on your hot bar.

From a lore standpoint, Red Mages use a combination of (present-day) conjury and thaumaturgy.
They don't use actual white magick or black magick, as their practice has been "forbidden" (and/or available only to a select few).

As for Summoners being able to use Physick and Resurrection, it's because of Arcanist (integrating Summoner's knowledge into its repertoire).
As simple as that.

[Gruntler]

From a lore standpoint, red mages heal and resurrect because they use a combination of spells associated with white magick (healer) and black magic (casters). Summoner has no such lore.

Don't like how Physick works? Don't put it on your hot bar.

From a lore standpoint, Red Mages use a combination of (present-day) conjury and thaumaturgy.
They don't use actual white magick or black magick, as their practice has been "forbidden" (and/or available only to a select few).

As for Summoners being able to use Physick and Resurrection, it's because of Arcanist (integrating Summoner's knowledge into its repertoire).
As simple as that.

Couple corrections.

White Magic was not developed originally because 'it's healing magic.' It was developed because umbral/Light spells were supereffective against the voidsent being summoned by Mhach, and it also included curative magics.

Summoning was developed as a means to usurp primal power and then use it against other primals. Some primals have healing capacity, so nothing in Summoner excludes that. A summoner using a Lakshmi-egi or Moggle Mog-egi would have healing powers without breaking a single iota of summoner lore, as would a Summoner seeped with Phoenix aether (so all of them in modern Eorzea). There is no such lore that contradicts a summoner being able to use healing powers, and that's before considering that arcanistry has that available.

As for Red Mages, they do not use modern conjury or thaumaturgy. They use a unique school of magic that follows very strict rules (the biggest being the only aether permitted to be used is personal aether, and waste aether from red magic) and both rules are broken by conjury and thaumaturgy.* The school was forged in isolation a long time ago, by mages attempting to deliberately learn how to Sylphie their white and black spells without suffering Sylphie-health-problems, and this was at the time VERY forbidden study because of that. The resulting magic carried a red tint to it (because it's cast from one's own health in the lore) and that's why it's called Red Magic. However, the practice of using white and black magic being forbidden is irrelevant because Red Magic was developed in secret and not within Gridania or Belah'diah, which is who forbid those practices. (There is no evidence to support or oppose Sharlayan forbidding those practices, for the record.)

*This is also why the only way RDM has to regenerate mana is Lucid Dreaming and mana ticks--they cannot draw from the land using Aetherflow or Umbral Ice or Assize, and cannot draw from other creatures using Energy Drain, Addersgall, or drawing from the celestial aether using cards. There is no way to replenish aether using Red Magick itself.