Honest question for people dissatisfied with WHM:

[Liam_Harper]

We'd still avoid it.

Keep in mind DRK has the highest dps of all the tanks and is simultaneously the least popular in both Normal and Savage raids. Gameplay is important. There's also the most important fact, that WHM is rubbish at healing and even dps spamming healers are playing the role to keep their party alive and want a class that does that effectively.

WHM wouldn't even be taken in speedruns unless its damage was significantly higher than the others. Speed run groups are typically AST/SCH, because AST is so good at healing SCH can lean on them to get extra Energy Drains out. SCH can't lean on WHM at all, WHM has to lean heavily on others to optimize.

[Renathras]

Honestly, you have to understand people are complaining about different things, from different places.

High end players find the gameplay boring and won't touch GCDs with a 10 foot pole, so hate that WHM is GCD reliant. A mere potency increase won't fix that.

Casual players like the simple and straightforward GCD kit, but their issue is more MP.

AST has the same potency heals but they all cost 100-200 MP less AND AST has better MP regeneration. While WHM gets 5% per 45 sec from Assize, AST gets 5% every 30 sec from Draw AND has Astrodyne (when normalized over time, it's ~43% of Lucid in potency, so they basically get +50% Lucid for free). SCH's Aetherflow is 20% per minute and Sage's maths out to 21% per minute from spending Addersgall. Compared to that, WHM's 5% every 45 sec (normalizes to 6.67% per minute) is pathetic. Thin Air CAN be good...if you have a party member dying every 60 sec like clockwork that you're raising. Otherwise, if you're using Thin Air on Glares (in a party that never takes avoidable damage and doesn't require using Medica 2/Cure 3), it's 400 MP per minute. Which is also bad.

WHM's capstone ability is wonky and requires the WHM - a healer, not a tank - to take damage to activate instead of activating when party members take damage. Meahnwhile you have things like SGE's Panhamia that procs each time the individual takes damage. Why doesn't Lilybell work that way? The duration is also too short to use on anything other than multi-hit stack mechanics (e.g. it's too short to be useful for P1S Intemperance because the damage waves are too far apart), but ALSO won't activate more often than 1/sec meaning if you have rapid enough attacks, it won't work, either. AND the WHM has to be the one taking the damage to trigger it, meaning it only really works specifically for the stack damage waves. While both current Trials DO use such a mechanic, in the case of Ex Trial 2, the latter two (in the final two Lightwave phases) happen close enough together, if you use it for the first one, it won't be off CD for the second one to use for it. Meanwhile, AST's capstone with the same timer lets you effectively write off damage and Fullcure the entire party if used correctly. It's basically a party-wide Benediction when used properly.

The meta right now - and encounter design/healer design in general - is to reward oGCD heals and punish GCD heals, yet WHM is made as a GCD healer. This isn't a WHM problem, per se, it's an encounter problem. But because EVERY encounter works this way, WHM needs to be adjusted to somehow work with that. You're punished for using Lilies, you're punished for using Medica 2 or Cure 3, which means you're punished for using Thin Air, yet you need to use it to reduce your MP issues...it's just a mess right now.

And I'm one of the people that honestly doesn't mind a braindead 1,2,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,2,1,1,... rotation, personally.

[UkcsAlias]

High end players find the gameplay boring and won't touch GCDs with a 10 foot pole, so hate that WHM is GCD reliant. A mere potency increase won't fix that.

GCDs are not a problem if combo's exist (the GCD on that actualy even helps). Even with a very simple kit, combos can do quite a lot. There is a reason why many of the newer classes involve combos.

For WHM due to being GCD reliant, it would generaly be welcome if those GCD heals could compensate the damage side by allowing combo effects. This could even have make cure 1 viable again: instead of a 15% free cure 2, having a 100% chance to boost glare 2 with double damage would already make her kit rely less on a single button. The cure 1 part then allows a more passive healing pattern (although in this example make it a clicking hell to change between targets).

But for example it would be welcome if a 3 button rotation for dealing damage exist (and on that a combo like 12123 would also be a fine enough while still being easy). Add to that some additional effects caused by other buttons (mainly synergies after healing), and suddenly even that basic system can get some quite interresting synergies. And if those are only focussed on the damage portion, WHMs core feature at least keeps working when its needed.

WHM is supposed to be easy, but at some point adding complexity is a good way to get people to at least adapt to skill requirements for other classes. By level 70 you already should have had enough time to practice WHM, keeping it excessively basic isnt needed at that point.

[Hyperia]

And I'm one of the people that honestly doesn't mind a braindead 1,2,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,2,1,1,... rotation, personally.

I agree with this, it allows me to focus on the fight and not some rotation. Please keep this but fix the lilies and bell.

[Renathras]

I agree with this, it allows me to focus on the fight and not some rotation. Please keep this but fix the lilies and bell.

Agreed. One reason I dislike playing DPS is because I hate following a rotation like a metronome, I dislike procs, and I dislike DoTs.
...so of course every healer has a DoT. XD

Regardless, I think each role should have at least one "braindead" Job in it. WHM is that for Healers like WAR is for Tanks, RPR (I think...) for Melee, MCH (and also DNC...and also BRD..?) for Ranged, and SMN (and kinda RDM) for Casters.

And that's okay.

My issue with WHM is more that it is completely at odds with its encounter design and its kit seems to be at odds with itself. I said that about SCH before EW (I'm probably slightly more a SCH main with WHM a close second), and SCH is still clunky and has parts of its kit fight with itself (Disspiation, Aetherflow, Seraph, and Faerie abilities conflict - can't even use Fey Blessing under Seraph, btw, nor Fey Union...Dissipatoin is the worst though, as it gives you AF stacks, doesn't buff them [buffing your GCD heals instead], while removing Eos from the field meaning spending those AF stacks doesn't even generate Faerie Gauge unless you wait for Eos to come back)

...but at least SCH is REWARDED for that complexity and clunk. WHM very much is not.

It's supposed to be the simple healer that brings powerful GCD heals and high personal damage, but its damage is less than SGE and arguably not really better than SCH, its heals are equal or weaker than ASTs and it can't keep them up for as long due to the bad MP economy, and the encounters are designed completely opposite being a GCD healer anyway. So...something needs to give there. I dunno if it's make WHM's heals proc damage or damage proc heals or what, and what exactly it needs for its MP economy to be fixed, but something isn't working and needs to be done.

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

Until they stop embracing the idea of "WHMs should be braindead simple", I don't think WHM will ever see those small yet meaningful changes in the future.

[elioaiko]

WHM would need to have a massive dmg buff to compensate for its lack of anything meaningful for parties. It lacks raid buffs, MP and even makes their co-healers work harder because they lack oGCDs to even compete.

DRK and WHM are in the same boat that they have zero identity and have extremely barebone kits.

For DRK, they at least have DMG to compensate. They have the baseline team mitigation and can still MT well. The biggest complaints are gameplay, not the strength of DRK. DRK just feels...like a WAR clone with some edgy themes thrown in.

WHM is also gameplay, but they lack on anything. All healers have the baseline kit with AoE flat heal, ST flat heal, bubble...

The only truly unique thing on WHM is Misery and Cure 3. Lilies are essentially Medica 1/Cure 2. They bring nothing, not even comfy healing since their MP is terrible.

All they have is healing and that costs them an arm and leg. Look at SGE, who doesn't have a raid buff and guess what, they're better in two ways. They have mitigations up so often that you have 10% mitigation for every raidwide damage.

WHM is in a bad place and not even big damage would save it. WHM needs to address it's lack of syngery with other healers as well as their lack of meaningful MP recovery.

[Faafetai]

Right now it kind of feels like mommy got little sister a toy and just gave you a picture (be it a very beautiful picture but a picture none the less) of a toy. If you just compare whm to astro the unfair nature of their skills even the similar ones are just painful. The only thing going for whm over astro is its personal damage at least at around 60 but astro has the mobility making it very fun along with sch and sage early levels. When you get lilies if they were just off global I would be satisfied.

Playing at level 50 or lower whm is painful. This is coming from someone who just picked up some of the healers and wished to go through them so I understand how they are played. Yes, I understand pressing 1, 1 ,1 is just not fun and applying your dot. Giving an aoe super earlier would be a perfect change to build muscle memory for all classes though I know this was said before. If you were to keep the healers as they are and make minor changes lillies off global and misery on a 3 charge system maybe making it more align with the damage of toxicon possibly. Assize is fine and would not sacrifice assize being put on a charge system because I know they will make it roll the global and that would take away weaving capabilities.

Just dev team, please stop balancing things for late game when your roulette system has me living in level 50 content. Many classes feel freaking horrible. At the very least make whm fair compared instead of unfair. Fix the mana cost so it has the same as astro being it does literally the same thing. Give astro charges on ed at an earlier level now that you 'nerfed' its potency ie it just says how it felt at later levels it always felt starting around level 60 as just a lustrate in power when in the past ed could be the tanks full health if they were super low in pre 50 dungeons.

Even level 50 dungeons it is viable but after it just feels bad. Maybe I do not know enough to complain I just have Sage and scholar to 80 something and am still learning astro and whm but those are the things I feel could be changed to make it feel less blah. Scholar may have 1 dps button early with exclusion of its dot but gosh does it feel good pressing buttons in the correct order for maximum shields or value of heals. Sage is similar which is why I really like them, it gives you something to think about so pressing the one button doesn't feel as bad.

Liturgy of the bell from what I have seen is buggy, it doesn't tick right and say for ahk morn it wont line up with the server ticks and not heal for anything. The fact it goes off of damage you take as whm just makes zero sense. 'Its time to receive a tank buster so it goes off, yeeet booooiiii' if it were like astros it would make more sense but waat even is it. 'Buuuut it looks so pretty' does square just think people who play whm are simpletons. They even reneged on all the cool changes mentioned in one of the live letters where you would have an aoe rotation on whm. What happened to that a translation issue? oy vey

[MiaShino]

White Mage is in desperate need of better ogcd healing options especially at the lower levels.

Lilies feel terrible to use until Misery unlocks, then continue to feel terrible to use because gcd healing stinks.

Holy clipping is obnoxious as heck and makes dungeons feel worse then they should.

I hope you carry Either potions!

Earthly Star is soooooo darn big it extends into your next fight, why is Asylum still smol?

Lilybell on damage I take? Who vetted that?

Skill that increases cast and re-cast speed on already mana negative job? So I can oom faster Square?

High deeps ogcd healing tool that does so much fricken damage you never really ever wish to use it for healing.

All my gcd non lily healing skills have same potency as Astro but cost more for no reason.

By the twelve can White Mage feel terrible at the higher levels but when syncing down it feels downright miserable once you experience what others have that you do not gots.

'Buuuut it looks so pretty' does square just think people who play whm are simpletons.

Yes. They think all healers are trogs because they do not play healer. Healer is not manly job for big manly men being manly. They play big boy hero jobs! Like reaper. Healer is not front box material after all. With their frilly robes and the wee little healing spells. Just look at them back there while I, the main character, tank this big dargon by myself.