Healers need an overhaul

[Anxin]

From the way people talk, I feel hesitant to admit that I actually enjoyed Cleric Stance gameplay. When I first came to FFXIV, it made healing in this game feel totally unlike any other game I had played.

I also enjoyed Cleric Stance. It had a planning aspect to it that I liked, but it was punishing if you screwed it up (Lustrate was a safety net though).

Despite the state of healers, I still sometimes find fun in the role. Namely, when I come across parties of new players or when a tank disconnects. Healing is a blast when there aren't tanks around; nothing against tanks, of course. It comes down to the game's design. I enjoy mob killing more than the boss fights; more things can go wrong. Bosses are far too scripted and predictable.

[Silverbane]

I also enjoyed Cleric Stance. It had a planning aspect to it that I liked, but it was punishing if you screwed it up (Lustrate was a safety net though).

Despite the state of healers, I still sometimes find fun in the role. ... I enjoy mob killing more than the boss fights; more things can go wrong. Bosses are far too scripted and predictable.

This. Most boss fights are scripted dances: once everyone knows all the steps, they're not a challenge. And no amount of healer redesign will change that. (That said, as someone who used to be in an amateur dance troupe, doing routine dances can still be fun. Heck, the pros I've met won't perform a dance in public until it's routine.)

But trash pulls, inexperienced players, and coping with the intrinsic vagaries of the Internet?
Yeah, that's where the real fun in healing is.

It's also why healing, in my experience and that of the people I play with, unexpectedly seems to be the fast path to getting lots of commendations. Some people may think healers useless, but the players giving out coms in duty finder seem to disagree.

[Rolder50]

But trash pulls, inexperienced players, and coping with the intrinsic vagaries of the Internet?
Yeah, that's where the real fun in healing is.

If a role is only fun when your fellow party members are bad at the game, it's not a well designed role. Full stop.

[LeonKeyh]

If a role is only fun when your fellow party members are bad at the game, it's not a well designed role. Full stop.

Not true when most fellow party members are bad at the game!


/s