The Future of WHM

[currentlemon]

When I started playing this game in Stormblood, WHM was the first job I maxed out. Despite it's glaring flaws, I liked the job as a whole. The only thing that needed a major rework was the lily system at the time.

However, when Shadowbringer started, the job got the lily rework like I wanted but it lost a lot of it's aesthetic. Several key spells and role actions were lost and nothing really stood out. I got it to max level, but I didn't have much fun with the job as I did in 4.0.

Then EW came. No major QoL changes were made to the job, so I dropped it. I was really upset by this. Yes, 6.1 had some good changes to WHM, but it wasn't enough to bring me back. Not to mention, high tank sustainability and the low damage output from mobs and bosses was enough to drive me away from the role.

Despite the problems in EW, WHM is currently in a pretty good spot when compared to the others in the role (my personal opinion despite not playing it). The point of this thread is to talk about WHM's future.

What can be done about the job?

I do think that WHM does deserve some QoL stuff and it can be designed where both veterans and casuals can enjoy it. Can this be done? Yes, in my opinion. There have been a lot of feedback and suggestions on what to do with the job. Some good, some bad. And this is the point of this thread.

So far, I think Sarixis's WHM video does a great job in explaining what can be done to improve WHM design. The suggestions that stood out to me were the additions of Water/Banish and the Conviction Trait.

Water (formally Fluid Aura)

• Changed into a 2.5sec GCD ability
• Deals water damage with a potency of 100
• Additional Effect: Grants Cleric Stance
• Cleric Stance increases damage dealt by 5%
• Duration: 30secs
• Upgrades to Water II/Water III/Banish/ Banish III at later levels with higher dmg output.

Conviction

• When an ally's HP is below 50% and is healed by a GCD spell, the caster is granted three stacks of Conviction
• Conviction Effect: Increases the dmg potency of Water/Banish by 200
• Acquired at Level 50.

These suggested changes do three things in my opinion.

• It would somewhat solve the 1 button spam
• Encourge less overhealing
• Rewards the WHM for healing

Being rewarded for healing is something that I've always wanted in FFXIV. I believe that if a healer plays their part, they should be rewarded with some fancy DPS spells or support abilities. My opinion, but this mentality can help alleviate the one button spam all four healer jobs have been known for (SGE somewhat does this).

Another thing that WHM's is asking for is the Cure I spell and the "Free Cure" Trait. These need to go. The Cure I spell becomes redundant after obtaining Cure II and the "Free Cure" trait is worthless and is considered a trap for new players. Simply obtain a trait that will upgrade Cure I to Cure II. Great for reducing button bloat.

Remove "Freecure"

Add Cure Mastery

• Upgrades Cure I to Cure II

Also, the lily spells. Can we please bring them down? Waiting until level 52 to get the first lily spell and then waiting twenty more levels to get the second one is stupid in my opinion. I prefer Sarixis's method by bringing them down to level 30 (the moment you unlock WHM).

New Trait: Seer Folly
At level 30, the Lily system is unlocked for WHM.

Spells Afflatus Solace and Afflatus Rapture will replace Cure II and Medica whenever a lily is in bloom.

If you want to nerf the healing potencies of both spells, that's fine. I encourage it. I've been wanting the healing potencies of all of WHM's spells toned down for a while now. They're too strong at the moment.

In all seriousness, the "Enhanced Healing Magic" trait can be removed for all I care.

As suggested by Silver-Strider, the levelling experience needs to drastically improve for the job. It needs some old skills reintroduced in the lower levels that upgrade to the higher level spells when reached.

Reintroduce Fluid Aura at level 15. Fluid Aura can be a downgraded Assize which upgrades to that spell with two charges at level 56 or we can use the Water/Conviction suggestion I posted above. Any one of these is fine.

Reintroduce Stoneskin at level 20 and have it upgrade to Divine Benison at level 66 and then upgrade to Aquaveil at level 86 with two charges.

Reintroduce Divine Seal at level 25 and upgrade it to Temperance at level 80.

There are a few other things that can be done to help WHM in the future, but I'm having a rough time coming up with some ideas. Again, this thread is about the future of WHM. If anyone has any bright ideas, feel free to share them.

[Kabzy]

Personally I think WHM is in a decent place right now. They got the damage they needed after the lily changes so I can't imagine there being many changes now. I'd say the other 3 healers should have priority over it at the moment, and it also needs to be stated that WHM will always be the basic B of healers. Extra DoTs before SCH? Another DPS CD. I personally would not allocate these to WHM before the other jobs are reviewed. And even if the other jobs get them, I wouldn't be surprised if WHM was still kept very basic so that beginner healers aren't overwhelmed.

[Saraphin]

unfortunately...WHM will never be "leveled up" so to speak. they're the "most basic of basic" healers.

Thus they must never be better in anyway than the others. even though the whole thing was "they put out more DPS because they don't have shields/cards/etc"...and they don't out DPS the other Healers any more so...

I'm doubtful that things will change, i'd like to be pleasantly shocked if they do change things, but if WHM is given anything before SCH/AST/SGE the community will be at each other's throats.

[Kabzy]

Thus they must never be better in anyway than the others. even though the whole thing was "they put out more DPS because they don't have shields/cards/etc"...and they don't out DPS the other Healers any more so...

This isn't entirely correct. WHM is top in DSR and it's not bottom in Asphodelos, even at the max percentile. I do think all healers in general need a lot of work, but in the current state of healers I think the other 3 need a lot more before WHM, for reasons you've stated.

[Saraphin]

This isn't entirely correct. WHM is top in DSR and it's not bottom in Asphodelos, even at the max percentile. I do think all healers in general need a lot of work, but in the current state of healers I think the other 3 need a lot more before WHM, for reasons you've stated.

Healers are in a bad state overall. they've admitted that they have no one dedicated to healers, only to DPS/Tanks. pretty sure a group of healers from ALL camps could fix/balance things, give each their own identity back without going too ham on stuff and still make it engaging...

but no...I recall plenty of...arguments/threads back in ARR/HW (and just general arguments in chat/shout/yell/welcome to a main city) about healers, how XYZ was taking away the Identity of Another healer and.....i still have PTSD from 3.3-3.5 when WHMs were even kicked from 24man content because "ew WHM."

WHMs are in...an Okay Place. just like the rest of the Healers. an "okay, but relatively boring" Place because of homogenization that has taken place. X healer can't do more Damage than Y Healer, Z Healer can't have more Utility than A Healer, Etc.

[Irenia]

I think WHM needs to be torn down and rebuilt into something that is not easily copied to another green job.

I have some ideas, but we'll see if I ever make time to sort it all out into a complete post.

[currentlemon]

Another thing that WHM's is asking for is the Cure I spell and the "Free Cure" Trait. These need to go. The Cure I spell becomes redundant after obtaining Cure II and the "Free Cure" trait is worthless and is considered a trap for new players. Simply obtain a trait that will upgrade Cure I to Cure II. Great for reducing button bloat.

Remove "Freecure"

Add Cure Mastery

• Upgrades Cure I to Cure II

Also, the lily spells. Can we please bring them down? Waiting until level 52 to get the first lily spell and then waiting twenty more levels to get the second one is stupid in my opinion. I prefer Sarixis's method by bringing them down to level 30 (the moment you unlock WHM).

New Trait: Seer Folly
At level 30, the Lily system is unlocked for WHM.

Spells Afflatus Solace and Afflatus Rapture will replace Cure II and Medica whenever a lily is in bloom.

If you want to nerf the healing potencies of both spells, that's fine. I encourage it. I've been wanting the healing potencies of all of WHM's spells toned down for a while now. They're too strong at the moment.

In all seriousness, the "Enhanced Healing Magic" trait can be removed for all I care.

This will be included on the main page.

[JacobNewblood]

If you want to nerf the healing potencies of both spells, that's fine. I encourage it. I've been wanting the healing potencies of all of WHM's spells toned down for a while now. They're too strong at the moment.

They are the same potency as AST, heck AST's ST regen has a heal attached whereas WHM's doesn't. If you wanna reduce WHM's then we must reduce AST's too.



I do not agree that we should reduce WHM's GCD heals. they aren't too strong they are equal to AST. We just have 2 that are instant cast that are equal to the castable ones that give us a nuke that's equal to if we just glared instead.

[Silver-Strider]

They are the same potency as AST, heck AST's ST regen has a heal attached whereas WHM's doesn't. If you wanna reduce WHM's then we must reduce AST's too.

Just a correct.
AST's Regen lasts 15s, not 18 so that upfront heal on AST is made up by WHM's regen getting 1 extra tic so they heal for the same overall total

[Shurrikhan]

Spells Afflatus Solace and Afflatus Rapture will replace Cure II and Medica whenever a lily is in bloom.

Please no. What is the point of having our free-healing as GCDs instead of oGCDs if we can't take advantage of their advantages over oGCDs (on-demand mobility and weave space)?

If the appeal is simply to save buttons on a job that is already the least button-bloated of the healers, then at least retain the ability to time features to their need. For instance, consolidate Thin Air to have your next curative GCD consume a Lily and thereby have its cast time reduced by 3 seconds, cost no MP, and progress your Blood Lily. That still retains the ability to choose when it ought to be used and saves you three keys.