Where can SCH feasibly go from here

[Supersnow845]

So as a lot of people probably know I’m outspoken on the current state of healers (I don’t like them) but I can at least appreciate the inherent complexity that remains in SCH, my only problem is…….well where can SCH actually go from here

SCH has long been a hodgepodge of individually powerful skills held back by its artificial lack of weave windows until 6.0 and now the class is the undisputed king of the healer classes but it seems they just have nowhere to take it, SCH doesn’t have a system by which they build anything or can build for anything, WHM’s next logical progression is more lily skills, SGE could have better eukrasia interaction or more ways to interact with addersting, AST has its “not time mage” going on but what does SCH really have, it’s supposed to be a war medic style healer but it’s aesthetic and skill design fall somewhere between allagen technist and fairy mage and it’s hard to think of an immediate skill that jumps to mind as to where they could take the class next.

I don’t think it needs a rework per say I’m just more confused about what they can feasibly add other than another insanely useful but not really needed buff like expedient and play it off as more “bag of tricks war medic” stuff

[Deceptus]

The dev's don't even know.

Per the pre-release live letter (Paraphrasing):

For Scholars in Endwalker, we really didn't know what we could add.

[Supersnow845]

The dev's don't even know.

Per the pre-release live letter (Paraphrasing):

I simultaneously have no idea how I missed that and also am 100% not surprised, it speaks multitudes when the only reason we get a somewhat interesting utility skill is because they were so out of ideas they just threw stuff against the wall till something stuck

[GoatOfWar]

The dev's don't even know.

Per the pre-release live letter (Paraphrasing):

Load of bs. They know that they should have added damage buttons.

[Gemina]

The dev's don't even know.

Per the pre-release live letter (Paraphrasing):

I can't remember if "add" or "needed" was the phrasing used to describe SCH in the LL, but it was disappointing regardless considering that SCH arguably got the least flattering exposition out of the showcase; and Expedient wasn't something we expected them to add, nor did SCH mains feel it was needed.

Because of the direction they have gone with healers; this team is likely to be very reluctant to do anything that would send the role spiraling back to late 3.x. My gut tells me that they feel they have 'stabilized' the healing role, and plan to keep it that way. What that means for SCH goes back to those words we heard at the live letter. We could toss all kind of ideas at this dev team of what they could do with SCH, and I would wager their think tanks came up with some interesting ones between ShB and EW, but none of it sticks to the wall because of the potential to destabilize the role.

Somehow, someway though, that meme became one of the game's best additions to abilities for any role, which only made SCH even stronger than it already was. Go figure.

[GeorgeTheGamer89]

Kinda strange when they could literally add anything they want and make it lore/canon. There's probably 100's of suggestions by this point.

Make it a Green Summoner - cycle through fairies like you do with Ifrit, Garuda and Titan, giving each fairy a different ability. Eos - Selene - Seraph.

[WaxSw]

-Give back the individual fairy toolkit Eos and Selene had (with a bit of rework for selene) with limited ways to switch between them in battle at no dps loss so both are relevant and knowing which to use and when becomes important for the class

-Give back old dots with different timers and some skill with dot interactions (i.e a Shadowflare/Fester that deals extra damage per tick if the enemies are afflicted by Sch dots) so there is more depth in the dps rotation to compensate for...

-Rework Aetherflow so the healing actions are not dps negative and become neutral/positive, this would need a rework of ED too but seeing how this game is moving away from dps loss cooldowns is probably the logical next step

-Additional uses of the fairy gauge so it becomes a more integral part of the job instead of a gauge for just 1 action

-Expand Deployment Tactics so it spreads both dots and Chain stratagem like pvp

-Reevaluate what the job really needs and what is basically there for the sake of being there, skills like dissipation, physick or protraction are stuff that could go easily to the chopping block for being either redundant or simply going against the job playstyle

I said it in a rework post I did some time ago (even if I currently don't agree with all the changes there), they can do a lot with Sch they just need to care.

[Supersnow845]

-Give back the individual fairy toolkit Eos and Selene had (with a bit of rework for selene) with limited ways to switch between them in battle at no dps loss so both are relevant and knowing which to use and when becomes important for the class

-Give back old dots with different timers and some skill with dot interactions (i.e a Shadowflare/Fester that deals extra damage per tick if the enemies are afflicted by Sch dots) so there is more depth in the dps rotation to compensate for...

-Rework Aetherflow so the healing actions are not dps negative and become neutral/positive, this would need a rework of ED too but seeing how this game is moving away from dps loss cooldowns is probably the logical next step

-Additional uses of the fairy gauge so it becomes a more integral part of the job instead of a gauge for just 1 action

-Expand Deployment Tactics so it spreads both dots and Chain stratagem like pvp

-Reevaluate what the job really needs and what is basically there for the sake of being there, skills like dissipation, physick or protraction are stuff that could go easily to the chopping block for being either redundant or simply going against the job playstyle

I said it in a rework post I did some time ago (even if I currently don't agree with all the changes there), they can do a lot with Sch they just need to care.

I know square will never revert DOT changes so I’ve kinda just let that go but I will make the argument that dissipation is a good skill, it is basically a modern interpretation of cleric stance and it’s main function is to trade fairy utility for larger ability to deploy adlo alongside a damage incentive to make up for the lost broil cast by doing and in fight cast of adlo. Is that kinda a weak skill to be on a 3 minute CD, yes 100% but I also think it has a place in the SCH kit

The fairy gauge I agree needs some functionality, just give it another spender and increase the tick potency to compensate, deployment being able to deploy chain making it have a use in dungeons beyond the bosses is a really neat idea from PVP, even if they don’t give back DOT’s (which they won’t) using it as a bane also sounds really cool even if we just spread biolysis

I’m not sure my opinion on aetherflow, I like how it forces choice into the gameplay, SGE relies a bit too much on kerachole I think and I’m not sure I want that on SCH

[WaxSw]

I know square will never revert DOT changes so I’ve kinda just let that go but I will make the argument that dissipation is a good skill, it is basically a modern interpretation of cleric stance and it’s main function is to trade fairy utility for larger ability to deploy adlo alongside a damage incentive to make up for the lost broil cast by doing and in fight cast of adlo. Is that kinda a weak skill to be on a 3 minute CD, yes 100% but I also think it has a place in the SCH kit

The fairy gauge I agree needs some functionality, just give it another spender and increase the tick potency to compensate, deployment being able to deploy chain making it have a use in dungeons beyond the bosses is a really neat idea from PVP, even if they don’t give back DOT’s (which they won’t) using it as a bane also sounds really cool even if we just spread biolysis

I’m not sure my opinion on aetherflow, I like how it forces choice into the gameplay, SGE relies a bit too much on kerachole I think and I’m not sure I want that on SCH

I want to believe one day they'll realize that what they're doing with the dots is stupid and introduce them in some way for healers as they are the most healer friendly way to dps or at least cooldowns and skills that modify/benefit from the dot

The thing with dissipation is that its simply a skill that doesnt work in the way intended, the bigger shield is rarely needed when recitation, fey illimination and protraction exist, the resource it gives doesnt recive the healing buff and using it for healing is a dps loss so its main use is simply as a dps cooldown and not as a healing one making the healing buff even less used, its gameplay consequences are absurd as you can simply burn your fairy cds before going into it and the fairy will be back before the cooldown of its skills end and its impact in the long run is minuscule being at best 300 potency on a 3m cooldown. It doesn't work as a cleric stance because it doesn't have severe consequences on your moment to moment gameplay, its used very little over the course of the fight and the gains you get from it are extremely small. In my opinion they could get rid of it to introduce skills that maybe tie the Sch systems better

The thing with Aetherflow is that is the thing holding back Sch healing which I'm willing to bet is something SE doesn't want as they've increased the free healing overall. They could do it in a lot of ways, I, for example proposed a overall nerf of all the actions with a buff to all fairy actions on top of giving them fairy gauge cost, making the Aetherflow and its heals work as an engine to get stronger heals but in the end as long as they keep Soil power in check, make sure Aetherflow stays as a "must press every minute" cooldown, don't simply remove depth but give something back to compensate and give each action tied to it a niche, a rework of that mechanic could be succesful.

[Payadopa]

I'd like to see more fairy stuff. Give each one different strengths and add a 30 second buff or something and once that's gone you could swap to the other one to renew it. From there you could add more fairies with each expac. Would definitely make it more interesting.