SCH lacks a single target mitigation ability

[RamenJD]

As a Scholar main, I really enjoy the overall changes of SCH in EW. Now in the new savage tier, we all notice how heavy the tank buster damage can be, as they also come with heavy bleed damage. I'm pretty sure a lot of other SCH main may feel like they lack of a single target mitigation ability, when WHM, AST, and SGE all have single target mitigation abilities.

WHM and AST get Aquaveil and Exaltation respectively at level 86, which are both a 10% damage mitigation on single target (with Exaltation being a healing ability as well). SGE also gets Taurochole at level 62, which is a 10% mitigation with 700 healing potency on single target. In comparison, SCH gets Excogitation at level 62, which is only a healing ability with 800 potency.

Since it would not make sense to give Excogitation 10% damage mitigation like SGE's Taurochole (as Excogitation last for 45 sec if not detonated), I have 2 possible solutions in terms of giving SCH a single target mitigation:

1. Protraction: give it an additional 10% damage mitigation on single target. This would align with WHM's Aquaveil and AST's Exaltation in which all 3 are learnt at level 86. At the same time, SGE still has the shortest cooldowns of a single target mitigation among all 4 healers, making it still comparable with SCH.

2. Fey Union: give it a 10% damage mitigation when the fairy is tethering a target. Currently, many SCH players feel like Fey Union is a bit underwhelming, as you cannot accumulate fairy gauge during dissipation, and you cannot use Fey Union during dissipation or when Seraph is summoned. Giving Fey Union a damage mitigation might sounds a bit too powerful, but I think the limitation of when you cannot use Fey Union or accumulate fairy gauge makes it more balanced.

I'm curious about what other SCH mains or healers in general think of my idea. Please let me know

Edit: I see some comments thought I want to replace Protraction's benefits. What I intended was to give it an additional 10% damage mitigation.

[KilledByKangaroo]

SCH main here. I think recitation should make Adlo an instant cast. When a tankbuster shows up I barely have enough time to put a shield on the tank without wasting a swiftcast. The other healers get an instant shield even the non-shield healers get one. Having it tied to another ability would make it different enough from the other healers. Using protraction > recitation > swiftcast > adlo > deployment tactics all for one spell is kind of ridiculous even for an OP super party shield. If recitation made adlo instant that would at least take away the need to use swiftcast to keep up dps or dodge an aoe or keeping up with the tank while doing a big pull.

[Absurdity]

I think recitation should make Adlo an instant cast. When a tankbuster shows up I barely have enough time to put a shield on the tank without wasting a swiftcast.

Why would you even waste Recitation for an Adlo on the tank when you could just use it on Excogitation?

[Supersnow845]

Why would you even waste Recitation for an Adlo on the tank when you could just use it on Excogitation?

Multiple reasons, savage tankbusters can be a lot less risky with critlo, you can deploy that critlo before the tank gets hit for a subsequent raidwide, for some mechanics taking zero damage can nullify the subsequent DOT, if you have other healing buffs like natures minne or krasis a critlo can absorb more HP than critcog restores etc

The only downside is adlo needs a GCD

[Absurdity]

Multiple reasons, savage tankbusters can be a lot less risky with critlo, you can deploy that critlo before the tank gets hit for a subsequent raidwide, for some mechanics taking zero damage can nullify the subsequent DOT, if you have other healing buffs like natures minne or krasis a critlo can absorb more HP than critcog restores etc

The only downside is adlo needs a GCD

Point taken, although I don't think you can avoid a DOT with critlo in content where that DOT is actually dangerous.

We're probably also not talking about savage mechanics in this case as they mention big pulls at the end of the post.

[Supersnow845]

Honestly I’m fine with protraction in its current form as a mitigation tool, temporary 10% health boost is basically the equivalent of a 10% shield and it makes subsequent healing if needed stronger as well as an extra benefit

SCH already dominates the other 3 in shielding and mitigation on the AOE front that it doesn’t really need much more, SCH is already too strong as it is

[IceBlueNinja]

Honestly I’m fine with protraction in its current form as a mitigation tool, temporary 10% health boost is basically the equivalent of a 10% shield and it makes subsequent healing if needed stronger as well as an extra benefit

SCH already dominates the other 3 in shielding and mitigation on the AOE front that it doesn’t really need much more, SCH is already too strong as it is

The buff to sage holos which gives migi 10% + 300 pot shield makes sages aoe shields not as crummy as it use to be anymore a zoe physis +e prog with holos/panhi/hami which all stacks =good party shielding/migi + healing boot which seem more powerful now imo than crit/dt spread alco. E diag if crit with zoe is potential a stronger single shield than crit alco. sage win in single powerful shield. Sch wins in aoe but again with buff to holos thats barely a huge difference now. Though deep down I see the major fix was simply just make E prog be 200 potency and cut the 360% of heal restore to about 130 or something... low potency=bad heals +shields, that mess happen with 5.0 noct ast and they had to change the potency back to 200 and cut that 250% back to its 100 something. Ast kept their potencies on their intersect/+ netrual (dirunal) which can be stacked using aspect netrua benefic/helios with intersect... so its really only WHM give poor migitation with only aqua and no shields period. ast and sage has good shields and migi.

[Supersnow845]

The buff to sage holos which gives migi 10% + 300 pot shield makes sages aoe shields not as crummy as it use to be anymore a zoe physis +e prog with holos/panhi/hami which all stacks =good party shielding/migi + healing boot which seem more powerful now imo than crit/dt spread alco. E diag if crit with zoe is potential a stronger single shield than crit alco. sage win in single powerful shield. Sch wins in aoe but again with buff to holos thats barely a huge difference now. Though deep down I see the major fix was simply just make E prog be 200 potency and cut the 360% of heal restore to about 130 or something... low potency=bad heals +shields, that mess happen with 5.0 noct ast and they had to change the potency back to 200 and cut that 250% back to its 100 something. Ast kept their potencies on their intersect/+ netrual (dirunal) which can be stacked using aspect netrua benefic/helios with intersect... so its really only WHM give poor migitation with only aqua and no shields period. ast and sage has good shields and migi.

Still that line of thinking is basically “if I use every single buff SGE has it just exceeds a SCH putting in basically no effort with critlo” and then the SCH can buff critlo 40% by itself and also allows for single target healing up buffs to benefit the party as a whole and one of its healing up buffs is also mitigation

SCH still wins handily in the shielding department but at least SGE isn’t a liability in that department anymore

It's funny, ironic, and sad how no matter how much they gut SCH, it continues to be the the top performing healer regardless of how much its gameplay declines.

Whoever decided that a 10% up buff to the most broken stat in the game that the SCH has to put literally zero effort into pressing was a good idea leading to SCH being meta from 2.0 to current with only half a patch in 5.1 just shows that SCH will never not be meta no matter how bad it feels to play

[Gemina]

Sacred Soil is still viable on ST. Especially for a tank eating a heavy TB + bleed.

[Rilifane]

Sacred Soil is still viable on ST. Especially for a tank eating a heavy TB + bleed.

This.
Sacred Soil is 10% mit and a 6*100 potency regen. It's especially valuable on double tankbusters, moreso now that SE slapped a bleed on them. It costs an AF stack but you get far more for your 100 potency loss than if you'd use a plain Excog or even Lustrate. The only thing is that it needs timing (and put your tanks on a leash) so you don't lack mitigation for an aoe that absolutely needs Soil.
But the gaps between busters and aoes are either fairly short so you can catch both or so far apart that you have it up again - if you need it because no point in slapping Soil on every wet noodle aoe.
And in dungeon pulls it's a no-brainer. Just throw Soil on every pull.