Making All Healing Spells DPS Neutral

[SargeTheSeagull]

I actually had a thought about this a few days ago and made a note on my phone. Here's my take:

White Mage: PvP skill seraph strike is now in PvE. It can be used whenever you have at least one stack of sanctity. Any non-lily GCD heal grants a stack of sanctity. 1 stack of sanctity, SS deals 280, 2 stacks 560, and so on up to four stacks.

Sage: Toxicon's potency is now 660. E. Diag still grants a sting as it does now. Diagnosis grants a sting if used on a party member below 60% HP. E. Prognosis grants a sting if four of the barriers applied by E. Prog break. Prognosis grants a sting if at least three party members healed were below 60%.

Astro: New effect on combust. Any time you use a GCD heal, your combust explodes on the target and deals damage to them equal to one cast of malefic.

Scholar: Miasma 3 is back. Any time you apply shields you get a buff which increases the damage of your next miasma 3 equal to the potency of the broils you didn't cast. So if you used two adlos, you'll get two stacks, your next miasma 3 will deal extra damage equal to two casts of broil. If you use adlo, you'll only gain a stack if the person you shielded didn't already have a barrier from you. If succor, only activates if four or more party members didn't already have a barrier. Stacks 3 times.

[Renathras]

White Mage: PvP skill seraph strike is now in PvE.

God please no! I hate Seraph Strike in PvP. "Yes, let me the squishy healer with NO MOVEMENT ABILITIES WHATSOEVER AND ONLY ONE ONE MITIGATION WITH AQUAVEIL rush into melee range in a combat mode that lets people 100% - 0% healers in 3 GCDs!" It's the single dumbest ability in PvP and I'd honestly rather it not exist or be a ranged Holy or something instead.

Sage: Toxicon's potency is now 660. E. Diag still grants a sting as it does now. Diagnosis grants a sting if used on a party member below 60% HP. E. Prognosis grants a sting if four of the barriers applied by E. Prog break. Prognosis grants a sting if at least three party members healed were below 60%.

This, on the other hand, I like.

Astro: New effect on combust. Any time you use a GCD heal, your combust explodes on the target and deals damage to them equal to one cast of malefic.

I kinda like this, too.

Scholar: Miasma 3 is back. Any time you apply shields you get a buff which increases the damage of your next miasma 3 equal to the potency of the broils you didn't cast. So if you used two adlos, you'll get two stacks, your next miasma 3 will deal extra damage equal to two casts of broil. If you use adlo, you'll only gain a stack if the person you shielded didn't already have a barrier from you. If succor, only activates if four or more party members didn't already have a barrier. Stacks 3 times.

I feel this might be a bit too complex in both programming and in execution. But you could do something akin to a Thundercloud proc on BLM, where casting Adlo/Succor/Physic (heh...?) makes your next Miasma 3 instant cast, have no DoT, but do full damage all at once, and the buff can stack 2-3 times or something like that. Good SCH's could use this for both burst and to set up movement opportunities.

EDIT: ...actually, I guess that would depend on Miasma 3's damage vs Broil IV or whatever. If, for example, Miasma 3 did 4x Broil's damage (making Miasma 3 damage neutral at 4 ticks vs Broil), then you might make it where GCD heals cause a stacking buff. When the buff stacks to 3 (hence damage neutral with Misma being cast as the 4th GCD), the SCH is granted the buff "Enveloping Miasma", making Miasma 3 instant cast, full damage, all that stuff.

Though this sounds a bit like Misery, it's a twist on it, and SCH would have the non-buffed Miasma 3 (an extra DoT) to upkeep in general, so it's more giving SCH another DoT and letting that button pull double duty for periods of high damage requiring GCD heal casts.

...though I can't think of many times on SCH I have to cast 3 Succors in a row...I CAN think of a few in which I COULD do it (e.g. ZodEx's stack multi-hit mechanic), but using GCD heals on SCH is honestly rather rare and niche as it is because their oGCD kit is just so amazing.

(Bleh, I'm not mathing this right at all. But whatever. Point is just giving SCH Miasma 3 back and letting them use the button in conjunction with GCD heals to make casting GCD heals damage neutral, I guess is my point.)

[T-Owl]

God please no! I hate Seraph Strike in PvP. "Yes, let me the squishy healer with NO MOVEMENT ABILITIES WHATSOEVER AND ONLY ONE ONE MITIGATION WITH AQUAVEIL rush into melee range in a combat mode that lets people 100% - 0% healers in 3 GCDs!" It's the single dumbest ability in PvP and I'd honestly rather it not exist or be a ranged Holy or something instead.

This isn't supposed to be a diss, but wouldn't you in PVE encounters actually preferably stick close to the boss so that you are in a central position to reach everyone with your aoe heals, which would make the melee range of this spell actually preferable in PVE because it would immediately teach sprout healers to not stand far far away at the back of the arena where their aoes will be wasted on maybe the occasional cowardly bard?

[Renathras]

This isn't supposed to be a diss, but wouldn't you in PVE encounters actually preferably stick close to the boss so that you are in a central position to reach everyone with your aoe heals, which would make the melee range of this spell actually preferable in PVE because it would immediately teach sprout healers to not stand far far away at the back of the arena where their aoes will be wasted on maybe the occasional cowardly bard?

The problem is when you're forced into melee at bad times.

RDM and SMN (to a lesser extent) have this problem, too.

Suppose Seraph comes off CD as you have a party spread mechanic. Now what? Do you kill the Melee by hitting it, or lose uptime on the CD and a use over the course of the encounter?

My personal position is that casters, baring EXTREMELY rare exceptions (RDM, basically, because in FF lore it's a hybrid jack of all trades that does melee, casting, and healing equally and can wear medium armor and use moderately powerful melee weapons), should never HAVE to come into melee range to use any abilities. They should be free to move into and out of melee range, since that's the point. There's no reason to have a Caster Tax, for example, for Caster Jobs if they can't stay at range, since that's the entire point of them having said tax in the first place.

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And no, this wouldn't teach Sprouts anything. All they'd do is never use the spell, so it would make them even worse at clearing content if their overall damage was based around it. Not to mention an ability like that would never be given at low level. Not to mention considering how often Ranged and Casters, particularly BLM, like to stand out in Narnia, the Healers doing the same is actually the smarter play.

Healers should be able to freely move into and out of melee. SGE having a 6y Plegma is already something I hate. If you want PvE Seraph Strike, you have to play Bozja.

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EDIT: That said, I actually like Icarus (which is far more flexible than a gap closer attack on a boss), so I'm not opposed to movement TOOLS. But forced movement into the boss's hitbox that your DPS is balanced around is a big no.

Now, Seraph strike as an instant cast GCD that is damage neutral with Glare and has no additional effects (e.g. no healing like Pneuma or anything) where it's just a side option that can be used as a movement tool for situations the WHM wants to move that way? I'd be fine with that. It'd be like how RDM has Engagement and Disengagement or NIN has Forked and Fleeting Raiju and simply uses the one they need based on their situation.

But something like Icarus or Aethereal Manipulation would be better options, imo, and don't interrupt the normal damage flow to use, as well as are more versatile tools.

[Aword3213]

because melee would greed get a vuln stack then just force the healer to heal them harder rather than punish the person greeding the mechanic

As a healer I’m fine with it.

More things to heal for me and we get more overall dps as a team.

[fulminating]

You can pool stacks of sanctity, so you’d just hold it then dash in to aoe heal everyone from the spreads.