SCH is a mess, thematically and visually, and needs streamlining

[ty_taurus]

The stipulation that there'd be multiple DPS Aetherflow spenders was not included in the comment I was responding to, but yeh that sounds good. Not overspending early so you have enough left for a 30s CD or such. However, since the order they come in is already kinda set in stone, would it not be easier to have Aetherflow heals stay as Aetherflow heals, and change Fey gauge into the 'DPS resource'? That way, Energy Drain can stay as the 'this is away to dump Aetherflow', perhaps give it's MP restore back (but remove it's damage) and have Fey gauge have more use than just Union. Then the issue is 'What the hell do we do with Union', since it can't really be converted over into an Aetherflow heal without it losing the ability to cancel it midchannel. Is it possible to have a 'charged action' with like, 10 charges? A 10 charge action that restores one charge per 15 seconds, and consumes a charge per tick, is that even doable in this crusty engine

It makes far more sense for Aetherflow to be the DPs gauge both in lore as well as from a player experience standpoint since that’s the role it fulfills for SMN. It makes way more sense that the Fey Gauge be healing based not only because it’s associated with your faerie.

In my SCH concept over in the echo chamber, I outlined what I think feels a lot more fluid—generate fey gauge for GCD heals and utility that changes based on your current faerie, and those heals generate Aetherflow for you, but is not the only source of Aetherflow Generation. It mirrors how new SMN works in some ways which also makes the jobs connection to ACN’s leveling experience more intuitive since you currently need to break your neck turning your head upside down to make sense of SCH as a new player when you unlock the job.

The only reason I could see keeping Aetherflow as the healing resource in this example is because “it’s always been that way” which is not a valid reason, but an excuse.

The current healers are some of the shittiest game design I’ve ever seen. I see no reason to not approach these designs with a bulldozer instead of silk gloves.