Using BLU to end the war

[Rongway]

It sounds like you want a job that has 90% downtime. What problem does this "solve"?

[ty_taurus]

It sounds like you want a job that has 90% downtime. What problem does this "solve"?

Giving a healer to the people who have championed the current healer model something even more appealing to their tastes while freeing up the existing healers to move away from that.

[Rongway]

Giving a healer to the people who have championed the current healer model something even more appealing to their tastes while freeing up the existing healers to move away from that.

Still don't understand what you're trying to say. Am I missing some element of sarcasm?

[ty_taurus]

Still don't understand what you're trying to say. Am I missing some element of sarcasm?

There's a large subset of players unhappy with healers and want them to have more inactivity in their kits, more options for DPS spells, and more emphasis on rewarding good healing rather than punishing it. There has been a constant battle against a numbered few fighting that every step of the way because they don't want more engagement, interactivity, or DPS abilities, with the only solution from group B being reiterated over and over that as long as one healer has a low-engagement factor like the current healer model or less, then changing the other three would be fine, but no one in group A wants their favorite healer to be the one who takes the L.

We already have BLU as a resource in this game, why not use it? Some people would appreciate playing a real BLU and not a limited BLU, so curating a selection of its spellbook into a fixed DPS toolkit with reworked effects that are balanced alongside the other caster DPS is already something people have mentioned wanting in different places. Doing the same and created alternative builds for a tank BLU and healer BLU could allow us an opportunity to create the low-engagement healer without actually sacrificing BLU, because DPS BLU will still exist. Then you get a healer who doesn't have to spend time spamming DPS buttons since they have a permanent DoT that covers all their DPS responsibilities, and they can instead focus on just healing. That's my point. In a perfect world, we wouldn't need a solution like that, but I keep trying to find different bargaining chips that everyone can get behind so that we can move on, and perhaps provide united feedback that the current four healers can be adjusted with a singular caveat, rather than constant friction which leaves conflicting feedback.

[Rongway]

a healer who doesn't have to spend time spamming DPS buttons since they have a permanent DoT that covers all their DPS responsibilities, and they can instead focus on just healing. That's my point. In a perfect world, we wouldn't need a solution like that, but I keep trying to find different bargaining chips that everyone can get behind so that we can move on, and perhaps provide united feedback that the current four healers can be adjusted with a singular caveat, rather than constant friction which leaves conflicting feedback.

The very idea is absurd. Giving someone an action set such that they would sit there and literally not press anything for the vast majority of the fight is not a solution to anything.

[ty_taurus]

The very idea is absurd. Giving someone an action set such that they would sit there and literally not press anything for the vast majority of the fight is not a solution to anything.

You're right, but it's what stands in the way of the healers being allowed to improve. We can't fix the state of healers out of fear of running out the players who want that experience. It's like the 5 stages of grief. Most here are either in the Anger stage or the Depression stage. I'm in the Bargaining stage. I really don't care what compromise needs to be made in order to allow all 4 healers to get fixed, even if that means promoting something like this that we shouldn't need.

[SpiralMask]

Giving a healer to the people who have championed the current healer model something even more appealing to their tastes while freeing up the existing healers to move away from that.

I for one am already disappointed that BLU (my absolute favorite class in the series) was relegated to minigame-only-at-gunpoint as a class by design, and would see it as an even greater slap in the face to see it then offered up as a 'sacrifice' to people who effectively want to play the role and game as little as possible.

just make all healers Fun™ individually, people who want a 111111111-spam class can go pound sand.

I was thinking about something similar with integrating Blu skills into all classes, not just healer. So sorry this is only tangentially related but I think it would be cool if for DT if let us crossclass 2 maybe 3 blu spells into our normal kit. This could give healers the option to take a few more offensive skills, get their dots back, magic hammer to regain mp etc.

this is more-or-less already the case as far as i've seen, in that a lot of the weirder BLU skill mechanics then went on to inform skill design changes for the "real" classes in the following expansion (BLU getting swap-skills like chelonian gate/cold fog, etc, then SMN and such having their summons swap to the big finisher attacks in their rework, etc)

[OgruMogru]

this is more-or-less already the case as far as i've seen, in that a lot of the weirder BLU skill mechanics then went on to inform skill design changes for the "real" classes in the following expansion (BLU getting swap-skills like chelonian gate/cold fog, etc, then SMN and such having their summons swap to the big finisher attacks in their rework, etc)

I would love to see that design ethos implemented in a meaningful way. Like the lost actions, maybe utilizing the duty action slots in regular battle content to give a little bit of flavour to the pared-down job design we have currently. Healer's that prioritize healing and support have more options, as would healers that want to be aggressive. Granted it would make Blu Mage mandatory to a degree but hey, that's more engagement right? But anyways, I don't wanna derail too much by sneaking my own pet-want into Ty's thread ^^;