#FFXIVHEALERSTRIKE

[Alice_Rivers]

On WHM, I've been playing more AST (for raids) and SCH (because I don't) and it's never more than a week before I'm revisiting my familiar WHM, it might just be that but no matter how much I want/feel the need to play/practice another healer something keeps pulling me back so WHM is clearly doing something right (even if I can't put a finger on it).

[Supersnow845]

Well that’s kinda my entire point

What incentive does square have to improve the design of the healers and really allow the other three to do something unique when people point to WHM as an example of having some kind of ephemeral “power” or “good feeling” to it as an example of good direction (if flawed) design when in reality the class is literally so weak it’s externalising its own responsibilities onto its cohealer

I don’t know a single shield healer main who doesn’t groan when a WHM joins a party. Is a class really well designed when it’s “fun” because it’s simple but in reality it’s simplicity comes from forcing its cohealer to work harder to compensate for it

[Azurarok]

I do end up going back to it fairly often too, but I think it's more because I like its lower/more consistent apm and less busy 2m burst? It has a more comfortable rhythm to it imo.

Don't think the job has to be trash at mitigation to keep that despite how much the devs seem to insist on it, at least.

[Aravell]

Personally, I do prefer seeing a WHM join as my cohealer rather than an AST.

Because, despite AST being better than WHM in everything except moving 15y in a straight line instantly, a lot of AST players are absolutely awful at the game. Between drifting Divination, throwing out cards randomly, not using Neutral Sect because "muh deeps" and using literally only Macrocosmos at the start of a mechanic and expecting me to soloheal everything in between so they can pop it at the end, I'd rather have the weaker WHM in the party.

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

One of the reason why I still go back to WHM from time to time is because they're the only one that can 'feel different' to play, but I think that's just a 'me thing' and my muscle memory from ShB days when Lilies had up to 3 functions back in those days. Need to move? I'll use a Lily... doubly so if I can weave something after. Or vice versa, and hopefully I'll also have something that I would heal in each use---thankfully I usually did. It's rare of me to use lily spells for a singular purpose outside dumping them out of uptime for Misery.

Of course, all these enjoyments had diminished so much. Mobility? Almost no thoughts required with 1.5s cast time. Lily management? Bah just use 'em they're so abundant. What if I overspend lily? Lmao well here you go 2nd charge tetra, asylum, lilybell, blah blah blah, now you can heal with oGCDs more like other healers. Hell I was really enjoying how Holy was the only remainder 2.5s cast time in their arsenal because it lets me mimic the old Lily management drills regardless whether they're actually beneficial or not i.e. popping solace on tanks when AoE appears beneath so I can move + toss 1 or 2 oGCD before repositioning to Holy more. Math probably says no but fr, who cares about the minimal dps loss---on a healer? (Now who's being the parse brain? :/ I wonder, tsk tsk...). But apparently that too is a sin.

EDIT: On aesthetic side, I also enjoyed how WHM's animation looks 'flowy' and slow. It gives an impression that they require to concentrate heavier and be vulnerable to unleash their magicks. Many of their animations DO NOT flow well with 1.5s cast time.

[Moqi]

Despite how much they keep butchering WHM it's still the most fun healer to play for me, both mechanically and aesthetically. I just wish we actually still everything that made WHM fun to play: MP and aggro management, uptime, CGD healing, Cleric Stance, and big DPS/Heal bombs that are impactful and actually needed in content...

[Kacho_Nacho]

Well that’s kinda my entire point

What incentive does square have to improve the design of the healers and really allow the other three to do something unique when people point to WHM as an example of having some kind of ephemeral “power” or “good feeling” to it as an example of good direction (if flawed) design when in reality the class is literally so weak it’s externalising its own responsibilities onto its cohealer

I don’t know a single shield healer main who doesn’t groan when a WHM joins a party. Is a class really well designed when it’s “fun” because it’s simple but in reality it’s simplicity comes from forcing its cohealer to work harder to compensate for it

Maybe it's because I'm running in different content; but, I've never encountered this. From my perspective, WHM meshes well with every other healer in the game.

Players who enjoy playing White Mage don't need to apologize for enjoying their job, no matter if another player might groan because the RNG system didn't provide them the optimal healer grouping.

[ForsakenRoe]

I think it's less that 'WHM doesn't do enough so it burdens their cohealer', but moreso 'AST has way too much' (especially with DT's changes to it). And with AST having Netural Sect (which then stacks with any other barrier, and can be reapplied multiple times, while Divine Caress can only 'protect' the party once), AND Sun Sign being semi-comparable to Temperance (but it's also stronger), AND Collective Unconscious giving AST a seperate, 60s CD mitigation option that WHM just... doesn't have an equivalent for, it's pretty undeniable that AST's kit is a lot more versatile, and that allows the cohealer to be a lot more flexible in their own timings. In a game design which focuses so little on 'HPS throughput' and so much on 'reduce the damage of the attack to a manageable amount', it's easy to see why people might see 'the 'all HPS/no mit' healer design as being less favourable in some way, and focus on that so heavily

It should also be noted, that 'it provides no mitigation, and has no raidbuff' is the exact reason that people thought DRK was 'bad' in SB, leading to its rework in 5.0 (along with the APM complaints about Dark Arts). And also the same reason that WHM was in the situation it was in with SB. So depsite changing Lilies to be 'not an abomination of game design', WHM's perception still suffers because of this insistence that it should be so focused on dealing out big HPS

[Maltothoris]

Indeed, you have to go far and beyond to break perception. Look what they did with astros in 3.4 and pld in 4.0. Both of them had trouble throughout hw and then in 3.4 you have astro getting huge buffs through and pld getting a lot of decent stuff in SB that made people forget about the previous patches.

The issue I would say with lilies was that the bar was so low when they first debuted, any improvement would of been made with huge applause. I still have no idea what they intended to do with the original set.

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

[...]The issue I would say with lilies was that the bar was so low when they first debuted, any improvement would of been made with huge applause. I still have no idea what they intended to do with the original set.

Concept-wise, I don't even hate OG StB lilies, as in "Gauge that I have to manage so I can have XYZ actions empowered later on". But of all buttons they could choose as the catalyst for the gauge, they've chosen the worst of all for whatever reason.

"Use a lot of Cure I/Cure II so you can reduce one of your chosen healing oGCDs cooldown that maybe you get 1-2 extra use in a single fight! P.S. exception for Benediction because that thing's too OP and needs to remain on their god awful long cooldown!! :P"

Yeah, that totally would fly... lmao.