#FFXIVHEALERSTRIKE

[KernCadfan]

I'll also say that what you're seeing in this thread is actually just the natural consequence of the game's current design direction. If there's no skill-based value in playing a healer, then people move over to roles where their skills will be better appreciated. Those who can make the switch to DPS will switch. What you're calling a strike here is really just people openly acknowledging that they don't have to be locked into playing a role that isn't valued. Supports are probably more likely to consider themselves to be 'career tanks' and 'career healers'. But once you make that switch, you're much less likely to come back. And a trinity design game cannot afford to lose those players.

I really do wonder sometimes if all the flashy aoe's are just a way to artificially nail players, thus making healers more required to heal. I am a casual though, so I'm not talking about a well oiled machine, like a static party... but rather parties that aren't always on the same page on new content. Instead of focusing the meanchics and gameplay so that the bosses are naturally difficult, we're greeted with just surface layer "toe was barely touching the aoe" vul stack nonsense which has gotten worse over the years. The game is strangely both mindlessly simple, but also incredibly unforgiving for those with latacy and lag spikes, or those who had trouble before the new graphics update (like myself), who now have an even worse time staying out of "bad" because of it...

We can't afford to lose healers, but you hit the nail on the head that there is no skill based value in being a healer. It is a foundational issue in the game that I could say for just about every class. Yes DPS is highly valued because we won't kill the enemy otherwise, but I would very deeply argue the level at which that value can be measured has decreased drastically by the job gutting and modernization under the idea of "jobs for all" as the devs would view it... I don't want jobs accessible for all. I want jobs finely tuned so that a player entering into that job zeroes in on that job in a pragmatic and realized way. Our mains are our mains for a reason, after all.

I recall a time when being a good dragoon (not the floor tank) made a player highly prized due to positional attacks and the rotation of those attacks being somewhat difficult. There was a very real skill involved in being a good dragoon. It was not easily achievable, hence the run-on floor tank joke. I loved my DRG very deeply because it was my main, I learned it, struggled and achieved.

I felt the same for my old WHM. I miss that WHM. Healing is no less difficult for me dispite their "improvements", in fact I'd say they actually made it harder in some respects... but without the "feel good" feeling of accomplishment after the instance is over... I miss that feeling... for now Pictomancer offers that, but I know its day for getting gutted will come... and it will be a sad day indeed.

[Rolder50]

Ah, so that's how they'll bring that Cleric Stance I heard about back.

Not sure how many people are looking forward to that monkey pawtch note, lol.

And you'll still only get two DPS buttons

[Maltothoris]

Now that more peeps are geared, ssome things hit reqlly weak now. It was to be expexted sure but today did the expert today on the fair dungeon and if you take the damage from the final boss' aoe, you get the dot tick unless you shield it to prevent damage. The tank did sio and I did holos and panhaima and we got no dot.

It is sad when things lile fusefield and bombarian special are expections and not the norm.

[Aravell]

It is sad when things lile fusefield and bombarian special are expections and not the norm.

Speaking of Fusefield, that mechanic really shows that a lot of the healer players now can barely even handle a modest healing check. The general skill level of the healer role is at an all-time low because no regular content actually trains people to be good at planning their healing.

[Silver-Strider]

Speaking of Fusefield, that mechanic really shows that a lot of the healer players now can barely even handle a modest healing check. The general skill level of the healer role is at an all-time low because no regular content actually trains people to be good at planning their healing.

That wouldn't even be all that much of a problem if they made the toolkits actually more engaging to interact with in any meaningful capacity. Right now, Healer toolkits are practically automated in that, there are few, if any, ways to interact with your skills. Tetra, Essential Dignity, Holos, Whispering Dawn. etc are all just fire and forget with no real interaction with any other part of your toolkit for the most part. Wouldn't it be better to create at least some level of feedback loop that made Healing more involved than just use whatever is off CD to solve the next Raidwide?

Let's take WHM as an example.
What if Tetra granted a Lily upon usage in addition to getting 1 every 20s? What if Divine Benison lowered the CD on Tetra by 15s on breaking/expiring? What if Misery lowered the CD of Benediction and Lilybell by 30s on usage?
This makes the Lily System much more flexible in its usage as not only do you now have a means of earning more Lilies throughout a fight, but it also grants you additional healing potential thru the CD reductions on Benediction and Lilybell.

Obviously, there is also the matter of how to make players actually engage with this system. The Lily System doesn't even get learned until 52 when you unlock Solace but by then, the game has screwed up by forcing players to believe Freecure is a valid strategy. That just means that the levels that we unlock some skills would need to be addressed.

Let's lower Solace and Rapture to be unlocked at Level 15.
At Level 20, we learn Tetra (if AST can have ED at 15, Tetra at 20 shouldn't be off the table)
At level 25, they reintroduce Stoneskin as low level Divine Benison.
At 60, we learn Misery because the level 60 Capstone is now vacant.

So now, by level 60, we have a solid Feedback loop of Tetra giving a Lily, Stoneskin lowering the CD on Tetra and Misery lowering the CD of Benediction. There's more room for improvement (*cough*axe freecure*cough*), but if we at least had these tools earlier to learn them, it would go some ways to improving lackluster healer players, at least in regards to their healing capabilities.

[Alice_Rivers]

At least hold off on the lilies until you have your WHM soul stone since it's supposed to be a WHM thing, not a CNJ thing... I could see Stoneskin coming back in the CNJ level range though and upgrading to Benison sounds good. Also how is freecure still a thing?

[AmiableApkallu]

Also how is freecure still a thing?

Who are these mythical people that look at a 1 in 7 chance of triggering a proc that lasts 15s and go, "YeS, tHiS iS wOrTh It"?

[klu]

... Y'all still going on about this?

[Supersnow845]

... Y'all still going on about this?

It’s almost like they still haven’t done anything to fix healers

The job complaints are growing across the board, nobody seems impressed with the job design at the moment

[Aravell]

"Wow, I can't believe you healers are still not happy after the last 2 patches made absolutely no attempt to address any of your concerns whatsoever!"