Could a melee Healer work?

[Shurrikhan]

Would be good if they put their focus into making ranged healer gameplay better b4 making melee one.

While this is true, taking a stab at something intentionally different is often a decent way to freshen up perspective for the existing classes.

[Claire_Pendragon]

While this is true, taking a stab at something intentionally different is often a decent way to freshen up perspective for the existing classes.

the number of times i ended up improving something i was struggling to improve by this such method (changing things up, and having to adapt to the circumstances) has taught me how good it actually is to do just that. But i know ppl wont agree with this, so i usually dont bother bringing it up in these sorts of discussions.
as a side note, sometimes i will play a job, just because i like the aesthetics enough to push through bad gameplay. i hate WHM more than any other healer, but i end up still leveling it, just because i could glamour a scythe. if WHM actually used it... its very likely it would either be my go to healer, or id keep it up to date with whatever healer im also keeping at max with it. (another comparison being DRK. even though i hate DRK with a passion, its the great sword user, so i keep my DRK leveled up anyways)

[NailBach]

tbh punching someone to full health sounds like fun. we need to wait for 9.0 for a new healer though

"I told you to stay out of that AOE you little piece of ...."

[DeltaCyan]

Just musing out loud.

I don't have one theorycrafted or anything, but suffice it to say by melee I of course don't mean the actual healing part of its skillset (or... do I?), I'm imagining it just being its damage-dealing abilities. I think it could make for a novel addition to the game's roster even then.

What brought this about was my pondering the kind of Job they might give Gaia in the future since although she's a MRD/WAR in terms of (roughly) weapon type and stance, nothing else about it matches her particular skillset. Making her a Tank still doesn't feel right (even if a time skip were involved), and then it struck me! A melee Healer that uses time magic to halt or rewind damage! After all, there's a strong connection between maces/hammers and clerics and the like (admittedly mostly in western media e.g. Warhammer Fantasy), and aligning it with Darkness would make for a fun twist, I think.

Damn it, I really want this now...

Honestly this isn't that far fetched. In Bravely Second there's a job that does exactly that called Exorcist. "Healing" by rewinding HP values to a previous state. I think it would be a fun and unique twist for a new healer.

https://bravelydefault.fandom.com/wiki/Exorcist_(job)

[Claire_Pendragon]

tbh punching someone to full health sounds like fun.
"I told you to stay out of that AOE you little piece of ...."

wuuut?
no one was suggesting this though....

[CVXIV]

Honestly this isn't that far fetched. In Bravely Second there's a job that does exactly that called Exorcist. "Healing" by rewinding HP values to a previous state. I think it would be a fun and unique twist for a new healer.

https://bravelydefault.fandom.com/wiki/Exorcist_(job)

Rewinding to 'heal' is actually something I think they could do with time mage which would be neat. Time to get the hourglass weapon

edit: To add, the two jobs that I think would be neat to see as healer would be a sort of chemist job. Since you mentioned Bravely Second I want to mention Salve-maker from the first game. Throwing potions to heal would be pretty amusing. The other would be time mage, as I mentioned above.

I don't know if either would qualify as melee healers, but I don't know what that would be like
Same for a ranged tank, really
It's not something I've experienced before

[Claire_Pendragon]

Rewinding to 'heal'

Yeah, back when thinking on the same idea myself in HW, Someone suggested a button to press to bring people back to that set point. But its pretty much a more powerful version of benediction (and in their example for the whole PT acting as LB3)
Id just make it more of a flavor effect. Put a buff on all PT members, and certain actions will work to bring their HP back to the recorded amount. (healing up to the amount recorded, but not MORE than that amount.) wears off after death, so u cant just raise them with the same skill, and if you apply it right away then those heals wont actually heal them, since its recorded at low hp. (Id also have a Regen/Quick mechanic, to heal them when rewind isnt available. Put regen on them, and then press quick to burst the entire regen effect as if it completed all of its ticks. after that, if they arent full, regen is the main means to heal them higher, and back when AST had shields, rely on shields until they got high enough to reset the HP record)

[TheDustyOne]

Honestly this isn't that far fetched. In Bravely Second there's a job that does exactly that called Exorcist. "Healing" by rewinding HP values to a previous state. I think it would be a fun and unique twist for a new healer.

https://bravelydefault.fandom.com/wiki/Exorcist_(job)

Rewinding to heal I think is more of an AST thing, Square just needs to realise that AST once had time magic as part of its kit with Time Dilation and Celestial Opposition increasing buff durations. Even Macrocosmos is a more "balanced" way of introducing a rewind-like mechanic (even if it's not the exact same, the compilation of damage received that turns into healing feels close enough to the overall idea), I think it wouldn't be infeasible to introduce an actual rewind for single target for AST.

Imagine if we could reintroduce skills like Time Dilation; put a regen on someone and extend it. Put a regen on someone and snapshot the timer so you can reapply it with an oGCD. Fast-forward that regen to heal the remainder all at once. More Exaltation-like skills that have delayed heal effects (that can be affected by that fast-forward). The job already exists, it's just not fully realised.

Heck, you could build an entire DPS kit around the idea of rewinding and fast-forwarding; Wildfire-like detonations that you can snapshot, fast-forward, and reapply; DoTs you can fast-forward or extend the duration; PvP Doublecast to repeat a previous spell instantly. Square just needs some creativity and not to lock themselves into this homogenous lump with only a DoT and nuke for a DPS kit.