Another main healing job, would you play it?

[Herrisa]

A simple enough question. If SE released another main healing job, would you play it?

[Raitox]

No, because White Mage is the main healing job. I don't think they want to change that.

[Taskmage]

Assuming the job was significantly different in style than whm or rdm, sure.

[Icemage]

There is already another main healing job - Blue Mage. It plays differently than WHM, RDM, or SMN, but BLU/WHM has access to a VERY impressive set of abilities as you gain levels. I know the current trend is to make BLU sub THF for Sneak Attack, but they're also extremely competent healers.


Icemage

[Raydeus]

I wonder what would players consider as a main healing job.

All the -na, -ra and -ga spells, Raises and Regen, that's what makes WHM the only main healing job for me. Other jobs can take on the Cure part, but status removal (I'm including Raise/Reraise II and up here) and MP efficient mass healing spells is what makes a WHM.

So, outside of that what could another main healing job have that already existing jobs don't have already?

I wonder blunder.

[Akashimo]

Only idea i could think of is maybe like one that doesn't use mp, but some sort of item/tools like nin, but has similar spells/buffs/works of whm, like potency takes more than set number of items and basic tier ones take 3-8 items, potency effect, doubles items needed :x

[Mhurron]

Only idea i could think of is maybe like one that doesn't use mp, but some sort of item/tools like nin, but has similar spells/buffs/works of whm,

Just call it a Chemist and get it over with.

[I'm just a guy]

eh, alot of jobs can main heal really... but its just like almost everyone gose to the same area for certain lvls, thats the problem wif us =\ so many people dont experament, there plenty of areas i can think of that people dont barely ever use to pt/solo :3 ...hmm.. liiiike.... some people go and do tarus cuse they are best for mages ext. and most people do whm for main healing, cuse its just the easist, sure wish more people would experiment =\

[Ziero]

I can easily do a write up of an idea I had for chemist kinda like what I did with Geo in the 'new tank' topic. But I'd rather wait for a request before goin nuts on somethin like that. >_>

[Kitalrez]

Just call it a Chemist and get it over with.

Oooh! Can it be a "Naughty Chemist"? Nudge nudge, wink wink... SAY NO MORE!

[Killer4clan]

hey how about you guys try to experiment this main job as WHM/THF... i tried it and it worked alot for me. I was traveling alone in giddeus and i needed some yagudo necklaces for synth materials and i got mobbed by yagudo's. But i successfully left there with 8 stacks of grasscloths.
Grassthread= wind crystal+yagudo necklace=3 grassthread
Grasscloth= earth crystal+3 grassthreads= grasscloth

you can sell a stack of grass cloth for about 50-70k. this would be a good and fast gil for low lvl characters this would be good if you need fast gil for low lvl crafts and you would have a lot for later... that is what i did for WHM/THF... what i did is just use stoneskin with WHM and use HTH without weapons because i can hit the monster with both hands and kill them faster. and if you get signet you can get some crystals from bee's and if you are at lvl 30WHM/15THF if you have a lvl 15 THF you would get "Treasure Hunter I" you will get a better chance in getting yagudo necklaces from them.

[Icemage]

hey how about you guys try to experiment this main job as WHM/THF... i tried it and it worked alot for me.

This has nothing to do with the topic of discussion. Please stay on topic. You're not "main healing" if you're solo WHM/THF. End of story.

---

The only jobs that can reasonably main heal at the moment are:

WHM
RDM
SMN
BLU


Icemage

[Susurrus]

This has nothing to do with the topic of discussion. Please stay on topic. You're not "main healing" if you're solo WHM/THF. End of story.
---
The only jobs that can reasonably main heal at the moment are:
WHM
RDM
SMN
BLU
Icemage

I dunno, but when I leveled PLD, I efficiently tanked and still ended up main healing (while tanking). Of course this was all pre-40 and I am a Taru.

[Kitalrez]

This message is also completely off topic, but why did a completely random person show up and thank everyone above them in this thread? That's sort of like a complete stranger walking up and handing you pie.

On the one hand:

OMG!!! IT'S FREAKIN' PIE!!!!

On the other hand:

{Um...} What exactly did you *DO* to this pie?

Back on topic: Why don't more BLU main heal? Also, Icemage left out BLM from the main heal capable job listing. For that matter, why don't more BLM main heal too? In something like a TAU TP burn situation, both BLM and BLU would be way more useful in the healer's role than WHM or SMN, especially if you've already got a RDM there to cover hastes.

To answer my own question: I don't think there's a problem with there not being enough jobs in game that *CAN* main heal. I think it's more of a problem with the fact that main healing sucks rocks. For instance:

1. Healing Magic skill is a pain in the butt to raise on any job. The skillup checks are all made against things already near our level, (other players in party), meaning we get less chance to skillup like a BLM casting a nuke on something 6 levels higher or more. Let's also not forget that several of the jobs who can heal don't even have native healing magic skill, which means you get stuck levelling as main heal with a skill rating that isn't even capped for a subjob.
2. There's no real benefit to playing main heal. When all you're concentrating on is casting Cure spells, your other spell skills suffer, as do your melee skills.
3. For most mage jobs, meleeing at all is not an option, further reducing any possible fun derived from the situation, unless you really love mashing macros repeatedly.
4. Since when does anyone invite the healer into a party as the highest levelled job? Sure, these people might like you now, but they're going to pull out of your exp level range very quickly unless you have a longer playtime than they do. There's an awful lot of having to meet new parties and then having to prove yourself all over again.

Out of all the jobs Icemage identified, only WHM really can't solo effectively for exp. And it doesn't take a very long search of these jobs' boards to see that most of the players on them would much rather be soloing than healing someone else's sorry butt.

Bottom line: If you want to increase the healing options in this game, you don't need to add more jobs that can fit that role. What you need to be doing is modifying the role so it's actually attractive to the player base at large.

[Aksannyi]

This message is also completely off topic, but why did a completely random person show up and thank everyone above them in this thread? That's sort of like a complete stranger walking up and handing you pie.

I noticed that, too ... and I thought it was strange myself.

Does the "thanks" actually do anything on this forum, anyway, besides let people know if you're helpful or not?

On topic ... I really don't know what else could be done to create another healing class. I mean with WHM, RDM, SMN/WHM, and even BLU (although I've never seen it but would like to - hell maybe that's how I'll raise that job) for healing, what else could S/E add?

I'd love to see more jobs but I'm not sure there could be another healing job.