First, I still only have the crafting jobs to 16, the dps jobs to 50 (RDM is a little higher because I used it for an extended FATE event), and the two original tanking classes to 15. Only the current three healing jobs are to 70, and I'm most comfortable with WHM. I'm on and off with this game a lot, but recently became confident enough to add the roulette for expert dungeons to my repertoire. Still no extreme primals or current 8-player raids, though.
Second, I'm not at a place of having been in the game continuously so long as to see the big picture limits or downsides clearly.
Two things that do stand out to me:
1) concerns over WHM having its identity leeched and its value overshadowed by other healer jobs
2) old zone feeling empty and pointless
So here's the gist of what I've posted about these issues on the official forums...
On the identity/role of WHM
Current player concerns (skip down to see suggested action)
WHM is much easier to get into/more accessible. No managing cards or aetherflow or pets. That's "what it is". Unadorned and straightforward.
That's also why the lily gauge feels so tacked on by appearing so far into leveling. There *is no* WHM minigame to manage that relies on some special resource (aetherflow, pets, cards). SE seems to acknowledge that this is "what white mage is" by making lilies nice but optional and ignorable, especially for non-raiders. That keeps the "plain, simple, powerful" theme intact. Confession stacks don't even get a gauge, and outside of less forgiving content they are also nice but easily ignorable.
In adding those late extras to WHM they appear to want to avoid introducing much complexity while adding a little something extra for prog players/optimizers. People who only do non-prog content and/or play infrequently/casually can use WHM as easy-to-get-(back)-into job for healing, while the other healing jobs offer more complexity and management of resources.
I have dropped in and out of the game a lot over the past 2 1/2 year, and can say that WHM being so basic and easy to use has really helped me jump back in and given me a cushion for making mistakes and some confidence trying new content because it's easy to remember/relearn/use all the way up to the current expert roulette.
WHM can fit into prog by offering some great OGCD heals useful in optimization, and the job still does good damage, but it doesn't have anything engaging on the same level as AST or SCH. Which again takes it back to its overall niche in the game. If you see it that way, then lilies and confession stacks make sense -- something that might help in top tier end-game but that you might barely notice or use if you aren't optimizing. It's like trying to keep what makes WHM popular but also give a little something for prog.
Really then the issue becomes whether SE can keep the "simple" WHM dream alive for non-prog content (referring to that which isn't extreme, savage, or ultimate) while still giving something for optimizers to play with. How can the job be more useful and engaging at the same time while staying so lean and focused? Useful is easy -- buff their damage a bit so they get the healer dps crown back with no pretenders to the throne. Engaging? That's a little tougher. If you make it more engaging, that typically means adding something to manage which means a more complicated form of gameplay. Stray but a little...
Not arguing whether or not this is how SE should approach it, just that this looks like their goal. Here’s something to consider: if there are enough people who like having a healing job that is so simple and accessible, why would SE see it as "unacceptable"? Does every job have to have extra bells and whistles for optimizers? From what I gather is SE's perspective, there are two healer jobs with more complexity/management minigames/options for optimization and one with less of all of that to meet different preferences and skill levels.
Many players say AST is WHM with cards. True, you can heal on AST just fine never drawing a single card. But you will be under pressure to do so and to do so knowledgeably and effectively. Anything too strong or useful added to WHM in terms of complexity/management minigames/options for optimization will become an expectation, not a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. Even Holy spam is often seen as a requirement and that's not complex at all.
I see the WHM design philosophy as being a nice option for the casual player, the part-timer, the person wanting an easier-mode for whatever reason, the player who can't be bothered but still queues roulettes as healer, etc. Again, not arguing whether or not SE should change their approach. Just why WHM might be in (and mostly stay in) the niche it occupies.
Sample solution: focus on WHM class identity to add a little extra to the job
OK, but what if more distinction, utility, and "things to do" were going to be added while trying to still keep the job fairly simple? My own clumsy, off the top of my head sketch for some for that is as follows...
1. Add lililes earlier. Give the first lily at level 30 so it feels like a natural part of the job.
2. Give one or two buttons that consume lilies for a specific effect rather than having them reduce
the cool-down timer on a short list of oGCD abilities.
3. Focus on the theme of WHM in the game -- elemental/nature magic -- for designing a unique
contribution (because SE isn't going to heavily prune AST and SCH healing and dps just to let
WHM stand out).
How this premise plays out can go many ways. To offer a lackluster, unpolished example...
A. Add Fluid Aura II. An AoE bind spell to replace the single-target knockback and bind. To follow up on the elemental theme, have it give an ice/wind vuln debuff. I don't know or worry about what a particular part of the community considers meta, as that always shifts. Some change always recasts what jobs some people think they "have to take". But it would be a nice utility and dps buff for a few jobs. Now WHM has two AoE forms of crowd control (along with the Holy stun), which is something other healing jobs lack. Plus technically Repose I guess for another form of CC. Technically. Maybe that one could be an upgrade as well. Repose II... hmmmm...
B. Have lily consumption tied to the elemental/nature theme. Like "Aspect of Earth", "Aspect of Water", "Aspect of Wind". This could work in two ways: you have a button for each of those, and the number of lilies used up determines the strength of effects from or the duration of staying in a particular Aspect. All three buttons share a cool-down. Alternatively, you have one button and which Aspect you get is determined by how many lilies you use. One of the aspects requires a single lily, another requires two, the final one requires three.
In terms of what Aspects do, that's up in the air. Maybe one or more Aspects affect mobs cc'd by the WHM (leech health, extend duration of cc, etc.). Or something else entirely. So perhaps one Aspect adds an additional effect to cc'd mobs, another provides a group buff (something defensive, maybe), and so on.
C. Have another buff present by default whenever lilies are on the gauge. Maybe you throw Stone faster. Maybe you get a small % extra healing. Dunno. So you have to decide when to hold lilies and when to spend them as per B above.
That gives a unique gimmick and contribution and something to manage but is still not too complex.
On giving reasons for players to go back and visit/play in old zones
The zones from non-current content are great with different vistas and music evoking different moods, so why not have better excuses to go back and more things to do?
Current reasons:
- leveling a new character through MSQ and side quests
- FATES for seals and achievements (weak reason unless you are leveling a job, looking for a specific minion, doing a relic weapon questline, or the Yokai Watch event returns)
- Hunts for seals and achievements (weak reason, you were probably already in the zone and though, "Hey, easy kill ranked mob"
- Nostalgia
- Catching up on old beast tribe quests
- FATES for seals and achievements (weak reason unless you are leveling a job, looking for a specific minion, doing a relic weapon questline, or the Yokai Watch event returns)
- Hunts for seals and achievements (weak reason, you were probably already in the zone and though, "Hey, easy kill ranked mob"
- Nostalgia
- Catching up on old beast tribe quests
Possible new reasons:
- Wondrous Tales, Part 2. Doesn't have to share the name or be a sticker book. It's the concept.
Yeah you can say "what about weekly challenge logs? Those are fine, but they added
Wondrous Tales anyway. Challenge logs let you earn the rewards wherever you want, which is
cool. But the goal is to give something for going to old zones. So, like, "Complete 20 FATES
in an ARR zone", "Do 20 repeatable quests in a HW zone", etc. Then give something suitable
for higher level jobs participating in this new system. Perhaps a new currency or maybe a
small bit of whatever the current #2 tomestones are.
- Repeatable quests in old zones. Yeah, we have leves, but unless you are leveling a job there
is little reason to do them. Soooo... add reasons to do them even if you're at cap. Or add new
ones for jobs that are at cap. Or add a different repeatable quest giver system for jobs that are
at cap. Note this can synergize somewhat with the first idea in this list. Then give something
suitable for higher level jobs participating in this modified or new system.
- Level synch the ranked mob hunts. Yeah I love one or two-shotting ARR hunt targets too.
But this would make hunts more engaging and encourage hunting parties/link shells to visit
old zones. Like FATES, you would still be synched to hit harder than when you are a true low
level character, but not enough to solo the ranked mobs.
- Scavenger hunts. Yeah, a weekly(?) scavenger hunt with a series of clues that take you
through old zones. Clues and multi-threaded so not everyone just follows everyone else. Not
my favorite idea without some additional work, but still, it is an example of giving people a
reason to get into old zones. Might be fun to make it into team races as an extension of the
Golden Saucer.
- DoH/DoL special quest giver. Appears in a new zone each week. Asks for materials (or
items made with materials) only available that week in that zone (or set of zones from a
particular expansion).
OK, enough wall of text. Go away now :p
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