FF14 Best Healer - What's the Best Job For Healing?

FF14 Best Healer
Alphinaud taking the mantle of a Sage healer to support the allies and destroy the enemies.


Final Fantasy XIV is the fourteenth installment to the famous Final Fantasy franchise, and is one of the most played MMORPGs currently in 2021. Fans of this genre may try out this game by playing the free trial that includes the first expansion Heavensward and can be played up to level 60 with no time limit.

As most MMORPGs do, FFXIV has three different kinds of battle jobs that a player can play, which are tanks, DPS, and healers. With the arrival of two new jobs in Endwalker in November 2021, the players will have up to 4 healer jobs to play, which are White Mage, Scholar, Astrologian, and Sage.

With that said, among the three healer jobs that can be played currently (White Mage, Scholar, and Astrologian), future healers of Eorzea may wonder, what is the best job for healing right now?

Before deciding which healer is the best job, describing each one’s powers and weaknesses will help a player to choose the best healer job for them.

 

1) White Mage

A White Mage deals devastating damage to the enemies and big healing regens for their allies.

White Mages are the pure healers, the embodiment of “healing” in many other games with a little bit of twist. White Mages use healing spells to give regens to their party members to help their health go back to full in a short period of time.

 In addition, White Mages also have an additional “Lily” system. A White Mage will get a lily for every 30 seconds in a battle. Every time they use a lily to heal, it will fill up the blood lily gauge. Every three lilies will bloom a full blood lily, which can be used to inflict “Afflatus Misery” on the enemy, a skill that deals the most damage among the three healers.

Strengths:

  • Strong healing potency, able to heal up dying party members in a short period of time.
  • Blood lily. Can deal high damage to enemies through healing allies.
  • Benediction, a White Mage’s most powerful spell. Able to heal up a dying ally, even at 1 HP, to completely full. Very useful for multiple tank busters.
  • Have the highest damage out of the three healers. Very suitable for players who likes to see big numbers being dealt to the enemies.
  • Their AoE skill (Holy) can stun mobs in dungeons, allowing the tank to not receive as much damage.

Weaknesses:

  • Only have 2 mitigations, and one is only for a single party member. Will have a hard time in shielding attacks that needed to be mitigated in order to survive (mostly in harder contents)
  • Doesn’t have any damaging spells that support movements. A White Mage has difficulty moving from dangerous spots because they do not have any instant damage spells aside from Dia, which only needs to be casted every 30s. 
  • Doesn’t have many oGCDs healings. To heal their allies, a White Mage must do GCD healings, and because of this, it will sacrifice the time they can spend hitting the enemies.
  • Doesn’t provide any damage buffs to the group, as opposed to Scholar and Astrologian.
  • Is much harder to play in lower-level contents, as most of their powerful skills are available at level 71-80.

 

2) Scholar

A Scholar keeps their allies alive by giving them shields with the help of their fairies.

Scholars are the opposite of White Mages. Instead of using regen to heal dying allies, Scholars use their shields to mitigate damage taken from the party so they won’t be at danger from being killed. Scholars use the help of their fairies--Eos and Selene, to mitigate damage and heal their party members.

In addition, at level 80, their fairies can evolve into Seraph, providing powerful shields that can further mitigate damages from the enemies, making the party in a whole safe from death.

Strengths:

  • Have a lot of mitigation, and can save a party from dying due to the large amount of damage taken.
  • Lots of oGCD healings, that can be weaved in whilst still doing damage. Thus, a scholar can heal and shield while still damaging the boss.
  • Very mobile. As they have a spell, Ruin 2, that is an insta cast, they can use it to move easily and dodge AoEs as well as do mechanics properly.

Weaknesses:

  • Hard MP management. Scholar’s GCD healing like Succor and Adloquium spend a lot of mana (1000). This can make a Scholar run out of mana very fast in a fight that needs a lot of mitigation or healing.
  • Can’t be paired with another scholar, as their shields will not stack and will overlap with each other.
  • Have to summon their fairy again each time they die, or lose a lot of healing capabilities.

 

3) Astrologian

Astrologian heals the allies with their trusted globe and divinations.

Astrologians are called the most aesthetic healer because of their various skills that are interlaced with stars and galaxies. However, Astrologians are much more than just being an aesthetic healer.

Astrologian, as of now, are the only healer that can choose whether their healings will provide shields or regen (healing over time), making them compatible to be paired with all of the healers, even with fellow Astrologians. In addition, they also provide a lot of buffs to the party, making them much more powerful in a fight.

Strengths:

  • Can switch between Diurnal (Regen) and Nocturnal (Shield) sect, depending on the necessity of the fight and who is their fellow healer.
  • A lot of oGCD healings, causing them to be able to still damage the enemies while providing heals.
  • Good mana management. Their healings cost less mana, and drawing cards provide them more mana as well.
  • Provide lots of buffs to their party members with cards and divination.
  • Lightspeed. Reduces cast time by 2.5s and can be used every 90s. Very useful to heal and attack during a mechanic that needs a lot of movement, or to resurrect dead party members faster when not having swiftcast.
  • Can move with every single GCD. As Malefic, Astrologian’s main skill for damage, has a slower cast time, they can move after every single Malefic cast, making them very mobile.

Weaknesses:

  • Personal DPS is the lowest compared to the other two healers
  • Is a bit harder to play with high ping or low internet connection due to faster casting speed and the need to weave in skills to draw their cards.

 

After explaining each healer’s strengths and weaknesses, the question came again, which one is the best healer? The answer depends on the gameplay you’re seeking when playing healer:

  • White Mage is the best if you are looking for a simple healer to play whilst dealing a LOT of damage to the enemies. However, they provide little to no utility to the party as a whole.
  • Scholar is the best if you like playing with a summon and utilizing your fairies to help you shield and heal in battle. In addition, Scholar’s Ruin 2 makes it one of the most mobile jobs out there.
  • Astrologian is the best healer if you’re looking for a versatile healer that can either shield or heal. Not to mention, they also provide buffs and lots of utilities to the party as a whole. However, they have the lowest personal DPS out of the three.

 

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Gamer Since: 2007
Favorite Genre: RPG
Currently Playing: Final Fantasy XIV
Top 3 Favorite Games:Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn, The Sims 4


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