After seeing a preview of an upcoming dungeon run in the new Dawntrail expansion, Final Fantasy XIV healers have started a protest on the game’s official forums over potentially no longer being needed in certain situations.
As PC Gamer pointed out, the video in question came from content creator Xenosys Vex, where he played as a Warrior Tank through the media tour dungeon for the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail expansion without a healer. During the video, Xenosys managed to go through the dungeon with three DPS characters and mentioned several times how he didn’t even need a healer.
In response to the video, players who play the healer role in FFXIV have organized a small protest on the official forum: #FFXIVHEALERSTRIKE. The thread was made on June 9 and has garnered more than 3,000 posts since then. Many players have also posted on the forum to share their dissatisfaction over how the healer role has become redundant, and some are even saying this is the reason why they unsubscribed from FFXIV.
Are things really that bad for healers in FFXIV? Not really, according to some comments. Several healers are pointing out that the Warrior build in the video is made purely for self-sufficiency. Others are also pointing out that if everyone knows the dungeon mechanics, a healer doesn’t need to do much. And unlike most MMORPGs, healers in FFXIV are expected to do damage while keeping the party’s HP up, so it’s hardly a mindless role.
FFXIV has always had a unique twist when it comes to party play and dungeon runs. For one, the game is more focused on the Main Story Quest (MSQ) than group-related content. Additionally, the game is very single-player friendly to the point that you can even finish an entire dungeon or raid with AI-controlled characters. With that said, given how many players replied to the #FFXIVHEALERSTRIKE forum post, perhaps it’s time for the healer role to get an upgrade.
