The Crimson Binome
Hero
I never knew that there was such a controversy over what a healer was. I mean, everyone's played Final Fantasy and stuff, right? You always get the character who heals and buffs and doesn't attack anyone. Or, if they do attack someone, it's because you're just beating up some goblins and it doesn't matter, and they'd be just as well off by defending for the round, for what little the contribute. The white mage. The healer. The medic.The more of this conversation I read, the more exacting the specifications of the so-called "healer" become.
It's sounding more and more like a role we're better off without, and one I'm glad did not make it into the core of 5e -- at least not in the extreme incarnation certain players seem to be looking for.
I get that some people don't like being that character, and it should be optional. We're just saying that 4E went too far, and made it impossible, where it was at least nominally possible in earlier editions. The question remains of how to make that optional, without it being so effective as to become mandatory.