After spending some time watching gameplay of the COT2 of all of the Third Job skills, and listening to different perspectives of the players feedback, I think most people would agree that Priest feels like it's in a bad spot.
I've spent some time trying to think of how Priest could get some help without just simply buffing all of it's skills, which just feels lazy to me.
Trying to think of the root cause of the problem, I don't believe damage is really the issue when it comes to this class. It's not meant to be, nor never was meant to be a damage dealer. It's one if not the ONLY real support classes in the game. That is where I feel the main issue is.
Cleric did get some love with Holy arrow being adjusted and buffed. However, Heal training was essentially removed from the game. Heal training used to be over tuned, primarily because MP EATER was very strong alongside Heal. With both MP Eater and Heal being nerfed into the ground, the identity of Cleric changed dramatically.
It is still a support class, in some cases even more so now. Bless gives accuracy, evasion, and +10% Heal to each party member now. I don't think this is a bad buff, but it is found lacking a little bit.
The real elephant in the room is Priest, it's Third job advancement. Shining ray has mediocre damage(which is fine) but the cast range of the skill itself is pretty depressing.
So it struggles doing damage, that's fine. It's a support class after all. So what support can it offer? Dispel, Mystic Door, and a 30 second Cooldown DOOM. That's pretty much all.
This is NOT going to work for this class. It cannot do damage well, it cannot support meaningfully, and it cannot offer Party Exp through Holy Symbol.
How can this be changed to be meaningful?
I believe changing Holy Symbol's role in the game once again is the answer. Although I do see why self resurrection might be important late game, I do not believe any form of self revive should exist. It's a bit lazy, and it really removes the punishment of playing sloppy during a boss fight.
I believe that Holy Symbol should be a party buff, just not one that makes the Priest feel like an Experience slave.
To do this, I had to really get creative and try to think of a meaningful buff that Priest could offer that wouldn't be over powered or unbalanced. So I began thinking about how El Nath and Aqua have damage over time from Cold and Lack of air.
I have always felt that the damage over time from cold in el nath was significantly underwhelming because the game offers potions that protect players from cold damage, as well as a quest that offers a cape that does the same.
This is the same in Aqua, air bubbles that prevent damage from oxygen deprivation, and an oxygen tank cape that does the same.
I always thought these quests were really cool, but they felt so meaningless. One can simply just use potions and completely ignore the cold / oxygen mechanics in these realms.
So I suggest that we kill two birds with one stone.
I believe that both El Nath's Cold and Aqua's Oxygen damage over time be reworked to be a real threat if left unchecked. Starting with 50 damage, and ramping up over time if not addressed. This makes using the Red Bean Soup and Oxygen Bubbles mandatory while being in these realms, or to have the Cape of Warmth or the Oxygen Tank.
And in turn, I believe that one of Holy Symbol's buffs can be a protection from these elements for all party members. Thus allowing players to become more cost efficient OR to have access to their original cape-wear which can result in direct damage increase depending on the player's gear.
I believe Holy Symbol should also grant an additional 10% Heal to party members, making Heal even more effective in the later levels, and a PASSIVE bonus to the Priest specifically that grants +10% Damage to all Holy skills.
This would mean that Holy Symbol grants: +10% Heal, full immunity to weather ailments, and passive +10% damage to Holy arrow, Holy Symbol, and Heal.
The second part of this coin is making the skills balanced to make deciding which skill to max out, and which one to pass up more meaningful. To do this, I believe that Shining Ray should receive a +10% range buff to it's area of effect.
Doom's Cooldown reduced from 30 seconds to 25 seconds.
Summon Dragon buffed to 130% damage on 3 monsters, rather than 100% damage on 1 monster.
The purpose of this change: Priest cannot take every skill mentioned. It has to give one of them up, if it wants to have dispel and Mystic door.
Summon Dragon should be able to deal meaningful damage, making it a viable skill to take instead of Shining Ray.
Doom needs to be reliable enough to want to take instead of a different skill, like Holy Symbol.
I believe these changes make the Priest much more balanced with the other classes, giving the Priest the option of being more battle oriented, or support based with passive damage output through it's summon.
