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Healing at higher levels

SvarcanumSvarcanum Member UncommonPosts: 425

Hey!

 

Just a quick question, did anyone experience healing at higher levels? I only got my sorc to 25, but tried healing solo, in all flashpoints I could get my hands on, tons of WZs and by helping other players in their higher level personal quests. And basically it was very, very boring gameplay wise. I feel I was transported back to WoW Vanilla. The epic feel of dps:ing felt spot on, but it really feels right now like BW dropped the ball on healing. And I always play a healer... do I have to dps like the cool kids from now on?

 

S

Comments

  • NitthNitth Member UncommonPosts: 3,904

    I didn't but this type of healing is pretty standard; watch a meter, fill it up when it runs low. Doesn't get much more exciting that that.

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  • SvarcanumSvarcanum Member UncommonPosts: 425

    Standard five years+ ago maybe. Off the top of my head I enjoy WoW healing (disc priest), Rift healing (healing by dpsing) and Vanguard healing (also a form of healing by dpsing) much more. You'd just think they wanted to make healers feel like they're playing a SW game as well, and not reserve that for tanks and dps.

     

    Example: Maybe for sorcs you could transform your Force Lightning to Siphon Energy from they enemy to your focus target as you channel it. You'd see your lightning go into the enemy and a stream of his life force going out of him an into your ally. 

  • ThemePorkThemePork Member Posts: 312

    Which games have you played that had fun healing?

    The ones I've played all have this same whack-a-mole type gameplay where you sit there staring at hp bars while spamming 2 to 3 keys.

    At least in TOR, healers aren't entirely gimped at damage dealing like in most other games out there.

  • SvarcanumSvarcanum Member UncommonPosts: 425

    Originally posted by Charas

    Which games have you played that had fun healing?

    The ones I've played all have this same whack-a-mole type gameplay where you sit there staring at hp bars while spamming 2 to 3 keys.

    At least in TOR, healers aren't entirely gimped at damage dealing like in most other games out there.

    (like I wrote)

     

    WoW, Rift (though healing was there the only role I enjoyed), Vanguard I really like healing in.

     

    Anarchy Online had nice healing as doctor I remember and even my runemaster:y dward in WAR was more action filled to heal on. 

     

    Oh, I almost forgot AoC was a blast to heal in. Cone healing so you actually had to see who took damage and where they were! That made it so you couldn't just look at health bars. 

     

    Come to think of it, not many MMOs have as standard healing swtor does. But the saving grace is, as you mentioned, that they pack a punch in addition to healing. When doing harder PVE content I sadly had the force to spare to do so, but in WZs the fact that you can go offensive is really really nice!

  • AnubisanAnubisan Member UncommonPosts: 1,798

    Originally posted by Svarcanum

    Hey!

    Just a quick question, did anyone experience healing at higher levels? I only got my sorc to 25, but tried healing solo, in all flashpoints I could get my hands on, tons of WZs and by helping other players in their higher level personal quests. And basically it was very, very boring gameplay wise. I feel I was transported back to WoW Vanilla. The epic feel of dps:ing felt spot on, but it really feels right now like BW dropped the ball on healing. And I always play a healer... do I have to dps like the cool kids from now on?

    S

    I leveled a Sith Sorceror to the early 40s and really don't agree with this. In fact I enjoyed this character more than any others because I felt the healing component was done really well - especially later on. I liked the fact that I could DPS a bunch in easier fights, but really had to be on my game in some of the later flashpoints to keep my groups alive. Maybe others have had different experiences, but I personally don't have any complaints about healing...

  • garrygarry Member Posts: 263

    If you are looking to be nothing but a healer then you might be somewhat disappointed here. The game spreads out healing a lot for more active class participation. Rigid roles are eased somewhat and yes, a healer leaning player will have to be more active in dps and tanking as well. I realize we as players are accustomed to locked in playstyles from most other RPG games but SWTOR has changed the paradigm. You are simply going to have to play it a little different, get more involved. Your Companion will be of great help here.

     

    If you want to stay back and just heal without the hectic combat play then it will probably be a tougher playstyle than you are accustomed to playing. I do not know how this will affect your enjoyment but I hope you will give it a shot as I like the mental attitude of healer orientated players. We have plenty of hotshot dps killers in any game and balance is welcome. 

  • SvarcanumSvarcanum Member UncommonPosts: 425

    Originally posted by Anubisan

    Originally posted by Svarcanum

    Hey!

    Just a quick question, did anyone experience healing at higher levels? I only got my sorc to 25, but tried healing solo, in all flashpoints I could get my hands on, tons of WZs and by helping other players in their higher level personal quests. And basically it was very, very boring gameplay wise. I feel I was transported back to WoW Vanilla. The epic feel of dps:ing felt spot on, but it really feels right now like BW dropped the ball on healing. And I always play a healer... do I have to dps like the cool kids from now on?

    S

    I leveled a Sith Sorceror to the early 40s and really don't agree with this. In fact I enjoyed this character more than any others because I felt the healing component was done really well - especially later on. I liked the fact that I could DPS a bunch in easier fights, but really had to be on my game in some of the later flashpoints to keep my groups alive. Maybe others have had different experiences, but I personally don't have any complaints about healing...

    That's nice to hear! Feedback from higher level healers was just what I was after. What made healing fun? Did Innervate and Revivification change your playstyle alot? Was the Force Surge buff easy to notice, so you always quickly squeezed Consumption after it proc'd?

  • Biggus99Biggus99 Member Posts: 916

    Originally posted by Svarcanum

    Standard five years+ ago maybe. Off the top of my head I enjoy WoW healing (disc priest), Rift healing (healing by dpsing) and Vanguard healing (also a form of healing by dpsing) much more. You'd just think they wanted to make healers feel like they're playing a SW game as well, and not reserve that for tanks and dps.

     

    Example: Maybe for sorcs you could transform your Force Lightning to Siphon Energy from they enemy to your focus target as you channel it. You'd see your lightning go into the enemy and a stream of his life force going out of him an into your ally. 

    It's no different than WoW or Rift healing, for the most part, although I'd say it more closely resembles WoW healing because of the amount of heals you get.  Rift just had way, way too many heals.  But the gameplay was exactly the same as other MMOs:  Watch health bar, target player, spam heal.  Nothing too exciting.  I've played all three games, and neither WoW nor Rift were intrinsically better than TOR in terms of healing.  All three are your standard type of healing, with the exception of the Bard or chloromancer in Rift, which require you to spam damage abilities to heal your targets, but give you very little in the way of direct healing.  Some people prefer that method because it's easy mode.  

    One other note:  Aside from the Bard and Chloro in Rift, TOR has the same kind of healing variety in its classes that any standard MMO would have:  They have healers that rely on HoTs, healers that rely on direct heals, and healers that rely on shields/mitigation like the WoW disc priest.  

    Also, healers in TOR can be adequate dpsers during fights as well, which makes it more than just staring at health bars.  But overall, I'd say it's pretty standard.  Only difference is that all the healers in the game use different resources, so it's a matter of preference and style.  Personally, I love the "healing bullets" you get as a Trooper.  Nothing like blasting your fellow group mates with your gun and having it heal them instead of kill them.  :)

     

  • SvarcanumSvarcanum Member UncommonPosts: 425

    Oh, and one more question: did you feel like an epic sith sorceror while healing or more like, well, a run of the mill whack-a-mole healer?

  • bobfishbobfish Member UncommonPosts: 1,679

    Healing is very uninspired in SWTOR, nothing comes close to the fun I had healing in Vanguard, the defensive target system in combination with unique and fun healing classes just made it the best healer experience in the MMO space for me :(

  • SvarcanumSvarcanum Member UncommonPosts: 425

    Yeah, I don't get why not *all* other developers just copy paste VGs healing system. It was hands down genious!

  • Lord.BachusLord.Bachus Member RarePosts: 9,686

    Originally posted by Svarcanum

    Yeah, I don't get why not *all* other developers just copy paste VGs healing system. It was hands down genious!

    And healer classes where incredibly overpwored...

     

    But never had more fun then healing on my Bloodmage, while disciples where awesome too.

    Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)

  • maskedweaselmaskedweasel Member LegendaryPosts: 12,173

    I leveled my consular to 48, and enjoyed healing (and that class, playability wise)  more than any other class I played.

     

    I healed in lots of heroics, and lots of flashpoints, as well as in PvP  (and was the top healer in most PvP matches).   I enjoyed healing a lot with the consular, as you aren't just a straight healer,  popping heals when bars get low will end up getting everyone killed in the long run for the following reasons:

     

    1)  Healing grabs aggro from mobs.  The higher you get in level and the smarter enemies get,  the more apparent it is that you need to play smart and not focus only on popping your heavy heals.

     

    2) Mitigation is just as important (if not more important)  than healing.  On the consular, popping your bubble on your friends and yourself will save you from spending force you don't need to spend.  Its also an instant cast and soaks up a good amount of damage so popping it up on an ally before they go down is a must, simply due to the fact your large casted heals take a few seconds.

     

    3)  CC is a must for the consular,  as is knowing your enemies and playing proactively.  In PvP I spent as much time focusing enemies on the capture points with CC ( pop force stun on a healer,  if they break from it,  wait a couple seconds and pop lift on them -- use force wave to knock enemies off of squishy DPS so they don't take excess damage and waste my heals.. etc.)    Pay attention to resolve bars... which is very important when using CC.

     

    This is also important in PvE.  Lift the hard hitting DPS and have your team focus NPC healers.  Or lift the healers and focus the DPS,  it will depend on what kind of healers you are going up against.

     

    4)  Watch the status and also watch the health bars.  Its important to be able to take off debilitating statuses from allys,  and the good thing about the consular is,  when spec'd into healing  not only can you remove a status but it has a minor heal.  This is important to know not just for you,  but for your allys in PvP when playing matches like huttball and voidstar.   This minor heal (that removes status effects) also allows you to cast it while running,  as does your HoT and your force bubble,  so you can essentially run and heal,  and have someone next to you running and healing too even if they are focused by your enemies.  (the heals are negligible in comparison when taking heavy damage,  but is really helpful when you need to get away and stay alive.)

     

    5) Lastly,  you have to know your environment. As a consular, sage,  huttball was a very fun game to play as you could push people into the acid,  stun them or slow them through the fire,  or knock them off the path to the goal line,  all the while healing and keeping your team alive.  This goes for PvE too,    throwing enemies off the edge of a building could be a life saver, or a time saver...  using LOS will help in mitigation as the sage is light armored and squishy when focused.  

     

    My plan on launch is to go full healer as a smuggler.  I can only hope it will be as strategic and fun as the consular was.



  • GravargGravarg Member UncommonPosts: 3,424

    It's the same as in most other MMOs, but in flash points after the Esseles you really have to watch your party's health, and be quick on the draw.  One of the best aspects I thought was on my level 17 sage, I was brought along with level 30+ people to help out, and they were happy to have me with them.

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