- Joined
- Jan 17, 2011
I have been watching discussions on the Healer path, and recently started messing around with the base path myself. The general gist of things is that healing is unwieldy at best, and a liability at worst. I haven't played a healer in PvP combat yet, and have only seen the specs on a spreadsheet. But the issues it seems to have is the the heals are a too-little-too-late deal that can not be counted on as reliable.
I'm not going to discuss the combination of warmups and cooldowns (which is a little wonky and forces healers to cope with two different healing methods in my opinion or the targetting thing, but a mechanic which I think will make healing more interesting for the healer and the party. I did anyway.
A new mechanic which affects the caster and the target. Don't know what to call it. Dual-casting, empathetic something-or-other. The gist is that the target of your spell gets one effect, and you as the caster get another.
For example:
Revised current skills
When I started writing this, I said I wasn't going to touch on the warmup/cooldown combintion they have. But I am going to anyway. I currently have access to the Bandage skill, and know that other heals work a similar way. You begin casting, wait a few seconds, cast, then enter cooldown. This has the effect of combining two type of healing that does not work in the Minecraft setting: reactive healing and predictive healing.
Reactive healing is affected by cooldown. You see someone getting hit so you throw a heal at them. You then must wait for the cooldown to run its course before you can throw a heal at the next person getting hit. This is the way the healing spells used to be.
Predictive healing is introduced by the warmups. You see someone taking damage, but can not heal them right away. You must wait for the spell to warmup or cast. If the target is dead or has taken heavy damage by the time your single spell fires, the useage of the spell has been wasted and the mana lost. Therefore, a healer has to start casting BEFORE heavy damage is incurred, making the healer predict who is going to need the heal next. If the healer is wrong, again the spell is wasted and the mana lost.
I feel the warmups should be eliminated, in combination with the skill suggestions. Minecraft requires quick action (just think of the last time you heard that hissssssss behind you) and forcing the healer to wait to do their job makes it harder for everybody. Also, being able to take care of their target and themselves will allow them to make better use of their very limited mana pool.
This discussion is for the viability of healing itself, not the prospect of 1v1ing a healer vs a combat class. The dual-casting will make healers more potent in a 1-on-1 situation, however, since they will be giving themselves both effects, but I feel this works out well. Either keep themselves alive fairly easily (while mana allows), or assist their team while giving themselves a minor bonus.effect. So I will allow discussion of healers fighting warriors or rogues, but will make heavy use of the warn button if this gets flamed out.
A new mechanic which affects the caster and the target. Don't know what to call it. Dual-casting, empathetic something-or-other. The gist is that the target of your spell gets one effect, and you as the caster get another.
For example:
Revised current skills
- Pray - target is healed for x, caster gets mana regen for y seconds.
- Smite - target takes x damage, caster moves faster for y seconds.
- Chant - target is healed for x damage, caster is cleansed of all overtime effects (also acts as a form of "bar compression" [term from a different game])
- Revive - revives your target, caster is healed for (a significant amount)
- Rejuvenate - same HoT functionality, caster gains a small amount of mana at the same tick rate
- Zealous Fire - target is set on fire for x seconds, caster gains y mana
- Soothing - Party members are healed for a small amount, caster gains a small amount of mana
- Regrowth (I don't know if this is possible) -heal party members for x. For each member healed, gain y mana.
When I started writing this, I said I wasn't going to touch on the warmup/cooldown combintion they have. But I am going to anyway. I currently have access to the Bandage skill, and know that other heals work a similar way. You begin casting, wait a few seconds, cast, then enter cooldown. This has the effect of combining two type of healing that does not work in the Minecraft setting: reactive healing and predictive healing.
Reactive healing is affected by cooldown. You see someone getting hit so you throw a heal at them. You then must wait for the cooldown to run its course before you can throw a heal at the next person getting hit. This is the way the healing spells used to be.
Predictive healing is introduced by the warmups. You see someone taking damage, but can not heal them right away. You must wait for the spell to warmup or cast. If the target is dead or has taken heavy damage by the time your single spell fires, the useage of the spell has been wasted and the mana lost. Therefore, a healer has to start casting BEFORE heavy damage is incurred, making the healer predict who is going to need the heal next. If the healer is wrong, again the spell is wasted and the mana lost.
I feel the warmups should be eliminated, in combination with the skill suggestions. Minecraft requires quick action (just think of the last time you heard that hissssssss behind you) and forcing the healer to wait to do their job makes it harder for everybody. Also, being able to take care of their target and themselves will allow them to make better use of their very limited mana pool.
This discussion is for the viability of healing itself, not the prospect of 1v1ing a healer vs a combat class. The dual-casting will make healers more potent in a 1-on-1 situation, however, since they will be giving themselves both effects, but I feel this works out well. Either keep themselves alive fairly easily (while mana allows), or assist their team while giving themselves a minor bonus.effect. So I will allow discussion of healers fighting warriors or rogues, but will make heavy use of the warn button if this gets flamed out.
