Doubtful. Loads of healers don't join random pugs for WZ simply because :

 

a: They are not being guarded and have random persons screaming around heal heal while the unguarded healer is being zerged by the opponent team. Not to mention some are totally lost and run around all over the place not following orders.

 

b : Some healers dont join pugs because some are terribad, (a) was one example. The other example is some are terribad because they are slow clickers. I don't want to start the whole keybinding discussion all over again but using keybindings and macro's makes gaming less frustrating.

 

I'm a healer myself and am more frustrated by the slow reactionskills of other people or the total lack of "ow we have a healer, let's protect it" then not having "mouse-over healing". Healing in this game is fine as it is with some keybinding.

This is the credited response.

Mouse over healing doesn't make healing easier, it just reduces crappy UI error. All it does is remove the actual clicking of the target; good healers will still react to damage quickly and bad healers will still react to damage poorly mouse-over or no mouse-over. It is just quality of life that helps mitigate target/UI lag. Seriously...

But like someone else said, healing is so easy and predictable in this game anyways, meh.

Haven't heard a word about it here, and I am glad for it. If people are deterred from healing because there's no mouseover, perhaps they shouldn't heal at all, for all effort they're willing to put into it.

You obviously have never done serious healing, PvE and PvP, in any MMO. It saves A LOT of time using mouse-over macros, enough time that it can save people. And if you have, you honestly probably aren't that good. It's not a matter of making it easier, it's a matter of making it smoother, and more efficient, it may even make it more enjoyable for some to heal.

You obviously have never done serious healing, PvE and PvP, in any MMO. It saves A LOT of time using mouse-over macros, enough time that it can save people. And if you have, you honestly probably aren't that good. It's not a matter of making it easier, it's a matter of making it easier, and more easier, it may even make it more easier for some to heal.

so its easier?

yes i butchered the quote.*

Only bad players want things to make there life easier.....

 

Sorry but if its to hard to click player in window and start healing, well, il leave it at that....SWTOR is one of the easiest MMO's ive played for healing by a long shot, small OPS and FP groups are a walk in the park, its not even difficult in the slightest, range has nothing to do with it either, with mouse over healing if the target is not in range you cant heal...

 

Some really stupid arguments in here for the simple fact people are out right lazy.

Holy mackerel.

'Some really stupid arguments in here.'

QFT

You do not have to use mouse overs if you prefer not to......personally, I like them because it allows for focus targeting the boss to help with interrupts - which is really nice in pugs, but usually not so needed in guild runs. I actually enjoy healing pugs, being able to click target for interrupts and CC and then mouseover for heals allows me to more effectively help out in a group.

Yes, one could argue that the DPS should be able to manage interrupts, but in pugs this just isnt the case all the time and the whole LFG infrastructure which is now an intergal part of MMO infrastructure will get sort of crumbly if knowledgeable players are not given tools to help out more than their "fair share" in pick up groups.

Doing what one can and not what one should are what make group mechanics a success. Mouseover healing means that one can do more with one's UI, the "bad players" making it through the game due to the availability of mouseover healing are not likely to be the same ones who adopt it.

To those arguing against the inclusion of mouse-over healing because it "makes the game easier": Why should we want the challenge of healing to be in navigating the UI?

In my opinion, the challenge of healing should be:

• Who should I heal?
  
• When should I heal them?
  
• Which heal should I use?
  
• Should I be doing something other than healing right now?

Once those decisions are made, the game's interface should facilitate as smooth a translation from your intent to your character's action as possible.

As an analogy, the challenge of writing shouldn't be in how you put the ink on the paper, it should be in the words you choose and how you arrange them. (And using a typewriter doesn't take all the challenge out of writing a good book.)

never seen MOH.... im open to trying it out, but considering how long ive been healing by using op frames, i doubt i will change my playstyle. trying to click on targets, and trying to use your mouse to follow a target seems more like FPS playstyle than rpg to be honest.

i can imagine being really annoyed when trying to get a heal on one target, then sosmeon runs in front of them and i heal someoen else... seems like less error would ocur by sticking to frame clicks... since targeting in this game seems so clunky... sometimes i try to click on the person running under the war droid in kephess and i end up having the wardroid targeted.

never seen MOH.... im open to trying it out, but considering how long ive been healing by using op frames, i doubt i will change my playstyle. trying to click on targets, and trying to use your mouse to follow a target seems more like FPS playstyle than rpg to be honest.

 

i can imagine being really annoyed when trying to get a heal on one target, then sosmeon runs in front of them and i heal someoen else... seems like less error would ocur by sticking to frame clicks... since targeting in this game seems so clunky... sometimes i try to click on the person running under the war droid in kephess and i end up having the wardroid targeted.

Derp, mouseover healing is used on the ops frame - it just stops you from needing to click every person before hand. You mouseover their healthbar in the frame and just hit your heal instead of clicking the person then pressing your heal.

Derp, mouseover healing is used on the ops frame - it just stops you from needing to click every person before hand. You mouseover their healthbar in the frame and just hit your heal instead of clicking the person then pressing your heal.

Posted about this in another thread, but I will reiterate here and use this most recent response as a test case. It stops you from needing to click every person beforehand, but you still need your mouse over them for both methods to work. Macros present an entirely different debate on the best method, but for strictly mouse-over healing, you can be *more* efficient without it by setting hotkeys for your group/operation members. Then all it takes is two quick button presses (assuming no targeting errors) to use an appropriate heal on a certain person, without necessitating the location of the mouse cursor. Also, I have never used mouse-over healing, but I would be much more confident in healing the right people if using an ability required a click as opposed to a cursor location.

used mouse over healing in rift and it just was a terrible mechanic. it required using both hands and in any movement fight was more of a problem than a solution. any game with a gcd (or a spell cool down) it really isn't a time saver as you can retarget on the gcd, still move and then stop and cast. the only way it works out well is if you have a programmable mouse but even then it can slid off of its target.

but add it for those who need it. some people require all the help they can get in playing some of these games.

used mouse over healing in rift and it just was a terrible mechanic. it required using both hands and in any movement fight was more of a problem than a solution. any game with a gcd (or a spell cool down) it really isn't a time saver as you can retarget on the gcd, still move and then stop and cast. the only way it works out well is if you have a programmable mouse but even then it can slid off of its target.

 

but add it for those who need it. some people require all the help they can get in playing some of these games.

wasnt terrible in rift at all. it worked perfectly fine, same with wow. and yes it is a massive time saver. its preventing you from clicking before casting which is a total pain. especially in a raid setting.

used mouse over healing in rift and it just was a terrible mechanic. it required using both hands and in any movement fight was more of a problem than a solution. any game with a gcd (or a spell cool down) it really isn't a time saver as you can retarget on the gcd, still move and then stop and cast. the only way it works out well is if you have a programmable mouse but even then it can slid off of its target.

 

but add it for those who need it. some people require all the help they can get in playing some of these games.

Gonna resurrect a long dead thread because I would like to see this feature added. I healed in WoW for a loooong time using only keybindings until I got to a fight (Muru) where the healing was so tight that I needed the extra time between clicks. For those who don't understand:

1) You move your mouse over a person's portrait or their area in the Ops frame.

2) You press a button (can be a mouse button, keyboard button, or any combination there-in)

3) You cast a heal.

The only type of heal this is not beneficial for is a longer than GCD heal since that will provide more than ample time to change frames. The argument that this makes healing too easy is essentially flawed because, as others have pointed out, your ability to move your cursor and select a player is 1) not actually any indication of your skill as a healer and 2) is still in question since you must still select the correct person to heal, the correct heal to use, and in the correct sequence. Why its been over a year without any word on this is just baffling.

MOH does nothing but remove one completely unnecessary, and hardware determined factor from the steps to casting a heal. What do I mean by hardware determined? Most of us play with super-high DPI, wired mice/keyboards designed specifically to be used in gaming. These peripherals are expensive and not something everyone can/should have to own in order to function at a moderate level of success, and yet when a player with suboptimal keyboard/mice goes into a high-end NiM Op to heal they are at a risk of wiping a group because not because they necessarily lack the skill to compete but because the hardware they use will not react with enough speed and precision to adequately handle the situation. MOH removes a large portion of that gap, which is a good thing.

If I have situations where I click a player, then start moving (using my mouse to look), doesn't that break in mouseover healing? Or does MOH leave the currently-selected target and only heals the hovered target 'temporarily'? I like the fact that my cursor is free to handle other game tasks while I can just trigger instant abilities on the run. Frankly, if it's implemented where you have to hover to heal, that turns healers into more of a turret class than they were previously, which would make PVP... interesting, at least.

I'm sorry, but I don't see how reaction time isn't part of the game. This isn't a QOL enhancement, it's a "remove a static amount of time from all abilities" enhancement. I'm not aware of any mice that have a significantly harder-to-activate left-click button than your standard mouse, so that argument's pretty much out the window - everybody's on the same playing field, so even the superl33ts don't have an advantage over people playing with a cheap Dell mouse. Since the "skill" portion of this is still based around reaction time and getting your mouse to the relevant target, I can't see how this isn't just a "we don't wanna click anymore" request. Not saying it shouldn't be done, just saying I personally don't quite see the point yet, and there are plenty of other fixes the game needs a lot more than reducing a heal by a fraction of a second at best.

the main advantage of mouseover healing is ability to have a different target selected from the one you are currently healing. for example - it allows healers to help with interrupts more efficiently, because its much cleaner to observe the enemy that you have selected without sacrificing healing.

at least IMO.

I mean... better buff/debuff interface would help just as much if not more (I'd like to see only my hots/dots on a target, or at least have them show up bigger then other people)

but at the same time - mouseover casting just allows for a great deal more flexibility.

I can heal just fine without it, but I heal far FAR better with it. so I do hope they implement it (incidentally, you don't need to bind your abilities to mouse buttons, you can mouseover heal with regular binds, all it does is remove that one extra click and having to switch targets)

Is this an ingame option already? (I haven't seen it)

If not, is there any plan to add it from bioware?

I've played healer classes in other games and it really makes a difference. As a sage, I'm doubting between going telekinetics or seer but if I go seer I don't want to be targeting each time I cast a heal, it seems an unnecessary burden to that role. I don't even know why didn't they add it from the beginning...

So if that's how it works now I may just go TK

nope and it prolly wont come. however you can get close by using a razer naga mouse and setting up the interface properly.

I do have a razer naga but the program's a bit tricky (sometimes it doesn't recognize the mouse) so I never even bothered using it because it wasn't necessary neither.

The problem is some people say it's "illegal" or "reason for banning" etc.

Anyway, thanks. I guess I'll just have to learn how to configurate it

Meh, mouseover healing would definetly be a big quality of life improvement , and after 8 years of WoW my brain hic ups every time i have to click to throw a heal, but that wouldn't realy be a problem if we actualy had a ops UI that behaved itsself.

My brain does somersaults trying to picture how someone thought it was a good idea to have the ops UI (suposedly end game, cutting edge content, where every little bit counts) show only 4 buffs (hots / absorbs) , not differentiate your own, AND show a max of four anyway.... out of 4 class buffs -.-*

At least on my vang, i can sinc up gut with fire pulse to work as a pseudo-timer.

Damn , typing that out made it even worse in my head...

The arguments against mouse over healing are stupid. I suppose these same players are okay with key binds? Because you can make the same (dumb) arguments about key binds. Mouse over healing is a quality of life improvement, like key binds. It does not reduce the choices a player makes.

Of course, the company behind a $200 million MMO with such terrible UI options cannot be expected to rectify this. 4 debuffs? No way to stand out/differentiate any? The difficulty of healing should be the choices the player makes. Right now, it feels like the UI is the hardest fight.

FYI - this game launched without a target of target option! That's, just, mind-boggling.

I just found this thread having literally just started playing SWTOR and having been a healer in other MMO's. I've done a fair bit of heroic raid healing and PVP in WoW for example where I use Healbot. I also use CBH in Rift.

The solo story side seems really good so far but I play MMO's to heal in group content and with the lack of mouse over I probably won't continue. I can live without the two addons I mentioned above as I can write my own mouse over macro's but not having mouse-over at all is too much.

For me, not having mouse-over as a healer is like not having key bindings as a tank/tdps. Not being able to mouse over is a bit like being forced to spell click. I mean why not just ban key binds? After all (to quote some other posters) "it would be a level playing field" and "if people are so lazy they want to use keybinds then they probably shouldn't be playing anyway".

In WoW you are considered bad if you aren't using mouse-over because healing without mouse-over is second rate substandard play.

I guess for me it is like learning to ride a bicycle without stabilisers and then suddenly being forced to use them again with all the restrictions on your speed that entails. Wanting to remove the stabilisers does not make you lazy or bad even though it technically requires more skill to corner with stabilisers!

I don't want to heal in such a slow pedantic way especially as others pointed out, having to have something targeted to heal it prevents you from using your skill to perform other tasks such as rapidly interrupting enemies whilst simultaneously healing etc.

It has been the greatest thing that put me off even trying out this game until now.

To those arguing against the inclusion of mouse-over healing because it "makes the game easier": Why should we want the challenge of healing to be in navigating the UI?

 

In my opinion, the challenge of healing should be:

• Who should I heal?
  
• When should I heal them?
  
• Which heal should I use?
  
• Should I be doing something other than healing right now?

 

Once those decisions are made, the game's interface should facilitate as smooth a translation from your intent to your character's action as possible.

 

As an analogy, the challenge of writing shouldn't be in how you put the ink on the paper, it should be in the words you choose and how you arrange them. (And using a typewriter doesn't take all the challenge out of writing a good book.)

Might have been a while since this was posted, but this statement is still true. I enjoy playing a healer in MMO's, but not this one. When TOR launched I was caught up in the hype, had fun with the storylines, but after just a few attempts at some flashpoints here and there, I made up my mind that this wouldn't be an MMO I'd do much healing in. A couple months after launch I'd figure I'd return at some later point and time to see if any major improvements were made.

Flash forward about two years and, sadly, I see it hasn't made any significant quality of life improvements. I'll likely be trying out other storylines I didn't get the chance to see and will be messing with the new star fighter aspect of the game, but I won't be doing anything as a healer. In game challenges are fine, but UI challenges are another story.

I tip my hat off to those who do have the patience to learn TOR style healing. I probably would have broken several keyboards if I were in your shoes.