I usually play either as tank or dps, but decided to give a go as healer with sith sorcerer. The result was that I got bored in first 10 minutes of the gameplay.

So I was wondering why not introduce a new healing spec, dps-heal. You heal your group members as you dps targets, and by using dps abilities you unlock your healing abilities. Obviously you wont do as much dps as nornal dps specs, but more flavour to healing is desperately needed.

Thoughts?

As a healer, during slow times of fights you should be dpsing anyway. No reason to make doing dps a requirement for healing.

sorc is the easiest, you could try to swap to another healer.

also maybe you didn't get the insight of the class, like not overhealing or how's best to top off people or how to keep group high before spikes arrive.

then you should move to a more difficult content..like HM FP, pugging with 3 bads and so doing tank/healer, HM/nim ops. during some encounters you miss a GCD and someone dies..

finally as the above poster suggested..do more dps. great healers can do 1k-1.5k dps easily during some HM fights

Chloromancer in Rift was by far my most favorite healing class ever. It was a ton of fun and pretty much what you are asking for... dps to heal.

I'd be curious how you could actually balance such a class.

 

If it's doing more DPS than the current healers (and I mean significantly more, not minor 5% differences), it would necessarily need to do significantly less heals or it simply becomes the only healer people bring in progression. If it does less heals than the other classes, then there are fights where that just isn't going to be enough, so you don't bring this class in progression.

 

So then the only option would be to put both its heals and its DPS on par with current classes (yes, I know operative healer DPS is much lower than sorc healer DPS). If you need to use DPS skills to use your heal skills, then given that your DPS is low, you would be spending many GCDs per fight doing almost nothing. Either that, or you have multiple skills that are off the GCD and this whole class would play very differently than any of the current classes. (Not saying this is a bad thing, just observing.)

 

I played LOTRO for a while and the Warden was a very different class compared to any others and they made that work. So it's probably doable, I'm just curious how it would be done.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Elzen

What gameplay are you talking about?

 

The reason I ask is because while healing is extremely boring and faceroll in single player and story mode operations, healing in HM/NiM operations and to a lesser extent HM flashpoints can be pretty fun.

I'd be curious how you could actually balance such a class.

 

If it's doing more DPS than the current healers (and I mean significantly more, not minor 5% differences), it would necessarily need to do significantly less heals or it simply becomes the only healer people bring in progression. If it does less heals than the other classes, then there are fights where that just isn't going to be enough, so you don't bring this class in progression.

 

So then the only option would be to put both its heals and its DPS on par with current classes (yes, I know operative healer DPS is much lower than sorc healer DPS). If you need to use DPS skills to use your heal skills, then given that your DPS is low, you would be spending many GCDs per fight doing almost nothing. Either that, or you have multiple skills that are off the GCD and this whole class would play very differently than any of the current classes. (Not saying this is a bad thing, just observing.)

 

I played LOTRO for a while and the Warden was a very different class compared to any others and they made that work. So it's probably doable, I'm just curious how it would be done.

 

Yea, hard to balance, but to me as long as I do attacks to do heals, don't matter how high or low dps is and as long as resulting heal is good, then nothing to complain. After all, healer is not to top dps charts but to heal. Problem might come with balancing normal style healers with dps healers, since if normal healers don't dps to heal and heal same amount as dps, then a need for normal healer would be gone, then if dps healer heals less, then the only roles it would be able to perform is to offheal in ops and perhaps maximum to be able to solo heroic difficulty dungs.

So some solution surely is available, just need to find it.

What gameplay are you talking about?

 

The reason I ask is because while healing is extremely boring and faceroll in single player and story mode operations, healing in HM/NiM operations and to a lesser extent HM flashpoints can be pretty fun.

 

I played normal flashpoints. Problem I see is that healer has way less abilities to heal than dps or even tank has at its disposal to perform its duties and that is something I find boring, is to use 3-5 abilities and that is it.

I've been a healer since launch and love it but then again if I don't have to heal someone I do some dps but I always keep an eye on my teammates and my action bar. I will never do more dps that requires too much action to be lost in case a teammember health drops.

 

Sometimes playing a healer isn't for everyone, just like a tank. I will never play a tank as I don't like to be a tank. I do mostly healer but have a couple of dps but I do not also jump into things without the tanks setting the lead, but then again most flashpoints I do are hard modes.

I played normal flashpoints. Problem I see is that healer has way less abilities to heal than dps or even tank has at its disposal to perform its duties and that is something I find boring, is to use 3-5 abilities and that is it.

 

Eh, if you are a half decent player with a half decent group you'll probably find most tactical fps pretty boring. Try hms and ops (especially with bad groups lol) and you'll see how tough and fast paced it can be.

 

Also, sorc heals have as many healing abilities as most dps do in their rotation anyway, ya dps may have more "abilities" but a lot of them are literally never used.

I played normal flashpoints. Problem I see is that healer has way less abilities to heal than dps or even tank has at its disposal to perform its duties and that is something I find boring, is to use 3-5 abilities and that is it.

 

Firstly, as somebody else already said, get into Hard Modes if you want to experience actual healing. In most Story Modes or Tactical Falshpoints the incoming damage is so low that healing can get boring, that's not very surprising.

 

Secondly, playing as healer doesn't only include pure healing. You also have your buffs that you can use wisely according to the situation, just like a DPS or a tank who uses defensives. Furthermore, resource mangement plays a bigger part for healers than for other roles. Of course, cleansing is another aspect that is outside of just healing. It is not so important in SM, but there are HM fights where you simply can't mess up your cleanses. That all adds up to a nice range of abilities that can be used for your job as a healer. And, as many already said, there is also the off-dpsing that adds even more abilities and options.

 

I personally find healing much more interesting than dpsing, because every fight can be different. While when dpsing you simply can follow the ever same pattern of a fight, for a healer it is never the same, because you never know who is standing in bad stuff and who you have to save from their near death experience. A good healer can make a difference in every group, especially if the group is struggling with some kind of content, because as a healer you have the power to keep people alive and help them. At least in rather difficult content that is the case. In SM and Tacticals not so much.

 

When things go kind of wrong in a fight, that's the time for a healer to shine.

Edited February 19, 2016 by Rithoma

As a healer myself in end game Hardmode or Nightmare mode operations. If there is any down time I am throwing my DoTs out and also using anything else I can throw at the boss that won't jeopardize my energy in the long run which as a sorcerer or sage you'll never run into force issues with healing trance or innervate procing 1-3 free Consuming Darkness/Vindicate almost exclusively every time which immediately gives 40 force back + increased regen rate. You shouldn't just be standing there bored at all as a healer their is always something to do specially in NiM operations with the high DPS checks...

 

Also the post above mine pretty much sums up everything a healer role is. It's not just stand there and wait to heal by any means, unless it is a tactical or story mode operation, which there isn't much incoming damage. In that case you should be DPSing and not standing there because the faster the boss or trash mob is done the faster you get done and can do another OP or Flash point.

 

So basically wanting a heal-dps role is already in the game as good healers know when to heal and when to not heal and DPS.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Lil_Fusion

Firstly, as somebody else already said, get into Hard Modes if you want to experience actual healing. In most Story Modes or Tactical Falshpoints the incoming damage is so low that healing can get boring, that's not very surprising.

 

This. And, for a real test, heal in:

 

HM CZ Labs

HM CZ Meltdown

HM Korriban/Tython/Manaan/Rishi

 

Solo heal KP or EV story mode

Solo heal Sparky in Rav

Solo heal Eyeless

 

Solo heal KP or EV hard mode

 

Heal a HM FP whilst stripped of all your gear (that was an honest mistake )

 

If you do those, and still find it boring, you are a better healer than I.

 

...and I doubt that

I played normal flashpoints. Problem I see is that healer has way less abilities to heal than dps or even tank has at its disposal to perform its duties and that is something I find boring, is to use 3-5 abilities and that is it.

 

Resurgence, bubble, dark heal, roaming mend, cleanse, innervate, dark infusion, revivification, recklessness, polarity shift and consuming darkness are all abilities healers use before they even start dpsing. Hardly 3-5 abilities.

I main a guardian tank (I have 1 of each tank at max level), but I have 5 healers at max level too (everything except a merc, haven't had the desire to repeat the bounty hunter story). My dps toons (a sniper and a gunslinger) both stink because I don't know how to play them lol. While my favorite role is tanking, especially my guardian, I also enjoy healing. Also being a tank definately makes you appreciate good healing.

This. And, for a real test, heal in:

 

HM CZ Labs

HM CZ Meltdown

HM Korriban/Tython/Manaan/Rishi

 

Solo heal KP or EV story mode

Solo heal Sparky in Rav

Solo heal Eyeless

 

Solo heal KP or EV hard mode

 

Heal a HM FP whilst stripped of all your gear (that was an honest mistake )

 

If you do those, and still find it boring, you are a better healer than I.

 

...and I doubt that

I still find most of it boring. I'm a bad healer tho.

If people stay in bad and die while I soloheal... So what? Doesn't bring the excitement of being impactful, honestly. In lots of content it's the same as facerolling sm content on any role - you may left your cat walking over keyboard, odds are you'd wipe if rest of the group does the same but then again... So what?

Long as there's some progress, it keeps interest. There's a couple of bosses to heal (HM Bront/Calph) springs in mind which are more or less fun before you set foot in NiMs, meaning learning curve for healers is non-existent. I've met a healer in full 224 who spammed KP/EV/TfB priority day and night and his heals were sufficient for what he did, but apparently he didn't use Resurgence once. Good thing he was a learner, he spotted Roaming Mend of the other healer going off instantly and it piqued his interest.

So, the issue I see is that it's barely possible to wipe to really sub-optimal heals even on HMs, before the last boss and with the exception of DP/Ravs/ToS maybe. So give healers more supportish role, more off-dps capabilities or just stress them bit more and earlier content tier-wise.

I don't think making the healing more difficult really solves the issue. The only way to fail SM wise is to be stupid or not so mechanics. So making just the healing more difficult isn't really fair to the other classes. Perhaps I'm biased as someone who mains a tank and plays healers, but I find many more problematic people playing dps than other classes. You want a challenge? Roll with a group that insists on pulling before the tank, that insists it's ok to stand in stupid because they have defensives or that it hurts their dps too much to move. If you really don't enjoy healing... roll a different spec and kill away as much as you desire. I only off dps on my healers when I have a lot of time because it hurts energy wise. And my time is probably better spent topping off probes, dropping bubbles or shields, stuff of that nature. Because even when I do dps let's face reality, dps in heal spec sucks.

I still find most of it boring. I'm a bad healer tho.

If people stay in bad and die while I soloheal... So what? Doesn't bring the excitement of being impactful, honestly. In lots of content it's the same as facerolling sm content on any role - you may left your cat walking over keyboard, odds are you'd wipe if rest of the group does the same but then again... So what?

Long as there's some progress, it keeps interest. There's a couple of bosses to heal (HM Bront/Calph) springs in mind which are more or less fun before you set foot in NiMs, meaning learning curve for healers is non-existent. I've met a healer in full 224 who spammed KP/EV/TfB priority day and night and his heals were sufficient for what he did, but apparently he didn't use Resurgence once. Good thing he was a learner, he spotted Roaming Mend of the other healer going off instantly and it piqued his interest.

So, the issue I see is that it's barely possible to wipe to really sub-optimal heals even on HMs, before the last boss and with the exception of DP/Ravs/ToS maybe. So give healers more supportish role, more off-dps capabilities or just stress them bit more and earlier content tier-wise.

 

There's a difference between being sufficient and being carried. If that person was spamming basic heals and still finished the op, they were being carried. If you are suboptimal in your healing then you are being carried by that other healer. This is a two-fold problem: you have unrealistic experience with healing, and you have an incorrect assumption as to your healing abilities and how it impacts the group. This may be why you feel it's boring, honestly - you're not given a challenge to meet. That's why I suggested solo-healing things like BH HM or an easy HM op - it's all on you, no one else, and there is still enough damage to go around to learn triage.

 

I beg to differ that sup-optimal heals won't cause wipes. I saw that first hand tanking EC SM at tanks. One healer was quite sub-optimal (i.e. I died before first adds are called out), and there were repeated wipes because that one bad healer and the other healer could not keep up with healing the split groups.

 

As for healing through stupid, sometimes people do stay in stupid. Sometimes they don't see the stupid due to rendering issues or lag. Sometimes they are moving out of stupid, and you have to heal them. Letting people die, though great in theory, is bad in the long run. Pun intended.

 

There may be other factors that make you think it's boring too, which you alluded to: if it's a great raid team, the healing is smooth and boring; if it's a bad team or pug, you stop caring and let them die. Or, most likely, healing isn't your bag. That's fine, we all don't have to like the same things. It may not suit your playstyle. But please don't give people false impressions about it. People have different levels of easy/hard, and far too often people claim something is faceroll where people with lesser skill, it's not.

 

One last thought: tanking is like being a janitor, healing is like being a cook, and DPS is the default setting. If the janitor is good then they're invisible, but the moment it's not, everyone complains and all hell breaks loose. If the cook is sufficient, you notice nothing. If the cook goes above and beyond, you compliment, and if they are terrible oh boy do you let everyone know it.

One last thought: tanking is like being a janitor, healing is like being a cook, and DPS is the default setting. If the janitor is good then they're invisible, but the moment it's not, everyone complains and all hell breaks loose. If the cook is sufficient, you notice nothing. If the cook goes above and beyond, you compliment, and if they are terrible oh boy do you let everyone know it.

 

Haha this is hilarious because it's so true! When I play my tanks nobody ever notices if I do well (because, well, i'm a tank lol). When I play healers, people only say anything when i pull something off incredible (or, more likely, because of course if people are dying, it's because they're not being healed)!

You heal your group members as you dps targets, and by using dps abilities you unlock your healing abilities

 

My first thought was Watchman Sentinel/Annihilation Marauder. You DPS and heal your group in Zen. Granted, this is probably not the amount of healing you intended in your post, and if you turn up to an Op claiming your Sentinel is the healer you'll be laughed out of the group. But if you're bored with healing and want to contribute to your group in a different way, Anni offers some good utility.

 

Other than that I'd echo what others are saying. Try a different healing spec, or up your difficulty level. Even go for a different role - I used to heal NiM content a few years ago, now I tank. If I ever finish a fight and haven't held my breath, sweated a little, or skipped a heartbeat, I know I'm not doing something challenging enough.

Someone's gotta do it

Healing always feels like I'm actually contributing and theres really not a rotation that you can just macro, playing dps is just really unfulfilling and repetetive. Especially in easier content, the derpier the people are, the more interesting the healing becomes. It is never boring or the same. As a dps I feel that I'm "just there", as a healer I feel like a sexy mofo.

In harder content I've never felt like healing was boring, there is so much to watch, I've got 8 health bars to monitor instead of just the bosses. The rotation isn't set in stone, a lot of it's situational. Having the lives of the group in my hands makes everything more meaningful and interesting. PVP healing adds a lot of excitement as well, since you'll be taking most of the damage on the team, and working with a friend guarding you can be even more fun.

 

For me, DPS is my break from other roles, where I can just check out, relax and follow my rotation. I like it that way, I play DPSs with simple rotations for that reason.

 

That being said, you've got to play what you enjoy. There are plenty of DPS classes I hate playing. I really don't like playing a jug tank and for heals sorc feels pretty "meh" to me and I don't see any reason to play a merc healer when I have operatives. It's just a play style thing.

I usually play either as tank or dps, but decided to give a go as healer with sith sorcerer. The result was that I got bored in first 10 minutes of the gameplay.

So I was wondering why not introduce a new healing spec, dps-heal. You heal your group members as you dps targets, and by using dps abilities you unlock your healing abilities. Obviously you wont do as much dps as nornal dps specs, but more flavour to healing is desperately needed.

Thoughts?

 

I propose a new class of DPS/Heal/Tank. It should use light armor gloves and boots, heavy head, chest and lowers, with medium armor wrists and belt. It should carry a machine gun in offhand and light saber in the main, and it could be used in range or melee. I want it to have stealth and a decent closer for when I decide to melee.

So I was wondering why not introduce a new healing spec, dps-heal. You heal your group members as you dps targets, and by using dps abilities you unlock your healing abilities. Obviously you wont do as much dps as nornal dps specs, but more flavour to healing is desperately needed.

Thoughts?

 

I was under the impression this is exactly what classes like sorc/operative/merc are? Dps/healers, who even in healing spec can throw in dps if healing isn't needed OR a dps spec can throw some very impressive off-heals if healer needs support (or as often happens in pvp, you may not have any actual healers)