Why healing is broken and terrible, and how to fix it...

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Originally Posted by RichardButte

In hindsight, I should've had it say "Healing is a guessing game", but I can't edit thread titled, because you're clearly right about people becoming immediately defensive (probably without even reading the post, sigh...).

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Isn't healing ALWAYS a guessing game, no matter what game you're playing? Especially when you never know when the RNG gods will smile and let someone dodge constantly, or when said person will use(or not use) whatever defensive CDs are at their disposal.

To me it means that you just need to prioritize when to, and when not to, DPS as a healer, and ensure you always have that MP buffer in case the figurative sh*t hits the fan.

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Originally Posted by RichardButte

The problem is that healers in this game are put in a situation where they could LITERALLY get chastised for not DPSing, OR for DPSing, and it all depends upon how many times the players in the group screw up and get hit with avoidable damage, which is something you cannot predict and therefore cannot plan around.

Even the best players in the world have lag spikes from time to time (especially with all the DDoS attacks lately). The game is effectively asking healers to predict the future, and that really shouldn't be how healing plays out.

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Out these times how many healers actually speak up? I play all roles and to be honest it can become predictable based on the group you have.

Examples;

Tank : Depending on DPS need to move and time so that the mobs attack don't hit moving dps , MNK for example who keep moving and some RDM that like to just move around fancy without thinking. ( I main DRG / DRK / PLD / BLM / NIN / AST / WHM and play others to learn how they work by the ways so do know how they move and think. ) As a tank I know my rotations yet some don't even know hot to stun when needed, again lack of communication and lack of common sense..


Close range DPS; yes I hear you in terms of lag spikes, however when you see it in less congested areas kind of doesn't fly too much. As for DDOS Attacks they have died down so seems more of connection issue by region or device. Close range need to realize that they need to move and try to remember some patterns and not count on the tank or healer to save them. Most of them avoid mechanics when they become stronger on lower content and only makes it harder on others. Come on if they can see the action bar and stick around that is just poor judgement on their part. Can't help people who lack common sense. Hence why a healer should speak up. Easier to replace a dps than a healer as long as argument makes sense.

Range DPS Mage type ; not many mages realize that if 80% of the spell is cast they can move and will still go off. Come on aoe right on them and they are worried about casting? Screw it interrupt, and live , than be a handicap to healers. Casting 101. Once again healers don't speak up.

Healers; your guilty as well, while I understand you want to prevent deaths, move and interrupt if that happens. Speak up and try to make your job easier. If tank is over pulling and you don't feel ok with it, healers need to speak up.

To blame lag I can understand to an extend but as an excuse doesn't fly.

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Originally Posted by RichardButte

In hindsight, I should've had it say "Healing is a guessing game", but I can't edit thread titled, because you're clearly right about people becoming immediately defensive (probably without even reading the post, sigh...).

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Healing is more of a tactical role rather then guessing. Knowing when to cast, who to focus on, and who will make your job hard is a matter of gauging on various factors. Some people love that challenge, others blame it do to lack in their own abilities. Here's a good example, as a tank do you know how annoying it is when healers cast before a pull is done? or use an ability? or instead of running to tank they run away from it? When they cast Holy dead smack in the center by tank rather than behind mobs? Tanks have it bad and have to predict as well. That is why not many people can handle the role. Many think they can, yet few can actually back it up through their actions.

I liked healing in SW:TOR much more, small free heals, heal ability's that were fun to use proper, and medium large heals.

Here its just like you said, 50% of HP bar, back to pewpew, it feels like waiting more then healing, that's why I play a DPS role main here, even though i'm a Healer main ever-were else.

Also should note, this is the 1st MMO i'v played that allowed unlimited combat resurrection, most games limit it to a set # per fight or have death penalty on the resurrected target till the fights over, makes the DPS more responsible for their own self and not playing Blame the healer.

Tanks also feel more squishy here for the same reason... food for thought. ♥

P.S Yes I loved SW:TOR but it sucks now FTP kills games booooo.

If a dps eats an aoe, I give them a regen. If they eat another, they die, and it's their own stupid fault. If someone wants to shout at me for that (outside of them being new, of course, everyone gets a free pass while learning) then they can direct their ire at the person who actually fucked up. This is, of course, in casual content like dungeons and omega normal, I've never healed anything harder than susano ex and don't for a moment think I'd be skilled enough to do so, but still. SCH is the only class I have mp issues on, outside of too many gravities on ast, and I both heal and dps.

What's broken is who people blame, not how healer plays.

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Originally Posted by Avatre

Isn't healing ALWAYS a guessing game, no matter what game you're playing?

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Not at all.

XIV is the only MMO I've ever played where players can take either TONS of damage, or next to nothing, all depending upon who gets hit and when.

Even Wildstar, an MMO that was BUILT around telegraphs, had more predictable damage than XIV did, but the damage was also steadier, meaning no one was going to chew out a healer for not doing damage.

And more to the point, healers in XIV are capable of putting out a lot more damage than healers in most other MMOs, so they're leaned on even harder to make the choice.

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Originally Posted by ManuelBravo

Out these times how many healers actually speak up? I play all roles and to be honest it can become predictable based on the group you have.

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In my experience, the only thing that matters when it comes to avoiding damage is individual player skill. I've had plenty of DRGs who never get hit but BRDs who needed constant healing.

And you can't really gauge player skill in the span of a dungeon. I remember one specific run where the two DPS took no damage the entire run, making me feel as though it was safe to DPS, and then we wiped on the last boss because they suddenly started getting hit by EVERYTHING.

This is why I feel they should simply remove the guesswork from healing: if there was any meaningful metric (other than being with a premade group that expects you to DPS anyway) we could use to say "It's definitely not/safe to DPS", then it would be fine, but there really isn't.

I didn't roll a healer to stand around waiting for my mana to regen most of the time due to fear of people screwing up (I also didn't roll a healer to DPS, but I doubt THAT will be going away any time soon).

SE is also shooting themselves in the foot here because of just how badly healer DPS is throwing off raid balancing. They SAY they don't balance raid encounters around it, but the better the raid group, the less damage they'll take, meaning the more time healers will have to DPS, which just widens the rift between how mid and hardcore players experience the content.

I agree with most of the post... except making DPS spells free. Make them more expensive, if anything.

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Originally Posted by RichardButte

That...could also work.

Though I'd still rather have more to do as a healer than less, this would at least shut people up about healers not DPSing...

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Make healing more involved, more damage coming onto the party, and if a party wants healers to dps, make it something the party actually has to dedicate resources to in order to take advantage of healer dps windows effectively.

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Originally Posted by Thunda_Cat_SMASH

I agree with most of the post... except making DPS spells free. Make them more expensive, if anything.

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That...could also work.

Though I'd still rather have more to do as a healer than less, this would at least shut people up about healers not DPSing...

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Originally Posted by RichardButte

Not at all.

In my experience, the only thing that matters when it comes to avoiding damage is individual player skill. I've had plenty of DRGs who never get hit but BRDs who needed constant healing.

And you can't really gauge player skill in the span of a dungeon. I remember one specific run where the two DPS took no damage the entire run, making me feel as though it was safe to DPS, and then we wiped on the last boss because they suddenly started getting hit by EVERYTHING.

This is why I feel they should simply remove the guesswork from healing...

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This seems more like a player skill problem than the healing system. If you wanted to go that route it would be old school turn base system. Can't blame SE if player lack practice or common sense. It's a risk you take unless you make your own group with players you can trust. As for gauging I'm referring to gear, sprout status, how they react to large pulls ect.

I agree with you in some respects, being able to restore 50% or more HP in a single oGCD has always seemed kinda backward to me. I was figured oGCD should be supplementary to GCD healing, not take it over completely.

I don't think having healing as a 'guessing game' is a problem, part of the fun as a Scholar for me is precasting mitigation, developing a strategy to heal the target up in the event that they need it, all that stuff.

As for DPS, weaving in DoTs is fine to me, but when the majority of your GCDs should be damage oriented it feels backwards again. Honestly I haven't seen much people be called out in-game for not dpsing or dpsing as a healer, but that's just in my experience