Healer etiquette and general tips for a noob healer

hey guys,

Just recently decided to level a healer just so i can say i have a dps main, tank main and healer main, I picked AST because the card mechanics intrigue me.

I'm still a low level (39 i believe) so there hasn't been much to challenge me but there have been some wipes mainly due to me faffing around with the cards.

That being said i know 8 mans will be a different beast once i eventually hit them so curious what the general rules are for 8 mans for a healer and of course any other tips like certain macro set ups.

Bare in mind i only play this game on PS4 so i am limited to a tiny screen.

Thanks guys ^~^

Everyone is different, but one thing I would probably suggest to you is that you come up with a priority system for your cooldowns and abilities. Most people won't differ when it comes to what thy consider to be priority for healers, but just don't get caught in the trap of this with AST.

"Oh my Draw is off cooldown, lets use it quickly and see what i get... Shit the tanks dead/dying..."

Remember your cards are utility/support and are not a requirement in order for you to achieve your main goal (keeping people alive).

As for etiquette...

- Be sure to gloat or do a patronizing /clap when you clear a boss after several of your party died to mechanics.

- Heal yourself first, tank 2nd and DPS never if possible, let their mistake burn into their minds with the missing 50% of their HP bar.

- If the DPS ask you to do some damage, respond with "Of course, but only if you do too"

- Tanks are you best friend, always give them a commendation, because they usually give you one too.

;)

(Seriously though, if you have time to do some damage, you should try to. I'm sure you don't enjoy twiddling your thumbs when you're playing a game, other players don't enjoy you doing it either. Even if it's just keeping your dot on all the mobs/boss, it'll help the party and keep most of the elitist types off your back.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fealow

- Heal yourself first, tank 2nd and DPS never if possible, let their mistake burn into their minds with the missing 50% of their HP bar.

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Jokes aside, this one is actually pretty solid advice. Ideally of course you can keep everyone alive, but if a situation happens where you're actually forced to make the choice, You > Tanks > Other healer > DPS is usually a good guideline. If a DPS dies the fight will take a bit longer. If a tank dies the boss is going to start punching random people, but outside of Extreme/Savage fights, you can usually keep that person alive with focused healing if you need to. If the healer(s) dies, you've now lost the person actually keeping the party alive through the unavoidable damage, as well as the person with the rez.

Mechanics of a specific fight might change things, as well as your party comp, but it's a good general rule.

Not to scare you away from healing (I main it, so I'm biased when I say it's the bestest role!), but my advice is to go into the healing role with some stoneskin prepared. While the vast majority of the player base is appreciative of the role and what we do, there's a small sect of the player base that has a penchant to unload their miasma on healers first whenever something goes wrong. Never let it get to you, healers learn and make mistakes too!

Past that, do not fall into the trap of feeling like you have to DPS. Your job first and foremost is to keep everyone alive, followed secondarily by doing damage. That being said, never spend time doing nothing. If you're unsure on a fight that's another story, but once you get the ebb and flow of a boss down, you should then focus on how you can improve - weaving damage in while keeping everyone alive.

Rules:

#1 Let the tanks know you control the flow of battle
#2 Make sure when DPS die you let them know how upset you are via res macro
#3 Regen the tank before pull so you can feel more powerful keeping yourself alive while the tank panics and gets aggro back
#4 Spam medica II as much as possible because it's a fun animation

For the love of goddess, please do not use noct sect when paired with a scholar. Your shields do not stack and so it's best to use diurnal in that case (idc if you have higher heals in noct, it's just common courtesy).

If you're with another ast, be in the opposite sect they're in, since your regens/shields don't stack. You can communicate who wants what (what I usually do) before hand. Remember, your cards do not stack with each other, so try not to overwrite your cohealer's expanded cards (even tho it can be hard not seeing what they have).

With whms you can go either sect really since your regens willstack with each other. Normally people (at least what I've seen) go Noct with whms, because shields can be life savers.

It's okay to have a preferred sect to play, but as an Astro you should be flexible. Also, please don't Diurnal Aspected Helios before pulls. Not every tank will keep you from dying from regen agro ._. Shields won't pull agro tho.

As astrologian your main job is to draw exodia

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LadyKairi

For the love of goddess, please do not use noct sect when paired with a scholar. Your shields do not stack and so it's best to use diurnal in that case (idc if you have higher heals in noct, it's just common courtesy).

It's okay to have a preferred sect to play, but as an Astro you should be flexible.

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Yes. With the flexibility of AST comes a responsibility to adapt to the other healer, especially when they don't have that option.

I just did a run of Menagerie where the AST came in Noct and shielded everyone pre-pull, even though I was a scholar. I politely asked him to switch to Diurnal. He switched, and then disconnected himself 30 seconds later, never to return (most likely on purpose). Don't be that guy. Don't be an AST-hole.

(If anyone is curious, I couldn't quite solo heal it. Got down to 30%, but had a few newbie DPS who kept dying and couldn't catch a break with LB3 because we lost full party.)

For AST, just make sure that your chosen Sect complements the other healer in 8 man contents.

Use Macro to announce your Raise/Ascend/Ressurection/Verraise to let the other healer know who you're reviving, so you won't raise the same person and waste MP.
*Just make sure the Macro isn't the condescending one like "You can't cure stupid but you can raise it! Raising *insert name here*". Because last time I see a healer using macro like that, was when that healer is the one who killed that person by not moving to the other side during Susanoo's Thunder mark phase. That kind of Macro will make you sound like a jerk, and even more so if the deaths were the result of your mistakes.
"Raising *insert name*" is enough.

DPS is not a must. Just do it when you have nothing else to do for the next 5-10 seconds.
And if you do decide to DPS, put DoTs first if there are 3 or less enemies, use your AoE if there are more. (AST got their AoE really late compared to other healer however)

Thanks for the tips guys really appreciate the help.