Let's talk about regen :)

[nijn78]

I love HoT's (heal over time).

Almost every healer in an MMO has a regen skill, regen is handy, insta cast, just good, period.

However I noticed something in FFxiv....

When you cast regen on a tank and after the battle regen hasn't worn off yet (21 sec buff) the next set of mobs he pulls go straight after the healer!

If you cast regen while mobs are being pulled then sure, getting unwanted aggro is your own fault.
But if a tank runs into mobs with 3 sec regen left they'll go straight to the healer and that's something that should be changed imo.

thoughts?

[crystalfire808]

Regen will draw aggro to the healer on the first tick after pull. Tanks should cancel regens when going to pull, and mages should avoid casting regen toward the end of a pull.

In general, regen is wonderful considering the instant cast. It's good for throwing on dps party members and great for countering DoTs (like the evil, terrible, annoying AV poison). However, it does cost a bit of MP to cast, so it should only be used when it will be used to its full potential (all ticks healing without health being maxed out).

I typically use the stoneskin+regen tactic in most normal circumstances at the beginning of a pull. It gives a buffer to throw up some DoTs on the mobs if you so choose, or you can stand around waiting for your mp to refill.

EDIT: Another situation where regen is very helpful is in fights where you have to be moving constantly, therefore making casting difficult, such as the ogre boss in Dzemael Darkhold. Regen saves lives!

[nijn78]

yeh it's such a great skill, in any MMO.
Never had mana issues with it actually.

But tanks shouldn't have to cancel regen while pulling, that's the problem with regen in FFxiv x.x

[CalvatE]

Each tick is pretty much another heal, so yeah you're pulling another piece of aggro every 2 seconds or so. I find a lot of people who talk comparisons between SCH and WHM never equate Regen into them; Regen is half of my Cure I (and over time is 1080 potency) for only 50% or so more mana than Cure I.
Theory wise it's amazing, practicality wise it depends. I've found regen amazing in pretty much every scenario but one thing I'll disagree to is that I won't use it on a DPS who just got hit because it still activates the GCD and will cost more mana than Cure I (Which in my experience is enough to heal the person to full anyway). Since it activates the GCD, Cure or Regen both will take the same amount of time.

I'm one for HoT's myself most definitely, but Regen I find for tanks is just a plain life saver. When things go sour I Cure II > Regen and just like that we're going through that sour spot with moderate ease.

Most people don't know you can cancel the Regen buff off yourself so when it comes to speed runs and such I only make it a habit to Regen on the initial pull; Stoneskin them, Cure II, Regen and Cure I all the way and by the time we're done the mob regen is off.

[crystalfire808]

... one thing I'll disagree to is that I won't use it on a DPS who just got hit because it still activates the GCD and will cost more mana than Cure I (Which in my experience is enough to heal the person to full anyway). Since it activates the GCD, Cure or Regen both will take the same amount of time.

It's definitely situational, I wouldn't (and don't) use that as the norm, but if they get hit by an AoE and take spike damage and you don't expect them to get hit again soon, I find it to be more efficient MP-wise.

[Krisstina]

Usually it isnt hard to predict how long to fight gonna last but when ppl doing AOE rotation.

[nijn78]

Each tick is pretty much another heal, so yeah you're pulling another piece of aggro every 2 seconds or so

Most people don't know you can cancel the Regen buff off yourself

And that's a problem imo.
I've always played healers, even in a crappy old f2p mmo such as Fiesta, Regen did not pull aggro unless it was cast during a pull.
HoTs have always been my fav and I try to keep it on tanks especially when they're starting a pull, it's a habit and I'm sure I'm not the only one with a love for HoTs.

Asking tanks to take it off every run would get old x.x

[Takeva]

I find myself using it a bit to much. Rarely have mp problems with it. If I accidentally use at the end of pulls, I usually run to the tank so he can easily pull them off. Sometime they get pulled back before coming anywhere near. I've run into some really great tanks lately. Lucky me~!

[GeilLega]

As a tank, my purely anecdotal observation is that Regen is a useful tool in boss fights and lazy crutch in normal (non-speed run) dungeon runs. I can regen tank juuuust about anything except for those hound lights in AK that kind of sting, and I'm not uber geared. Likewise, I've run with WHM that just toss me a cure now and then instead, and don't have to deal with it.

It's not that hard to cancel but I've been guilty of it, and it screws up the agro management of the whole pull really.

[Fort]

This is a classic healer killer move when he's got a HoT up before the tank pulls. It has been this way in every MMO. There's a few things you can't do as a healer, and one of those is pre HoT'ing.
Whether you mean to or not, you need to let the tank know (as some players either might not realize it is active, or they don't realize the dangers of it) that your HoT is still up.
However, in some games, such as FFXIV. The player can cancel their active buffs. So just communicate with your tank, and have him cancel the regen before he pulls.
My MT for my FC already knows the drill. Any new tanks I just simply say, "cancel regen before pulls please" and it seems to work fine.