Healers Controllers or keyboards

[AleviaA]

. -snip-

I completely agree. Outside healers will need to be a little more attentive of how they have things set up, along with having additional things that will aid them in healing people easier than if you were to scroll through a crowd even with friendly target filters.

That's why macros with short cuts, such as what i mentioned (/ac "Cure" <mo>) can allow users to use their gamepad and mouse for even more support. You will be limited with just the gamepad alone even with filters in a huge crowd, that's just the sad truth. But having multiple means of accessing those people can really put you in a better position. Just a suggestion though.

[Shadowjester]

I prefer controller simply because I find it more accurate / fun. Plus I was looking for a PS3 experience with this game anyway lol. Though if I really wanted to, I could attach a mouse and play that way (shrugs). Maybe for DPS in parties I'd use a mouse. Healer seems like "easy mode" with a controller for me (though I always found healer roles to be easy in some form or another, almost like a game of Wac-a-mole).

[Edu]

That's mainly due to 1.0's limitation to scrolling side to side on the hotbar. It was indeed slower and did not really help with min/maxing. However, in 2.0 gamepad has been optimized to be smoother, faster, and work just as good as kb/mouse, unless the healer themselves just fail. I am in a hardcore FC and I have been using gamepad since 1.0. I did not let the limitations handicap me, and I can tell you that 2.0 gamepad has definitely been optimized for the use of healing.

Sure the controller has been optimized for 2.0 but its still not on par with KB/M. When doing the 24 main raids you will never be able to select targets faster than a KB/M user. I would expect someone from BG to understand that.

[Arei]

Keyboard/Mouse F1-F8

/ac "Cure" <tt>

[LuxLux]

It just a matter of taste. You should try both and see what you like. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but a good healer is good no matter the controllers/keyboard, you"ll see.

[DivineAyumi]

Personally, when it comes to macros I go apeshit lol.

In 1.0 I believe I had anywhere from 17-20 different macros for WHM alone.

They served for all kinds of situation, healing, defense, self targets, tank (priority) emergency heals, buffs, debuffs, assists, OMFG mode, others.
I cant see myself using all those macros on a controller. I don't think its even possible.
Oh, and this not counting the non-macroed direct skills.

[AleviaA]

Sure the controller has been optimized for 2.0 but its still not on par with KB/M. When doing the 24 main raids you will never be able to select targets faster than a KB/M user. I would expect someone from BG to understand that.

Good thing I don't just use a gamepad. For casual people a gamepad is good enough. Clearly for 24 man raids and even extreme versions of end game content it is best to be more prominent and use more than just a gamepad, therefore using a gamepad along with keyboard and mouse will be complex at first, but definitely proactive. FCs want a proactive and reactive healer, not just one nor the other. If a healer is simply reactive then it doesn't matter if they use kb/m or gamepad, because they are limited by their reactions. I always did say kb/m was best, but that does not mean you are limited by the device, as you drive the device up to par with how you see fit.

[AleviaA]

It just a matter of taste. You should try both and see what you like. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but a good healer is good no matter the controllers/keyboard, you"ll see.

this.

People fail to take this into consideration when dealing with the device. They base it off the limitations of the device at hand and assume everyone is either good or bad depending on it. This is neither true nor false, as like you said a good healer is good no matter what. However, you can tell apart a great healer from a good healer depending on how they use their tactics and what they use to achieve their goals.