Choosing a healer

[aindriu]

Hi everyone,

I've been asking around on Discord and reading the forums about which healer is suitable for me to pick. In other games, I'm used to the Zealot / Runepriest style of healing and running in the back lines.

I've tried most of the healers on Order / Destruction to level 7 to get a feel for them. I'm well aware that experience with the early levels doesn't mean much and the classes change a good bit over time. However, I'm getting a good feeling when I play Zealot / Runepriest and the style of healing, as I top the healing charts every time. With the DoK / WP the other healers tend to top the charts. This is in the earliest bracket scenarios.

A lot of folk on Discord and on the later forum posts are suggesting DoK / WP to play with and for me to stick with it. They are saying just use the HoTs until you run out of resource then attack or use blood offering at early levels to build resource which I have been doing. However, I can't spam heals and kite players as I tend to die quickly and the resource runs out quickly.

I did read a forum post saying that as a DoK you should never run away from an enemy as you go down faster. I've yet really get a good feel for the DoK and hone my strategies.

I really want to enjoy and get a good feeling playing a DoK because other people say really positive things about them. However, I don't think I'll ever get used to the extra resource that one has to manage with them.

I'm kind of thinking to myself - will I ever really master the DoK? Who would other players want on their team? A player struggling with playing DoK like a traditional healer like a Zealot or a player doing well on a Zealot backline healer?

I guess I ask the question sooner rather than later.

Should I just play a Zealot and top the healing charts or should I stick with the DoK like everyone is suggesting and once I hit those higher levels I'll be a healing powerhouse with AoE heals and shielding?

Anyone who has played healers at the start of the game to get a feel for them probably knows what I'm talking about with the extra resource like soul essence that DoK has to keep.

Any thoughts from people struggling choosing a healer to like me? What did you choose and why? Or perhaps you have high level healers and can offer a better comparison between the classes?

I read one post that argued every class has its place. You may have noticed I left out shaman and archmage. I tried them and they were quite good too at lower levels but someone told me they aren't much good at higher level pvp.

Thoughts?

[Starx]

RP/Z are amazing

IDK why but no one really cares about healers too much when it comes to balance otherwise these would of been decried as overpowered 1000x over. People cry about tactics like flashfire on BW and don't look at half the **** rp/z get it's insane really.

DOK/WP are also really good

Sham/AM are the only healers you might have trouble finding groups with, and even then thats just like the sweaty meta nerds. Most ppl aren't going to turn down heals if they need them.

People telling you to play dok are probably just parroting some trash that its ez mode and all new players should play it bc you can heal well with 3 buttons, play what you want zealot isn't that much harder than dok.

[michela89]

you should play what you think is most interesting / fun and looks cool. Both are good healers.

you didn't yet "master" the DoK resource, it will come just give it time, it isn't as straight forward as the other healers yes.

It may feel a little artificial at first, but then with the chalice / good use of the ability that transform AP to Resource and everything else it should become natural.

DoK are plenty capable of topping healing charts against other healers even at your lvl.

[R3xz]

It's hard to compare healers at lower level, for an example, zealot doesn't get their good group heal spell after lvl20+.

[emiliorv]

Spoiler:

Hi everyone,

I've been asking around on Discord and reading the forums about which healer is suitable for me to pick. In other games, I'm used to the Zealot / Runepriest style of healing and running in the back lines.

I've tried most of the healers on Order / Destruction to level 7 to get a feel for them. I'm well aware that experience with the early levels doesn't mean much and the classes change a good bit over time. However, I'm getting a good feeling when I play Zealot / Runepriest and the style of healing, as I top the healing charts every time. With the DoK / WP the other healers tend to top the charts. This is in the earliest bracket scenarios.

A lot of folk on Discord and on the later forum posts are suggesting DoK / WP to play with and for me to stick with it. They are saying just use the HoTs until you run out of resource then attack or use blood offering at early levels to build resource which I have been doing. However, I can't spam heals and kite players as I tend to die quickly and the resource runs out quickly.

I did read a forum post saying that as a DoK you should never run away from an enemy as you go down faster. I've yet really get a good feel for the DoK and hone my strategies.

I really want to enjoy and get a good feeling playing a DoK because other people say really positive things about them. However, I don't think I'll ever get used to the extra resource that one has to manage with them.

I'm kind of thinking to myself - will I ever really master the DoK? Who would other players want on their team? A player struggling with playing DoK like a traditional healer like a Zealot or a player doing well on a Zealot backline healer?

I guess I ask the question sooner rather than later.

Should I just play a Zealot and top the healing charts or should I stick with the DoK like everyone is suggesting and once I hit those higher levels I'll be a healing powerhouse with AoE heals and shielding?

Anyone who has played healers at the start of the game to get a feel for them probably knows what I'm talking about with the extra resource like soul essence that DoK has to keep.

Any thoughts from people struggling choosing a healer to like me? What did you choose and why? Or perhaps you have high level healers and can offer a better comparison between the classes?

I read one post that argued every class has its place. You may have noticed I left out shaman and archmage. I tried them and they were quite good too at lower levels but someone told me they aren't much good at higher level pvp.

Thoughts?

Any healer get his grp heal until lvl 20.
Playing only until level 7 means nothing, at that levels the hot+insta heal from zealot is much better than the tools from other healers...
IMO:
-DoK is best for grp heal when everyone is getting moderate dmg => if someone is getting a hard focus the DoK dotn have the best tools to keep 1 target alive. Also the mechanic is a pain while you dont get used to it. DoK get the best heal habilities from mastery (again IMO).
-Zealot is best for keep single targets. has a Fu***ing amazing tactics to increase healing, armor, shielding...the rituals are a helpfull grp tool. He can autorez himself (if you previously buff with mark or remarking). Of course he can grp heal too, but its a low cast so you need a dok for fast grp heals that cover your cast times and no one dies while you casting.
-Shaman: has the better survability tools (autodetaunt tactic is amazing), for roaming/kite are awesome (+run tactic on being hit). the double hot + shrugh it off can give nice ST healing when friend is getting burts dmg. The +10% healing crit is also a good tactic to use (at leats until you have a high gear).

[SaintRon]

RP/Z are amazing

IDK why but no one really cares about healers too much when it comes to balance otherwise these would of been decried as overpowered 1000x over. People cry about tactics like flashfire on BW and don't look at half the **** rp/z get it's insane really.

DOK/WP are also really good

Sham/AM are the only healers you might have trouble finding groups with, and even then thats just like the sweaty meta nerds. Most ppl aren't going to turn down heals if they need them.

People telling you to play dok are probably just parroting some trash that its ez mode and all new players should play it bc you can heal well with 3 buttons, play what you want zealot isn't that much harder than dok.

Seconded - From my experience so far here and years on live shaman/AM never really have trouble getting groups outside that sweaty meta nerd group. Most are not even good players to begin with and they think if that WP wasn't using a 2H they would have won that scenario yet they spent the entire time beating on a black orc with a shield.

[SolaAesir]

Some classes just feel right and you'll have a great time with them no matter how much others may hate on them and some classes will be very difficult and just feel tedious to play. Play the one(s) that feel right to you and ignore what you hear about class balance, a good X will beat a bad Y every time, even if Y is super OP and X is trash tier.

That said, don't fall into the trap of just looking at the numbers at the end of a scenario. They don't include things like damage tanked, damage shielded, pressure applied, or any of 100s of other factors that contribute to SCs and RvR wins. Numbers at low levels especially are skewed completely because most skills aren't available and stats haven't diverged (i.e. tanks and dps have almost the same amount of armor).