I like melee healers. Will I like WP/DoK?

[Brightlinger]

I am one of those players who was hyped for the original release of WAR because it promised a true frontline melee healers in the WP/DoK, in an era when the WoW paladin would wear cloth and spam Flash of Light from the backline. I played a Warrior Priest when the game was live, and was mostly disappointed with it - the caster spec was alive and well, while the melee specs struggled.

How viable is it nowadays? Am I setting myself up for disappointment if I try to play a melee WP again? Is WP or DoK better for this playstyle? And do I have to commit entirely to playing melee or caster (eg by going for different gear), or is it easy to swap as needed?

[gersy]

"Am I setting myself up for disappointment if I try to play a melee WP again?"

Yes, if your intent is to heal via melee. The way it worked in WAR is not how it works here anymore.

You've 3 specs basically:

Chalice/book - close-mid range pure healer, near to 0 damage, but effective in its role especially as a warband healer

1h/shield - your melee lifetap healer who heals largely by hitting enemies with melee attacks. however this playstyle was severely nerfed and is easily counterable. so it is mostly unplayable atm outside of 6v6 ranked controlled environment or maybe 12v12 scenarios. but it will be worse than all other healer options even in those cases, 98% of the time

Dual wield/2hand - redesigned to be more akin to a pure melee dps. it has some healing via lifetaps and can use some baseline casted healing abilities with heavily reduced value, but can never be considered as an actual healer or even a hybrid in all honesty. highly effective in smallscale, 6v6 and scenarios but pretty much useless in warband/largescale compared to other "real" dps

[ShinraTrooper]

"Am I setting myself up for disappointment if I try to play a melee WP again?"

Yes, if your intent is to heal via melee. The way it worked in WAR is not how it works here anymore.

You've 3 specs basically:

Chalice/book - close-mid range pure healer, near to 0 damage, but effective in its role especially as a warband healer

1h/shield - your melee lifetap healer who heals largely by hitting enemies with melee attacks. however this playstyle was severely nerfed and is easily counterable. so it is mostly unplayable atm outside of 6v6 ranked controlled environment or maybe 12v12 scenarios. but it will be worse than all other healer options even in those cases, 98% of the time

Dual wield/2hand - redesigned to be more akin to a pure melee dps. it has some healing via lifetaps and can use some baseline casted healing abilities with heavily reduced value, but can never be considered as an actual healer or even a hybrid in all honesty. highly effective in smallscale, 6v6 and scenarios but pretty much useless in warband/largescale compared to other "real" dps

Man that's a shame. Shield DoK sounds like an awesome playstyle, I wish it was more effective. Hopefully sometime in the future it gets fixed.

[DirkDaring]

Shield WP used to be actually fairly good , however a year ago they decided to change a lot of the classes again, and after that patch which has been a year now, they are not as good as they once were. Changes take a long time here as it`s only a couple people working in their spare time, so it could be 2 or 3 years before it gets looked at again, maybe never.

[Mvl130]

It's really sad to see all these people who missed the pre-March of 2025 frontline healers, they used to be flawed but efficient in several ways, now they're just pointless to play

[Brightlinger]

Yes, if your intent is to heal via melee.

Poo. Thanks for the detailed response!

[amputationsaw]

iirc they wanted to bring back the frontline healer, worked on it, released it, then nerfed it to death and now its where it was at the start?

i mean i remember the changes shield wp and he was basically unkillable but to nerf a class so mich that nobody really considers playing it is really sad

[Xalon]

100% yes.

Warrior Priest is such a fun class. They can be full healers with a 1h weapon and Tome/book of spells. They can be a healing off-tank with 1h weapon and shield. Or they can go full dps with a 2handed hammer build. Or anything in-between.

Most fun class I ever played that gets better and better as you play. One of the most useful classes for any RVR or PVE group content. While their dps isn't as high as straight DPS classes, it comes very close. Especially with certain tactics and gear. You can always heal yourself and usually at least one other player at all times. And if you spec heals, you have AOE heals to heal anyone fighting nearby. Plus buffs and debuffs.

DoK is supposed to be similar, but different. I'll let others explain. But if you like healers that can kick butt, WP is your guy. At least on Order side he is. Or she.

[kpihuss]

The state of melee healers is pathetic right now.

They heal too little, survive too poorly, deal too little damage, bring no real utility to the group, require a tank permanently by their side, and still die far too often.

Although the DoK version is much better than the WP one, they are still far below any casting healer.

[rorswar]

The state of melee healers is pathetic right now.

They heal too little, survive too poorly, deal too little damage, bring no real utility to the group, require a tank permanently by their side, and still die far too often.

Although the DoK version is much better than the WP one, they are still far below any casting healer.

Not just melee healers, but hybrid healers in general. I can’t speak for all healers, but AM also got a lifetap spec and it’s just sub-par.

Energy of Vaul got nerfed badly patch after patch. As an INT based spec, you can still use it, but it’s just subpar compared to standard healing. It heals outside party, so theoretically it can heal more targets, but its value is just less - and it has to deal with disrupts, blocks, and line of sight.

Worse, it’s on a 5CD, so once you’ve done that you’re left with a ST lifetap, so you’ll struggle to keep your group alive.

It can work in 6-men, but that’s about it.

I always prefer hybrid playstyles - my main is an assault SW - but unfortunately many of them are underpowered.