An IMHO guide to healing as an empathy defender
By
Altoholic_Monkey,
Posted on: 2005-08-24 06:46 in Player Guides
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*edit so it was not so much of a postjack*
Sorry Cat I forgot to thank you for the insite on Emp
I play a DDD and have not ventured into the world of Emp
I always like to know what other sets can do. It makes it easier to team with them.
So thank you great post on Emp
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Thanks and no problem about the postjack. It is the nature of the beast. 
Very good tips. I like to think that I'm a bit proactive in my healing. If I'm not dumping a heal other into someone and 3 or 4 people are down a sliver... why not top them all up with an aura. That blinking splinter later may be the only thing between them and debt.
@bpphantom
The Defenders of Paragon
KGB Special Section 8
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Very good tips. I like to think that I'm a bit proactive in my healing. If I'm not dumping a heal other into someone and 3 or 4 people are down a sliver... why not top them all up with an aura. That blinking splinter later may be the only thing between them and debt.
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Thank you!
Nothing wrong with being proactive if that is your playstyle. I beg to differ for these reasons:
The aura requires you to be closer to the target than may be possible (or safe).
You also have a slightly longer recharge on the aura. You risk using it to top off when not necessary, then not having it available when it is necessary.
And topping off lends itself to spamming heals which is boring (once again IMHO.)
It takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better to avoid being hit if you can.
CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
"Mad Eye Moody"
You just made me have a Harry Potter moment... Sorry bout that. Everything you said is 100% true. I have a 38 emp/rad. That's exactly the way to play it.
I have several empathy characters and this is a very good guide to follow. You've hit the nail on the head with this one!
A few people have mentioned key binds which could be a huge help also. I don't use key binds myself but I have a few macros set up (Out of end!, Gather for RA, etc.) and I keep my team window directly above my power bar with my heal buttons on the top row. It's a simple matter to hit a name and move the mouse down slightly for the heal. I tend to "lead" my heals in certain teams. In other words, I pay attention to what my team mates are doing. The scrapper running in ahead of the tanker gets highlighted first.... just in case. Or the blaster or controller that leads off with an AOE sometimes gets a heal immediatly following just as the return fire hits (which has saved a few hides).
As far as 'topping off' goes, it depends on the situation. If we're doing fine and have a few seconds before the next round, I will top off. I like to see everyone full on green. But if it is a frenzied atmosphere and I may need every ounce of end I can get, then no I'll save it.
I was on a full team couple weeks ago doing a croatoa mission (protect the portal for 15 minutes). Everything was conning red to most of us. Lots of deaths in that one, including my own. At one point I appologized profusely as I felt being the healer the fault was mine since nobody was playing badly. I was pleasantly surprised when the entire team told me I was doing an awesome job and saving butt most of the time. The mission was just extremely difficult (including two nictus crystals and numerous voids) and even against the odds, we survived. So by the time it was over, everyone was out of debt and pretty dang proud of ourselves. Healers are appreciated for their skill and not just their death ratios!
I like to keep an eye not only on the actions of each group member as one poster said but also as I watch the health and End meters I can see who is gathering the most aggro at any given moment. I run as an Emp/Energy so I pop a heal with a small attack cued up to try and help where it seems we need it most.
Yep, that about sums it up! Nice Post..-HH 
Ya left out the:
"Don't invite the level 21 Invuln tanker who skipped Temp and Unyielding in favor of the Stealth Pool" rule.
People with really broken builds aren't worth healing.
"I'm flying free with my beautiful butterfly wings!" ~ Randy Marsh
Ah yeah I see what your saying (and sorry for the LATE responce..lol) but you Vigilance is like Defiance... in the right hands it can kick [censored]... but for the masses its blind faith...
The Official Resident Fanboi of dUmb
Always Allow/Disallow Mystic Fortune Prompt!
PCSAR
Good post. I have an emp controller, not defender, with illusions as a primary. While I agree with the poster that said witholding heals from a bad player *cough cough* blaster *cough cough* is a crappy thing to do, sometimes you have to.
Heres what I mean: i've been on teams where the blaster(s) like to get all up close and personal with the tank while in melee. The blasters usually go down fast and if he's not within the AoE of my healing aura I always choose the tank first for a heal (unless someone else is really close to dying.) Why? Because if the tank loses aggro its MY a$$ too. I've been killed too many times for getting too close to raging mobs to heal someone that has ranged attacks and shouldn't be that close! The blaster IMHO should be near ME in the rear blasting away and watching the healer's back especially if the healer is the only person that can rez.
I don't like it when anyone on my team dies, but if the have a habit of charging into mobs willy-nilly or going off on their own they move to the bottom of the priority list.
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There are two type of tanks I like to run with. Damage Takers and the Scapper/Tanker. Scanker I like to call them are Scaps with Melee attacks and Inv as a second. Tough enought to take a few hits be for needed to much healling but have the blow per blow to deal enough damage to hold them off. But they offten forget to complete their Scanker by not taking Provoke powers after 6th. Taunt is a must for all tankers to sever there Deffender well.
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With the changes in Issue 5, I'd argue that a tanker having their aura-provoke power is more important than having taunt -- both even better. Taunt in I5 only pulls a maximum of 5 opponents, while the aura power means that the opponents near the tanker are automatically turn their attention to attack the tanker.
Fire Tanker - Blazing Aura
Ice Tanker - Chilling Embrace
Stone Tanker - Mud Pots
Invulnerability Tanker - Invincibility ** last to get access to starting at lvl 18
New players often don't know about this effect, so if you happen to notice that the person has one of these powers and isn't running it, and is having a hard time keeping aggro, you can politely ask if they'd use that power. (And you can find out all about each team member by right clicking on their name in the team window and checking their info -- very good to do when in a pickup group.)
That's probably more info than most people need but something to keep in mind.
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I think you are missing the fact that Taunt is absolutly one of the best tools on a team. I have saved many a squishy with Taunt. If you use Taunt as like a team heal Eg. Defender/blaster health bar turns orange target player and taunt. and walla you argo 5 of the baddies that are attacking said player saving there butt so they can carry on doing there job to help the team
Taunt can still agro more than 5 mobs, only 5 at a time simply put some recharge reductions in taunt then taunt 5 change team mate taunt 5 more and so on. I spam taunt on my team mates targets to keep there health bars green. We can still control agro it just mean you must use the tools that are provided to us.
If your a tank take Taunt protect your team and love it
but that is just my Opinion
*edit so it was not so much of a postjack*
Sorry Cat I forgot to thank you for the insite on Emp
I play a DDD and have not ventured into the world of Emp
I always like to know what other sets can do. It makes it easier to team with them.
So thank you great post on Emp