Misuse of the word "Healer"
By
Acyl,
Posted on: 2009-05-15 19:43 in Archetypes and Powers General Discussion
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Buffs are important too. I think anyone who ignores either buffs or heals is a noob. I expect rads to take and use their heal. I expect empaths to take and use their buffs. The sets are balanced around the whole. The anti-healer forces want to minimize the role of healing, to the detriment of their teams, in my opinion. They are no different that the folks who do the opposite and think heals are the end all of mitigation.
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EG speaks the truth.
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If people weren't so deluded into thinking a healer is needed to survive in this game, then we wouldn't have this problem. A good stormy, with or without O2 Boost, far outperforms an average empath.
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And a good empath outperforms an average storm defender. A good one of either is a powerful ally.
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...
Mesmerized by this thread. The healer-hate just seems a little dramatic.
Healing is not as bad as people are making it out to be. Heals, numerically, work exactly the same as damage resistance in that they extend the amount of HP you can sustain before dying. They are reactive, but they "protect" from all forms of damage, regardless of source.
Arguments that you can just carry a tray of greens miss the point that you could have been carrying a tray of something else.
Healing is effective in some situations. Waiting an hour for a "healer" is stupid if you could have had a different team member join you. Both of these facts are pretty much undeniable. I would think.
I have played characters that have heals. At level 50 they do sometimes have to use the heal. And sometimes the heal helps a lot. Sometimes not. It depends. Just like my Controllers, who sometimes don't get get to use sleep/knockback/knockdown because of what the team is doing.
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By George, I think someone's *got* it!
...And, look!!! His post count isn't high, nor has he been registered for that long!
Nothing short of a miracle, I know.... But this proves that highly intelligent observations are not limited to the "forum cartel."
:P
"The One"
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Originally Posted by Infernus_Hades
The way you play changes your IO slotting..
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76 characters and Twenty-four 50s later, I still love this game.
AlienOne's Human-Form Warshade Guide (Old guide+New guide = 12,000+ views!)
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Sounds like Empathy needs a buff? (or storm a nerf....)
Unless the gap from average to good is supposed to be "far outperforms" wide.
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It's many many newbies and perma-newbies dragging down Empathy's average. 
Though in fairness, I played with not one, but two solid empaths on a PuG KHTF last night. Refreshing experience.
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+regen heals. This is the hind leg of the horse. AB also regens. That is the tail.
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The only reason I never count +Regen as a heal is because +Regen doesn't get you any credit on the healing badges. Powers that heal other targets, including Rez powers, do. Thus, Rez powers are heals purely due to a game mechanic. Of course, this brings up self-heal powers not counting towards healing badges, but then again, the healing badges only count heals done to other players. Since you can cast +Regen powers on other players, but it doesn't budge your heal badge count, it's not a heal in my opinion.
Of course, I figured that would be obvious, but players love to stretch their definitions of things to account for as many things that fall outside of it as possible. I've had people try to argue that +Resist was technically a heal because it effectively increased your HP and "preemptively healed" damage that would have been dealt to you in full if not for the +Resist.
I've already chimed in on the topic at hand, but I'll reiterate here that anyone advertising themselves as a "healer" regardless of AT or character build will get passed over by me. I'll take someone who I know will use all their powers instead of the person who, more often than not, just follows the tank and puts their heal aura on auto.
Main Hero : Annilixxion -- Lv50 Blaster
Main Villain : Menkaura -- Lv41 Mastermind
@Laxx
"You will bend to my will, with or without your precious sanity." --Dragon Mage
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I can see Resurrections being counted as heals.
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Is the Awaken inspiration a heal, then? Do you use it to recover HP during a fight?
No and no.
Rezzes can restore HP, but they aren't heals.
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Rezzes can restore HP, but they aren't heals.
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I'm boggled by this statement.
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I can see Resurrections being counted as heals.
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Is the Awaken inspiration a heal, then? Do you use it to recover HP during a fight?
No and no.
Rezzes can restore HP, but they aren't heals.
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Read my post. As far as the game coding is concerned, a Rez counts as heal because it counts towards the heal badges.
Main Hero : Annilixxion -- Lv50 Blaster
Main Villain : Menkaura -- Lv41 Mastermind
@Laxx
"You will bend to my will, with or without your precious sanity." --Dragon Mage
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Rezzes can restore HP, but they aren't heals.
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I'm boggled by this statement.
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+Regen "restores" HP as well, but it's not a heal according to the game's standards for what constitutes a heal.
Main Hero : Annilixxion -- Lv50 Blaster
Main Villain : Menkaura -- Lv41 Mastermind
@Laxx
"You will bend to my will, with or without your precious sanity." --Dragon Mage
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Rezzes can restore HP, but they aren't heals.
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I'm boggled by this statement.
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It's a question of terminology. If we deem "everything that restores HP" to be heals, then we are then required, by our own lack of restriction, to refer to every possible method of HP restoration as "healing". That would even include natural regeneration.
So we break things up into sub-groups. +Regen powers, +HP powers, Heals, Rezzes, each a distinct and separate category.
What is a Heal? A Heal restores HP immediately to a still living target.
What is +Regen? +Regen restores HP over time by increasing natural regeneration.
What is +HP? +HP increases base HP, which in turn makes natural or buffed regeneration more effective.
What is Rez? Rez restores HP to a dead target.
Same reason we refer to attacks with different vectors as single-target, AoE, PBAoE and cone. Categorization.
I want to add something else.
One thing that hasn't been accounted for in this discussion is the value of having topped off HP. This isn't something I expect well-armored characters to understand, but anyone with a high level squishy probably can.
Basically, any time your HP is not topped off, you are at risk of a one-shot death. If you have done any amount of high level teaming you have seen this happen to your team mates. One second they are doing great, then in the next instant they are KO'ed. This happens mostly from accidentally pulling aggro from a boss, many of whom are quite capable of dishing out massive damage.
When you are at 100% HP, it is impossible to die from a single source of damage. This is why my Controllers get *really* nervous when they lose even as little as 10% of their HP; all it takes to put them completely out of the fight at that point is one good shot.
Stating again, for the record: I do not have a problem with healing powers. I do, however, have an issue with 'healers', for all of the negative hype they get and the fact that a large chunk of them actually deserve it. In my experience*.
You play MMOs as long as I have, and you start to quickly pick up on what is, and is not, necessary. If you're good at adapting and learning information, you do this quickly. If you're poor in this area or just lack reading comprehension, you often take longer if you ever learn at all. The big fun point? Every game is different on what is, and is not, required.
A healer is not required in CoH/V. You can do any content in the game without the ill-conceived notion that you need a healer to get by. What you do need is at least one or two support characters, and most preferably ones that are competent.
Some support sets contain heals. Some more then others. But those all just tools that they have, and not something that they should be defined as. You don't call a Tanker a Tauntbot, for example, as that's discrediting to what that tanker actually brings to your team (a form of control, and some [albeit light] additional damage). Why, then, are we perfectly fine with pigeon-holing support characters into 'Healers' and 'Not-Healers'? And stating that one is more important then the other (if you haven't, then this particular comment is most likely not directed at you - such is the nature of generalizations)? They're not.
That's my only problem with the term 'healer'. It's a stupid, unnecessary term. And completely inaccurate to the ATs that it's often applied to.
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What you do need is at least one or two support characters, and most preferably ones that are competent.
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And even that much is iffy. I've been on a decent four-blaster PuG once, no support necessary, much less a healer specifically.
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What you do need is at least one or two support characters, and most preferably ones that are competent.
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And even that much is iffy. I've been on a decent four-blaster PuG once, no support necessary, much less a healer specifically.
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True enough. It was more in the context of 'if you need any support at all', then as an iron-clad absolute. One or two support characters is a really good idea, as is at least one person to control aggro (tank, controller, mastermind, dominator, a really oddly built scrapper or blaster, the right defender or corrupter...) is also probably a good idea, and certainly a lot of damage will make things go along pretty quickly if they're properly taken care of.
Then again, it all breaks down to player skill. Skilled players > specific AT or powerset.
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5/9 (yes, i was wrong about Emp's total number of +regen buffs, didn't account for AB). Resurrect isn't a heal.
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Healing 100% of HP and restoring the dead to life isn't a heal? 
OK.
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
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5/9 (yes, i was wrong about Emp's total number of +regen buffs, didn't account for AB). Resurrect isn't a heal.
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Healing 100% of HP and restoring the dead to life isn't a heal?
OK.
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Scroll up and read some more. It won't hurt, I promise.
Oh, I don't know if I'd say that, Luminara. I've been skimming this thread for a while now, and it has indeed been quite painful.
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Oh, I don't know if I'd say that, Luminara. I've been skimming this thread for a while now, and it has indeed been quite painful.
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All we need is a well placed statement to get the lock in. Then your pain will end.
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Indeed.
And as for SStingrays comment:
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Healing is an important part of what defenders can do.
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Umm... No. I see the one, single power in my kit bag that heals, as being the least important ability that my Kin has.
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Holy misquote Batman! It doesn't sound like you really read what I said at all. If healing wasn't important, there wouldn't be teams asking for healers to begin with.
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It's not the importance of heals that drive players to seek out "healers". Ignorance, laziness and sometimes sheer incompetence are why some players want "healers".
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This really is the most stupid generalization I have ever seen anbody on these boards use. Try to keep your arguments to rational thought in the future.
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Indeed.
And as for SStingrays comment:
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Healing is an important part of what defenders can do.
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Umm... No. I see the one, single power in my kit bag that heals, as being the least important ability that my Kin has.
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Holy misquote Batman! It doesn't sound like you really read what I said at all. If healing wasn't important, there wouldn't be teams asking for healers to begin with.
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It's not the importance of heals that drive players to seek out "healers". Ignorance, laziness and sometimes sheer incompetence are why some players want "healers".
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This really is the most stupid generalization I have ever seen anbody on these boards use. Try to keep your arguments to rational thought in the future.
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Mad sarcasm for the win, unless that other massive generalization you made was serious. Anyway, it isn't actually a generalization. There is (shock!) a best way to build a team. There is a best way to build the characters on that team. And those of us who number-grind towards that goal, rather than airily speculate towards it based on "experience," realize that heals are the least effective damage mitigation in the game.
Can't argue with numbers.
Calling everybody who looks for a "healer" as ignorant, incompetent or lazy is indeed a generalization on a grand scale, and a blatant attempt to insult in this case. It is lame and shameful.
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Calling everybody who looks for a "healer" as ignorant, incompetent or lazy is indeed a generalization on a grand scale, and a blatant attempt to insult in this case. It is lame and shameful.
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Looking for a healer in this game is ignorant by definition. It's like going into a hardware store and asking for a tool. Or a bag of potato chips.
It is insulting.
It is shortsighted.
It shows a lack of knowledge in the game, and a lack of interest in gaining that knowledge. (If that's not ignorant, I don't know what it.)
It demonstrates a person has an inflexible mindset.
In short, a person wanting a "healer" is a poor player.
Not really. They may well be looking for somebady that has a means of restoring hp to the team. Buffs and debuffs do not prevent every scrap of damage from getting to members of the team. There is nothing wrong with wanting somebody who can replace lost hp when it happens, and it will happen. No team ever takes zero damage, ever. Some damage will get through at some point. It is just a matter of how much damage will land on the members of that particular team. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to rely on greens for hp replacement. A team may have good buffs, debuffs and controls, and still want somebody to heal lost hp.
The way that people on these boards just have a fit at the thought of anybody not wanting to play their way, by avoiding the very thought of ever using a heal power is just this side of amazing. I know some just hate the way people use the term "healer", but for others the very thought of a team being out there with a person who will use a power of some sort to restore lost hp is more than they can possibly tolerate. It really is amazing, and this is the only mmo that I know of that has this problem with the fringe kook anti-healers.
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5/9 (yes, i was wrong about Emp's total number of +regen buffs, didn't account for AB). Resurrect isn't a heal.
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Healing 100% of HP and restoring the dead to life isn't a heal?
OK.
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Scroll up and read some more. It won't hurt, I promise.
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I read what you wrote above. It's the same tortured logic that the anti-healer forces have been using for 5 years. Empathy is a set focused on restoring life, i.e. healing. That doesn't mean that that is all it can do, it's just what it's focused on.
But that doesn't work in the anti-healer playbook so we take ridiculous logical leaps to avoid calling something that heals a heal.
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
By the way, as to why people get the idea that having a healer is important early on, it's because early on a healer, *is* extremely effective. I'm sure someone can come up with an obscure build to try to prove this wrong, but that fist run through the sewers is made ten times easier if someone can heal.