Err, an empath defender?
Just be sure to take all the primaries and know that, after level 20, you'll be less a "healer hero" and more a "buffer hero with a nice and frequently explored sideline in heals."
That said, Kinetics and Dark have mightily powerful heals, they just need an enemy target. I've been the only Defender/healer on many occasions (Kinetics), including a few TFs. You just need to coax the Blasters and Controllers into melee range...
Generally, I'm happier to have a good Rad/Dark/Kin than an Empath.
Don't get me wrong, the buffs are good, but (some) Empaths have a habit of just using their Primaries and never attacking. I don't think that this is particularly good team-playing (especially when, on closer inspection, they have 3 travel powers).
Be warned on Dark though. It is an excellent heal (And the rest of the set seems to be superb too), but it has a horribly long animation time and takes a little getting used to.
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Generally, I'm happier to have a good Rad/Dark/Kin than an Empath.
Don't get me wrong, the buffs are good, but (some) Empaths have a habit of just using their Primaries and never attacking. I don't think that this is particularly good team-playing (especially when, on closer inspection, they have 3 travel powers).
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i'm sorry to disagree but the rare empath that doesn't attack is an excellent team player, if the empath attacks usually someone dies or goes without a buff...or if an empath fires a nuke how can they look after the team with no end? IMO empathy is the purely team support build and should always be buffing or healing the team, not attacking
If the team is so bad that people die as soon as the empath stops acting like a healbot, there's something wrong with the team, not the empath...
A dead enemy is 100% damage mitigation, while heals are only repairing the damage already done.
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i'm sorry to disagree but the rare empath that doesn't attack is an excellent team player, if the empath attacks usually someone dies or goes without a buff...or if an empath fires a nuke how can they look after the team with no end? IMO empathy is the purely team support build and should always be buffing or healing the team, not attacking
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So every time an empath attacks someone dies? And that buff nonsense...what are they supposed to do if all their buffs are recharging and the team is on full health?
An empath not attacking is not as useful as an empath who uses their attacks wisely.
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Generally, I'm happier to have a good Rad/Dark/Kin than an Empath.
Don't get me wrong, the buffs are good, but (some) Empaths have a habit of just using their Primaries and never attacking. I don't think that this is particularly good team-playing (especially when, on closer inspection, they have 3 travel powers).
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i'm sorry to disagree but the rare empath that doesn't attack is an excellent team player, if the empath attacks usually someone dies or goes without a buff...or if an empath fires a nuke how can they look after the team with no end? IMO empathy is the purely team support build and should always be buffing or healing the team, not attacking
[/ QUOTE ]The secondaries (and epic powers) are there for a reason, a player who knows WHEN to use them is a much more efficient player than one who doesnt use them at all.
There is no best defender. Take rad, dark or storm if you dont know a lot of people. They are easier to solo.
In a team situation pretty much all defenders are good. On defiant its hard to find any sonics, so you might want to roll one of those if you want a rare build. Sonics are also very good in PvP (as support, not solo).
And on the topic of defenders not healing. I dont care if they blast or not, just as long as they always buff/debuff/heal... uhm use their primary powers. Nothing worse than emps who forget to use fort, cm, ab, ra, regen aura and so on.
A Paragon Defender
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If the team is so bad that people die as soon as the empath stops acting like a healbot, there's something wrong with the team, not the empath...
A dead enemy is 100% damage mitigation, while heals are only repairing the damage already done.
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Not necesserily, you could be up against large mobs of high enemies. (First ss on invinvible when your lvl 40for example 
)
Defiant
Proud Member of the Liberty Legion
Venture - Emp/En Defender
Seph - Kat/SR Scrapper
Blizzard - Ice/Storm Controller
Legionelosis - Rad/Rad Defender
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Generally, I'm happier to have a good Rad/Dark/Kin than an Empath.
Don't get me wrong, the buffs are good, but (some) Empaths have a habit of just using their Primaries and never attacking. I don't think that this is particularly good team-playing (especially when, on closer inspection, they have 3 travel powers).
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i'm sorry to disagree but the rare empath that doesn't attack is an excellent team player, if the empath attacks usually someone dies or goes without a buff...or if an empath fires a nuke how can they look after the team with no end? IMO empathy is the purely team support build and should always be buffing or healing the team, not attacking
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uch, I hate people that think empaths cant attack!
I for one attack more or less all the time, and I rarely get any deaths in my teams nor do I EVER forget to buff anybody.
I chose my secondaries for a reason, and yes, there are times when my end wont allow me to attack, or I have to concentrate more on healing duties, but I'd rather not sit in a mission like a leech to be honest.
It makes me sick to the core when I see comments like yours >_>
Sorry for the original post seeming a bit harsh, but thanks for the backup.
As a kinetics I've been instructed to "just heal". My reply was "So you don't to hit the damage cap then?".
Defenders have the tough time, especially with pickup teams. If you are a build that can slowly but happily solo, then you have a few attacks (in my case, three single targets (one of which is Mental Blast *shudder*) a cone, a snipe and a nuke). There are times when I have to switch into "just keep the team going" mode, but most of the time I use my blasts. My big pink nuke has wasted many a mob.
I have nothing against Empaths (the buffs are great and healing is usually welcome), I just don't like it when they take 3 travel powers and the medicine power pool instead of working on their secondaries, which are there for a reason.
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IMO empathy is the purely team support build and should always be buffing or healing the team, not attacking
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Not trying to be offensive, but that's a very stupid statement. If empaths weren't meant to attack, please explain why we have a whole secondary pool full of them?
Agreed.
Two caveats when i play my rad/elec
a) Manage your end. As a geneeral rule if my end drops below 1/2 I ease up on attacking. Simply because i cant afford for the toggles to drop or to loose the capacity to heal.
b) Manage the aggro. Picking of minions is my rule, unless with a good tank in which case can be more flexible with the AoE.
Both of these are based on the principle - if you can pick off enemies, good thats the point, and defenders damage is reasonable if people actually slot the attacks, BUT do not do it so much that you will significantly impair your primary role - support
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Generally, I'm happier to have a good Rad/Dark/Kin than an Empath.
Don't get me wrong, the buffs are good, but (some) Empaths have a habit of just using their Primaries and never attacking. I don't think that this is particularly good team-playing (especially when, on closer inspection, they have 3 travel powers).
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i'm sorry to disagree but the rare empath that doesn't attack is an excellent team player, if the empath attacks usually someone dies or goes without a buff...or if an empath fires a nuke how can they look after the team with no end? IMO empathy is the purely team support build and should always be buffing or healing the team, not attacking
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uch, I hate people that think empaths cant attack!
I for one attack more or less all the time, and I rarely get any deaths in my teams nor do I EVER forget to buff anybody.
I chose my secondaries for a reason, and yes, there are times when my end wont allow me to attack, or I have to concentrate more on healing duties, but I'd rather not sit in a mission like a leech to be honest.
It makes me sick to the core when I see comments like yours >_>
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lol someone got out of bed on the wrong side this morning 
ok so i was drunk when i posted so prob didnt make myself clear but im not even gonna try to explain it clearer cos it will still get picked apart people have different opinions on how to play, if we didnt it wud be very boring
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I have nothing against Empaths (the buffs are great and healing is usually welcome), I just don't like it when they take 3 travel powers and the medicine power pool instead of working on their secondaries, which are there for a reason.
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What you're saying there has nothing to do with Empaths and everything to do with bad players... I have nothing against Blasters, I just don't like it when they take three travel powers and, umm, spoonbending, from the hobby set.
Any AT can have a gimped, or poorly optimised build in the hands of an poor player.
But the thread has moved away from the original question anyway - what is the best healer hero. I've read the "my team doesn't need an empath any more" stuff a lot and an empath's game does have to change as they level, but the answer to the question is an Empathy Defender.
It doesn't invalidate the other defender's abilities, (and I dislike the defender=healer stereotype seen in the game as much as other defenders), but if you like green numbers over your head then welcome to Empathy. It's what we do.
The point I was making is that I don't like Empaths/players who make a concious effort not to use their Secondaries, or even take more than one attack power. I think that's bad playing. This is a lot more common in Empaths than any other powerset I've seen.
Ah, I haven't noticed empaths not using their secondary powers and no one who teams with me is left in any doubt that I'm using mine as I often get all excited and shout "Woohoo! Eat my 19 damage $target!"
Yes, my main attack does roughly 19 points of damage to even level mobs. To go with this awesome power, I have power push, which I can't use unless I have aggro right in my face as the knockback annoys tankers, (the knockback being exactly why I took it), and snipe which I can't use in fights, due to the long interrupt time.
This may also be why people think empathy defenders stand around doing nothing - we do attack, but even the bad guys we hit don't notice. 
Just a point... empaths are no different to my mind than any other defenders when we are considering secondaries surely? Shouldnt this discussion be about defenders using there secondaries as opposed to empaths?
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Just a point... empaths are no different to my mind than any other defenders when we are considering secondaries surely? Shouldnt this discussion be about defenders using there secondaries as opposed to empaths?
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Err, no, the discussion should be about which AT is the best healer, as that's the original question.
It sort of deviated into a discussion on secondaries, because someone said that it's their experience that Empaths are bad for not using their secondaries and that this type of "bad playing" is "a lot more common in empaths than in any other powerset [they have] seen." /em shrug
Of course, if we stuck precisely to the question in the OP then this would be a two-post thread, because the answer to the question is; Empathy Defender.
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The point I was making is that I don't like Empaths/players who make a concious effort not to use their Secondaries, or even take more than one attack power. I think that's bad playing. This is a lot more common in Empaths than any other powerset I've seen.
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Well with Empath I took almost none of my secondary until around level 30. Before then it was everything I could to help the team. So Hasten, Leadership, Recall friend, CJ, Acrobatics.
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Just a point... empaths are no different to my mind than any other defenders when we are considering secondaries surely? Shouldnt this discussion be about defenders using there secondaries as opposed to empaths?
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Err, no, the discussion should be about which AT is the best healer, as that's the original question.
It sort of deviated into a discussion on secondaries, because someone said that it's their experience that Empaths are bad for not using their secondaries and that this type of "bad playing" is "a lot more common in empaths than in any other powerset [they have] seen." /em shrug
Of course, if we stuck precisely to the question in the OP then this would be a two-post thread, because the answer to the question is; Empathy Defender.
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Well depends cause kin can get more healing/sec in the right situation (Hamidon raids and that stuff). Best single target heal0r is an 3mp4th.
A Paragon Defender
Not botherd reading the theard as there is only one uber build and that is kinetics/Electric mate teams will love and you will never be bored. 
lol, talk about straying from the path!!!
The Healer Hero.
Well to start this is pretty much gonna be the Defender with Empathy primary.
I speak of my experience of my defender designed solely as a support piece (check his bio, it all makes sense there)
Yeah sure, I've got fully slotted heals on my primary's BUT offence is just as much support as 'repairing the damage', afterall the faster the bad guys fall down the better right?
When my team is holding its own with maybe the odd heal thrown in, I simply can't stand waiting around for when it gets hairy, so my defender goes all offensive whenever the opportunity arises.
His secondaries all have double or triple damage along with some accuracy.
His role is to aid the team however he can thus calling in powers like Recall Friend, hasten, and so on (only lvl 18 so haven't got the full package yet) but is willing to fight when he can and when he should.
As a bonus, I was quite unaware that Elec secondary could drain end when I chose it, I just thought it sounded cool!
"Like War_Hero said, leave it as it is, it toughens up the softies." - Naz Nomad
Union Heroes
War Borg - Leader of The Paragon Knights
Union Villains
McCabe - Co-leader of The Rogue Knights
Defiant - Supreme Hero
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Not botherd reading the theard as there is only one uber build and that is kinetics/Electric mate teams will love and you will never be bored.
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IMO there are no uber builds, only uber players . Mind you a rad/energy defender would be particularly challenging (hmmm have i got a spare slot for that?)
hello, i wanna make a healer hero, whats the best to choose
cheers