No, we don't "need a healer!"

I'll /third the "if you're coming from another MMO, you've got to get the 'need a healer' knocked out of your mindset" idea. I recently let Aion expire (waiting for 1.9, rather tired of the kinah chase, etc.) and frankly I started to *hate* playing my cleric there. Not only do the heals take way too damn long, but add heal aggro (I *hate* that - I can strip aggro from a gladiator by healing them) and the fact that, unless we're dealing with utter wimp enemies, if I do anything BUT heal or buff it seems that someone's going to be dead, or close to it, soon. (Don't get me started on having a camp of elites right outside Morheim's gates... when you're 13-20.) I'm *extremely* thankful COH isn't like that.

What bugs me most about the whole "healing" thing in here, though, is that people will concentrate on it - even on non-emps - and just not bother to learn how big of an impact the rest of their powers can have. I don't just mean the "pure emp, take no attacks, add medicine pool" types. I mean the Kinetics that do nothing but transfusion and, later, transferrence pretty much. Or the rad with nothing but mutation and the healing aura. Or the thermal that won't take the shields - or much of anything else, just the heals and rez.

There are times it's handy, yes. Early game, doing a sewer run? Sure. Keep that health up. Hami raid? Absolutely. But that's a tiny, tiny part of the game.

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Rorri said

Given the penalty for death in this game (or lack thereof)... Not only do I not care if we have a healer. I don't care if I run out of hitpoints.

I like having healing powers in the party. But it falls into the class of "I like various helpful powers" in the party. The one class of power truly needed is damage to defeat the foes. Every other class of power is very useful but not specifically needed. And there are various ways to achieve the effect of team "damage mitigation". Be it tanking, debuffing, mezzing, healing, etc...

To be honest, these days I see more "we need a kin". And it's just as wrong. Yes, even if you're a Stone tank, you still don't need a kin....

Maybe I'm wrong because I tend to solo more than group, but my experience is that most players are reasonably aware that you don't need any one archetype to have a successful team - you get the occasional exception who sticks in your memory, but most of the people I've teamed with have figured this out, IMO.

I'm perverse; I relish the exceptions, since when you have a team leader who is moaning for a healer and no one else is contradicting them, there's a strong possibility you're joining what looks to be a really bad PUG. And really bad PUGs tend to be very entertaining for me.

You don't NEED a healer. You want a healer. An empath on a team makes life easier. Especially in certain lvl ranges. The last time i logged my Empath i immediately got invited to a team one tank and three blasters fighting Ritki the blasters were sleeping the entire time and the tank was exhausted. CM and heal other were the only two powers i used, we steam rolled the mish. A couple mishes later the tank left. The blasters were going to quit, i told them go go go i will keep you alive. CM and heal other we didnt even slow down. CM and heal other and AB, yes you dont a healer, yes you want an Empath.

Empaths are very adaptable. So long as you keep a few break frees on you, it's very hard for them NOT to turn even a mediocre team into something that can get up some really good speed.
Empathy has one of most oddly useful buffs in game for late level blueside; Adrenalin Boost. Why odd? Well..I tend to save it instead of using it, when on a team with a Blaster with a nuke. Or a Kheldian with a nuke. Why? Because AB coutners nuke crash. Its that powerful, it beats the nukes -recovery debuff.

Fortitude slapped on pretty much anyone makes a difference, and the two auras let you blast with abandon.
Empaths aren't healers, and you're right, you DONT need a healer. Empaths are high grade buffers. I love playing my Empath/Psi fender with friends, because she turns tough characters into nigh unstoppable ones

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

You're right, you don't need any one thing to be successful in this game, healers being right at the top of the list, but in all fairness if you didn't like the way the team was being run, you should have formed your own team rather than doing what you did. If he formed the team, and he wanted a healer, he's entitled to that, just as you are entitled to go form a team without one (and being just as successful).

You know, people who form teams are doing you, me and the whole game a favor by doing so. They are providing a service, and they are the very backbone of the game. Yet I hear precious little in the way of gratitude for this, but plenty of complaints.

If you want a team to be run in a particular way, form your own and run it that way. If you're on someone else's team, try to be respectful of their wishes, and if you just don't like playing the way they like to play, politely bow out and form and run a team the way you want.

WARNING: I bold names.