Best Healer autopower


Adeon Hawkwood

 

Posted

Would it be better to autopower Healing Aura, or Clear Mind.

Now, personally, I prefer HA, because it affects everyone. CM only affects 1 person. And personally, I'd rather be healed and held, than not healed and not held.

My current style of play is to autopower HA, and use CM as I can. I also autofollow the tank.

So the other day, I was playing my healer, and I asked a simple question of my teammates: Would it be better to autopower Healing Aura, or Clear Mind. Boy, the responses I got!


"Why don't you push buttons instead?"

I do, but if I have an autopower, why not use it. You use yours, don't you?

"I would rather you didn't rely on autopower."

I'm not relying on it; I have five different healing powers, I do not rely on any one of them.

"Nobody's gonna be near enough to you"

I also have Heal Other, with a range enhancement.

"Why do you have Aim, you only have one Ranged attack?"

What difference does that make? Good for you, you were able to view my ID info. It's still my character to build. Neither power, of which was in the origbinal question.

"Why not autopower Hasten"

Recharge is too long.

"Are you Prixy? Same SG, same manner of playing."

I have been playing this game for 6 years, and I can assure you that my method of playing was developed independantly from Prixy's or any other players.

"See, he's on autofollow, just like Prixy!"

I'm right here, just fpllowing the tank, who the star said to follow.

"You'll die if you do that"

Maybe, but I got HA on autopower, and, well, dying is a part of the game. Let me worry about that.

And so forth, but no one ever answered the question. Finally, I was told, "We can continue laughing at you, or we can solve the problem," and I was kicked off the team.

So, can somebody tell me what is the thing that I am doing wrong, get it out here, now, and let me know, Which is better? Autopowering HA, or autopowering CM.


 

Posted

Auto-power an attack.

Don't auto-follow.

Use your brain to buff/heal/move.

Use your attacks.


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Posted

The only time i will auto-fire a power is when lag won't let me use them correctly. Like Rikti raids, when we get in the middle bowl, any PBAoE heal i have gets put on autofire. Its just easier to keep everyone up and running when i know every time i'm not clicking something, my heal is going off. Granted, i'll damage/debuff/buff around my auto power, so chances are its not going to fire every 4 or so seconds, but when nothing else is active, or i have a lapse in judgement, the auto power will be healing.

Outside of that VERY RARE case, the only powers i'll put on auto are mez protection (SR and shield) hasten (anything without mez protection) or a quick fire attack (something like flares, or fire blast)


 

Posted

I don't really think you should auto-power anything. Attacks tend to be the worst; if you target a team mate you'll fire off an attack at an inoportune time.

I agree with using your brain and using you keys. They work best.

Summary: auto-power neither. Both are poor choices.


 

Posted

My honest unedited opinion about people who put heal power on auto and/or have only one attack is likely fodder for mods. You can play that way if you want to, but a player who does so is nothing but a glorified leech. My Ill/emp will run circles around that type of build in terms of what my build brings compared to a one attack auto heal Emp defender. Again, you can play that way, but it's bottom feeder mentality that's been brought over from other games where people are under the false illusion that heals are the almighty ideal version of support in this game. Maybe levels 1-20. Maybe.

And yes, that's the nice version.

P.S. The answer is Hasten so you can get your buffs(Fort, etc.) and attacks back quicker. Kill something while you are at it so the rest of the team isn't wasting end trying to kill the extra mobs you generated by joining the team.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by ColonelKomphort View Post
My current style of play is to autopower HA, and use CM as I can. I also autofollow the tank.
I don't even know how to politely respond to this. That your playstyle has been described as comparable to Prixy's should immediately tell you what you should be doing. (HINT: People won't describe your playstyle as comparable to Prixy's)


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Amy_Amp View Post
My honest unedited opinion about people who put heal power on auto and/or have only one attack is likely fodder for mods. You can play that way if you want to, but a player who does so is nothing but a glorified leech. My Ill/emp will run circles around that type of build in terms of what my build brings compared to a one attack auto heal Emp defender. Again, you can play that way, but it's bottom feeder mentality that's been brought over from other games where people are under the false illusion that heals are the almighty ideal version of support in this game. Maybe levels 1-20. Maybe.

And yes, that's the nice version.

P.S. The answer is Hasten so you can get your buffs(Fort, etc.) and attacks back quicker. Kill something while you are at it so the rest of the team isn't wasting end trying to kill the extra mobs you generated by joining the team.
While i do have 4 attacks on my emp/psi healer, i feel being able to perma fort 6 outta 7 of my teammates, and keep CM on the squishys, and rotate AB and the RAs every 30 or so seconds is far more valuable then my 4 single target attacks.

I understand i have a secondary for a reason, but in all honesty, i'm a defender. My damage isn't going to turn any heads, and its all single target based. Now, against Marauder, my psi damage is going to rock, but unless i'm fighting something with really low psi resistance, i'm better off just buffing/healing and keeping people up and running.

I guess i do play a little different then most people play empathy, but it works for me, and as long as i keep a buff cycle up, everyone on my team is doing better then if i wasn't on the team (power boosted fortitude can turn a blaster into a juggernaunt pretty easily)


 

Posted

Hasten.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Arbegla View Post
The only time i will auto-fire a power is when lag won't let me use them correctly
/this.

There are very few times when "rockin' the aura" is appropriate. In a mission following the tank? Quit leaching, use your other powers and, oh, your *other powerset.* Hasten being on auto in this case would be acceptable. Healing aura (or its equivalent in other powersets) is not.

Rikti raid? Incarnate raid? Mothership raid? THOSE are good times to do so, as the devs haven't figured out how to *not* have someplace lag with more than 8 people in it in anything like close proximity (but, hey, go introduce more raids...) It'll go off when it's ready, you'll likely be in a good position to actually be USEFUL with it, and the fact the server and client can't make heads or tails of when everything else is recharging won't matter.

Also, no idea who "prixy" is. Don't care. The OP's playstyle = leech.

Also also,
Quote:
I'm right here, just fpllowing the tank, who the star said to follow.
"The star" didn't tell you a damn thing. Early on - as in, oh, up to level 15 or so? Sure, watch the tank. Your heals will be needed. Hell, with most sets you'll need to CM the melee when you have it. Past that, watch everyone, and quit leeching. Your having HA go off is going to delay other powers that may be needed more (yes, I have had "h34l0rz," which is what you're describing, lose FAR more important people because they had that on auto.)

The tank, for more than half the game, can take care of him or herself in 95% of the situations better than your piddly (and yes, it is piddly) wasting of END on HA can.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Arbegla View Post
While i do have 4 attacks on my emp/psi healer, i feel being able to perma fort 6 outta 7 of my teammates, and keep CM on the squishys, and rotate AB and the RAs every 30 or so seconds is far more valuable then my 4 single target attacks.

I understand i have a secondary for a reason, but in all honesty, i'm a defender. My damage isn't going to turn any heads, and its all single target based. Now, against Marauder, my psi damage is going to rock, but unless i'm fighting something with really low psi resistance, i'm better off just buffing/healing and keeping people up and running.
"Psychic scream." Multiple targets. Psi also does a slow/-rech, which you'll get more mileage out of as a defender. If you have "four single target attacks," then you skipped it, as it's the fourth power in Psi blast for Defenders.

Will Domination is a single target sleep, which comes in VERY handy (go ahead, Nemesis, put up that big bubble - there's a LOT in this game that's vulnerable to sleep.) Make sure you don't put any sort of a proc in it.

Immobilizes are, of course, just useful for the fact of being immobilizes (barring things like war wolves.)

In short, if all you're doing is looking at that secondary as "I don't do much damage," you're not looking at the secondary. And yes, I *do* have an Emp/Psi. You can attack perfectly fine while working with your primary and keeping people buffed.


 

Posted

The only powers worth putting on auto are self buffs that you always want up: Practised Brawler, Active Defense, Hasten, Mind Link, Rage, etc. And even those aren't always good to have on auto.

Both of the powers you listed can get people killed by having them on auto.

Heal Aura on auto: A group that's not huddled around the tank that you're autofollowing eats an AoE. You hop over to heal them. Halfway there, HA fires, missing everyone. You get there in time for another AoE to finish them off. HA hits a pile of corpses.

Clear Mind on auto: Someone's about to die! Target them, hit Heal Other, Clear Mind them instead because it's on auto. Heal Other fails because you're targeting a corpse.

Also, the vast majority of your HA's are going to be wasted End, hitting nobody, or at least nobody who needs it. And if you have a teammate selected and within range, you'll flatline yourself really quickly with CM on auto. And either one can interrupt a more important power, something that a slow recharging power on auto is less likely to do (but still does!).

The only heal that's are worth putting on "auto" is the toggle in Pain Domination.


@Roderick

 

Posted

It's considered bad form 'round these parts to put Healing Aura on Auto.
Numerous reasons for this have been passed around, from you looking like a leech, to the annoyance of it banging away while the team rests. Easy solution is just don't do it.

That said; I've done it a few times on my Empath when the situation calls for it. If your on an 8 man invincible (or whatever the new equivalent is) and the proverbial stuff is hitting the fan. Health bars diving into the red faster than you can click HO and AP, Then I ctr click Aura, to increase my output while I continue to spam everything under the hood. However, as soon as the immediate threat is over, and my HO can take back over the majority of it, Off goes the auto.

Use it as a last resort measure and you'll never hear a harsh word.

Have it on Auto the second you zone into the mish and expect to be kicked from most every team.
Same goes for that most annoying Quills toggle. Turn it off in WW people!! (side rant)


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Posted

Yep, both are really ******* stupid ideas. Aggelakis summed it up pretty damn well right at the start of the thread.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill View Post
"Psychic scream." Multiple targets. Psi also does a slow/-rech, which you'll get more mileage out of as a defender. If you have "four single target attacks," then you skipped it, as it's the fourth power in Psi blast for Defenders.

Will Domination is a single target sleep, which comes in VERY handy (go ahead, Nemesis, put up that big bubble - there's a LOT in this game that's vulnerable to sleep.) Make sure you don't put any sort of a proc in it.

Immobilizes are, of course, just useful for the fact of being immobilizes (barring things like war wolves.)

In short, if all you're doing is looking at that secondary as "I don't do much damage," you're not looking at the secondary. And yes, I *do* have an Emp/Psi. You can attack perfectly fine while working with your primary and keeping people buffed.
I originally built my emp/psi for PvP, which means AoEs were out of the question. I have subdue, mental blast, TK blast, and will dom for my attacks, and while they are slotted up (4 thunderstrikes in each i think, for the added self range def) and do pack a decent punch solo (i was VERY happy that i could solo faster then at a snails pace when i finally finished the build) its nowhere near what i'm used to (blasters, scrapper, brutes, corrs, etc)

Like i said, i do use my attacks, but its mostly when things are going so well that i can slack a little on my buff cycle. Having fort up literally every 18 or so seconds (spiritual alpha, plus ED capped recharge, plus hasten, and global recharge bonuses) means that if i want that blaster to not die, or that scrapper to one shot LTs i gotta pay more attention to my buffing then my damage. If i find i have time between my buff cycle to attack, i usually do, using will dom, and TK blast, as those do the most damage.

Either way though, i never rock the aura unless lag prevents me from doing anything else (rikti raids are still the worst, as are dog piles on marauder for the badges)


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by ColonelKomphort View Post
"I would rather you didn't rely on autopower."

I'm not relying on it; I have five different healing powers, I do not rely on any one of them.
It would have helped if you'd used them. I very rarely saw anything other than the autofired Healing Aura. I think there might have been some Clear Minds too, but it doesn't really matter because nothing in the ITF actually mezzes until the last fight, so any autofired Clear Minds (which probably would have gone on me, the person there who needed it the least) would have been pointless.

Quote:
"See, he's on autofollow, just like Prixy!"

I'm right here, just following the tank, who the star said to follow.
That is not what happened. You asked who the tank was. I never said anything about following me with healing aura on autofire. That was all your idea.

Quote:
"You'll die if you do that"

Maybe, but I got HA on autopower, and, well, dying is a part of the game. Let me worry about that.
Dead empaths are even less use than aura-rocking empaths.

Quote:
And so forth, but no one ever answered the question. Finally, I was told, "We can continue laughing at you, or we can solve the problem," and I was kicked off the team.

So, can somebody tell me what is the thing that I am doing wrong, get it out here, now, and let me know, Which is better? Autopowering HA, or autopowering CM.
We did answer the question, repeatedly, with increasing levels of snark. But you did not want to accept that the correct answer was "neither."


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Arbegla View Post
I originally built my emp/psi for PvP, which means AoEs were out of the question.
Since Issue 13 went live on Tuesday, December 2, 2008 we have had the ability to have multiple builds on every character. So we have no excuse for "skipping" any powers from our Defenders secondary sets and being useful members of a team. Excuses about buffing being too time consuming are just that, excuses.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Amy_Amp View Post
My honest unedited opinion about people who put heal power on auto and/or have only one attack is likely fodder for mods. You can play that way if you want to, but a player who does so is nothing but a glorified leech.

/This.

Also whenever I encounter individuals that Rock the Aura and/or only have one attack I one star them with notes because if they are going to leech off of others with one AT they'll be looking to do it with the other AT's.

As Amy said they can play the way they want to, but I'm not obligated to put up with them or deal with any drama their playstyle causes on teams.


 

Posted

  1. There is no "healer" AT in the game. There are multiple ATs that can toss off heals.
  2. Auto-following, rocking the aura, and doing nothing but buffing the team is commonly accepted as leeching in the game.
  3. Auto-follow, ESPECIALLY on the team tank (or other aggro grabber) is usually considered foolish and disruptive as you're usually not built to be diving in and grabbing mobs the way they are. Hence you die and provide zero benefit to the team (a small change from your previous status as providing "almost" zero benefit).
  4. More damage output is always welcome, especially when the team is ALREADY steamrolling an event.
  5. Trying to keep everyone's health bars at 100% is a waste of time time and endurance. A little damage on teammates means nothing. So healing them every few seconds when they've taken 0-10 points of damage is imbecilic.
  6. Many players also detest the "throb" of someone rocking aura.
Note: There are a COUPLE instances when rocking aura is an appropriate tactic. But as a general "playstyle", it's not acceptable.



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Posted

A lot of brute players will auto a fast charging attack - frequently Brawl in order to build up Fury.
For me the only power that definitely gets autoed is Practice Brawler on my Scrapper.
There are other occasions I may put something on Auto - Taunt or Mez when targeting the AV or GM in a protracted fight - generally I prefer to hit the button instead even then.
If the team is low on -regen and damage then I may consider my heals on my Dark or Kin for the purpose of stacking the debuff provided I am not the main or only "healer" (the heal is of secondary importance in that situation) and against Ghost Widow I might consider ID on the "tank" if he is having trouble with her Mez - again those would be exceptions rather than the rule.

The only time I could see it being a useful practice to auto HA and on auto follow would be if the Emp is AFK - i.e. when dual boxing with no other players - at least then no one else will complain. If there were other players and they made a habit of doing so then they are likely to either quit the team or kick the empath after the first couple of preventable teamwipes.


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Posted

In my experience playing a Dual Pistols/Pain Domination Corruptor to 50, nine teams out of ten don't need a dedicated healer 24/7. I've been on plenty of SFs where I didn't even have to hit my heals once because the team's HP just wasn't dropping. In most teams absolutely having to heal is a fairly uncommon occurence when something unexpected happens, which is not often the case in an eight year old game with lots of veteran players.

So with that said, I'm gonna agree with the rest of the thread and say that putting Healing Aura on auto while putting the Tank on auto-follow is a less-than-stellar way of playing.


 

Posted

Rockin' the aura is this cool.



Invite a FF/ or Cold/; you'll rarely need to use your heals except maybe to fill someone up between rooms.


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Posted

Fluffy. Everyone loves Fluffy.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyperstrike View Post
  1. Trying to keep everyone's health bars at 100% is a waste of time time and endurance. A little damage on teammates means nothing. So healing them every few seconds when they've taken 0-10 points of damage is imbecilic.
Not to mention that with Vigilance, a little off full health translates to a nice end discount. (Don't take it too far, though).

Also, from my own Emp/Psi (though she's part of a dedicated duo of emps, which is very edge case), Psionic blast is a great set. Psi Scream and Psi Tornado provide great -rech as an AoE, as well as Psinado's Knockup, Will Dom is a Mag 3.5 (IIRC) sleep, so it'll peg bosses, and the immob is, well, an immob. Can't go wrong with it.

And OP, you said five healing powers? Did you dip into Medicine or something? Because Empathy only has 3 heals (4 if you count the rez).


Quote:
Originally Posted by Back Alley Brawler
Did you just use "casual gamer" and "purpled-out warshade" in the same sentence?
Apostrophe guidelines.

 

Posted

plus RA and Adrenalin, 5. (They take heal sets).


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by _Klaw_ View Post
plus RA and Adrenalin, 5. (They take heal sets).
Those are +regen. NOT HEALS.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Back Alley Brawler
Did you just use "casual gamer" and "purpled-out warshade" in the same sentence?
Apostrophe guidelines.