healers arent treated properly

BrianMMO

is it just me or do people don't appreciate players playing healing only classes.

Hvymetal

This is a problem in most games where you are stuck filling "roles". One reason I won't play a dedicated healer, plus I am not paying &15/month or whatever price to play whak a mole with peoples health bars.

Not sure how it applies to other games but there are ways to "train" players in DDO, withhold heals for crappy play.

Adamantine

Well... thats one of the main reasons I like Vanguard - healers are not just heal- and buffbots there, especially we can solo quite well (rather low dps, but very good defense, very unlike my MMO before, Lineage 2, where my Shillien Elder in the end was even slaughtered by gray mobs).

 

Antipathy

I actually find playing a healer quite fun - being a good healer isn't just about health bars, since most healing classes have many other abilities. For example, I play a resto shaman in WoW - not only do I have to worry about health bars, but also buffing the party with totems, removing buffs from mobs, interruping enemy spells, timing the correct use of my heroism buff and also, on occasion, contributing a little DPS myself.

Playing a good healer isn't just reactive. You have to know the encounter and think ahead - e.g. balancing the size of your heals against your mana bar, know when a small quick heal is needed and when you can get away with taking the time for a longer more mana efficient heal, and knowing how to combine well with other healers in a raid.

Good healers are both blessed and cursed with our popularity. We can find groups faster than many other players, and are often some of the first people to be invited to raids. But against that, we are often obliged to help other guild members and friends, because our contribution makes such an important difference.

Ozmodan

Personally I dislike having a rigid class line that gives you little choice about how you play the game.

That is what I liked about UO, AC1, SWG, etc, I could have healing abilities yet also offensive ones.  I understand Vanguard also has this using the rigid class lines.  Players hate being pigeon holed into a certain role, hopefully more developers will be aware of the fallacy of such.

ianubisi

There are plenty of people in this world that don't appreciate doctors, teachers, and firemen. Why should someone playing a healer in a game get all the love in the world?

Makaveli04

Cause you would die without us???

RAWRG

Yeah, I don't like a dedicated healer class. It just seems like a waste of a character to me, but I don't know maybe there's some sort of attraction for doctors and nurses in RL to play them. But I think in AoC, I don't know for sure, the healing class is also a buff, damage over time class. Of course you'd figure in a more mature game, the creators would realize if someone knows how to fix a body, they also know how to better destroy it.

Locklain

I don't know, its kind of a love hate relationship with healers in MMOs.  You love em when they are around for your groups but when they leave the group usually parts ways.  I am one of those people that start playing a healer and then move to the tank and switch back and forth between the two classes.

apertotes

i think healers share their biggest problem with crafters: many games do not give XP for crafting and healing. this means that there can not exist a dedicated healer or crafter, since to advance they need to quest or kill mobs.

that is why i think many players do not like playing a healer or crafter, cause they feel that the role is inefficient. they need to be able to quest and kill monsters to advance just as anybody else, but since theirs is not a combat class, they usually have difficulties.

or even worse, many times healing or crafting is a side or secondary class. meaning that any healer is first, and foremost, and combat character, that has decided to take healing as a extra.

skill based games like old SWG or EVE have a much bigger population rate of healers and crafters cause they can be truly dedicated and not feel behind combat characters.

 

ebonfire

In my experience.. guilds will go out of their way to gear competent healers, and they demand pretty heavily on you afterward.  I wouldn't play a healing class if I didn't enjoy it, but the expectations can be pretty high.  If you're the only available healer online, well you're kinda stuck.

Sometimes you're not treated properly.. you're treated as property.  I've rarely heard anyone complain when a DPS steps in and fills for another guild, but a healer not being available on a no schedule day (not doing anything that would lock he/she out from normal guild schedules) because they are filling a healing slot for another guild , and that can cause a lot of problems.

Being a healer in a organized guild can be a masochistic experience.. love and hate.

Hvymetal

Originally posted by Antipathy


I actually find playing a healer quite fun - being a good healer isn't just about health bars, since most healing classes have many other abilities. For example, I play a resto shaman in WoW - not only do I have to worry about health bars, but also buffing the party with totems, removing buffs from mobs, interruping enemy spells, timing the correct use of my heroism buff and also, on occasion, contributing a little DPS myself.
Playing a good healer isn't just reactive. You have to know the encounter and think ahead - e.g. balancing the size of your heals against your mana bar, know when a small quick heal is needed and when you can get away with taking the time for a longer more mana efficient heal, and knowing how to combine well with other healers in a raid.
Good healers are both blessed and cursed with our popularity. We can find groups faster than many other players, and are often some of the first people to be invited to raids. But against that, we are often obliged to help other guild members and friends, because our contribution makes such an important difference.

See I kinda see your point but then again my Cleric is a Warforged Cleric w/ 1 Level of Paladin, groups tend to get worried when your healer shows up wielding a Greatsword, but I can keep a group healed, dole out buffs, do some CC and still manage to wade into melee and kill stuff

Wickersham

One of the things I loved about SWG: you could be the main tank, the main damage dealer and main healer at the same time.  Grouping with others only sped things along.