Healing in ESO

Camoeb

I understand that the games classes are increadibly customizable. Is there a true healing class/spec in this game?

Nyghthowler

The Templar has a full line of healing skills, and add Restoration staff abilities to it.

That being said, Healing is much more resource intensive in this game. To me it keeps things interesting.

Opinions vary.

bobfish

Any class can heal, though Templar's class skills lend it to being a more traditional healer than the others.

 

I've found as a Sorcerer that relies on the Restoration Staff skills, that I simply lack a good "oh shit" heal, everything is regens. But I'm still about to heal fine in dungeons.

 

Damage avoidance is the big thing, if the tank is clever and avoids the damage, then the healer has an easy time and everything goes very smoothly.

Rusque

Each class can be a main healer as the resto staff weapon is open to all, each class offers their own flavor of healing though.

Dragonknight healers are about reducing damage taken on allies:

key skills include:

Dark talons, Obsidian Shield, Ashcloud, Dragonknight Standard, Magma Armor

 

Nightblade healers have pretty strong HoTs and are the only healer than can vanish so mobs don't hit them

key skills include:

Summon Shades, Strife, Drain Power, Soul Shred, Consuming Darkness

 

Sorcerer healers are the least healer friendly, but offer mob control for the group (if people aren't getting hit then they don't need to be healed)

key skills include:

Unstable Familiar (will tank mobs), encase, rune prison, negate magic

 

And templars have an entire healing oriented tree making them the "best" healer, best is of course subjective as having healing skills available doesn't necessarily mean they get used as there are only so many slots on the hotbar and you certainly don't just want healing skills as you're going to have overlapping very similar abilities. I personally think a nightblade healer is much stronger than a temp healer followed by the DK simply because shields are applied immediately and when used in conjunction with damage reduction spells on mobs, it makes people pretty tanky.

orionblack

Originally posted by Rusque

Each class can be a main healer as the resto staff weapon is open to all, each class offers their own flavor of healing though.

Dragonknight healers are about reducing damage taken on allies:

key skills include:

Dark talons, Obsidian Shield, Ashcloud, Dragonknight Standard, Magma Armor

 

Nightblade healers have pretty strong HoTs and are the only healer than can vanish so mobs don't hit them

key skills include:

Summon Shades, Strife, Drain Power, Soul Shred, Consuming Darkness

 

Sorcerer healers are the least healer friendly, but offer mob control for the group (if people aren't getting hit then they don't need to be healed)

key skills include:

Unstable Familiar (will tank mobs), encase, rune prison, negate magic

 

And templars have an entire healing oriented tree making them the "best" healer, best is of course subjective as having healing skills available doesn't necessarily mean they get used as there are only so many slots on the hotbar and you certainly don't just want healing skills as you're going to have overlapping very similar abilities. I personally think a nightblade healer is much stronger than a temp healer followed by the DK simply because shields are applied immediately and when used in conjunction with damage reduction spells on mobs, it makes people pretty tanky.

Hey thank you so much for the ideas!!!

Tamanous

Nightblade healer myself.

 

It is like a Ninja healer.

 

That's cool if you are wondering.

bobfish

Sorcerer pets are pretty useless in group content, they do draw an awful lot of agro, but they die in a few seconds to anything, including the trash. Crowd control, I've had limited success with, trash is usually a mixture of melee and ranged mobs, so most of the CC is "half" useful.

 

ZOS did mention something about looking at healing skills post launch as well, I suspect there will be some changes to the existing ones or some additions when Craglorn hits.

Iselin

Originally posted by Rusque

 

Sorcerer healers are the least healer friendly, but offer mob control for the group (if people aren't getting hit then they don't need to be healed)

key skills include:

Unstable Familiar (will tank mobs), encase, rune prison, negate magic

 

You obviously don't play a sorcerer or, if you do, he's very low level

 

Sorcerer's are arguably the best high level healer for one very simple reason: Dark Exchange. As someone else said, healing in this game is very resource intensive. Dark exchange allows a sorcerer to go from 0 to 100% magicka in 2 seconds - they just never run out of magicka if played well. No other class can get back all their magicka as easily or as often as a sorcerer.

 

And no, you would never have an unstable familiar using up one slot in each of your 2 hotbars as a healer. The only summoning ability that could be on your bar as a healer is the ultimate, Greater Storm Atronach.

 

They also have one of the best self-shields in the game for getting away from aggroed mobs easily. Boundless Storm increase both your armor and spell resistance and puts them both into the overcharge range even if you're wearing 7 pieces of light armor, plus it gives you a 25% speed boost that can be made even faster by sprinting while using it.

 

And if that's not enough, one of their ultimates, absorption field, is a large area AOE stun and silence that also restores health and magicka.

 

They also have an ability, Surge, that increases weapon damage and happens to affect healiing staff heals since they're weapon-based heals.

 

They work just fine as healers.

Dibdabs

Originally posted by bobfish

...if the tank is clever and avoids the damage, then the healer has an easy time and everything goes very smoothly.

Yes, if the tank is clever.  If the tank is the "I'm gonna stand here, toe to toe and slug it out while I'm being constantly healed" doofus it's time to kick them and get someone with a brain.  Old-style tanks just aren't up to the changes this game brings a lot of the time.

Rusque

Originally posted by Iselin

Originally posted by Rusque

 

Sorcerer healers are the least healer friendly, but offer mob control for the group (if people aren't getting hit then they don't need to be healed)

key skills include:

Unstable Familiar (will tank mobs), encase, rune prison, negate magic

 

You obviously don't play a sorcerer or, if you do, he's very low level

 

Sorcerer's are arguably the best high level healer for one very simple reason: Dark Exchange. As someone else said, healing in this game is very resource intensive. Dark exchange allows a sorcerer to go from 0 to 100% magicka in 2 seconds - they just never run out of magicka if played well. No other class can get back all their magicka as easily or as often as a sorcerer.

 

And no, you would never have an unstable familiar using up one slot in each of your 2 hotbars as a healer. The only summoning ability that could be on your bar as a healer is the ultimate, Greater Storm Atronach.

 

They also have one of the best self-shields in the game for getting away from aggroed mobs easily. Boundless Storm increase both your armor and spell resistance and puts them both into the overcharge range even if you're wearing 7 pieces of light armor, plus it gives you a 25% speed boost that can be made even faster by sprinting while using it.

 

And if that's not enough, one of their ultimates, absorption field, is a large area AOE stun and silence that also restores health and magicka.

 

They also have an ability, Surge, that increases weapon damage and happens to affect healiing staff heals since they're weapon-based heals.

 

They work just fine as healers.

I don't play a sorc. I didn't mention dark exchange because that's not specific to healing, though you are right it is one of the most powerful magicka recovery tools in the game.

The clanfear is pretty tanky, my wife uses it (she doesn't heal though) in dungeons and it tanks mobs, she's 40 I'm 41.

And that's very interesting about surge affecting resto staff heals, that alone is pretty insane.

So scratch what I said about the sorc being the least heal friendly, it would seem all 4 classes are quite capable.

Belgaraath

I'm actually a Dragon Knight DPS with a FIre Staff with my second weapon a healing staff. There are enough abilities throughout the Class Lines, Guild Lines, and Weapon Lines that if you choose correctly knowing you are limited to only 5 on the action bar (6 with ultimate) you can still be a very effective healer. All the classes are effective at everything, just slightly different pros and cons.

The only thing I'm struggling with is to I want to be a healer/DPS or a DPS with single target DPS on one bar and AOE on the other (no healing).