Having been raised in the MMO genre with EQ and then EQ2 I can say loved a healer as my main. It worked well with my casual style and allowed me several oppurtunities to meet new ppl.
Playing a healer online really isn't as bad as people make it out to be- I've played healer mains for over ten years without going mad. =P
I've found that the main trick is to actually pay attention and be good at your job. You're never at a loss for groups and it's fun meeting random people as well. (The doing a good job part is sorta important, as it means you'll continue to attract good people, either by them remembering you, or word of mouth.)
That, and if you get REALLY pissed at somebody in your group, you can just threaten to leave. *blinks innocently*
I like the healer class too. Its very fun helping ppl. When u r a healer u can find a group quite easy. And if u r good enough u can become a very famous person in the game
Will be truely innovative when a dev team does away with hit points and healers. Untill then, all mmorpgs will remain pretty much just copies of each other with custom skins.
I agree 100% and am sitting back for a game that does finally rethink the entire mechancics of an RPG game. Lets have something fresh and innovative for once. The whole leveling (character or skills), health, mana, heal/tank, etc... system in games was stale and beat to death before even WoW came out. Now that there are more gamers than ever looking for new games because they are tired of WoW, the problem is even worse.
We, as gamers, need something innovative such as this. Even if it only innovates the concept of class roles, such as healing, and group mechanics.
EDIT: Not saying I don't like healers, I've played one in most game because of their high demand. Only saying the mechanics used in RPG games is old and we need something new altogether.
Strange you should mention that you are looking forward to an MMO without a healer class
I on the other hand wouldn't even touch an MMO without a dedicated healer, not only because I love playing a healer because of the skill involved, but also because 'self heal' games such as RFO, L2, etc tend to lack depth
There's a reason that Halo 2 was so revolutionary...it got rid of health and gave players a type of energy bar/shield that naturally recharges. Now, almost every single FPS uses this type of health (think CoD, etc.).
Sooner or later this will happen with MMORPGs as well, and there will just be buff/debuff classes to make players energy bar deplete slower or faster, and I'm sure armor will effect this too...think of the possibilities.
To my mind the necessary heals are integrated well into this game. Mind that fights take comparatively long and it's not a game where you kill before you lose health (no problem here, killing the same foe over and over doesn't give worthwhile "grinding" exp, well after I killed 50 rats I think I know how to do it, what should I learn from rat 51?).
Whichever char thinks he doesn't need heal skills will have a hard time (but might be possible, not all classes skills are revealed yet, fast evading type of rogues e.g. might do it, but movement speed is a stat like "strength-like" damage output capability, it costs and it's worth more than in other games where it is just a skill).
But healing tends to support playstyles. To grasp it you have to understand the rotating skill tiers. While "warriors" can heal themselves or others early in the fight on the run doing double-effect skills that also attack, "casters" have more powerfull aoe heals but they have to "gain" them because they are more at the end of the line. There is no dumbed down gameplay with this game. You mess ist up, there is no heal, you're dead (in worst case). Mind that this is the game design which I followed for years, no breach, never played the game.
Btw. you can spec a dedicated healer, you just don't have better healing skills than Joe around the corner. There are three stats, damage output, movement speed and skill bar speed (not health or mana, same for all). The dedicated healer compromises damage output and movement speed so that he can use the heals much more often. That's what I call dedication, really beautiful, but again theoretically, we all have to wait and see how it turns out to be in detail.
There's a reason that Halo 2 was so revolutionary...it got rid of health and gave players a type of energy bar/shield that naturally recharges. Now, almost every single FPS uses this type of health (think CoD, etc.). Sooner or later this will happen with MMORPGs as well, and there will just be buff/debuff classes to make players energy bar deplete slower or faster, and I'm sure armor will effect this too...think of the possibilities.
Either way it seems like a number that recharges (or not depending on the game) to some extent, and the idea is to get that number to zero to defeat you. Calling it an energy bar/shield or "hitpoints" is just giving a name to the number and will give it a different feel to the game, but are there more differences in actual game mechanics and functionality other than the name?
MMO without healer is no MMO just a pot spamming Diablo game
This game may not have a dedicated healer-class, but it is far from healing. First off, every class has it's own healing abilities, and no, that does not mean FA 300. Even the warriors have some true healing skills. Next to that, The Void Seer is some sort of hybrid healer/damage dealer. It has a decent amount of healing/buffing abilities, without becoming weak in solo playing like for example a holy-specced priest in WoW.
So eventhough there is no true healing-class, there is enough healing power in game to make it more than a pot spamming game like Diablo.
We decided to make each of the 9 classes a hybrid class, each class will have access to all arch type skills and only a selection of skills will be unique for each class. This unique selection of skills is large enough to let each class have a unique purpose in combat, but it is also small enough to ensure that non of the classes can just stay in the back and throw in the occasional fireball or heal skill.
And there was some other stuff somewhere else that was more specific to that point and I just can't find it right now. The end effect, from the way I read it, was that the goal was to make everyone enough of a hybrid, where role specialization did not completely drive group mechanics.
And of course, I don't see why class X having good 'debuff' skills automatically makes them the preferred group healer. What am I confusing here? What objective do you think they have in the class skills/roles they have made? IN other words, do you think the archetypes (tank, healer, dps) still be so defined, that groups will be formed and venture out only if they have x number of each certain type, and that the hybrid nature of the classes was defined by the devs for some other purpose? If if so, what other purpose? (links please).
What they meant when they said all 9 classes are "hybrid" classes is that they are a mixture of their archetype and and class type. For example, all warrior archetypes might have access to the ability Cleave, but a Blood Guard might have access to a Blood Guard only ability such as Charge.
"This unique selection of skills is large enough to let each class have a unique purpose in combat, but it is also small enough to ensure that non of the classes can just stay in the back and throw in the occasional fireball or heal skill."
As for this, they're just saying that they don't want any class to be stuck in a predefined role, or minor role. They don't want the oracle to just sit back, relax and spam heal buttons; they want it to require skill and knowledge on the oracle's part and they want the oracle to be versatile enough to take on another role if healing is unnecessary.
Only class with no heals is the trickster. All the other classes have some form of self/grp heal.
it's funny the pple going omg im not playing a game without a dedicated healer - TCoS all hybrids, WAR all 'healers' must do damage or their heals are pathetic, AoC even there the healers are not the traditional wack a mole class. Companies are going... hmm do the majority of players consider healbots fun? NO. Will pple try and force any classs with heal spells into the bot box? YES. Ok so lets make sure they can't be pigeon holed - we'll tie their dps and their healing together.
This is not a new idea .. at all.. its not new to mmos ... at all.
RFO, Arch , etc etc.
that and well i like healers... i just don't want to only heal
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
Trickster wiil have healer skill too. The skill list available on tcos.com is not complete , there is not body slots on it. If i 'm right trickster will have something like healing bomb.
Keep in mind the Trickster uses gadgets. One of those gadgets might have a healing effect, so whenever you use a gadget attack the heal will come from that.
Comments
I've found that the main trick is to actually pay attention and be good at your job. You're never at a loss for groups and it's fun meeting random people as well. (The doing a good job part is sorta important, as it means you'll continue to attract good people, either by them remembering you, or word of mouth.)
That, and if you get REALLY pissed at somebody in your group, you can just threaten to leave. *blinks innocently*
I agree 100% and am sitting back for a game that does finally rethink the entire mechancics of an RPG game. Lets have something fresh and innovative for once. The whole leveling (character or skills), health, mana, heal/tank, etc... system in games was stale and beat to death before even WoW came out.
Now that there are more gamers than ever looking for new games because they are tired of WoW, the problem is even worse.
We, as gamers, need something innovative such as this. Even if it only innovates the concept of class roles, such as healing, and group mechanics.
EDIT: Not saying I don't like healers, I've played one in most game because of their high demand. Only saying the mechanics used in RPG games is old and we need something new altogether.
I on the other hand wouldn't even touch an MMO without a dedicated healer, not only because I love playing a healer because of the skill involved, but also because 'self heal' games such as RFO, L2, etc tend to lack depth
There's a reason that Halo 2 was so revolutionary...it got rid of health and gave players a type of energy bar/shield that naturally recharges. Now, almost every single FPS uses this type of health (think CoD, etc.).
Sooner or later this will happen with MMORPGs as well, and there will just be buff/debuff classes to make players energy bar deplete slower or faster, and I'm sure armor will effect this too...think of the possibilities.
To my mind the necessary heals are integrated well into this game. Mind that fights take comparatively long and it's not a game where you kill before you lose health (no problem here, killing the same foe over and over doesn't give worthwhile "grinding" exp, well after I killed 50 rats I think I know how to do it, what should I learn from rat 51?).
Whichever char thinks he doesn't need heal skills will have a hard time (but might be possible, not all classes skills are revealed yet, fast evading type of rogues e.g. might do it, but movement speed is a stat like "strength-like" damage output capability, it costs and it's worth more than in other games where it is just a skill).
But healing tends to support playstyles. To grasp it you have to understand the rotating skill tiers. While "warriors" can heal themselves or others early in the fight on the run doing double-effect skills that also attack, "casters" have more powerfull aoe heals but they have to "gain" them because they are more at the end of the line. There is no dumbed down gameplay with this game. You mess ist up, there is no heal, you're dead (in worst case). Mind that this is the game design which I followed for years, no breach, never played the game.
Btw. you can spec a dedicated healer, you just don't have better healing skills than Joe around the corner. There are three stats, damage output, movement speed and skill bar speed (not health or mana, same for all). The dedicated healer compromises damage output and movement speed so that he can use the heals much more often. That's what I call dedication, really beautiful, but again theoretically, we all have to wait and see how it turns out to be in detail.
Either you got time to play or you dont.
MMO without healer is no MMO just a pot spamming Diablo game
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So eventhough there is no true healing-class, there is enough healing power in game to make it more than a pot spamming game like Diablo.
We decided to make each of the 9 classes a hybrid class, each class will have access to all arch type skills and only a selection of skills will be unique for each class. This unique selection of skills is large enough to let each class have a unique purpose in combat, but it is also small enough to ensure that non of the classes can just stay in the back and throw in the occasional fireball or heal skill.
And there was some other stuff somewhere else that was more specific to that point and I just can't find it right now. The end effect, from the way I read it, was that the goal was to make everyone enough of a hybrid, where role specialization did not completely drive group mechanics.
And of course, I don't see why class X having good 'debuff' skills automatically makes them the preferred group healer. What am I confusing here? What objective do you think they have in the class skills/roles they have made? IN other words, do you think the archetypes (tank, healer, dps) still be so defined, that groups will be formed and venture out only if they have x number of each certain type, and that the hybrid nature of the classes was defined by the devs for some other purpose? If if so, what other purpose? (links please).
What they meant when they said all 9 classes are "hybrid" classes is that they are a mixture of their archetype and and class type. For example, all warrior archetypes might have access to the ability Cleave, but a Blood Guard might have access to a Blood Guard only ability such as Charge.
"This unique selection of skills is large enough to let each class have a unique purpose in combat, but it is also small enough to ensure that non of the classes can just stay in the back and throw in the occasional fireball or heal skill."
As for this, they're just saying that they don't want any class to be stuck in a predefined role, or minor role. They don't want the oracle to just sit back, relax and spam heal buttons; they want it to require skill and knowledge on the oracle's part and they want the oracle to be versatile enough to take on another role if healing is unnecessary.
Only class with no heals is the trickster. All the other classes have some form of self/grp heal.
it's funny the pple going omg im not playing a game without a dedicated healer - TCoS all hybrids, WAR all 'healers' must do damage or their heals are pathetic, AoC even there the healers are not the traditional wack a mole class. Companies are going... hmm do the majority of players consider healbots fun? NO. Will pple try and force any classs with heal spells into the bot box? YES. Ok so lets make sure they can't be pigeon holed - we'll tie their dps and their healing together.
Healbots are dead, long live the hybrids.
This is not a new idea .. at all.. its not new to mmos ... at all.
RFO, Arch , etc etc.
that and well i like healers... i just don't want to only heal
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
Trickster wiil have healer skill too. The skill list available on tcos.com is not complete , there is not body slots on it. If i 'm right trickster will have something like healing bomb.
Keep in mind the Trickster uses gadgets. One of those gadgets might have a healing effect, so whenever you use a gadget attack the heal will come from that.