Thoughts on Healing in WAR

September 19, 2008 – 7:50 pm

In nearly every MMO I have ever played I have played a healer class. I don’t exactly know why I always decide on these specific classes but they always seem to intrigue me. In City of Heroes I played a kin/rad Defender. In WoW I was a resto-specced Druid. In Lord of the Rings Online I immediately rolled a Minstrel. So needless to say, I was definitely interested in playing as a healer in WAR considering their unique way of handling healing in the game. As many of you may already know, Mythic has decided to handle healing a bit differently than in other MMO’s like the World of Warcraft. Here are my thoughts on the matter:

As a Warrior Priest in Warhammer Online, my healing abilities are a bit different than what I am used to. In order to heal effectively I must be front and center in the heat of the battle in order to gain “righteous fury”. It’s an unusual pace for me as I am used to standing away from the fray, healing my group, and hoping I don’t draw any aggro. It’s also one that I’m not entirely sure that I enjoy. While the idea behind the Warrior Priest certainly is novel (everybody loves a badass healer), I can already see myself getting frustrated by the limited scope I’ll have on the battlefield. There’s a huge difference in healing when you are able to stand back and assess the situation to deal out heals accordingly than when you are up close and personal with the enemy. Your whole field of vision gets toned down and suddenly you notice that you aren’t healing nearly as much as a dedicated healer would be in that same situation. That said, however, playing as a Warrior Priest is definitely a fun experience, especially for a player who is so used to the standard healing situation.

Of course, these are my own personal thoughts on healing in WAR and, if I’m correct, it seems like most healing classes actually play the game a bit differently. However, that doesn’t mean much considering Mythic’s oft-questioned stance of “there are no healer-only classes,” a dangerous statement for lovers of the healing class. I suppose I’ll just have to progress through the game a bit more to figure out exactly what Mythic’s overall view of healers is.

Level five now… whoop!

Related Posts (auto-generated)

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Post tags: Geoff, opinions, Warhammer Online, Warrior-Priest

10 Responses to “Thoughts on Healing in WAR”
OOPS - I shoulda caught that earlier!

(Snaffy)

By nancy1020 on Sep 19, 2008
Lol gold farmers already starting their seige eh?

By raidenn on Sep 19, 2008
I’ve rolled a DoK and there was few things that make healing harder in WAR, one is the target of target, but atm i’m in enjoying it.

By Tain on Sep 20, 2008
I play a Warrior Priest too and I agree that it’s different than the sit back and play whack-a-mole with the health bars.

I’m feeling like the WP is more of a support class really as opposed to a primary healer. Yes we can heal fairly good, but I’m thinking we’re more of a companion class to the tank rather than a whole group healer.

I’ve healed groups too, but I find that my WP really shines when I just follow a tank around and make that my primary focus in PQs.

For scenarios, it’s hit and miss sometimes. Depends on the group.

By Rackham on Sep 20, 2008
Not seen a gold seller yet, yay!

By arbitrary on Sep 20, 2008
I’m playing a warrior priest too.

It’s not a main healing class; but I’m doing well on both the dps and heal boards; so I’m seeing my role as a support healer whose job is to help make sure the main healer doesn’t have to work too hard.

I’m liking it just because I’m not pigeonholed into standing in the back and playing whack-a-mole for the rest of time.

By toxic on Sep 21, 2008
Play Archmage, that’s your answer

By DerkaDerka on Sep 22, 2008
I enjoy the extra challenge of healers in WAR, especially the melee healers. It is much harder than just standing back, and not everyone is good at it, but it is a lot of fun.

Playing a good disciple of khaine in the front, who is actually healing while trying to pick good offensive targets, is one of the most fun and intense classes I’ve ever played.

By yohnstoppable on Sep 22, 2008
But thats kinda the whole point, in my opinion Warrior priest were how paladins were suppose to be in WoW (oh god i said it). DoK and WP are for people who want to be in the front lines and heal as well, but if you ARE a fan of healing in the back lines then of course you have your zealot,shaman,archmage etc etc.

By Zeddtakashi on Sep 23, 2008
Others have said it already, but it bears repeating more clearly. If you want to be a stereo-typical “stand in the back and heal” type of healer, the Dwarven Runepriest or Chaos Zealot will be what you are looking for. The High Elf Archmage and Goblin Shaman are similar, but have a little more “blasta” in them with the way their mechanics are designed.

By Mike on Sep 23, 2008