Guild Wars 2

Hello Guild Wars 2.

Since I logged in on the game i was verry surprised,
The graphics where good, no quests and stuf and a verry good comunity-based gameplay.

But a little problem for me was; i couln’t be a healer.
Healing yourself, yes. Others, no.

Before i start playing this game i played World of Warcraft. I liked the game but became sick of doing quest after quest after quest.

De good side of that coin was healing. EVery race could heal (like we can do too) but in a different rate. you got Healing Over Time healer, Instant healers, or Area Of Effect healing. I really liked that (not that i want go back) and it’s a shame everyone can heal himself so they don’t need supporting people like me to help them (other than killing the enemy)

Actually i hoped Arenanet had something to offer for every player, onfortunatly not for me. I am not complaining about leaving the game (when that was the case i would have left without saying that) but i just hope Arenanet will think about this.

Yours Faithfully,

No healers, no tanks. Don’t ask for stuff that would ruin the game.

LF2M healer and tank for hours and hours and hours and hours, no sorry, no.

they did think about it. The removal of dedicated healers and tanks was very deliberately done. You’re probably right, If you love to be a healer this game is definitely not for you.

Support Guardian or Support Warrior. There’s no “healer” class perse, but you can effectively play the role that way. I throw around heals like crazy using a a build closely based on this: http://www.noxxic.com/gw2/guardian/support/pve

Check out the stat priority and core build links on the left.

Check back in a few months feb-march when raids (guild activities) come in. they will have new mechanics like the roles you are talking about.
As well as an update for PvP and WvW.

Healing is lumped into the category of support more than being the end-all-be-all method of support. Support can also be through certain boons or conditions or utility skills. Some classes can provide the healing support better than others, but in general no one type of support is better than another… they all have pros and cons. I think +healing could be a better stat, but other than that healing as it stands in the grand scheme of support is fine.

xiv.7136:

No healers, no tanks. Don’t ask for stuff that would ruin the game.

LF2M guardian/warrior pref for fractals lvl x for hours and hours and hours and hours, no sorry, no.

There. Fixed it for you.

You can be a healer or dedicated tank, don’t let the forums or game lie to you.

Trinity still exists, it’s just not easy or hardcoded.

You can do a healing engineer too. There’s LOTS of healer options if you want to be one.

Well ok, you can be a support elementalist, engi or guardian etc and do a lot of group healing.

But it’s not a dedicated healer, and will not keep alive dps who stand in fire etc.

i noticed the problem about searching for a healer or tank in raids and I don’t know how to fix that problem other than remove it. As dps (played that for a while too in WoW) i know the problem. But it’s a bit unfair to disable healers becouse of queues. just wanted to show my opinion

I think some of you guys are missing the point

While it’s possible to play a support guy and healer in GW2; all players must pull their weight. Whereas OP likes to sit on the back line fighting people’s conditions and health bars while staying out of the action.

That play style is not an option; I won’t judge whether that playstyle is a good or bad thing to want, but it is absent and non-replicable in GW2. DPS is balanced to assume all party members are dealling some amount of damage. A pure support player is almost a complete deadweight.

Not that healing abilities do much as it is. A full set of cleric will grant you maybe 120 extra health pr second on a regen boon, meaning 1200 for 10 seconds of regen. Sounds like much on first glance, but even our lowest health pools come in at around 15000, and a couple of mobs can reduce that to zero in seconds.

The main think Anet did was to strip away the common means to tank, effective aggro control and effective healing.

With effective aggro control i mean the ability to predict who the mob targets and provides to make the mob change said target if need be. Instead we have some vague list of conditions that a mob supposedly checks to see who it will target at any moment, leading to two groups getting very different behavior out of the mob.

Effective healing means the ability to keep someone standing while being chewed on by one or more mobs. This is not possible as having that ability in PVE would lead to unbreakable bunkers in sPVP. And that leads to static, boring play in a game mode that aims to be used for esport.

End result is that the only way to stay alive is to try and stay out of the mobs front arc by constantly running around them.

Try a Water/Arcane Elementalist. You have a ton of self healing, but also a fair amount of group healing / support. Actually, all of your water weapon skills heal allies as well as yourself, it’s just your healing slot 6 skill that only heals you. Hell, even switching to water attunement heals your allies (and grants regeneration) when built like I mentioned. Not to mention you’ll be sharing lots of boons with your allies, as well as tons of might stacks if you run S/D or even D/D.

This was a selling point for GW2 for a lot of people. ANet said they were getting rid of role-commitments way before the game was released. For me specifically, this has set GW2 in a whole different class of gameplay (not saying better or worse, just different) than other MMOs I have played. I happen to enjoy it this way. If I ever feel the need to sit back and heal a tank for a few hours, I know where to find those games.

My husband refused to buy the game when he heard there would be no healing class. He is just a casual gamer. So his decision was not based off of WoW. He hates the concept of raiding as much as I do. His gaming experience started long before MMOs and he has played D&D for years; much longer then I have. While I am not that disappointed in Anet’s decision, it affected my husband’s decision. It would have been nice if there could have been some way to make it so healers could have been in GW2 without affecting grouping. But I’ve heard people are picky about some classes for grouping anyway. So I’m not sure they really fixed the problem; but then I haven’t run dungeons yet so I wouldn’t know for sure.

There are many forms of support in GW2, just not in the obsolete form of refilling healthbars.

I guarantee you that -this- way of healing is much more satisfying and engaging than obsolete healing could ever hope; it requires a lot more to master than old healing tho.

I have to say I’m really enjoying my tanky/support guardian; getting right in there on the frontline and acting heroic, saving people with my protection/aegis boons and incapacitating my foes and standing between them and pain, while at the same time being able to take on several times my number of enemies.

It so perfectly melds role of protector with a level in kitten

Morningglory.7395:

Hello Guild Wars 2.

Since I logged in on the game i was verry surprised,
The graphics where good, no quests and stuf and a verry good comunity-based gameplay.

But a little problem for me was; i couln’t be a healer.
Healing yourself, yes. Others, no.

Before i start playing this game i played World of Warcraft. I liked the game but became sick of doing quest after quest after quest.

De good side of that coin was healing. EVery race could heal (like we can do too) but in a different rate. you got Healing Over Time healer, Instant healers, or Area Of Effect healing. I really liked that (not that i want go back) and it’s a shame everyone can heal himself so they don’t need supporting people like me to help them (other than killing the enemy)

Actually i hoped Arenanet had something to offer for every player, onfortunatly not for me. I am not complaining about leaving the game (when that was the case i would have left without saying that) but i just hope Arenanet will think about this.

Yours Faithfully,

I hate to be “that guy” but I would like to point out that you should research your product before buying it. Guild Wars 2 was said time and time again to have gone away with the “holy trinity” and everyone would have their own heals. The developers has said there is no dedicated healer, no dedicated tank, and everyone can do damage.

I’m sorry you expected otherwise, but those expectations were falsely place. A.Net will not change this, because of the way they build the combat system of this game as well as their stance against the Trinity.

Water specc’ed elementalists are awesome healers. Seriously, they make for unstoppable dungeons groups. Healers can be support-specc’d guardians, elementalists, warriors.

If you want to play a healer, there are a ton of ways to do it. Check out the class forums and ask around, don’t post a thread whining about it.

Supporting is still just as important a part of the game as in WoW, But in GW2 supporting is probably only 20% healing and 80% buffing/debuffing. Personally I like it better that way but to each his own.

With so much of the game world empty, GW2 has become a solo player game were most professions have to run inefficient builds so that they can heal adequately.

In this game support is the new heals (for lack of a better description). If you like being the healing class, then pick any profession and build support heavy. As a guardian I can throw out heals, and shields, and boons…all kinds of things that really help my allies. At the same time, I still get to beat on the bad guys. This game intentionally removed dedicated healers (and tanks and dps) because it’s too limiting and 1-note. Now, every profession you roll can deal damage, “off-tank” a bit, and support your allies. Each profession does certain things better, but all of them have those capabilities. This way you’ll never be excluded from a group because they “need a healz.”

Morningglory.7395:

Hello Guild Wars 2.

Since I logged in on the game i was verry surprised,
The graphics where good, no quests and stuf and a verry good comunity-based gameplay.

But a little problem for me was; i couln’t be a healer.
Healing yourself, yes. Others, no.

Before i start playing this game i played World of Warcraft. I liked the game but became sick of doing quest after quest after quest.

De good side of that coin was healing. EVery race could heal (like we can do too) but in a different rate. you got Healing Over Time healer, Instant healers, or Area Of Effect healing. I really liked that (not that i want go back) and it’s a shame everyone can heal himself so they don’t need supporting people like me to help them (other than killing the enemy)

Actually i hoped Arenanet had something to offer for every player, onfortunatly not for me. I am not complaining about leaving the game (when that was the case i would have left without saying that) but i just hope Arenanet will think about this.

Yours Faithfully,

I feel your pain, for that exact reason I also doubt I will play this game for long. Being a dedicated healer is the only role I enjoy in today’s mmorpg games.

Its not hard to see why GW2’s solution is very popular with the dps crowd, they were always the most numerous and now they don’t have to spam for tanks/healers.

Yay for making games even more “MEMEMEME!” Screw teamwork! :p

Thats why i hate wow , cause people dont know that , healers , dps , tank, never really existed in first mmorpg (UO) im fine here with no need of that class of healer, is useless and you will never learn to real survive with it.

Here in GW2 i can survive with my guardian mostly or make some support to my friends also. I like the fact that GW2 make a return in that original model of no trinity.

Ahlen.7591:

You can be a healer or dedicated tank, don’t let the forums or game lie to you.

Trinity still exists, it’s just not easy or hardcoded.

This^^^

My character is “Combat Healer”, on the basis of performing over 1,000 heals. It’s the only achievement rating that I’ve come anywhere close to maxing out.

(It wasn’t by design, but rather the notion that most of my teammates are probably better fighters than me and need to be on their feet if possible. Probably I should have built a guardian instead of a glass-cannon warrior.)

xiv.7136:

Well ok, you can be a support elementalist, engi or guardian etc and do a lot of group healing.

But it’s not a dedicated healer, and will not keep alive dps who stand in fire etc.

Engineer will.

You can pump out 1500hp/sec if you try on an engi.

The thing is, with a lack of healers and tanks the game requires more teamwork

Support, shields, boons, CC – all contribute to creating a full group in charge of all mechanics, not just the tank and healer dealing with mechanics while DPS do their rotation for the n-th time and stare at the dps numbers like mindless zombies.

With my healing power boost from my gear and weapons, I do +3265hp on the guardian staff #4 ability. I also traited to grant regen constantly to everyone around me, and have other abilities that stack regen and do other one-off heals. My #2 staff skill heals for 700 as well in its explosion area.

The main difference in healing in this game is that a healer cannot be responsible for keeping a crew alive in GW2. A healer can only HELP (in a big way), while also doling out massive amounts of boons to increase damage, resistance, etc, of other party members, and also doing damage themselves.

Healing is about a lot more than JUST healing now. My guard does medium damage, but hands out so much other helpful stuff as a result, that the groups overwhelmingly benefit by him being there.

I hope everyone that had their heart set on healing at least tried out this concept of ANet’s. I was a healer, too, loved doing it, felt I was contributing, etc., etc., but I like this approach very, very much. It eliminates the downsides of playing those dedicated roles, including the “blame game” that every healer is familiar with. (If people died, it was always the healer’s fault even if the player never moved out of the fire.)

I would hate to see people miss out on fun because they rigidly refuse to even try something new.

By the way, healing/support in Guild Wars 2 is WAY more fun and fulfilling than playing a typical Healer roll in a traditional MMO. Instead of constantly looking at other players’ health bars and keeping them up, you’ll get to actually fight enemies and help your allies do more damage with boons, as well as dodging out of harms way, etc… It just feels a lot more involved and exiting than typical healing rolls. Not to mention, if they get downed you can always run up to them (or use a gap closer), use a control ability to stun/knockdown the enemies attacking them, start resurrecting them, and either pop some form of stability or invulnerability until they are up again.

I’m not really sure where I’m going with this, except that I find playing support/healing in Guild Wars 2 much more fun and engaging than in a ‘typical’ MMO.

Ahlen.7591:

xiv.7136:

Well ok, you can be a support elementalist, engi or guardian etc and do a lot of group healing.

But it’s not a dedicated healer, and will not keep alive dps who stand in fire etc.

Engineer will.

You can pump out 1500hp/sec if you try on an engi.

Ok, I’ll bite.

How is this done?

I’m the same – I love GW2, but sorely missed being a dedicated healer. So I went back to that ‘other’ game, where I can heal to my heart’s content. I still play GW2, but for different reasons and in a different way – mostly exploring and WvW. With no monthly sub in GW2, it’s easy to play both.

Amaethon.8710:

By the way, healing/support in Guild Wars 2 is WAY more fun and fulfilling than playing a typical Healer roll in a traditional MMO. Instead of constantly looking at other players’ health bars and keeping them up, you’ll get to actually fight enemies and help your allies do more damage with boons, as well as dodging out of harms way, etc…

This is your opinion; I happen to disagree.

As a raid healer I never stood in the corner with my eyes glued to health bars. I’d still have to move out of fire, kite adds, crowd control, dps if we were up against a timer AND keep my eyes glued to the health bars … god I loved that! (There were other things I didn’t like about all that, which is why I’m not still doing it.)

And before you say it, I was fully aware of GW2’s system of no more “trinity”—I just was not aware that I would get bored of it so quickly.

Also as much as I don’t like it, though, those who do like it wouldn’t have any other game than GW2 to get it from. So I’m not saying change it. What I am saying is, there is no “better” or more challenging system, just preferences.

Warrior Healer sounds about your speed then. You mix it with croud control to constantly top people’s healthbars up while doing your best to keep enemies off of them. And you’re free to use whatever weapons you like and pace or burst your heals as you see fit.

xiv.7136:

No healers, no tanks. Don’t ask for stuff that would ruin the game.

What, like lots of grind or vertical gear progression?

xiv.7136:

LF2M healer and tank for hours and hours and hours and hours, no sorry, no.

Cause it’s much better to stand in LA LFG Fractals level 2 or not being able to do events cause you’re the only one there.

Gehenna.3625:

Cause it’s much better to stand in LA LFG Fractals level 2 or not being able to do events cause you’re the only one there.

Lets be fair here. “LFG Fractals level 2” is a lot better than “LF 1 tank and 1 healer Fractals level 2.”

Ursan.7846:

Gehenna.3625:

Cause it’s much better to stand in LA LFG Fractals level 2 or not being able to do events cause you’re the only one there.

Lets be fair here. “LFG Fractals level 2” is a lot better than “LF 1 tank and 1 healer Fractals level 2.”

LOL….I can’t disagree with that one.

For the OP: Build yourself an 30 earth/30 water/10 arcane staff elementalist. Take the traits that apply stuff to allies.

Tada! You are a very, very good support healer. Oh, and you’re freakin’ near unkillable if you learn to play well.

I sympathize because sometimes I miss healing in groups (I used to enjoy, of all things, healing WoW pug dungeon groups, don’t ask me why!). But I also remember that solo leveling a healer is usually a serious pain in the butt, especially before dual spec is available. My suggestion (as others have said) is play Guardian or Elementalist and use a spec and weapons that let you put out the max possible amount of heals when you group.

Gehenna.3625:

xiv.7136:

No healers, no tanks. Don’t ask for stuff that would ruin the game.

What, like lots of grind or vertical gear progression?

xiv.7136:

LF2M healer and tank for hours and hours and hours and hours, no sorry, no.

Cause it’s much better to stand in LA LFG Fractals level 2 or not being able to do events cause you’re the only one there.

There’s a LFG website.

If you have troubles finding groups, you should go there.

It works remarkably well and you can make a group for any dungeon in the game in minutes.

And no waiting for tanks or healers either!

OP – instead of tossing heals, toss boons.

Or just wait 3 months, they’ll probably add it.

yes in evry outer mmo i was searching for some stupid roll all the time and i love this thing here that u can play evrything

Morningglory.7395:

Hello Guild Wars 2.

Since I logged in on the game i was verry surprised,
The graphics where good, no quests and stuf and a verry good comunity-based gameplay.

But a little problem for me was; i couln’t be a healer.
Healing yourself, yes. Others, no.

Before i start playing this game i played World of Warcraft. I liked the game but became sick of doing quest after quest after quest.

De good side of that coin was healing. EVery race could heal (like we can do too) but in a different rate. you got Healing Over Time healer, Instant healers, or Area Of Effect healing. I really liked that (not that i want go back) and it’s a shame everyone can heal himself so they don’t need supporting people like me to help them (other than killing the enemy)

Actually i hoped Arenanet had something to offer for every player, onfortunatly not for me. I am not complaining about leaving the game (when that was the case i would have left without saying that) but i just hope Arenanet will think about this.

Yours Faithfully,

Again, ppl need to do their research before buying a game! _

As far as i know GW2 is the only MMO where there isn’t a dedicated tank or healer and I am loving it.

If I want to be a tank or healer then I would play the majority of MMOs out there so I am glad GW2 is differentiating itself from other MMOs where we don’t have to play with such restrictions.

Likewise, after playing MMOs with tanks and healers there are a lot of cons having them integrated in the combat system, and pros as well of course.

Also, if GW2 decided to have tanks and healers, then a lot of ppl who did their research on the game would basically be like “WTF? I did not spend $60 on ANOTHER tank and healer MMO? I want a refund!”

Pleasing everyone or having ‘something to offer for EVERY player’ will potentially achieve the opposite effect, or at least some players will not be happy. For example, ascended gear, some ppl like it, some ppl don’t. There isn’t a middle ground.

I believe the best course for Arenanet is to stick to its niche market and fufill its original promises, and not change them radically along them way and alienate those who originally did their research on GW2, especially about what it was suppose to and always be.

Morningglory,

I feel your pain, it does bother me a bit as well. I came into the game with the expectation of seeing the roles of healer and tank removed in a dungeon setting but was not expecting to see the roles completely removed from the game.

Always figured dungeons would be able to be completed by 5 dps if you wanted but you could still play a healer or a tank if that’s what you wanted. To an effect, tanking is still in the game with bunker builds, there is however no healing support at all. When your main heal only does 1300 points and that thief or warrior is hitting for 13000 points it seems completely worthless.

I also wish there was more support for players that want to play healers.

I enjoy support with my water elementalist. But no there isn’t a dedicated healer, and it definitely doesn’t feel like a true “healer” class. I personally like not having set healer, tank, dps roles though.

While there might not be dedicated healers, you can still play a supportive role. My Guardian, for example, brings some shouts (Hold the Line and Stand Your Ground) as well as 5 points in Virtues (more boons!) and I can do a very good job of supporting allies. And that’s without using the staff!

With the right build you can still play as a support-based character.

I’m an ele with 30 in water magic specced mostly for boon swapping and dual dagger wielding, Yet in dungeons I am a ranged nuker. I tends to use my water attunement the most in the dungeon and thus I’m the designated healer. Yet even still, I don’t have to be forced into it yet I feel comfortable using my staff and my ele for that purpose.

@OP,

A lot of people will tell you it’s your own fault, that you invested in a game that isn’t suited to you and provides nothing for you. I feel these criticisms are unfair. You clearly derived pleasure from being the backbone of your team, a “healer” in the sense that you provided the non-violent support that kept your team going.

Guild Wars 2 has done away with the trinity, so the concept of a healer as it relates to damage and tanking roles is no longer present. However, the absence of the “classic” trinity that’s dominated PVE mechanics for the last decade does not and should not eliminate the entire concept of team support.

I encourage you to think about healers outside the usual DPS-Healer-Tank tactical triangle that has become the de facto standard of PVE. Instead, try and remember what it was that drew you to playing a healer in the first place. The pleasure of being a force multiplier for your team? The idea that you could help keep your team alive in tough spots? The mother-bear playstyle that emphasized protecting the vulnerable and reviving the wounded?

If so, your playstyle may have a place in GW2, provided you’re willing to adapt. If you want to spam heals and fill green bars all day, this isn’t the game for you. But if you want to protect your allies, support their offense and help keep them out of harm’s way, then there are ways to build for that, and professions well suited to fulfilling the healer impulse, if not embodying the traditional healer playstyle. Guardians and Elementalists are a good starting point.

Good luck!

Implying you even need teamwork to complete dungeons in this game. You sit behind a wall or pillar to Line of sight mobs then spam PBAoE/AoE support and damage. GG you won GW2 dungeons.

There’s obviously exceptions, mostly bosses, but the majority of dungeons just comprise of balling up with the enemies on top of you. Trinity wouldn’t be that horrible, in a lot of cases it would probably result in slower runs anyway.