Poll: New healing skills
Balance aside, I feel that the new heal skills are very well designed.
The higher emphasis on party support, the possibility to screw their effects if poorly played, and the more opportunities given to your opponent to counterplay them, all add up to a more skill-driven playstyle. Some of them also punish pet clutter (guardian’s and ele’s) or condition bursting (warrior’s or engie’s), as those two situations will make it very easy for those four skills to give massive health bursts to their respective owners.
Even the more “passive” skills are more demanding than what they seem at the first glance. The mesmer’s signet, for example, only activates every three seconds, the passive is underwhelming or non-existent with less than two illusions, and it has a good active effect that players will want to take advantage of. In comparison to the braindead Healing Signet, mesmer’s one has a weaker passive (good), a stronger active (good), the passive requires resource maintenance (good) and the enemy can counterplay the passive (good) and in some way the active (good). Likewise, the spirit’s passive heal also seems rather underwhelming (600 hp each ten seconds for each party member?), but the bulk of the skill lies in the active effect and demands party awareness, two positives for it.
Now taking balance into equation, I do have some worries. Especially for those two skills. The first is what’s everyone asked already, won’t spirit rangers become even stronger with a fifth spirit? The second issue is how easy a mesmer can maintain (or recreate) their illusions, which can nullify some of the skill involved in its passive effect.
I completely agree with you. That’s why i included the option to redesign them before implementing them. The ideas behind them are good, but they are implementing it the wrong way….
i see a big problem in the skills from the warrior, guard, engi and maybe the mesmers one.
Warrior will get another invulnerable-ability, cobined with a heal that is perfect for absorbing bursts (while on the other hand, burst build are atm a minority in pvp and not that much used like e.g. condi spam).
Guard will get a rly sick heal. As he mostly is always in group fights, it might profit a lot of the effects.
Engi gets if used well a “reset” button. In addition, they give him ANOTHER stun (the toolbelt skill of the heal). Serious? Engi already has more stuns and knockbacks than mesmer has dazes.
Comming to Mesmer. Passive heals got critizied a lot so I dont get why Anet adds another one. How strong it will be in the end, will be seen after 10.Dec. Besides, I dont felt like phantasm builds needed a buff.
In general, I also dont get, why ANet keeps makes heals (and elites) which rely on certain skill categories (like signets). Heals and Elites should be an own category for not getting influeced by traits. (at least not by those which arent specific for heals).
Ranger and necro heals need massive buffs or reworks. Rest are really cool and interesting. I’m stoked for my guard…This heal makes offensive meditation builds viable.
In general, I also dont get, why ANet keeps makes heals (and elites) which rely on certain skill categories (like signets). Heals and Elites should be an own category for not getting influeced by traits. (at least not by those which arent specific for heals).
It makes those skills and skill building in general more exciting.
In general, I also dont get, why ANet keeps makes heals (and elites) which rely on certain skill categories (like signets). Heals and Elites should be an own category for not getting influeced by traits. (at least not by those which arent specific for heals).
It makes those skills and skill building in general more exciting.
I acutally think, it’s exactly the opposite case.
When you base your builds on signet (for example) you probably will also take signets for heal and elite (when there are some available), as those get influenced by your build.
Not to mention the huge differences regarding the “categories” of elites and heals.
E.g. thief has a lot of traits for poisons which all apply to his elite, too. However, his other elites dont have categories. Necro also has only 1 Elite which is in a certain "
category (flesh golem). Guradian and Mesmer have no elite which has a "
categoy.
So where’s the balance in this? If some heals and elites can be influenced by traits and others don’t doesnt this mean, that those skill are underpowered, as long as they are not “traited” or alternativly are balanced in general and can become overpowered if influenced by traits?
…aaaaaaaaaaaand im Offtopic.
I think this is Anet’s way to deal with all the massive amounts of spam going around. Maybe this will start to limit the spam and focus more attention on player skill. I’m a bit puzzled as to why you gave warrior another immune ability though (and by the way, I main warrior). Perhaps warrior can now start giving up healing signet + berserker stance and would thus encourage experimentation with other weapon sets. Perhaps we’ll finally see the end of the hambow warr. We’ll have to see how it pans out, but generally I think the new heals would make good additions to pvp.
Do something to the necro heal, anything, put down all your ideas onto post-its and throw darts at the board, just choose something better than the garbage that we have atm.
It’s such a pity because of how cool vampire spec was in Gw1