Guild Wars 2

I’m really confused… I want to be a healer and I heard that the elementalist and the ranger can heal teammates. Which one to take? And if you really want you can explain the advantages and disadvantages
Btw, would you rather a supp (the class) in your team or a healer?

Druid provides unique buffs as well as healing. Healing output is also higher on druid than it is on elementalist since the aura changes. Ele’s provide more team buffs than druid but those are mainly covered by the team rev or warrior anyway. druid can also provide some boons thats just not its primary focus.

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vNIQNBHhZ6keVlKUzqXFbWxsCuqYVBiWEtYhRwYCXfrAA8TtqmVdGdluYQGMdW4N-TxSBAB0ZCiiDIAK6IaWDSrKBDc/B51EAwDCoMlftoF4O1fCAgAwEn4En4EDA-e

This is a build I’ve been running with. It’s both healing, support, and not bad at all on damage. You can adjust the stat sets around if you want to focus more on healing, or damage, or condi, I’m mainly posting this here as an example of how you can both do heavy healing and support with a druid.

Been using it in fractals (low level right now, ascended crafting is prohibitive atm). It’s been very effective. I will freely admit it loses effectiveness when used in places where the fights move around a whole lot, since the spirits don’t move, like in some of the HoT maps.

passive spirit range is pretty huge, it may not suffer as much as you think. I would not recommend investing too heavily in celestial ascended gear as you go up in fractals.

Prophet.1584:

passive spirit range is pretty huge, it may not suffer as much as you think. I would not recommend investing too heavily in celestial ascended gear as you go up in fractals.

I’m not. I’m actually trying to decide which of my characters I want to use for fractals at higher levels (and subsequently which build for that character), before I worry about crafting ascended. The trinkets are fairly easy to get (laurels for amulets, guild commendations for ascessories, fractal relics for rings), so I make most of my builds with ascended trinkets and exotic everything else. I mainly went celestial to give myself flexibility and resilience (I’m the healer and support after all, it sucks if I drop.)

bearshaman.3421:

~snip~

I have a full set of ascended light, medium and heavy armor from some time ago and now with stat swapping you can really move it to any character and with any build type. The gold cost in swapping around can be high but it’s way cheaper than crafting a new, full set of ascended now lol.

@OP. I am assuming this is for PvE/Raids, if not then disregard this:

Druid:
+ Unique Group Buffs
+ High sustained healing output in Celestial Avatar
+ Ranged heals
- Low Damage output
- Resource dependent and isn’t in “Healer” mode half the fight
- Cast times on Heals
- Loses resource when going into down state, delaying your group heals for a significant amount of time

Tempest:
+ Instant cast heals (can heal through slow or before interrupts happen)
+ Wide variety of boons
+ High damage output if geared that way
- Limited ranged healing
- CD dependant
- Lower base HP (survivability) than druids

Between the 2 I’d rather have a druid, but I can see Tempest being a viable, sometimes even better replacement for Salvation Pass. I personally prefer running 1 druid healer and 1 auramancer for the final boss, since it’s a 2 healer fight.

TurtleDragon.3108:

@OP. I am assuming this is for PvE/Raids, if not then disregard this:

Druid:
+ Unique Group Buffs
+ High sustained healing output in Celestial Avatar
+ Ranged heals
- Low Damage output
- Resource dependent and isn’t in “Healer” mode half the fight
- Cast times on Heals
- Loses resource when going into down state, delaying your group heals for a significant amount of time

Tempest:
+ Instant cast heals (can heal through slow or before interrupts happen)
+ Wide variety of boons
+ High damage output if geared that way
- Limited ranged healing
- CD dependant
- Lower base HP (survivability) than druids

Between the 2 I’d rather have a druid, but I can see Tempest being a viable, sometimes even better replacement for Salvation Pass. I personally prefer running 1 druid healer and 1 auramancer for the final boss, since it’s a 2 healer fight.

This assessment, while accurate for the elite spec by itself, isn’t entirely accurate when everything the base professions have to offer is taken into account.

anduriell.6280:

TurtleDragon.3108:

@OP. I am assuming this is for PvE/Raids, if not then disregard this:

Druid:
+ Unique Group Buffs
+ High sustained healing output in Celestial Avatar
+ Ranged heals
- Low Damage output
- Resource dependent and isn’t in “Healer” mode half the fight
- Cast times on Heals
- Loses resource when going into down state, delaying your group heals for a significant amount of time
-CD dependant

Tempest:
+ Instant cast heals (can heal through slow or before interrupts happen)
+ Wide variety of boons
+ High damage output if geared that way
- Limited ranged healing
- CD dependant
- Lower base HP (survivability) than druids

Between the 2 I’d rather have a druid, but I can see Tempest being a viable, sometimes even better replacement for Salvation Pass. I personally prefer running 1 druid healer and 1 auramancer for the final boss, since it’s a 2 healer fight.

Actually the tempest survivability is higher than the druid because the massive and constant access to heals (not only regen)+access to other defensive boons and offensive defensive effects (cc). Also our heal skills have Cd even in avatar state.

in practice tempest is better suited to do support with strong heals than the druid. the druid brings the offensive boons that are more or less very unreliable (grace of the land or boons from spirits that still have some rng in the appliances)
however i find druid more fun, although i avoid doing raiding.

My build avoids the heals on cooldown with spirit of nature, which I only use when the other heals aren’t enough for some reason. It buffs damage separate of might by alot, provides vigor, significant might, stability, swiftness, fury, and burning damge. All while still doing decent condi and direct damge, though that’s not its primary goal. I don’t see how it is any less than what a tempest could do.

anduriell.6280:

anduriell.6280:

TurtleDragon.3108:

@OP. I am assuming this is for PvE/Raids, if not then disregard this:

Druid:
+ Unique Group Buffs
+ High sustained healing output in Celestial Avatar
+ Ranged heals
- Low Damage output
- Resource dependent and isn’t in “Healer” mode half the fight
- Cast times on Heals
- Loses resource when going into down state, delaying your group heals for a significant amount of time
-CD dependant

Tempest:
+ Instant cast heals (can heal through slow or before interrupts happen)
+ Wide variety of boons
+ High damage output if geared that way
- Limited ranged healing
- CD dependant
- Lower base HP (survivability) than druids

Between the 2 I’d rather have a druid, but I can see Tempest being a viable, sometimes even better replacement for Salvation Pass. I personally prefer running 1 druid healer and 1 auramancer for the final boss, since it’s a 2 healer fight.

Actually the tempest survivability is higher than the druid because the massive and constant access to heals (not only regen)+access to other defensive boons and offensive defensive effects (cc). Also our heal skills have Cd even in avatar state.

in practice tempest is better suited to do support with strong heals than the druid. the druid brings the offensive boons that are more or less very unreliable (grace of the land or boons from spirits that still have some rng in the appliances)
however i find druid more fun, although i avoid doing raiding.

I don’t actually play auramancer tempest, most of that is just guessing based off what little I know about elementalists.

If your looking at pure healing power and survivability (self and ally) this druid build provides far more healing power than any tempest or druid build I’ve seen to date…

(although some would consider the high toughness a draw back, as well as the small amount of damage – However, it works wonders for keeping large groups alive while being able to mitigate large incoming damage)

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/external?l=http%3A%2F%2Fgw2skills.net%2Feditor%2F%3FvNAQNBmOD7keVomVskVwgVgoVsgJYw30e6Q1Jx14qZNLrBQAoi3eA-TBSDABOcRAMUJYWK%2F0T3wlq%2FgxRAAgHAgK7PEAABYjbMNWjBjckjckjckNyROyROyRWKgv1bB-e

GussJr.1643:

If your looking at pure healing power and survivability (self and ally) this druid build provides far more healing power than any tempest or druid build I’ve seen to date…

(although some would consider the high toughness a draw back, as well as the small amount of damage – However, it works wonders for keeping large groups alive while being able to mitigate large incoming damage)

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/external?l=http%3A%2F%2Fgw2skills.net%2Feditor%2F%3FvNAQNBmOD7keVomVskVwgVgoVsgJYw30e6Q1Jx14qZNLrBQAoi3eA-TBSDABOcRAMUJYWK%2F0T3wlq%2FgxRAAgHAgK7PEAABYjbMNWjBjckjckjckNyROyROyRWKgv1bB-e

while something like that could work well in WvW you couldn’t run that in raids without taking on dual roles of healer and tank. there’s far too much toughness, thats’ why zealot/zerker or magi is recommended.

Prophet.1584:

GussJr.1643:

If your looking at pure healing power and survivability (self and ally) this druid build provides far more healing power than any tempest or druid build I’ve seen to date…

(although some would consider the high toughness a draw back, as well as the small amount of damage – However, it works wonders for keeping large groups alive while being able to mitigate large incoming damage)

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/external?l=http%3A%2F%2Fgw2skills.net%2Feditor%2F%3FvNAQNBmOD7keVomVskVwgVgoVsgJYw30e6Q1Jx14qZNLrBQAoi3eA-TBSDABOcRAMUJYWK%2F0T3wlq%2FgxRAAgHAgK7PEAABYjbMNWjBjckjckjckNyROyROyRWKgv1bB-e

while something like that could work well in WvW you couldn’t run that in raids without taking on dual roles of healer and tank. there’s far too much toughness, thats’ why zealot/zerker or magi is recommended.

I agree, it’s not the best for raids I just like seeing how far I can push the healing. It is good in WvW and a lot of the zergy stuff in the HoT maps. Raids I tend to switch out.

Elementalist can provide sustained, high healing indefinitely. Elementalists also have a much, much, much higher dps than druids, and you can float somewhere in between the two. Elementalists also have nearly infinite condition removal.

Druids must build Astral Force (F5). Astral Force grants a series of skills that provide burst healing. A few glyphs can be traited to remove conditions, but not nearly as much consistent condition removal as elementalists.

In conclusion, if you want the best healing and dps, go elementalist.
If you want the play-style of a ranger, with the ability to stand long range, in say wvw, choose ranger.

UnitedChaos.8364:

If you want the play-style of a ranger, with the ability to stand long range, in say wvw, choose ranger.

You’re making assumptions that healing spec’d Druids are only good in the backline…which is totally false.

The build I use heals with every attack skill, every healing skill, and every glyph used. Not to mention the f2’s of the pets. Constant regen in the build means that my AF is always full which means that in the rare case I need to enter CA form, I always have it available.

I rarely camp staff – using it mainly for mobility in and out of the center of the fight then switching back to A/WH, and the occasional CA form in the uhoh moments. I actually spend most of my time right in the mix of things.

But, to each there own.