test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Targeted Healing and it's pitfalls?
draelin1978
Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
I tried a Cleric on the last day of the first CBT and ended up having a player die in the tower on the final boss because trying to target a player in melee with others in melee range of the boss was difficult. is there a way that would be easier? I was trying to put the targeted Hot on him and kept hitting others with it. He died right at the end so it frustrated me to no end.
Post edited by draelin1978 on
0
Comments
And even if other classes did pay attention properly, there is still the issue of melee players being stunned or immobilized and thus unable to move away in time.
TERA online somewhat gets away with this by letting heals (that are typically the single-target kind by mmo standards) be able to target up to 3 players. But even then, there's still the problem of actually having to chase down a player (running away from danger) with your mouse. I get dizzy in boss fights
Encounter Matrix | Advanced Foundry Topics
Yeah, there seems to be others who have resigned to that.
It's a really obvious system your combat system is failing, when the best way to serve a core function within it, is just to dumb down your tactics even more.
I'll love Neverwinter, but I'll only begrudgingly tolerate the combat system. It's a kiddie-system embedded within a rather sophisticated brand and IP. It was a mistake, I think. But it isn't such a drastic mistake that I won't enjoy the other aspects of the game that are a little ahead of the curve, instead of behind it.
Check out SHADOW on YouTube!
-Selective targeting
and
-Ground AoE placement
well if they keep dying maybe they will learn to move from the ball towards the healer for LoS
Not only do the main combatants have to learn to pay attention to their health and where they are in relation to the healer but also the healer carries some level of responsibility to let these players know when they can and cannot see or target them.
I for one am looking forward to the more difficult days of actually having to pay attention coming back.
That's why I enjoyed Tera. It was much more difficult then having add ons do everything for you. The number one rule in Tera if your standing still your dying. I hope it applies to here as well.
I had some good experiences from TERA and a couple of bad 1's..I remember 1 player just would not listen and kept running away from me when he needed healing,he finally got the message that I was there to help and if he just gave me a chance he would do a lot better.
AOE heals are very good but you still needed the direct heals on boss fights,I always found myself on the move and getting better positioned as the fights went on,it was really a lot of fun.
With a system that requires a button to release the mouse so that you can click the next target on the party screen, I would think they need an autotarget system like that to make that channel spell work right.
You could in theory just stand there and constantly hit the heal button knowing it will always heal the lowest HP player,seems to defeat the purpose.
Almost all the large damage is avoidable. Over time you will take a bit of damage and that is what the cleric is there to heal, You should not have to be spamming heals on a player, if you are it is a bad player who is not paying attention.
Yeah, it'll take a bit for players to learn the differences in this combat system vs. what they're used to. That's fine. It's not necessary to modify the tools to allow for poor play. If the tools are insufficient to perform your job well when people are playing smart, that's another issue (and not the case, at least not yet).
I could see as people gear up, optimize and such that you could have a tank and dps group and just use pots.
If you are using targeted heals in a group you are just plain doing it wrong. Focus on hitting every opponent with an Astral Seal, use AOE heals like Bastion and Sunburst, or off-the-enemy heals like Forgemaster's Flame and Prophecy of Doom.
That aside the companions are really annoying in "group-only" (which I originally understood as player-only) dungeon delves, as they usually die in one hit, don't do any damage, pull unnecessary aggro, and generally serve no purpose other than getting in the way.
Players also need to understand that when they take spike damage, because clerics have access to so few skills at a time, they NEED to take a potion. They also need to take potions in between combats to get their health to full. But more importantly, damage should be avoided. Just because you have a cleric in the group doesn't mean you can play like an idiot. Stay out of the red splats, never attack before the tank has aggro, never use knockback powers unless the tank loses aggro, and never attack your enemy before flanking him.
Its all great if you can do as ranncore said which is a great copy/paste, but when you need single healing and need it two seconds ago, my hands just cant target easily enough to do it. And while I can hear people say that you can choose another class, that is simply not a possiblity because I wanted to play a cleric, can play a cleric but have restrictions that I cannot over come.
I don't like 1-target abilities either to be honest, but when there are real problems where players shouldn't have to be bullied into choosing a class they don't want, it becames something that is problematic.
A possible idea, is using a next/previous party member selection tool. Put a delay on it, then player still has to observe fighting players and learn their style, still has slower restrictions than 1-target ability and we aren't trying to bully people into taking classes or abilities that work for them.
The game actually does not require a dedicated healer or tank at all, they just make the instances go smoother, I have had plenty of groups that lacked either a healer or a tank and was able to do the 20+ dungeons just fine. The main thing is player skill. 90% of the large damage is avoidable and you have potions as well if you need them. I still want a balanced group though because it just makes instances smoother to have a well rounded group.
Honestly, if you have problematic hands an action RPG is not going to be good for you. The best you could do is try to use a gamepad if they get that working right as you will never be very efficient if you have trouble with the combat and healing here as it is just about as simple as action combat can get and still have really good depth to the combat. As much as it sucks to say that is one of the downfalls of an action system, it is very skill based and if you have hand/finger issues it will be very difficult to play. The other thing is you could try using a MMO mouse, the added buttons can be much easier to reach for some people than a keyboard. I know I have most of my encounter skills bound to mind and it improves the gameplay by quite a bit.
Focus heals suck because anything can bounce between you and your target at the last second.
I was not aware of this feature. Can you explain it further? The way it sounds by this description is: you target someone/something, you hold Ctrl down. Until you release Ctrl, that person/thing is the target of everything you cast. When you release Ctrl, everything goes back to normal targeting. Is that an accurate description? What about launching attacks while using this? Does it do target-of-target? Is there a way to lock this so I press Ctrl once, then press it again to unlock?
Your understanding is correct. I think target-of-target would be a step backwards from the aiming scheme that they have going but I can't deny that it would be immensely useful. I like having to aim my attacks and heals. If you wish to switch to offensive casting you will need to release the lock. However I wouldn't mind if it was a toggle rather than having to hold ctrl.
They should really explain this during the tutorial at some part because it's a very useful and somewhat necessary feature for clerics.
However I can't stress enough that at the earliest opportunity you should abandon all targeted heals in favor of AOEs. Healing word is a cumbersome and stressful task to use, and really needs to be re-worked.
Click my Sig to view our community website
Thanks for the clarification and for the tip!
Oh, I do hear you and I do agree. First thing I would do when grouping and we encounter mobs is apply Astral Seal once to everything, starting with mobs with the most hitpoints and working down to the trash (which would usually be mostly dead by the time I got to them anyways). Then depending on circumstances I'd either hit a big target with Sacred Flames until it died or get near a group of party members to cast Sun Burst. I was mostly using Healing Word as preventive medicine: buff the main tank with 3 charges before we'd run into a new room.