Well, I generally use DG, DL and SB, and in melee SB does damage as well as healing, so I get 3 stacks of Life very quickly and if they are needed they Heal very efficiently. In fact, Soothing Light is our best and most efficient single target heal, even without Cycle of Change. And it is fantastic in PvP and I have all the Feats that enhance Divinity regain.
I am not sure I understand you, though - Forgemaster's Flame is purely a damage dealer, unless it is Divinely channeled. So that will stack Life charges. As will Break the Spirit, Divine Glow and almost ALL our other Encounters. Only Healing Word and Bastion of Health are actually healing spells; in fact, HW is NOT a healing spell at all, it grants regeneration - unless Divinely channeled, in which case it becomes an instant heal as well as regenerating. And if you want to be a DO Healer, you would only use FF in divine mode. It's main advantage, like Break the Spirit, is that it always hits and cannot be dodged.
But, yes, a DO Virtuous Tree Healer would probably use HW, AS and BoH and stack Death charges, and then his most lethal power would be Burning Light. And he would be incapable of defending himself and die very quickly, as you can never heal damage as fast as it comes in. Potions do better healing than our spells. It is absolutely farcical.
But, as a Healer, I would go for Invigorated Healing and Moon Touched, as I did with my Tiefling AC. I think ACs make better healers and buffers. DO are better Combat Clerics and debuffers.
Astral Shield is not a damage dealer nor a heal, unless it is Divinely channeled, in which case it regenerates. So it does not generate any Stacks at all and should only cancel a Life stack if Divinely channeled. It does restore 10% of a pip of Divinity when it comes off cool down, though, if you have Ethereal Boon. Whichever way you use it.
EDIT
I checked this at Trade of Blades, and with DL AS and SB, a normal AS DOES cancel the Life stacks. Which is odd.
It's not that I do not use Astral Shield - I use it if it is needed.
Level 58-60 Dread Vault before the Boss room? Not needed, unless you have a stupid party.
PvP with two CW and two HR? Not needed, as they rarely get in melee and are almost never close enough together, and it does me no good either as I will still get proned, stunned or suspended in mid-air.
PvP with decent GF and/or GWF - yes, it can be very helpful if they cluster in a melee bunch on a point.
Epic dungeons? Yes, especially if there are warriors in the group
But I was thinking about Astral Seal, as I did try it before but did not like it as my Healer is better with BoB and Sacred Flame. But for a DO, I could use Astral Seal instead of BotS. So I would lose all the ticks of Divinity regain per target I have hit, but I could mark them all and allow every hit to heal the party member that hits them. But when I get the full Profound Righteous set, I'll have +30% divinity regen anyway.
What is the hp return per point of damage for Astral Seal?
next time I get a level 60 XP reward, I'll put a third rank in Astral Seal and try it. If it works out, I could even respec and change Nimbus of Light for Power of Oppression, but then I'd lose Cycle of Change and have a spare point I could put in Restoration Mastery.
As far as I can tell, the heal per hit on astral seal is only very loosely (or not at all) related to the damage you do. I suspect it's unrelated entirely, and based solely on the cleric's stats. Nice thing is that if you land a critical hit with astral seal, all the heals are crits.
Mine (I think: it's been so long since I paid any attention to the numbers) heal for maybe 250-300 per hit (so like 350-500 on a crit), so for instance: one duelist's flurry later and your TR is laughing.
Works great with any team that spam lots of hits, less well if everyone is focussing on massive spike-damage (so if you have a DD group composed entirely of PvP-specced dudes, it could be less fun).
I have just learned to play a certain way in PUGs by default, it's a lot easier than putting up with drama and strife. I have soloing, friend groups, channel groups, etc. where I can be more flexible, and that's enough for me.
Do I wish that people would drink more pots and dodge red areas? Absolutely .. but this is an online game comprised of other people, many of whom are immature, and such is the nature of the beast.
Comments
I am not sure I understand you, though - Forgemaster's Flame is purely a damage dealer, unless it is Divinely channeled. So that will stack Life charges. As will Break the Spirit, Divine Glow and almost ALL our other Encounters. Only Healing Word and Bastion of Health are actually healing spells; in fact, HW is NOT a healing spell at all, it grants regeneration - unless Divinely channeled, in which case it becomes an instant heal as well as regenerating. And if you want to be a DO Healer, you would only use FF in divine mode. It's main advantage, like Break the Spirit, is that it always hits and cannot be dodged.
But, yes, a DO Virtuous Tree Healer would probably use HW, AS and BoH and stack Death charges, and then his most lethal power would be Burning Light. And he would be incapable of defending himself and die very quickly, as you can never heal damage as fast as it comes in. Potions do better healing than our spells. It is absolutely farcical.
But, as a Healer, I would go for Invigorated Healing and Moon Touched, as I did with my Tiefling AC. I think ACs make better healers and buffers. DO are better Combat Clerics and debuffers.
Astral Shield is not a damage dealer nor a heal, unless it is Divinely channeled, in which case it regenerates. So it does not generate any Stacks at all and should only cancel a Life stack if Divinely channeled. It does restore 10% of a pip of Divinity when it comes off cool down, though, if you have Ethereal Boon. Whichever way you use it.
EDIT
I checked this at Trade of Blades, and with DL AS and SB, a normal AS DOES cancel the Life stacks. Which is odd.
It's not that I do not use Astral Shield - I use it if it is needed.
Level 58-60 Dread Vault before the Boss room? Not needed, unless you have a stupid party.
PvP with two CW and two HR? Not needed, as they rarely get in melee and are almost never close enough together, and it does me no good either as I will still get proned, stunned or suspended in mid-air.
PvP with decent GF and/or GWF - yes, it can be very helpful if they cluster in a melee bunch on a point.
Epic dungeons? Yes, especially if there are warriors in the group
But I was thinking about Astral Seal, as I did try it before but did not like it as my Healer is better with BoB and Sacred Flame. But for a DO, I could use Astral Seal instead of BotS. So I would lose all the ticks of Divinity regain per target I have hit, but I could mark them all and allow every hit to heal the party member that hits them. But when I get the full Profound Righteous set, I'll have +30% divinity regen anyway.
What is the hp return per point of damage for Astral Seal?
next time I get a level 60 XP reward, I'll put a third rank in Astral Seal and try it. If it works out, I could even respec and change Nimbus of Light for Power of Oppression, but then I'd lose Cycle of Change and have a spare point I could put in Restoration Mastery.
~
Mine (I think: it's been so long since I paid any attention to the numbers) heal for maybe 250-300 per hit (so like 350-500 on a crit), so for instance: one duelist's flurry later and your TR is laughing.
Works great with any team that spam lots of hits, less well if everyone is focussing on massive spike-damage (so if you have a DD group composed entirely of PvP-specced dudes, it could be less fun).
Do I wish that people would drink more pots and dodge red areas? Absolutely .. but this is an online game comprised of other people, many of whom are immature, and such is the nature of the beast.