I spent the weekend constantly running trying to get mobs out of my face long enough to target the players on the other side of the mobs with my control wizard telling me to "stop so I can get mobs off you" constantly. So I'm trying to throw heals around mobs that are trying to smash my head in while the wizard is chasing me trying to aoe the mobs that I've aggro'd and I have barely a self heal so I'm gulping potions every cooldown.
The cleric has some of the best AoE attacks! I kept pulling too much aggro intentionally! Drop a couple seals on the big guys, move in, drop some AoE damage, drop some heals, then repeat! Rarely ran into too much trouble with that tactic, especially when the other group members did their job.
I really don't understand why there's no way to target a group member. I don't see why the combat system being action-oriented has anything to do with it. I don't see any good reason for why it should be hard to get your heal to hit the right person. This is one of those things that is just interface-based difficulty with no real purpose. "You try to heal the tank but instead you heal the rogue by mistake!" isn't part of a good gaming system. Healing shouldn't be whackamole.
If someone needs a big heal, they need to use a pot anyway, not a cleric. We clerics can do some insane heals per second on the group, but if someone's an idiot and can't move from the big red circle, they better pot... or die. I have yet to have an issue running a purely AE heal specced build.
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draelin1978Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited May 2013
So after playing a cleric as my main for a while now, The system is good for healing provided your group follows these rules...
1. "Tank" facing the boss' front and keeping agro.
2. Rogues on the boss' backside. (you should be there anyway in order to get combat advantage).
3. Melee dps on the boss' side.
4. Range wherever (not stacked and not in melee)
5. If you pull agro STOP DPSing!
Other than right clicking while in divine mode, there is no real single target healing other than Healing Word. Granted I am still learning to adjust as cleric in this system, but I would say Cleric is the hardest class to play in the higher end of the game. I am starting to get in to T2 dungeons now and mob adds almost seemingly have an AOE attacks and stacks them. Healing agro is insane, even if you take every agro reducer they offer for clerics (Feats and Powers).
I would love to have been a fly on the wall during devs discussions on clerics. Arguably one on the least played classes (unless its super uber), and they made it worse.
Want to feel like a well abused pinball, run like a girl, and get dropped harder than a toilet seat.... Play a cleric
Its a team effort.
If you're low on HP, move out of the group/big red warning area and drink a pot. Problem solved.
Edited for accuracy.
In most dungeons, I hardly ever have time to stop running, turn, find where the guy with low HP is, hit him with Healing Word, then start running and chugging again. Usually, if I stop running for longer than it takes to cast one spell, 5 AOE circles surround me, and I'm dead before I can even dodge
They could improve the UI a little bit to make it easier.
Like make it so when you mouse over an ally and they're in a mosh pit of mobs and even stacked with other allies, it highlights their body and nameplate through all the mess which would help distinguish who you're actively targeting.
The targeting system is very annoying for clerics. Luckily, there are only two spells that need you to aim. Sometimes I don't even slot Healing word. My last dungeon (although I'm not yet 60) I had Astral Shield and Bastion of Health slotted with Prophecy of Doom. I was able to keep people up while at the same time giving them damage buffs on targeted enemies with PoD and Hallowed Ground.
If people needed direct healing, I usually had enough Divine Energy (I chose the 4th pip feat) to heal them effectively if they left the fray of battle.
I play a cleric, and to be honest, I love the action oriented process of healing. Yeah, it's tough to heal with the targeting set up, but honestly, it's a LOT of fun to play as a dedicated healer. Last night, I was in one of those instances where the last boss immediately targeted me and wanted me dead more than anything. So I ran in circles, he targeting me, and then me evading right before he could charge me, and it was a blast. The rest of the group kept barreling down on him, killing him slowly as I became target zero of this guy. We won and I'll admit that I had a blast during the fight, healing people as they were fighting this buy and he was trying everything possible to kill me because I was making his life miserable. So much fun. The group survived, and everyone seemed to acknowledge it was a great time had by all.
Personally I think the target system is fine, its the players over zealous nature to top the charts that result in them not paying enough attention to there own survival....
I decent player will be aware of a cleric's difficulties and make sure he does all he can to ease those difficulties, and one thing he can do is pull out of a croud on occasions when his health is low, so healers can tag him.
Also a lot people dont use potions as often as they should, everyone should be doing all they can to make life easier for the group, and drinking pots helps the healer keep up on healing, but its also less healing aggro for the cleric too.
Comments
The cleric has some of the best AoE attacks! I kept pulling too much aggro intentionally! Drop a couple seals on the big guys, move in, drop some AoE damage, drop some heals, then repeat! Rarely ran into too much trouble with that tactic, especially when the other group members did their job.
1. "Tank" facing the boss' front and keeping agro.
2. Rogues on the boss' backside. (you should be there anyway in order to get combat advantage).
3. Melee dps on the boss' side.
4. Range wherever (not stacked and not in melee)
5. If you pull agro STOP DPSing!
I would love to have been a fly on the wall during devs discussions on clerics. Arguably one on the least played classes (unless its super uber), and they made it worse.
Want to feel like a well abused pinball, run like a girl, and get dropped harder than a toilet seat.... Play a cleric
If you're low on HP, move out of the group so the healer can heal you. Problem solved.
Edited for accuracy.
In most dungeons, I hardly ever have time to stop running, turn, find where the guy with low HP is, hit him with Healing Word, then start running and chugging again. Usually, if I stop running for longer than it takes to cast one spell, 5 AOE circles surround me, and I'm dead before I can even dodge
Like make it so when you mouse over an ally and they're in a mosh pit of mobs and even stacked with other allies, it highlights their body and nameplate through all the mess which would help distinguish who you're actively targeting.
If people needed direct healing, I usually had enough Divine Energy (I chose the 4th pip feat) to heal them effectively if they left the fray of battle.
Admiral Ventaxa Proxmire, U.S.S. Los Angeles
Blog: http://www.sarbonn.com/?page_id=1990
I decent player will be aware of a cleric's difficulties and make sure he does all he can to ease those difficulties, and one thing he can do is pull out of a croud on occasions when his health is low, so healers can tag him.
Also a lot people dont use potions as often as they should, everyone should be doing all they can to make life easier for the group, and drinking pots helps the healer keep up on healing, but its also less healing aggro for the cleric too.