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From DO to AC
blackmonalisa
Member Posts: 0 Arc User
So after some time has passed since the release of MOD 6, I begrudgingly respec'd from a Righteous DO to Virtuous AC. I am unfortunately at a total loss how the mechanics work with this so I am failing miserably in being of any use to any one. After months of being able to carry my own in battles, and still supporting with passive heals...I gotta say I have to give props to the experienced healers. It is not easy. My biggest challenge to overcome is to remain focused on other players. A mind shift that there isn't much patience for in parties.
Not sure what I"m going to do at this point....
Not sure what I"m going to do at this point....
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At the start of any party, I don't go on full healing so I can assess other player's habit. That way I can watch out for those who needs to be focused on with certain DC powers when I do start getting into rhythm.
There was a guide somewhere that read (and I'm quoting from memory, lol), "Tanks are like babies ... they need constant care and attention". You've got to keep careful watch of your tank at all times, once they fall down, the threat turns on the rest of the group.
Also keep out an eye for the highest DPS dealer, they also attract the mobs' threat. Strikers such as HR, TR and some CW and SW are very good at dodging and sometimes do not need as much healing. The melee groups GWF, GF and OP need to have you ready to heal them from almost 0 to full health in a matter of seconds.
Divinity and Spell Management
Divinity management is key. You should always have a spare 1 to 2 pips of divinity in reserve to spam divine Bastions of Health when needed. So when you're building up empowered, build it slowly, unless the team you are running with are very good. The biggest change I had to overcome when changing from DPS to a healer is that you do not have to use up all your encounters at once e.g. keep your BoH off cooldown and only use it when needed, preferably when it is empowered and on a team-member who needs it.
Some Virtuous place spells where they anticipate incoming damage, but I cannot stress enough about having a spare heal at the ready when really needed.
Mitigating Damage and Buffs
Don't forget mitigating damage (one of the overlooked things about DCs) and buffs. Astral Shield, Divine Glow, Break the Spirit are all important and have uses in certain situations. As an AC you have access to feated Blessing of Battle, Exaltation and Anointed Army which further add to your defense and offense boosting capabilities. My buffs are usually centred on the Tank > Melee fighters > Strikers.
For example, between my Plaguefire enchant and a smooth rotation of spells (DG, BtS, BoB), as an AC I can reduce a mob's damage by 65%, reduce their resistance by 25%, not to mention increase each party member's damage by 52.5%, resistance by 16% and power by 1500 (up to 6500 with AA daily plus immunity to *4 hits). This effectively means you can almost double your party's DPS output and reduce more than half of incoming damage. Combined with healing (and possibly AP gain), you become an important asset to your team and not just a heal-bot.
Field Awareness and HUD Changes
Being a healer grants you much better battle awareness, but I've also tweaked the HUD to help me with this: I've minimised the party members' portraits and placed it closer to the centre of my field of view, just a bit off to the left and up, so I can keep my eyes on health bars but also on the field. I also changed the Options -> Interface -> HUD settings so that life-bars only show when party members take recent damage (and when I mouse-over), so that full life-bars don't obstruct my view.
Just Keep Persisting
The first few days, possibly weeks of being a healer are the most nerve-wracking. You feel that the party's success is dependent on your healing. Sometimes this might be the case, depending on the group. You'll get thanked too if you're successful after a particularly hard run, which I rarely got as a DPSer. Keep at it, and healing becomes almost intuitive. And as one poster said, it will help you when you play other characters as you know what the DC usually faces and how they work. Good luck!
To help address the intuitive aspect of this, I had an empty character slot so created a new DC in it yesterday. I think playing a healer from the beginning will be helpful rather than just suddenly being one. As I said previously, I have to give props to the experienced healers. You guys make it look toooo easy
Ooooohh if only the Foresight was in effect the moment I hit the respec button!
Blackmonalisa, I much prefer the playstyle of DO over AC. Once you get the hang of managing and targeting your healing, you could always consider going righteous again. I'm still playing as Righteous DO now (with some feats from the other paths), and have no issues healing.
It's really an issue of the correct loadout. Despite being Righteous, I'll still use Bastion of Health & Astral Shield in the encounter tray. The third is usually a power that does damage while still healing (Divine Glow or Searing Light) or a big debuff, if the party seems more competent at not getting hit.
The important thing is that I will warn any party I get into, to not break Line of Sight with me, as I have no auto-heals. So if Archer HR decides to stand 100 metres away from the party, half behind some rock or behind a BAM, that's on him, not me.
Very good point. Back when I was maining an HR, I was berated by a DC for not being in her LOS. I told her "you worry about them, I'll worry about me." Of course I died several times but that was on me, not her.
My DC is still DO Righteous. I'm toying with switching to AC Righteous but haven't decided.
Oh... the sheer number of HRs that would kite AROUND the shield at half health.... I miss the laughs, don't miss the frustration when I wanted to win. LOL
That of course came from the people who did not understand any of the other buff/debuff mechanics we have.
The experience and the team composition will tell you what is important in each dgn run (I'm talking about PvE only): sometimes you've to focus on healing, sometimes you've to take care of the GF/OP mainly and so on.
I really loved the regeneration feature of the divine AShield before Mod5 and that's why I went virtuous after mod5.
IMO, playing the virtuous requires some training and a "systemic view", keeping your eyes at the same time on the hp meters of the team and the relative positions of the players. AC makes the things a little bit more complex.
HRs shooting from the distance are still a nightmare for me when the rest of the team is a melee: one of them used to complain a lot....but yes, it's not my problem to be honest.
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Maga Othelma - DC | Svalvolo - SW | Dente Avvelenato- GWF