To be honest, I think it has a lot more to do with how the developers have set up the way that someone would "heal" in space. It's really dystfunctional. I say this as someone who has tried to act as a "healer" in fights, and at some point I got so frustrated trying to do it that I just stopped trying. There are a couple of reasons I can think of right off the top of my head:
1. They never created an easy way to target someone who needs heals while you're in the middle of a fight. Yeah, you can click that person on the team list, but then whatever you're fighting you completely stop fighting, and quite often it's hard to get back to fighting what you were fighting before as the targeting chooses whatever is closest rather than go right back to the thing you were shooting at earlier. Other times, it works great. Because it's not consistent, it's pretty crappy trying to keep up with it at the same time trying to keep someone alive.
2. Healing abilities work on a cool down that is extremely crappy for continuous healing. You basically heal once (or twice if you have something else slotted like a shield heal and then a hull heal). Then you're basically out of the fight for an abusive amount of time until you can heal again. So then you're back to trying to shoot at something, and then have to target that individual that needed healing while still trying to maintain a dps rate on whatever you're fighting. Most people would give up here and never heal anyone again, except for a more random sort of thing.
3. The healing range is way too short. I can't tell you how many times I tried to heal someone only to have that person slip out of range while I'm in the process of trying to heal him. You end up just giving up, as it's really hard to watch the entire team's hull bars, shield activity and also their range, AS WELL AS participate in a fight with other ships all over the screen.
How could they fix this (which they won't)? Set up an alternative interface for healers that allows you to heal while maintaining your original target, like practically every other MMO out there does. That would increase the amount of healers MASSIVELY. Increase the range of healing. That would help. Make it a lot easier to heal people who aren't in your group because quite a few PUGs involve groups of ships fighting together but then doesn't actually group them, meaning you have to alternatively pay even more attention to people who are never on your group screen. Yes, I'm looking at you Crystalline Cataclysm with your ten people raid and only five people in your group scenario.
The point is: I've always played a healer in games I've played. It's too frustrating to do it in this game, so I gave up. Basically, you lost a dedicated healer because you made the interface stupid if you're a healer. So how likely do you think people who don't normally heal are going to end up suddenly adopting healing paradigms?
This can be easily solved, as all it takes it setting up your keybinds in your options menu, as well as your auto targeting options.
For me, I use f1-f4 for team mates, while one of my auto targeting options is attack attacker first and, if I am not being attacked, than target the target of my ally, etc.
Don't look at me to heal your butt, I have to keep mine from flying apart, too. Maybe if some people had less of a narrow DPS focus and left room for healing themselves, they wouldn't have to rely on others to do it? I can't figure that out, "Hey, look at my high DPS glass cannon!" Yeah...rethink your BOFF skills.
Although, that is not to say I never throw out heals. I do if I'm sufficiently healed, and I notice anyone's in bad shape.
Don't look at me to heal your butt, I have to keep mine from flying apart, too. Maybe if some people had less of a narrow DPS focus and left room for healing themselves, they wouldn't have to rely on others to do it? I can't figure that out, "Hey, look at my high DPS glass cannon!" Yeah...rethink your BOFF skills.
Although, that is not to say I never throw out heals. I do if I'm sufficiently healed, and I notice anyone's in bad shape.
Although I am not arguing this completely, I have to say that this mentality directly reflects how broken STO is right now thanks to Cryptics balance everyone mentality.
In most MMORPGS you have four distinct classes:
TANKS: those whose job is to stand toe-to-toe with the boss and whittle them away. Their build is basically that of a brick poophouse that keeps aggro. They are the basic foundation of a successful run. However, their success is depending on three factors:
DPSers whose job is to knock a large amount of HPs off the boss without pulling aggro from the Tank and to take on any add mobs that happen to spawn;
HEALERS: whose sole purpose is to hang back and heal (primarily) the Tank as well as the DPSers who manage to either pull aggro or are engaged with adds;
CASTERS: who CC those adds and try to keep them off of both the Tank and DPSers while raining down AOE damage as well, again without pulling aggro.
This is what a TEAM looks like. This is what makes games fun, interesting and demands cooperation as well as know-how.
THIS is what Cryptic has done with the basic three class system in STO:
Everyone jump into the STF and PEW PEW PEW until the bad guys are dead. Aw, you dieded? Respawn and go back in! Rinse and repeat.
There is simply NO NEED for heals CC yes but heals? No unless you are in the Fleet Alert and can extend shields to the starbase to keep it alive (HINT people!)
There is no purpose to a tank in STO, nor a healer. DPS is essentially the only way to go any more regardless of class. In fact, other than CC there is absolutely NO POINT to the ENG or SCI classes any more.
Don't look at me to heal your butt, I have to keep mine from flying apart, too.
I think this is what pretty much everyone thinks in this game now.
My Old Blog about things that could and should have been added when I wrote it. Not sure what I want to do with it now. I'll just keep it available now that most of it is outdated.
Always, unless you're a super elite min maxer, run with the idea of " 100% self sufficiency. "
For any pve, always make sure you run a copy of Emergency power to Shields, Hazard Emitters, and maybe some Transfer shield Strength.
Make sure your ship is balanced.
Make sure you can chain 2 copies of 1 attack power, beam fire at will or cannon scatter volley, take your pick. Always make sure you can keep Tactical Team on global cooldown, this involves either 2 copies of tactical team, or a doff that can reduce 1 copy to global ( expensive route. )
To this effect I choose balanced war cruisers. As a kdf, I use atm on my tactical either...
QIB or the Sci Bortas.
Both of these ships you can run double tact teams, double attack power of choice, usually a copy of BOTH emergency power to shields 3 and weapon 3. Hazard emitters, double copy of engineering team1, and toss in a transfer shield strength.
Your gear up to par and its all mkxii or mkxiv and its decent stuff like elite fleet resilent shields? Switch some things out for DEM and maybe drop epts to 1 instead of 3. Slap in a reverse shield polarity.
tl;DR. Always make sure YOU, YOURSELF, are capable of both dealing decent damage AND being able to heal yourself. Never, ever count on someone else to be able to do it. But thats my personal rule I set for myself and my own opinion.
I think the O.P. problems might be that you die to often and the other players figure your a glass cannon and the heal would be a waste on you. I have been in plenty of pugs and get healed and I heal back. I'm a eng in avenger upgraded which is a nice ship. I can get agro and pound right back, but the ship has 81k hull with 13 or 14k shields and a resistance almost 50% across the board with 10k or more dps. It takes alot to kill me lol. If I'm in my sci lol she has 21k per shield with GW and energy syphon love her lol.
Use keybinds they help a lot you can get 3k or more in dps using them. Also if you have low defense don't stop moving when you stop you lower even more.
Don't look at me to heal your butt, I have to keep mine from flying apart, too. Maybe if some people had less of a narrow DPS focus and left room for healing themselves, they wouldn't have to rely on others to do it? I can't figure that out, "Hey, look at my high DPS glass cannon!" Yeah...rethink your BOFF skills.
Although, that is not to say I never throw out heals. I do if I'm sufficiently healed, and I notice anyone's in bad shape.
You my brother/sister from another mother. If you can't cover your own hind quarters attack and then fly off to 11km.
While pondering the inclusion of magic healing in Star Trek Online from time to time, I have oft been tempted to uninstall the game...
I would also have issues with a magical "heal other" ability. Something so apparent wouldn't fit in Trek. Not in the context of magic, anyway.
My Old Blog about things that could and should have been added when I wrote it. Not sure what I want to do with it now. I'll just keep it available now that most of it is outdated.
I would also have issues with a magical "heal other" ability. Something so apparent wouldn't fit in Trek. Not in the context of magic, anyway.
Most of the heals in STO are of the "fantasy" variety...there's all sorts of room for repairs and various technological "healing" - but STO is riddled with magic healing. And plenty of folks are fine with that, so it is what it is....
Comments
This can be easily solved, as all it takes it setting up your keybinds in your options menu, as well as your auto targeting options.
For me, I use f1-f4 for team mates, while one of my auto targeting options is attack attacker first and, if I am not being attacked, than target the target of my ally, etc.
Praetor of the -RTS- Romulan Tal Shiar fleet!
Although, that is not to say I never throw out heals. I do if I'm sufficiently healed, and I notice anyone's in bad shape.
Although I am not arguing this completely, I have to say that this mentality directly reflects how broken STO is right now thanks to Cryptics balance everyone mentality.
In most MMORPGS you have four distinct classes:
TANKS: those whose job is to stand toe-to-toe with the boss and whittle them away. Their build is basically that of a brick poophouse that keeps aggro. They are the basic foundation of a successful run. However, their success is depending on three factors:
DPSers whose job is to knock a large amount of HPs off the boss without pulling aggro from the Tank and to take on any add mobs that happen to spawn;
HEALERS: whose sole purpose is to hang back and heal (primarily) the Tank as well as the DPSers who manage to either pull aggro or are engaged with adds;
CASTERS: who CC those adds and try to keep them off of both the Tank and DPSers while raining down AOE damage as well, again without pulling aggro.
This is what a TEAM looks like. This is what makes games fun, interesting and demands cooperation as well as know-how.
THIS is what Cryptic has done with the basic three class system in STO:
Everyone jump into the STF and PEW PEW PEW until the bad guys are dead. Aw, you dieded? Respawn and go back in! Rinse and repeat.
There is simply NO NEED for heals CC yes but heals? No unless you are in the Fleet Alert and can extend shields to the starbase to keep it alive (HINT people!)
There is no purpose to a tank in STO, nor a healer. DPS is essentially the only way to go any more regardless of class. In fact, other than CC there is absolutely NO POINT to the ENG or SCI classes any more.
I think this is what pretty much everyone thinks in this game now.
For any pve, always make sure you run a copy of Emergency power to Shields, Hazard Emitters, and maybe some Transfer shield Strength.
Make sure your ship is balanced.
Make sure you can chain 2 copies of 1 attack power, beam fire at will or cannon scatter volley, take your pick. Always make sure you can keep Tactical Team on global cooldown, this involves either 2 copies of tactical team, or a doff that can reduce 1 copy to global ( expensive route. )
To this effect I choose balanced war cruisers. As a kdf, I use atm on my tactical either...
QIB or the Sci Bortas.
Both of these ships you can run double tact teams, double attack power of choice, usually a copy of BOTH emergency power to shields 3 and weapon 3. Hazard emitters, double copy of engineering team1, and toss in a transfer shield strength.
Your gear up to par and its all mkxii or mkxiv and its decent stuff like elite fleet resilent shields? Switch some things out for DEM and maybe drop epts to 1 instead of 3. Slap in a reverse shield polarity.
tl;DR. Always make sure YOU, YOURSELF, are capable of both dealing decent damage AND being able to heal yourself. Never, ever count on someone else to be able to do it. But thats my personal rule I set for myself and my own opinion.
Use keybinds they help a lot you can get 3k or more in dps using them. Also if you have low defense don't stop moving when you stop you lower even more.
You my brother/sister from another mother. If you can't cover your own hind quarters attack and then fly off to 11km.
I would also have issues with a magical "heal other" ability. Something so apparent wouldn't fit in Trek. Not in the context of magic, anyway.
Most of the heals in STO are of the "fantasy" variety...there's all sorts of room for repairs and various technological "healing" - but STO is riddled with magic healing. And plenty of folks are fine with that, so it is what it is....