Greetings! I'm looking to returning to the game after an extended break. I've decided to go with a melee healer for a class, but can't decide. I know all three bring their own flavor to a group, but I also know that while leveling up, I will be solo (or with a merc) quite a bit. So, my question, which of the three melee healers have the least frustrating time while solo leveling...mystic, inquisitor, or warden? I have looked for information on other sites, but name calling and belittling others isn't my cup of tea. Plus most of the information that IS there is outdated.
As Buffrat said, if you're using a merc, it really doesn't matter. I've played all three (though the mystic the least) and I didn't find any of the frustrating. Well, that's not quite true. I started with the warden so the slower casting speed on the other two bugged me a little bit. The most important thing to fend off frustration with melee priests is to get a good chunk of AA early on. You can get the melee conversions of the spells BEFORE you get the spells themselves. And the conversions, with 5 pts in them, are near equivalent to master level spells. They'll give you a big boost.
Yeah....with a merc, you will be lucky to get a hit in before the mob is dead. This is because the mercs are basically mentored down max level characters. If you want to solo rather than use a merc, you will need to determine what you want to do. If you are going to be leveling by the solo quests, then it probably doesn't matter, although the warden brings stuff like portals and evacs to help you get around. Having leveled both an inquisitor and warden, I found that they have strengths in different areas. Real hard hitting single mobs will be easier on the inquisitor because they have debuffs, stuns, and interrupts (I am talking single ^^^ heroic here). The warden's casting speed is a huge boon early on, and can heal through groups of mobs much easier than the inquisitor can. Some things the inquisitor is better for, some things the warden is better for. I still prefer the warden, even though I play the inquisitor more often. The inquisitor brings buffs that are wanted by a group. The warden, brings heals, and nothing much else. This might change in CoE, however as the prestiges look as if they might give the warden more group buffage (group-wide instinct).
Inquisitor in my book. (See? ask three people, get three answers). Anti-interrupt AA (Steadfast), great combat arts, wears plate, can break most control effects. Decent dps if you aren't healing heavily, and soloing is pretty easy. Inquest AA gives you a chance at some power back on each successful hit. Melee buffs speed you and the group up, raise your stats, etc. Loved in groups and raids at high level for those reasons and another: that mythical epic group cure that can be cast on the move. The inquisitor has a very tanky feel but lacks any avoidance or parry..... but mentored down those cease to be an issue and I've used mine to tank for guildies when I didn't want to login a tank. The only disadvantage to me is my inquisitor lacks utility abilities: no evac like a warden, no group invis like a fury, no druid portals, no pet like a shaman, no sow like a shaman or druid. But what Leeroy lacks in that department he makes up for in survivability, steadfastness, buffage, healing power and dps
My Mystic is great in group but good luck soloing them it takes for ever!!! More than 3 and your dead.
Like people are saying, if you have a merc, that thing is basically going to just PL you through low level stuff. If you don't have/don't plan on getting the AoD pack, as long as you get the AA to convert your damage spells into CA's before anything, all of the melee priests are a good choice. Although the shaman/inq casting of everything else may seem quite slow until you can improve that stat.
I don't believe people aren't giving you a straight answer. Go inquisitor. It is the most overpowered (and wanted) healer class in the game. Most guilds would run 4 insuisitors and 1 shaman if they had the choice. Whenever I need to dual-box to powerlevel a new toon, I use the 2nd account's inquisitor to do it. It kills quickly and never (not ever) dies.
If you are leveling with a merc, the big question is: Which one of your choices do you want to have leveled when you are done? That should provide your answer, IMO.
I have played both Inquisitor and Mystic (pre-mercenaries) and enjoyed both while soloing without feeling frustrated. They play very differently, which is a good thing, and think either is a good choice. I have not played a Warden so have no opinion on that class. I suggest playing one of each to at least level 20ish just to get a general feel for each classes style and rhythm to see which one suits you best.
i currently have a 65 mystic main if we want to talk survivabilty with a merc i would say overdoze of unrest is near invincible to most non raid encoumters past epic x2 raid encounters with the new coe paladin merc i dont know much about other 2 classes mentioned but i agree get your ca arts and focus later on enhancing bolster the spell is never upgraded and can be a huge boon to what the mystic can handle fighting wise initially for all spirit walkers we rule for solo questing and light dungeoning and named farming good luck sorry for my very biased opinion but most will agree by lvl 65 its a whole noother ball of wax for mystics
This used to be excellent advice - except now, at max level, the defining abilities you have really aren't illustrated at all in a level 20 healer. I'd amend your advice to say: "Play to level 20, and do some research regarding what you will be able to do as you level past that. Minimum research would be studying your AAs and seeing how that will unfold as you level. A level 20 Warden, for example, plays VERY differently than a level 95 one. Not that a low level healer can't be fun, but post level 50 is when most healers start getting interesting.
I personally LOVE my mystics, that being said I also have 2 wardens & 2 inquistors (because I'm a nut according to my guildies). All 3 are very good with the melee aas. What it's really going to come down to is which one you enjoy most. The guy earlier who said pulling more than 3 on a mystic & he's dead is obviously doing something horribly wrong. That wouldn't be the case with any of the three and certainly not a mystic (I've several of that class ranging in level from 16 to 93). Mystics even back in the day before aa & while wards were still broken were hard to kill. Priests in general are hard to kill.
