Channeler any good?

Discussion in 'Priests' started by JFrombaugh, Mar 26, 2014.

  1. JFrombaugh New Member

    The Channeler looks like a very original class between the Construct interceptor and the bow, but I'm kind of wondering what happened with it. I keep hearing mixed reviews about it...I haven't tried leveling one yet, kind of don't have a desire to purchase more character slots until they unlock the Heroic Character option for it.

    I know that in the game Rift, the new Defiler soul is a healer that mostly works off of links intercepting damage from the tank and other players, and it is regarded as more or less required in raids for that reason.

    Is it just too underpowered/hard to keep people alive as? Or does the problem have more to do with the learning curve?
  2. Rhapsodic1 Active Member

    believe they already unlocked the heroic character option for it
  3. Ciroe Active Member

    Check my link from my signature.

    Channeler is a STEEP learning curve.. they play completely different than other healers... but once you figure them out, they are a pretty powerful healer.

    Most raid guilds (including my own) use at least one Channeler in the raid.

    As far as solo healing Heroic zones, i do just fine.. in fact most of the TOV content i heal with my eyes closed and let the pet do the heavy lifting.

    I may be a bit biased, but i think the Channeler is a GREAT healer, and i used to raid on a mystic. Just takes some adjustment and time to learn.
  4. Ainaree Well-Known Member

    Great Healer, Terrible Utility. Expect to keep a group alive but have all the desirability of a Templar. ;)
  5. Laita Well-Known Member

    The only real draw back to the Channeler is a lack of utility for the group, bad in-combat rez capabilities and honestly, they kinda suck during the leveling process.. with that said, at the end game levels the Channeler is extremely good, bordering on overpowered... amazing potential with both heals and dps... the reason there are a lot of mixed reviews is because you can't play them like a normal healer and people have issues grasping that and tend to hold the class back from what it's capable of.
  6. Ucala Well-Known Member

    I'd agree and say really the only bad thing about a channeler is their lack of in combat rezzing
  7. Gilasil Active Member

    I've got two channelers now (95 and 60) and I agree they're pretty good. I can do stuff solo I'd take a merc for on most other classes.

    However, you can't just expect to spam your heals and keep up with damage. They don't work like that. You've got to take the time to learn how to play the class. I think most of the people who say they're awful don't understand that.

    Beyond heals, cures, and some dps (including AoE dps) they don't have much in the way of other utility, although they do have some mild debuffs.
  8. jordash Member

    Think of a Channeler as a Mystic on crack. You have a rock absorbing single target or group damage, abilities to heal your pet and group using your "other power" plus AoE heals and procs for free casting AoE heals, nice DPS to spam in between boring fights.
  9. Ciroe Active Member


    Agree.. the "utility" is extremely lacking. The crappy in combat rez doesnt bother me so much... but what i really wish i had wasan AE blocker of some sort.


    Also agree 100%. Great "HEALERS" end game.... leveling is kind of rough....

    And also, exactly what Laita said... the wide variety of mixed reviews is simply from the fact that they do not play like any other healer. Channelers are a completely different breed, and play completely different. The terrible reviews are typically from lower level players who are having trouble leveling (rightfully so), and from people who Powerlevel/Purchase Heroic their channeler and don't learn how to properly play them before making a sound judgement on the class.

    Ill be honest, i two box and powerleveled my channeler to 90 before i ever cast one real spell on him in combat. And at lvl 90 i went to Skyshrine and forced myself to play and learn the class before i stepped foot out into TOV. And even THEN i was still a crappy channeler, i had A LOT of learning to do. I talked with a lot of other channelers (Thank you Ainaree, not sure if you remember, but i spent about 45 minutes with you one day) talking with them, and learning what works for them. Play style, gear, AA specs, etc...

    Take some time, get dirty, be a bad channeler... but you can only get better by being bad first.
  10. Ainaree Well-Known Member

    I do remember! :) You were very nice to chat with.

    I also power-leveled my Channeler up to 95 ... and I think I prefer it that way because playing endgame is a completely different animal than when leveling so you don't exactly learn more soloing than you would just inspecting every button in your arsenal and reading a few guides. I can imagine it's not that way for everyone, but it's what worked for me. It's definitely unlike any other class out there and does have a learning curve.

    It's fun though with a more relaxed pacing than other healers once you get geared.
  11. Gilasil Active Member

    Actually, I have a 60 and a 95 and they play very similarly. My 60 is a mini version of my 95 right down to concentrating on cast speed, crit bonus, and potency. It plays similar too. I was surprised how much cast speed I was able to get at that level.

    The 60 lacks abilities the 95 has and of course stats are vastly lower, but against equivalent level mobs the play is similar.. However, for them to play similarly you really need to play the game, not PL it. Fight mobs which are a challenge, get geared up, etc. My 60 has adornment slots filled and is in master crafted through fabled gear. Naturally the best learning fights are against epics.

    60 is easier of course, but what you have to do is very similar. A lot of the abilities I use heavily on my 95 I also use on my 60.

    But you need to be in groups at that level serving as healer just like you'd be doing at 95 and those groups need to be taking on challenging content, which often means orange mobs along with some epics. I do not mean slaughtering hordes of easy mobs for power leveling, but doing quests, etc. just like you'd do at 95.

    I think any channeler who levels up like that will be well prepared for 95. By the time they get to 95 it's a straight extension of what they've been doing all along. They'll still need to adjust of course, but it's a pretty easy adjustment if they've been doing it all along.

    However, channelers who level up by mentoring down and having a merc slaughter greens, doing minimal healing, not even bothering to have updated abilities or gear because they don't need them for what they're doing; basically bypassing the game to get to 95 as fast as possible. Those people will have to learn to play their class from scratch and will be bad until they do.
  12. Tajar Well-Known Member

    I love the class, and have main changed to it. As others have said, it is very different from the other healers and does take time to learn how to get the most out of them. I did PL her, but I always stop to do all the KoS armour quests and that gives me time to catch up on how to play.

    In my usual group I was DPS almost every time and am usually near top on the parse, especially on AoE fights where it is possible to leave everyone else in the dust in the right setting.

    Ree is awesome and helped me with the healer side of it and once you get the hang of it, they are very nice healers too.