Heya, I returned to Eq2 two months ago and I have been playing a warden in VOV. My issue is there is an over abundance of wardens…they are great but I want to conquer heroic 2 and raids and offer something different as a healer. I have heard that 2 healers can sometimes be needed in heroic 2’s and of course more in raids. With the abundance of wardens….what other healer class would be viable and give the most to a group/raid? I know they all have their own strong points, but I am not sure what is most needed or useful right now in VOV. I am interested in a channeler but I am not sure if they are viable after just reading a thread that said they were nerfed, and there are a lack of them on my server. That may sound stupid that I am commenting about too many wardens, yet concerned and asking about channelers……that there aren’t many of. Long story short, I don’t want to reroll a broken or unwanted class…..I know the history with this game and some x-packs can break a class. If this is a redundant question I apologize. Thank you!
Not sure what the channeler nerf is you are referencing. There was a nerf to combat arts not too long ago, but that didn't impact my channeler healing. Overall l I'd say channelers are just fine. They offer some buffs to auto attack damage to the group. They can provide some utility. Such as combat mit debuffs or group hate drops. Their conduit group cure restores power if it cured anything. They added some new temp buffs to the stances. The heal stance is probably easier/better. The offensive stance is way too hard to maintain and there have been posts on it. There is also a new temp buff to Shadow Escape that increases groups crit bonus overcap, crit bonus and weapon damage. Just have to be a little careful of when and where you use it, as the 15m teleport could get you stuck in walls or objects.
Channelers are totally okay! I'd say the healers in the worst spot right now are defilers and wardens, as both of them offer very little. I'm not entirely sure how you're seeing an oversaturation of wardens, because, frankly, they're not very good. The best healers currently are, as has been the case for many years now, mystic and fury, because while all healers can heal, those two classes provide the best buffs to the group. But honestly, unless you're trying to compete to throw yourself at nearly unkillable mobs, any class can work and you should just pick what you enjoy the most.
maybe one day they will put their noses in what is essential, finally rebalance the classes so that each is a concrete utility. This should also push them to redesign a lot of things. So, is it only the fault of a gameplay, mechanics laid by the devs which push us to see only by the dps? Or the players who are satisfied with it? A bit of both i guess
I just made a post in another thread related to this, but from my experience the healing role is just a glorified support role these days. I don't feel like there's any kind of reactionary healing in the traditional sense - it's all just a matter of maintaining hots or other heal temps. Definitely a change from what I had come to love about the role in EQ2. Related to this thread in particular, and as a question to the OP: What kind of different experience are you looking for, or thinking you might get that you don't as a warden? If you simply want to have a more advantageous position in raid just betray to a fury (adv over warden - fervor buff, Pact of the Cheetah movement speed, and more uptime on group damage reductions). Otherwise, I'm not sure you're going to find something radically different than what it's like playing your warden. Channeler would be interesting simply because the kit is so different, but once you learn it it will feel like the same thing (at least from my experience). To stress though, that's specifically with this content since healing is fundamentally the same across all classes (perhaps different for raids). So ultimately just pick which "flavor" you like better, and if you're trying to contest a raid spot just swap to fury (without having to lose all of your investment in your character - mount /merc/familiar levels, gear, etc).
Good or not I'm also experiencing an abundance of warden encounters. I main a warden. There are a bunch of wardens I'm my guild. When trying to join H2s I've gotten "We have warden already". To add more, just two days ago running PQs there were 4 wardens in the raid with no other healers. I maybe hitting short lived hot streaks of logged wardens. But I've made an alt due to the frequency in which my role is filled by my tribe.
There's a reason for a lot of wardens...it's a solid toon to play. Bhayar is a warden and I've raided on him. They're not flashy, but they get the job done day in and day out. But yes, there are a lot of us out there, haha
Channellers and shaman are extremely strong this xpac in terms of stability. Fury has all the FoTM stuff for raiding, but if you're not playing "hardcore" or whatever passes for it these days in EQ2, then really all the healers are of value. Since BoL, channellers have really been number one for group survivability. imo it's all about the hierarchy of healing.. Damage reductions > wards > reactives > heals. If you catch my drift. A better healer would perhaps articulate this better. Channies lack the FoTM buffs, or any buffs really. They suck for that, but if you just want everyone to not die, they're still top imo. Shaman closely behind them. Shammies and wards in general are very good this xpac.
There are a lot of wardens as I mentioned in an earlier response. To your question, what other healers classes are viable in group or raid? My answer--any of them are capable of doing well if played by someone who knows the class and what to do with them. This isn't confined to healers alone either. Most of the time, people don't want the same class (a warden and a fury or a templar and an inqy) is same group. So when you have a lot of wardens, guess what, they usually go with people they know. The same class rule doesn't always apply, but you'll hear it mentioned frequently. I've played a number of different healers over the years with the exception of a templar or a mystic. Briefly had one of each, but I didn't stick with them; not because it wasn't a good class, but because I just didn't take the time to learn it. I'd say pick a class and learn them backwards and forwards, inside and out. Stick with it. There's always room in a group for a solid player who knows what to do and when and what tools they have at their command. I've played with outstanding healers and I've played with real clunkers who rolled the fotm and know as much about their class as I know about Russian ballet, which is to say nada. I play with a couple of channelers who are exceptional at playing their class and they fit the description above (know the class inside and out). There's a lack of channelers because it's not a class you create and face roll the keyboard with two weeks later. So, if you're attracted to a class, give it a go and try it out. Read everything you can find out and don't be shy about asking questions. Just be careful about who you ask questions of. Most players I know are willing to share information, but again, you need to find the ones who know how to play their class, not the people who rolled one a month ago and think they have all the answers. Best of luck!!
/shrug. Most healer, in most circumstances can do that job. There are some provisos for that: that depends on the zone, it depends on the healers gear, that depends on groups gear and it depends on how hard you want to work. At the moment, The fotm, for many many reason, is fury. Second to that is probably templar, who can heal just as easily but doesnt have much ink the way of buffs. Same can be said of a channeler, who has even less buffs. After that, it really isnt going to matter. In tough zones they can be done with the rest of the healers as well, but not quite as easily. I can offer reasons, if you want, but thats how I see it.
I haven't really found a class yet that can't do the job in most zones if they know the class and are properly geared and have their spells up to snuff. And, as you say, some of that is dependent upon the group they're with as well.
