We heard on Joppa's stream many times that Druid will stand out with AoE Healing. His stream also showed brilliantly the new Druid skills.
I don't get how Druid will do better than Cleric or Shaman in that regard. Indeed there are some Druid skills that let them increase HP regen by a bit, but when you compare the main healing spells, they only have the verdant tree heal, that is AoE HoT (pulse).
In comparison, Shaman have AoE HoT too, and the Cleric has 2 direct AoE heals (one of which is not the whole group though). Originally the Druid was supposed to have more skills, but I did not see them implemented. If I got it correctly from the stream, the Druid will have the Tree AoE Hot, a direct heal via the bear/fox (yes I am an Ogre so white bear will be amazing), a shield/delayed heal via the seed, and a reactionary heal by hitting an enemy.
I just don't see how this makes them AoE Healing oriented. This is an opinion based on what I know, and would love to hear opinions and learn more data if you have any. Thank you.
SynSymbio said:I just don't see how this makes them AoE Healing oriented.
I didn't watch Joppa's full stream, just bits of it, so I may have missed something that you heard. But in the first couple minutes, he described the Druid as an "indirect healer". Indirect included "reactionary heals", heals that require "a couple different elements" for the heal to work, "AoE healing", "proximity healing", and "a few other things" that I didn't hear when he explained them later. It didn't seem like AoE was going to be their major focus, just one of a variety of options.
That said, we won't have more info until the Druid is actually in the game. As has been said many times, Anything Can Change.
Note: VR strongly discourages cross-posting the same comment in different channels. Please pick the best one and just post it there. I"ve added my response here as it seems the best place for this discussion, and deleted the other post.
Thanks for your understanding.
(Although it isn't finished yet) Verdanfire tree seemed incredibly mana efficient (costing 30mana) given the duration of the spell. I can't speak for the CLR, but the SHM group heal is not mana efficient at all (using 20% of base mana) and only healing like 54hp over 12 seconds.
Add: It looks like (in it's current state) Verdanfire tree lasted about 30sec, healing 14hp/3sec for 126hp (with the first pulse going out 6 seconds after initially clicking the cast (3 sec cast time, 3 sec before 1st healing pulse). That is incredibly efficient (considering you can likely rest regen that mana back before the spell fades).
I also looked up the CLR spells Arc of Light and Luminous Surge, and those both have 10 sec cooldowns and LS heals 42hp for 20mana with 3 sec cast time, so also not as mana efficient as the DRU.
Thank you both for the replies and data!
I have made further investigation and originally they planned also a skill called: "Warden's Wildfire", Description: "an ongoing AoE healing and damaging ability which grows in radius over the duration. It centers on the Druid and will heal allies or hurt enemies within the effect area."
Alas, I can't see it now in the kit they showed last week. Maybe it will be added and then I am sold on the AoE heals for Druid.
" Although it isn't finished yet) Verdanfire tree seemed incredibly mana efficient (costing 30mana) given the duration of the spell. I can't speak for the CLR, but the SHM group heal is not mana efficient at all (using 20% of base mana) and only healing like 54hp over 12 seconds.
Add: It looks like (in it's current state) Verdanfire tree lasted about 30sec, healing 14hp/3sec for 126hp (with the first pulse going out 6 seconds after initially clicking the cast (3 sec cast time, 3 sec before 1st healing pulse). That is incredibly efficient (considering you can likely rest regen that mana back before the spell fades).
I also looked up the CLR spells Arc of Light and Luminous Surge, and those both have 10 sec cooldowns and LS heals 42hp for 20mana with 3 sec cast time, so also not as mana efficient as the DRU. "
Looks like it may be more efficient, but tell that to the chanter or necro. Not mentioning that LS and Arc are on demand healing is like saying the Tesla auto driving is good, without pointing out that sometimes it will drive you into an oncoming train. Trouble is that then people come back and say how it's not good enough because it's not as on demand healing and they're not understanding what's wrong.
" I agree in the sense that if the druid get only the verdant tree, as efficient as it may be, the Cleric is still the master of AoE healing. Druid need to get at least one more AoE healing skills (besides the passive regen) to tip the scale in their favor. "
My point WAS that there's nothing wrong with it.
There are a Lot of people out there boiling down a one healer mentality and not thinking of ways that classes are intended to complement one another in a cooperative setting and thinking of a Druid or Shaman alone as a main healing unit, and this is very, very wrong.
"There are a Lot of people out there boiling down a one healer mentality and not thinking of ways that classes are intended to complement one another in a cooperative setting and thinking of a Druid or Shaman alone as a main healing unit, and this is very, very wrong."
@Geddoe
I feel like I need to point out (so that you aren't mislead) that "Druid or Shaman alone as a main healing unit" is actually how all healers are being designed. The theme of the cleric being the only healer and warrior being the only tank is a big difference from EQ. The classes are being designed so that any tank can tank and any healer can heal a group by themselves, the way they do it will be different - and if we find that this is not the case, adjustments will likely be made. Just saying, don't play a specific class expecting it to be "better" than the others in the same role (gear and skill should be the determining factor there).
I'm seeing the Druid as a mix of the SHM and CLR in regard to using HoT and direct heals with the exception that their area heals are proximity/direction based or reactive from the enemy.
I'm curious if over-healing generates threat... anyone know? That could make continuous AoE healing a bit dangerous if so lol.