2. Rift: Cleric class. I liked the fact that you could build the class to your play style. Sadly did not get to endgame before my friends left the game, but I did enjoy the fact that you could customize your build pretty freely.
1. WoW: Priest. I usually went holy for PvE and Discipline for PvP. Disciplline can be really strong for its damage absorption effects and temporary immunity to silence, and although it was outshined a little in MoP by the Holy Priest in PvP because of its better burst heals, it still was a solid pvp spec in the right hands. The Holy Priest I played in MoP as a raid healer, responsible for keeping the whole group alive.
These are the only 2 I can think of that I played for a while that is considered to have real healers. I would put Guild Wars 2 up there at #3, but while there are classes there that are pretty strong at healing, it's not really a game that you can heal in the traditional way.
1. FFXIV. I'm very visual and it affects what type of game I enjoy. So this game is aesthetically pleasing to watch and play. The healing class is fun. There is always groups to join either through FATE's, Guilds or Duties and the community compared to most mmo's, is mature. Imo.
2. Tera Online.
3. WoW.
These 3 games I felt were worth sticking out and playing the class I enjoyed until the end. Either because, the story was entertaining, the visuals and animation were well done or the gameplay mechanics made the game entertaining. There are other but these would be on my top 3.
1. City of Heroes - My defense capped water/kin corrupter was god like healer/damage/buffer/debuffer loads of AOE damage all in one (Fulcrum Shift) & (Speed Boost)FTW it felt like a tanky/blaster that could heal buff do damage and debuff all at the same time it really felt like a super hero most fun ever with teams even solo it shined it was amazing the build i had etc was godlike my favorite by far.
2. WoW - I really like my current healers Druid, Shaman, Priest with the new changes 6.0.3 healers are a lot harder to heal with but i like the challenge really test my skills as a healer i always strive to be the best keep people alive as best as i can.
3. Tera - i enjoyed healing with my Priest and Mystic just use the skill mouse over and heal nice thing about this games healing is you can keep moving you don't have to stand there to heal can keep on the move.
i still to this day miss City of Heroes so bad i want to play it everyday i was very upset when i knew it was being shut down so many good memory's
Age of Conan - they had the best and most balanced healing system in MMO.
There was no point in healers stacking in PvP (all big heals had shared cooldown between targets). Heals were mostly AoE, HoT, directional and relatively weak. There was no targeting, you could simply focus on gameplay instead of playing raid frames.
I'd have to say my disc priest in WoW and my resto sham. I love the variety in both of those specs really fun in raids and heroics.
Also, Doctor healing in AO was pretty fun and original. I never got into EQ but the cleric was fun to heal in, and I know this sounds silly but the cleric in Fiesta Online is pretty fun too
My first max level character in LOTRO was a Hobbit Minstrel and a lot of fun. I took it through raids as well and did really well with it.
Second place would be my Fist/Blood Healer in The Secret World. I took that as far as it could go, all 10.4s some 10.5s, New York raids and so on. I started switching it up to Assault Rifle/Fist but by then the lag was getting so bad the game was barely playable and I was losing too many people I was supposed to be keeping alive, so I decided to call it quits.
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
As I thought so few modern MMOs are in peoples top five, with soloing now being the most important thing in MMOs, we have seen the loss of group mechanics. Crowd control went first, then tanking, then healing. They still function, but in a far more limited way, they are only needed in dungeons, and CC is disappearing altogether.
D&D Online - I was king back then before F2P killed it for me.
I picked Vanguard because that was second on my list.
WoW would be last, because I dident play a healer until later after it turned easy. Then it was hard keeping my groups healed because they would run dungeons WAYYYY to fast for healing and mana ( they were having fun, I was working my butt off ).
Originally posted by Scot As I thought so few modern MMOs are in peoples top five, with soloing now being the most important thing in MMOs, we have seen the loss of group mechanics. Crowd control went first, then tanking, then healing. They still function, but in a far more limited way, they are only needed in dungeons, and CC is disappearing altogether.
CC may be disappearing in the game you play but as whitemage I use repose which is a sleep in both dungeons and when I do hunts or solo fates. Also in dungeons stunning and crowd control is very much alive in FFXIV ARR, I have an area stun I use in both Brayflox Longstop and The Wanderer's Palace all the time I do it, plus when I am doing my scenario quests if I don't use every skill available to me I might fail. So your experience about CC is not mine and therefore do not generalize saying CC is disappearing altogether. Also debuffing and bards buffing and running various buffs as the situation needs make a difference in FFXIV , a good bard is really noticed. Plus removing debuffs in dungeons can make the difference between a wipe and success. Dungeons in FFXIV rock.
You play ESO right so perhaps the poor group mechanics in that game has given you a warped view on how much CC ,group play, debuffs, stuns, cleansing debuffs, buffs, positioning, healing both reactive (whitemage) and proactive (scholar) and resurrecting the correct class for the all important limit break in FFXIV can all lead to a good run even when people die in raids. This is what makes playing a healer in FFXIV really fun.
The doctor class had combat heals, down-time heals (wounds), buffs, and integrated crafting (meds and buffs). Every other healer in every other game was just basically mashing 1, 2, 3, n+1 on a skill bar of heal spells.
"If MMORPG players were around when God said, "Let their be light" they'd have called the light gay, and plunged the universe back into darkness by squatting their nutsacks over it." -Luke McKinney, The 7 Biggest Dick Moves in the History of Online Gaming
"In the end, SWG may have been more potential and promise than fulfilled expectation. But I'd rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity." -Raph Koster
As it happens, healer spec's are one of my favourites, i don't know why some hate playing them but i actually prefer them to tanking and dps classes, not sure about top 5 but here are my 'preferred'
1. FFXIV;ARR. Playing a white mage is a very 'social' class, and a huge amount of fun if you like playing in a group.
2. SW;TOR. its a more solo kind of thing, but even in PVP i found my healer spec'd Commando was pretty awesome, but mostly i enjoyed playing healers because you could use pretty much any of your companions in PVE, and thats where the game shines, which surprised me, i never thought the storylines would be as much fun as they are. Although, having to choose to save a bunch of grunts over your 'in game' love interest was a bit uncomfortable, which it was probably supposed to be
3. Planetside 2. Okay its an MMOFPS, but as a combat medic working as part of a team to hot drop into enemy territory and survive, hectic, tense, and hellishly fun, where there is no time to consider what to do, but just react and adapt, not many games i've played where i've had to stop after an hour because of how 'tense' things get.
4. World of Warcraft, still fun, surprisingly, Holy Priest spec + raid finder = fun, lot of WTF moments. More fun than raiding ever was before, which seems a bit odd.
if there is one 'common' denominator, i would say that for people who enjoy playing the healer class/spec whatever, its that its because it is such a 'group' experience.
Tera, finally a game with fun combat for a healer. Popori mystic for life.
Wildstar, medic was a very fun healing class for pvp. Game was not OW oriented enough for me.
Dayz, FUCK YES I'm counting this, I bandaged my friend the other day after he got shot and was unconscious and some dude with an axe was running right at me, but I finished the bandage in time and shot that axe guy and my friend got up.
I didn't vote, but I considered voting WoW because of priest, all time favorite MMORPG class.
WoW Shaman, First game I ever dedicated/healed in. Really enjoyed grouping in that game early on.
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”
Though not on the list, Warhammer was probably my favorite. Being a healer in some of the great pvp battles in that game was so much fun and so hectic.
Comments
2. Rift: Cleric class. I liked the fact that you could build the class to your play style. Sadly did not get to endgame before my friends left the game, but I did enjoy the fact that you could customize your build pretty freely.
1. WoW: Priest. I usually went holy for PvE and Discipline for PvP. Disciplline can be really strong for its damage absorption effects and temporary immunity to silence, and although it was outshined a little in MoP by the Holy Priest in PvP because of its better burst heals, it still was a solid pvp spec in the right hands. The Holy Priest I played in MoP as a raid healer, responsible for keeping the whole group alive.
These are the only 2 I can think of that I played for a while that is considered to have real healers. I would put Guild Wars 2 up there at #3, but while there are classes there that are pretty strong at healing, it's not really a game that you can heal in the traditional way.
1. WoW priest, shaman, druid... in any order, all the same fun
2. Rift Clerics and Chloromancer
3. EQ2 warden druid
1. FFXIV. I'm very visual and it affects what type of game I enjoy. So this game is aesthetically pleasing to watch and play. The healing class is fun. There is always groups to join either through FATE's, Guilds or Duties and the community compared to most mmo's, is mature. Imo.
2. Tera Online.
3. WoW.
These 3 games I felt were worth sticking out and playing the class I enjoyed until the end. Either because, the story was entertaining, the visuals and animation were well done or the gameplay mechanics made the game entertaining. There are other but these would be on my top 3.
Only have a top 3 personally, all other MMO's I've played just felt vastly inferior healingwise to the ones below.
That said I've not played some of the bigger titles like everquest.
1. Guild wars 1 Monk
2. Wow Druid
3. Neverwinter Cleric
1) WoW: druid (back when it was the only class with HoT). best kiting healer ever.
2) AoC: bear shaman . funnest offensive melee healer i've ever played.
3) War: Shaman. so much WAAGGG! fun
Mine would be
1. City of Heroes - My defense capped water/kin corrupter was god like healer/damage/buffer/debuffer loads of AOE damage all in one (Fulcrum Shift) & (Speed Boost)FTW it felt like a tanky/blaster that could heal buff do damage and debuff all at the same time it really felt like a super hero most fun ever with teams even solo it shined it was amazing the build i had etc was godlike my favorite by far.
2. WoW - I really like my current healers Druid, Shaman, Priest with the new changes 6.0.3 healers are a lot harder to heal with but i like the challenge really test my skills as a healer i always strive to be the best keep people alive as best as i can.
3. Tera - i enjoyed healing with my Priest and Mystic just use the skill mouse over and heal nice thing about this games healing is you can keep moving you don't have to stand there to heal can keep on the move.
i still to this day miss City of Heroes so bad i want to play it everyday i was very upset when i knew it was being shut down so many good memory's
Age of Conan - they had the best and most balanced healing system in MMO.
There was no point in healers stacking in PvP (all big heals had shared cooldown between targets). Heals were mostly AoE, HoT, directional and relatively weak. There was no targeting, you could simply focus on gameplay instead of playing raid frames.
I'd have to say my disc priest in WoW and my resto sham. I love the variety in both of those specs really fun in raids and heroics.
Also, Doctor healing in AO was pretty fun and original. I never got into EQ but the cleric was fun to heal in, and I know this sounds silly but the cleric in Fiesta Online is pretty fun too
Talking about dedicated healers here, not a class that has 1 or 2 weak self heals.
My illusion/transfusion controller from City of Heroes is definitely my favorite ever.
Lockdown. Tanky pets. Decent damage. Healing. Energy restoration. Buffing. Debuffing. And best of all, incredibly fun to play.
A distant second would be druids in World of Warcraft.
I love HoT healing, and the druid is probably the best implementation of it I've played.
Everything else is so close together they're not worth mentioning.
My first max level character in LOTRO was a Hobbit Minstrel and a lot of fun. I took it through raids as well and did really well with it.
Second place would be my Fist/Blood Healer in The Secret World. I took that as far as it could go, all 10.4s some 10.5s, New York raids and so on. I started switching it up to Assault Rifle/Fist but by then the lag was getting so bad the game was barely playable and I was losing too many people I was supposed to be keeping alive, so I decided to call it quits.
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
D&D Online - I was king back then before F2P killed it for me.
I picked Vanguard because that was second on my list.
WoW would be last, because I dident play a healer until later after it turned easy. Then it was hard keeping my groups healed because they would run dungeons WAYYYY to fast for healing and mana ( they were having fun, I was working my butt off ).
EQ2 as mystic
AoC as bear shaman
CC may be disappearing in the game you play but as whitemage I use repose which is a sleep in both dungeons and when I do hunts or solo fates. Also in dungeons stunning and crowd control is very much alive in FFXIV ARR, I have an area stun I use in both Brayflox Longstop and The Wanderer's Palace all the time I do it, plus when I am doing my scenario quests if I don't use every skill available to me I might fail. So your experience about CC is not mine and therefore do not generalize saying CC is disappearing altogether. Also debuffing and bards buffing and running various buffs as the situation needs make a difference in FFXIV , a good bard is really noticed. Plus removing debuffs in dungeons can make the difference between a wipe and success. Dungeons in FFXIV rock.
You play ESO right so perhaps the poor group mechanics in that game has given you a warped view on how much CC ,group play, debuffs, stuns, cleansing debuffs, buffs, positioning, healing both reactive (whitemage) and proactive (scholar) and resurrecting the correct class for the all important limit break in FFXIV can all lead to a good run even when people die in raids. This is what makes playing a healer in FFXIV really fun.
1) Rift Chloro is my fav healer all time
2) AOC Bear Shaman a close 2nd
1. SWG Doctor...
and thats about it.
The doctor class had combat heals, down-time heals (wounds), buffs, and integrated crafting (meds and buffs). Every other healer in every other game was just basically mashing 1, 2, 3, n+1 on a skill bar of heal spells.
"If MMORPG players were around when God said, "Let their be light" they'd have called the light gay, and plunged the universe back into darkness by squatting their nutsacks over it."
-Luke McKinney, The 7 Biggest Dick Moves in the History of Online Gaming
"In the end, SWG may have been more potential and promise than fulfilled expectation. But I'd rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
-Raph Koster
As it happens, healer spec's are one of my favourites, i don't know why some hate playing them but i actually prefer them to tanking and dps classes, not sure about top 5 but here are my 'preferred'
1. FFXIV;ARR. Playing a white mage is a very 'social' class, and a huge amount of fun if you like playing in a group.
2. SW;TOR. its a more solo kind of thing, but even in PVP i found my healer spec'd Commando was pretty awesome, but mostly i enjoyed playing healers because you could use pretty much any of your companions in PVE, and thats where the game shines, which surprised me, i never thought the storylines would be as much fun as they are. Although, having to choose to save a bunch of grunts over your 'in game' love interest was a bit uncomfortable, which it was probably supposed to be
3. Planetside 2. Okay its an MMOFPS, but as a combat medic working as part of a team to hot drop into enemy territory and survive, hectic, tense, and hellishly fun, where there is no time to consider what to do, but just react and adapt, not many games i've played where i've had to stop after an hour because of how 'tense' things get.
4. World of Warcraft, still fun, surprisingly, Holy Priest spec + raid finder = fun, lot of WTF moments. More fun than raiding ever was before, which seems a bit odd.
if there is one 'common' denominator, i would say that for people who enjoy playing the healer class/spec whatever, its that its because it is such a 'group' experience.
Tera, finally a game with fun combat for a healer. Popori mystic for life.
Wildstar, medic was a very fun healing class for pvp. Game was not OW oriented enough for me.
Dayz, FUCK YES I'm counting this, I bandaged my friend the other day after he got shot and was unconscious and some dude with an axe was running right at me, but I finished the bandage in time and shot that axe guy and my friend got up.
I didn't vote, but I considered voting WoW because of priest, all time favorite MMORPG class.
--John Ruskin
Though not on the list, Warhammer was probably my favorite. Being a healer in some of the great pvp battles in that game was so much fun and so hectic.
Aside from WAR, FFXIV is also up there.