So a healer class is only viable, if the content is directed at party-pve or group-pvp, right?

Title says it all.

(fyi: feedback forum, because I want a healer class)

Hrm, that's a hard one.

With how frantic PoE's playstyle is, you will have to get very creative to make it work. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it would need the big-brains.

This is not a Divinity or BG style game WRPG where you have time to recognize, target and begin healing a player taking damage. PoE tends to be spiky in it's damage output. You essentially ignore chip damage, and die to sudden burst of very high dps.

Countering this would need something along the lines of DAoC's Realm Ability "Divine Intervention" - a buff instantly heals party members damage from a large pool. Standard "target and heal" or even heals that recover automatically when manually cast (without needing a target), will be very hard to time past yellow maps.

Not impossible. But very hard.

You might get creative and set up some system where the "healer's" damage heals their group mate's life, but you'd need to walk a fine line between "so low it's garbage" and "YAY! We're invulnerable to anything that can't one-shot us!" So finding a good balance will be tough.

Not Impossible. But tough.

In all honesty, the group support provided by aura and curse bots, backed up with decoy and healing totems seems like it's a better fit for PoE. Even when you're taking things slow, the game is fast and furious - perhaps too much so for a traditional healer.

I look at other AARPG's like Din's Curse, which had a healer specline, and it just didn't work very well. And I think about Diablo, where you had heal other and holy bolt - and how difficult it was to actually use them in party play.

Again, not impossible, but you will need to really think hard.

A reliable healing role is not possible in the current state of the game.

There are 3 types of general damage in an RPG:
Chip Damage: Used to peck at character HP or bring about potentially overwhelming conditions.
Burst Damage: Used to invoke a response from the player. In this case what you'd be healing mostly.
Telegraphed One-Shot: Self explanatory, It's well shown. You fail, You die.

Long ago this game used a lot more chip damage. It could also stun lock if you got crowded which is the overwhelming aspect. None of this is the case anymore. Chip damage is either nil or always overwhelming while Burst Damage is the main source of player damage intake.

Due to enemy density increase over the years it's just not possible to counter Burst Damage reliably, esp as another player so a character dying is based in probability. Not skill, reflex, ect.

Those things among others can reduce the probability of dying but nothing can prevent it.
Best you can do is reduce probability to 0.0001% which has little to do with actual healing.

Its already kinda doable.

Maligaro´s Lens, Necromantic Aegis, Minion Instability, Infernal Legion, (Replica) Earendel´s Embrace and then spam either skellies or zombies at your hearts content to heal your buddies while also contributing some dmg.

"

Orbaal wrote:

Its already kinda doable.

Maligaro´s Lens, Necromantic Aegis, Minion Instability, Infernal Legion, (Replica) Earendel´s Embrace and then spam either skellies or zombies at your hearts content to heal your buddies while also contributing some dmg.

And lowering their FPS ;)

Would be nice if "healer class" has a skill that "Recovers 9% lost XP if revive by healer".

* I miss Dekaron gameplay.

If OP is suggesting implementing group PVE content in order to introduce a healer archetype, then I strongly disagree.

All of the content in the game has been soloable up to this point, with varying degrees of success based on one's wealth. Forcing players to group up for activities, in a game that has zero matchmaking, would be a disaster.

Why don't they move back to chip damage, more so then?

Obviously many mmo's have figured this defensive scaling out, I don't understand what makes POE so different with that. I'm trying to see if mmo's would make sense with these huge burst hits, idk.

However your
A healer class, is something they should add to POE 2, they have time to figure that out.

Yes, I've heard them say that in a interview. Ultimately, they just have to make party-play gear, achievable by single players means, elsewhere. While still building a difficult party play experience. So both teams win.

P.s. I'm sure I should respect your replies, about why the scaling of burst damage is the way it is too. I've figured that much for why healers wouldn't work, yet. However it is also interesting, talking about why they don't work too. Like maybe the game has to figure itself out some more, for why healers can even play your game. Or not? However maybe the shift, would be worth it, in the long run.

Off topic:

Once again, I believe they shouldn't model this game after Diablo 2, for group play updates or lack of. For the next 4 years. Tho plan for other random sandbox worthy updates. Venture to unknown grounds, outside of end-game pve gear.

I personally am not a fan of directing this game, toward single players, even if it started off that way, for ease of developing the game. I don't really believe single players are honorable pc players to begin with. This isn't console. This isn't baldurs gate. Diablo 2 only had small parties, because it came out 20+ years ago, before WoW. & Diablo 3 only had multiplayer limitation, because Diablo 3 was a bad game, built by lazy amateur's with no vision.

(Diablo 3 was built by the type of people who copy skill builds)

Meanwhile Ragnarok Online is hosting 150 guildvsguild castles & 800 people towns 20+ years ago. Which had priests. Aren't the monster servers & town servers, a separate load for POE still, idk? It seems if guild wars 1, which also came out 20 years ago, was technically a morpg, not a mmorpg, than POE with x10 the funds, can provide similar multiplayer town channels.

Or here's a simpler way to look at it; POE hasn't surpassed Diablo 2's multiplayer content; even if Diablo 2 was 20 years ago of a content pitch idea. Or people in the forums, that are fine with that, doesn't make sense either.

I came here to play a diablo 4 killer, not a copy-cat of diablo 2 or 3, as for content vision boards go. A diablo 4 killer, is also going to have to beat out Lost Ark, which is also a ARPG, yet MMORPG. So if Lost Ark North American edition, isn't P2W, than 10/10 for that game. Simple as that. POE already isn't P2W at least, good there (even if the fashion is a tad overpriced). Tho is it going to keep up with the times, or stay at Diablo 2 level forever?

P.s. I'm also saying this as a huge Diablo 2 fan. Yet still don't want POE 2 to stay in the past.