A good read, with the only downside being that now I want to play some moar! I usually heal, but during the few stress tests I tried I kinda chickened out into playing a Stalker (which is awesome). Come release and more focus on group play, it's back to the heals though. See you in the world!
WildStar: Relearning the Trinity
Cyglaive discusses what to expect with WildStar's use of the "Holy Trinity"
A Deadly Blade
Next we have the Damage Dealers, commonly referred to as the DPS (Damage Per Second). The job description is in the name, really: bring the hurt to the monsters as quick and as deadly as possible. Monsters can’t fight back when they’re full of holes and, in all honesty, this part of the role hasn’t changed that much in WildStar. However, what has changed is the importance, and the pressure, of undertaking the damage dealing role.
In most MMOs that use the Holy Trinity, it’s expected that it’s the Healer’s job to always keep you alive as long as you’re staying out of the fire. Because Healers in other games typically have enough range to cover at least half of the encounter room and don’t usually need to worry about aiming their abilities, this normally ends up being a reasonable task to manage.
On planet Nexus, this changes up a bit. First, because WildStar focuses on painting monster abilities on the ground for you using its intricate telegraph system, it also means the game can create increasingly complex telegraphs, as well as make getting hit by these projected-abilities much more unforgiving. And it definitely does that.
As a fairly squishy DPS, most boss telegraphs will take at least 25% of your health upon getting hit. In a lot of cases you can actually get two- to three-shotted—or even one-shotted—from some of the more fatal mechanics if you’re not at full health and taking multiple telegraphs to the face.
While numbers are still being tweaked in beta, this means that as a DPS you need to be constantly on your toes. Not only to make it easier on your Healer, who is going to want to do their best to focus on keeping the Tank alive anyway, but also because you bring most of your group’s damage. All of those crazy telegraphs going on around you aren’t going to stop unless you bring some serious hurt to the boss—which your party can’t do if you decide to take an early dirt nap.
The second thing to keep in mind as a DPS is that, unlike in other games, your healer won’t have near-infinite range. While you’re dodging enemy telegraphs, your Healer will be doing the same, but also while trying to line up their own skill-shot heals and moving into range of the next person in need of their talents. While Healers do have a few targeted heals to start out with, most of their more substantial healing spells are going to have to be aimed or require them to be in position to actually have them land.
With this in mind as a DPS, it’s highly important to keep track of your own health pool, as well as the location of your Healer. If you start to get low on health and see the healer moving in to aid you, you should meet them partway or ensure that you’re in an easily accessible area of the battlefield. If you’re low and the boss decides to make a checkerboard-shaped telegraph that fills the entire room—yes, this is a thing—it might be a while before your Healer is able to actually get close enough to grant you any first-aid, so good positioning can be key to winning some of the more difficult encounters.
Again, keeping yourself alive is top priority when DPSing, and making it easier for your Healer to actually heal you is guaranteed to extend your life expectancy. The DPS-to-Healer relationship can be similar in other games, however the execution in WildStar is what I believe makes the big difference in this case.
A Soothing Wind
Finally, we come to the Healer. As a Healer your job is to keep your party—yourself included—in tip-top shape so that they can keep on doing their individual roles, making you the piece of the machine that keeps all of the other gears moving. If the DPS segment above made healing sound somewhat hectic, that’s because it definitely can be. However, it can also feel very rewarding.
To all Healers coming to WildStar the first change you’re going to notice is that, like mentioned above, most of your “big heals” are going to be free-form. This means that you will constantly need to aim your heals, or ensure that party members are in the radius of your heal so that they can receive the benefits. Unlike most DPS or even Tanks, who get the benefit of aiming at fairly predictable monsters, Healers will actually be trying to aim a lot of their abilities on moving players, which PvPers know can be a lot more difficult. I know this sounds daunting, but don’t freak out on me just yet. I promise it’s going to be okay!
In order to help you with this endeavor, allies will be able to see where you are aiming beneficial spells on the ground—such as heals or buffs—making it easier for them to move into your abilities. Assuming they’re being a good and responsible group members, that is.
As I mentioned in the DPS segment above, because your range is limited and abilities are very aim intensive, it’s not always your fault if you weren’t able to prevent someone from dying. A Healer isn’t expected to run through three fire telegraphs just to heal the DPS on the other side of the room. Especially one who isn’t even attempting to make an effort to get in range or move into the path of the heal. So you can rest a bit easier knowing that you did what you could in that situation. With that in mind, if you want to be an effective Healer you will need to always be on the move so that you can line up spells properly and find the best positioning possible throughout each encounter. In most cases I found that discussing positioning based on the type of Healer your group had, before you pulled the boss, actually increased my group’s overall performance. Pickup group communication, who would have thought, right?
At this point, if you’re thinking that healing is going to have a steep learning curve, then you pretty much hit the nail on the head. I would even say that it has the steepest learning curve of any role in the game because it’s so far from what most Healers are used to, that being standing in a spot and not moving until that spot becomes filled with “bad stuff”.
That being said, I believe good Healers will definitely be recognized with WildStar’s combat system, even above good tanks, due to their ability to move around the battlefield effectively while keeping everyone else alive and kicking.