Heh, this thread gave me flash backs to when I first started playing a cleric in the original EQ.
In the beginning, I struggled, trying to provide some value to the group over other healers who had useful utility skills, like SoW, invis, ports, that I lacked. I was soooo convinced that a dedicated healer was important.
In the end, we ruled in the healing department. It was complete domination, especially combined with our ability to eliminate the death penalty, which was harsh in the original EQ.
Looks like the EQII devs took some effort to avoid that here. To the point that I doubt you'll ever achieve the kind of dominance we "enjoyed" in the original EQ. "Enjoyed" in quotes, because clerics ultimately ended up in chain gangs (to ensure efficient timing of our complete heals).
I do think SoE has over-reacted to the problem in the original EQ of having a superior healing class. I've played other games, like World of Warcraft and Anarchy Online, where there still is a class that is vastly superior in healing compared to other classes. But yet they are still in high demand, because not enough people want to play them.
Go figure.