Feeling blue

Mystfit · 10-02-2005, 07:17 AM

I went out in some groups today and feel I failed and wodnered if I need to give up on my little fury or rethink my plan or select better grouping situations SMILEY

In tough battles with not alot of tanks, a character would go down in death before I could get s spell out of my hands. SOmetimes i'ts technical, not getting the person targetted fast enough. Sometimes I think it's cause we're outmatched and outgunned...but if there's a chance it's cause *I* am not doing my job right in being a healer, I need to know. I selected Fury as I hoped it owuld be a good blend of heal/spell casting and some mele ability. I like that, but hte burdeon of being the healer and keeping people alive weighs heavy. I take the deaths hard. What can I do to make myself better and capable of meeting the challeneg of the healer in a group?

Twoboxer2 · 10-02-2005, 10:51 AM

I'm going to take a cue from one thing you said . . . "sometimes I don't target fast enough".

Frankly, as a healer, this is unfogivable in most circumstances. Soooo, a few suggestions.

You MUST learn to heal without taking your eyes off of the screen to look at the keyboard, and without using your mouse. You do this by:

1. Use ONLY the Function keys to target group members. If necessary, use a UI mod to get a group window that displays the function keys next to the health bars of each player in your group. F1 is you, F2-F6 are them, and a double-press targets that player's pet. So the correct F-key number is right next to that dangerously red health bar.

2. Set your five primary heals on your primary hotkey bar in slots 1-5

3. Stare at the group health bar, position your fingers on the F-keys, and cast your heal spell using keys 1 through 5.

4. Personally, I have trouble refocusing (old eyes), so I try to keep all the things I MUST see close together so I can see them all at once. For me, this means the Group WIndow, casting bar, and fizzle messages should all be visible when I am looking at any one of them (ie, they are as close together as possible).

When you can keep the group alive without looking at the keyboard, you can look around and expand your role SMILEY

If you're already doing this, your doing the best you can. And people do die SMILEY

Hope this helps

Sunlei · 10-02-2005, 07:06 PM

Great advice from Twoboxer, use those F keys for targeting. Your position(where you stand) can be helpfull aswell. Not with targeting but when you heal and the mob sometimes turns towards you, it's very helpfull to the main tank that he doesn't have to move to taunt. Ask the main tank where he wants you to stand. Positioning is a lot different in raids or when the mob has area spells. Sometimes classes that hit hardest from the back of the mob just love those times you can use your heals to 'give them the mobs backside' hehe SMILEY

good luck and don't be blue! because you care about the people you'll be a wonderfull healer!

Lanalia · 10-02-2005, 09:17 PM

I agree with everything Twoboxer said. From playing a Druid in EQ1 for many years, I got used to quick reflexes and not using my mouse at all. It makes for fast healing SMILEY

Another idea is, if you're battling a single mob, just keep the mob targeted and heal through him. That way, you'll always have in your "implied target" window the PC he's smacking around. This doesn't work as well for multi-mob encounters of course. SMILEY

Mystfit · 10-03-2005, 12:35 AM

Is there a better explanation of what the differing spells do? TOday I was targeting a sinlge character....a pet of a summoner and I couldn't keep him healed and I wonder if it's cause i don't understand all the varying types of heals..heal, blook, arch....perhpas the combos of heals I ahve slected aren't effective?

SpritRaja · 10-03-2005, 01:34 AM

Your heals get upgraded what you need to do is sort your spells by category and go look for the heals. Examine them. Click the heals and heal yourself to see which ones use the same timer. Examine them see which one casts faster and heals for more. you should mainly have 3 single target heals on your hotbar. 1 regen, 1 small fast direct heal, 1 big slow direct heal. you might also have group heals depending on how high you are in level. Should be 2 on your hotbar 1 group direct heal, and 1 group regen. Last but not least you should have 2 save heals, 1 group and 1 single target these dont cost power and are instant cast just have long timers.

Those are just the heals. You also need to take a look at your buffs. Examine them see which ones are better on the same spell line. Make sure you have them up on the people you want to save from dying.

Most important if you already know how to heal and play your class make sure all your spells are upgraded as high as you can get them emphasising heals buffs. Adept 1 or better is good although at low levels might be hard to find/expensive. Atleast get your spells made by your local scholar/sage into apprentice 4.

sorinev · 10-03-2005, 04:12 AM

STCardGeek wrote:
Is there a better explanation of what the differing spells do? TOday I was targeting a sinlge character....a pet of a summoner and I couldn't keep him healed and I wonder if it's cause i don't understand all the varying types of heals..heal, blook, arch....perhpas the combos of heals I ahve slected aren't effective?

If it was the tank pet - well those things just have a crapload of hitpoints. They seem to have as many or more hp than real player tanks. So the heals don't *seem* to work as well on such pets. But you'll notice the heals doing a lot more on pets that don't have as many hitpoints, like the scout or mage pets.

Mystfit · 10-03-2005, 03:17 PM

Well, firstly, when exmaining my spells and trying to buy an adept one, it told me that spell was WELL below my currentl level and I should buy better (at level 23). So, obviously part of my problem is my spells are too weak, so I'm going to tradeskill for awhile and earn some $$ to get a scribe to make me better. Then I'll take you suggestion above to select the better of all the *types of spells* and try again. No fighting for mre for a while SMILEY

...

RedDragon · 10-03-2005, 09:26 PM

The best 2 tips is fast targeting and upgrading your spells.

The other thing is that it is though to be the only healer in a group that is fighting challenging content. People will die when there is aggro. Our class simply cannot (even witht he best player in the universe) keep a group alive in some situations.

With only 2 direct heals on seperate timers, if you use them on the tank and the wizard gets aggro right after, there's a good change he will bite the dust even if you manage to regen him.

Kuva · 10-04-2005, 12:11 AM

STCardGeek wrote:

Today I was targeting a sinlge character....a pet of a summoner and I couldn't keep him healed

That's Sony's fault, not yours. A couple of screwy dev decisions late in beta turned our tank pets into basically a big bag of hitpoints fighting in their underwear. So they're very difficult to heal effectively, because 10% of their hit points is the same as maybe 20% of a player tank's hitpoints at the same level.

I'm a 53 necro, I have a 750 HP direct heal on a 6-sec timer. It is barely effective to heal my pet, but it's good enough on player tanks that I make a pretty darn good backup healer.

Message Edited by Kuvala on 10-03-2005 01:16 PM

pootski · 10-04-2005, 06:59 PM

I hate fizzles when healing. So much is going on, I wonder why that guy is still dying. So, I now use eq-companion. It runs on a seperate computer. It is mainly a logging/dps program but has the feature of being able to speak out things based on triggers. So I have it set up so if I fizzle, it yells out "FIZZLE FIZZLE FIZZLE" so I can just wack the key again without having to keep an eye on all the stuff flying by in the chat boxes. http://home.inreach.com/kai/EQCompanion/ is the site. It started as a eq1 program (I use it there also) but now works with eq2 also.

Gaellen · 10-04-2005, 08:25 PM

Another thing to consider is what you were fighting - if the mobs are conning orange to the tank or are triple-up, you might want to move on. There's no benifit to fighting orange mobs at all. SMILEY

On money, don't tradeskill unless you plan to work at it. If you need money it's much faster to adventure or quest, and sell the body loot you find. The real money in tradeskilling doesn't come till you catch up with the rest of the playerbase and even then it often requires that you work long hours at it, to see profit.

Mystfit · 10-06-2005, 06:33 PM

I've been working on spell upgrades though the broker and a scribe our guild has. I"m hopeful that'll make me a bit more effective. I've alos practiced alot at ordering my spells, learning what *locks* up when I've cast a spell and what will be avialbe right afterwards to cast right away. I'm hopeful it'll help some SMILEY

I'm avoiding groups right now which is making alot of my quests impossible, so that's a down point but I hope I can gt on 'em soon SMILEY

10-02-2005, 07:17 AM	#1
Mystfit Loremaster Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 2,984	I went out in some groups today and feel I failed and wodnered if I need to give up on my little fury or rethink my plan or select better grouping situations In tough battles with not alot of tanks, a character would go down in death before I could get s spell out of my hands. SOmetimes i'ts technical, not getting the person targetted fast enough. Sometimes I think it's cause we're outmatched and outgunned...but if there's a chance it's cause I am not doing my job right in being a healer, I need to know. I selected Fury as I hoped it owuld be a good blend of heal/spell casting and some mele ability. I like that, but hte burdeon of being the healer and keeping people alive weighs heavy. I take the deaths hard. What can I do to make myself better and capable of meeting the challeneg of the healer in a group? __________________

10-02-2005, 10:51 AM	#2
Twoboxer2 Loremaster Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 131	I'm going to take a cue from one thing you said . . . "sometimes I don't target fast enough". Frankly, as a healer, this is unfogivable in most circumstances. Soooo, a few suggestions. You MUST learn to heal without taking your eyes off of the screen to look at the keyboard, and without using your mouse. You do this by: 1. Use ONLY the Function keys to target group members. If necessary, use a UI mod to get a group window that displays the function keys next to the health bars of each player in your group. F1 is you, F2-F6 are them, and a double-press targets that player's pet. So the correct F-key number is right next to that dangerously red health bar. 2. Set your five primary heals on your primary hotkey bar in slots 1-5 3. Stare at the group health bar, position your fingers on the F-keys, and cast your heal spell using keys 1 through 5. 4. Personally, I have trouble refocusing (old eyes), so I try to keep all the things I MUST see close together so I can see them all at once. For me, this means the Group WIndow, casting bar, and fizzle messages should all be visible when I am looking at any one of them (ie, they are as close together as possible). When you can keep the group alive without looking at the keyboard, you can look around and expand your role If you're already doing this, your doing the best you can. And people do die Hope this helps __________________

10-02-2005, 07:06 PM	#3
Sunlei Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 518	Great advice from Twoboxer, use those F keys for targeting. Your position(where you stand) can be helpfull aswell. Not with targeting but when you heal and the mob sometimes turns towards you, it's very helpfull to the main tank that he doesn't have to move to taunt. Ask the main tank where he wants you to stand. Positioning is a lot different in raids or when the mob has area spells. Sometimes classes that hit hardest from the back of the mob just love those times you can use your heals to 'give them the mobs backside' hehe good luck and don't be blue! because you care about the people you'll be a wonderfull healer! __________________ singapore training, always wear your flack jacket and helmet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogNNbdQnKcw training housecall! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2Q2wSAKIr4

10-02-2005, 09:17 PM	#4
Lanalia Loremaster Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 175	I agree with everything Twoboxer said. From playing a Druid in EQ1 for many years, I got used to quick reflexes and not using my mouse at all. It makes for fast healing Another idea is, if you're battling a single mob, just keep the mob targeted and heal through him. That way, you'll always have in your "implied target" window the PC he's smacking around. This doesn't work as well for multi-mob encounters of course. __________________

10-03-2005, 12:35 AM	#5
Mystfit Loremaster Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 2,984	Is there a better explanation of what the differing spells do? TOday I was targeting a sinlge character....a pet of a summoner and I couldn't keep him healed and I wonder if it's cause i don't understand all the varying types of heals..heal, blook, arch....perhpas the combos of heals I ahve slected aren't effective? __________________

10-03-2005, 01:34 AM	#6
SpritRaja Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: ACT, Australia Posts: 418	Your heals get upgraded what you need to do is sort your spells by category and go look for the heals. Examine them. Click the heals and heal yourself to see which ones use the same timer. Examine them see which one casts faster and heals for more. you should mainly have 3 single target heals on your hotbar. 1 regen, 1 small fast direct heal, 1 big slow direct heal. you might also have group heals depending on how high you are in level. Should be 2 on your hotbar 1 group direct heal, and 1 group regen. Last but not least you should have 2 save heals, 1 group and 1 single target these dont cost power and are instant cast just have long timers. Those are just the heals. You also need to take a look at your buffs. Examine them see which ones are better on the same spell line. Make sure you have them up on the people you want to save from dying. Most important if you already know how to heal and play your class make sure all your spells are upgraded as high as you can get them emphasising heals buffs. Adept 1 or better is good although at low levels might be hard to find/expensive. Atleast get your spells made by your local scholar/sage into apprentice 4.

10-03-2005, 04:12 AM	#7
sorinev Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 258	STCardGeek wrote: Is there a better explanation of what the differing spells do? TOday I was targeting a sinlge character....a pet of a summoner and I couldn't keep him healed and I wonder if it's cause i don't understand all the varying types of heals..heal, blook, arch....perhpas the combos of heals I ahve slected aren't effective? If it was the tank pet - well those things just have a crapload of hitpoints. They seem to have as many or more hp than real player tanks. So the heals don't seem to work as well on such pets. But you'll notice the heals doing a lot more on pets that don't have as many hitpoints, like the scout or mage pets. __________________ _______________________________________ Lavastorm Server. R.I.P. 70 Fury, 70 Jeweler. old school Fury, rolled 12/10/04 90 Brigand, 90 Armorer LU13 Fury bandwagon FTL.

10-03-2005, 03:17 PM	#8
Mystfit Loremaster Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 2,984	Well, firstly, when exmaining my spells and trying to buy an adept one, it told me that spell was WELL below my currentl level and I should buy better (at level 23). So, obviously part of my problem is my spells are too weak, so I'm going to tradeskill for awhile and earn some $$ to get a scribe to make me better. Then I'll take you suggestion above to select the better of all the types of spells and try again. No fighting for mre for a while ... __________________

10-03-2005, 09:26 PM	#9
RedDragon Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 42	The best 2 tips is fast targeting and upgrading your spells. The other thing is that it is though to be the only healer in a group that is fighting challenging content. People will die when there is aggro. Our class simply cannot (even witht he best player in the universe) keep a group alive in some situations. With only 2 direct heals on seperate timers, if you use them on the tank and the wizard gets aggro right after, there's a good change he will bite the dust even if you manage to regen him.

10-04-2005, 12:11 AM	#10
Kuva Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 75	STCardGeek wrote: Today I was targeting a sinlge character....a pet of a summoner and I couldn't keep him healed That's Sony's fault, not yours. A couple of screwy dev decisions late in beta turned our tank pets into basically a big bag of hitpoints fighting in their underwear. So they're very difficult to heal effectively, because 10% of their hit points is the same as maybe 20% of a player tank's hitpoints at the same level. I'm a 53 necro, I have a 750 HP direct heal on a 6-sec timer. It is barely effective to heal my pet, but it's good enough on player tanks that I make a pretty darn good backup healer. Message Edited by Kuvala on 10-03-2005 01:16 PM

10-04-2005, 06:59 PM	#11
pootski Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 140	I hate fizzles when healing. So much is going on, I wonder why that guy is still dying. So, I now use eq-companion. It runs on a seperate computer. It is mainly a logging/dps program but has the feature of being able to speak out things based on triggers. So I have it set up so if I fizzle, it yells out "FIZZLE FIZZLE FIZZLE" so I can just wack the key again without having to keep an eye on all the stuff flying by in the chat boxes. http://home.inreach.com/kai/EQCompanion/ is the site. It started as a eq1 program (I use it there also) but now works with eq2 also.

10-04-2005, 08:25 PM	#12
Gaellen Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 354	Another thing to consider is what you were fighting - if the mobs are conning orange to the tank or are triple-up, you might want to move on. There's no benifit to fighting orange mobs at all. On money, don't tradeskill unless you plan to work at it. If you need money it's much faster to adventure or quest, and sell the body loot you find. The real money in tradeskilling doesn't come till you catch up with the rest of the playerbase and even then it often requires that you work long hours at it, to see profit. __________________

10-06-2005, 06:33 PM	#13
Mystfit Loremaster Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 2,984	I've been working on spell upgrades though the broker and a scribe our guild has. I"m hopeful that'll make me a bit more effective. I've alos practiced alot at ordering my spells, learning what locks up when I've cast a spell and what will be avialbe right afterwards to cast right away. I'm hopeful it'll help some I'm avoiding groups right now which is making alot of my quests impossible, so that's a down point but I hope I can gt on 'em soon __________________