Is it acceptable to play a healer anymore?

LettuceBrain · May 2021

I'm just curious since everyone seems to think that 3 DPS and 1 tank are needed. I only really want to play healers in group content but I want to know if I am actually needed.

OlumoGarbag · May 2021

Healers are still overpowered in PVP. If you want to be the most needed grab some friends, get PvP gear on and play battlegrounds or cyrodiil.
In PVE I would always spec for a damage healer, if the group DPS is good you can focus on healing if not you focus more on damage.

LettuceBrain · May 2021

OlumoGarbag wrote: »

Healers are still overpowered in PVP. If you want to be the most needed grab some friends, get PvP gear on and play battlegrounds or bgs.
In PVE I would always spec for a damage healer, if the group DPS is good you can focus on healing if not you focus more on damage.

Yeah in PvP I definitely feel more appreciated. So I'm thinking for normal and vet dungeons I will spec for both damage and healing, but once I find a progressive group to join and start doing trials I will spec more for healing. Does that sound good?

VaranisArano · May 2021

Yes, it is acceptable to play as healer. Most random groups benefit from a healer with group support skills and buffs. But if you want to be sure that you are needed, I suggest making a premade group from zone or guildies.

Additionally, most people who use the random queue expect to get a healer. If they didn't want one, they would make their own premade group or queue as a fake healer themselves. That being said, a healer shouldn't be only pumping out heals. Healers provide group buffs and do damage when appropriate.

LettuceBrain · May 2021

VaranisArano wrote: »

Yes, it is acceptable to play as healer. Most random groups benefit from a healer with group support skills and buffs. But if you want to be sure that you are needed, I suggest making a premade group from zone or guildies.

Additionally, most people who use the random queue expect to get a healer. If they didn't want one, they would make their own premade group or queue as a fake healer themselves. That being said, a healer shouldn't be only pumping out heals. Healers provide group buffs and do damage when appropriate.

Thanks for the reassurance. Thankfully I have never had to deal with a fake healer since I always play the healer.

Starlight_Whisper · May 2021

The problem grows each patch in pve ..I remember everyone was like that's ridiculous only high end do 3 dps..and now average group does.

Nobody looks for healers unless trials and some very rare occurrence of pledge groups. Arenas are almost always 3 dps. I mean pugs you could still enjoy, but progression has stalled with healers in PvE.

A hybrid DPS or just supportive DPS better then a real Healer

Malkiv · May 2021

LettuceBrain wrote: »

I'm just curious since everyone seems to think that 3 DPS and 1 tank are needed. I only really want to play healers in group content but I want to know if I am actually needed.

Most of the time, buff bots (i.e. healers) are not needed in a normal dungeon, nor in non-DLC vets. Having a buff bot in a vet DLC dungeon is nice, so you can just focus on mechanics and parsing the boss. Where buff bots really get their time to shine is in trials and pvp.

OneWingedAnge7 · May 2021

I love having a healer in my groups, so does my friendly tank. But they are so rare these days that I almost always end up in the healing role as a dd just so a queue doesn't take an hour to pop. I understand that as a dd I can self heal myself very effectively either as a stamsorc or a magblade but I do like to have heals all the same. I just wish there were more of them

FangOfTheTwoMoons · May 2021

Get yourself some buff sets and you'll always be wanted in group content.

Iccotak · May 2021

Starlight_Whisper wrote: »

A hybrid DPS or just supportive DPS better then a real Healer

As a Tank, I have never found that to be the case in higher end content.

if you've out-leveled the activity you're playing then sure, but that does not carry over in later Vet HM Dungeons & Trials.

I will take proper group formation over "Hybrid Builds" on higher endgame content any day of the week

peacenote · May 2021

OneWingedAnge7 wrote: »

I love having a healer in my groups, so does my friendly tank. But they are so rare these days that I almost always end up in the healing role as a dd just so a queue doesn't take an hour to pop. I understand that as a dd I can self heal myself very effectively either as a stamsorc or a magblade but I do like to have heals all the same. I just wish there were more of them

This. I have played a templar healer main since beta. In my completely anecdotal experience (no data, just observations) a LOT of healers have quit the game or changed roles over the past few patches, at least for PvE. Healing theorycrafting topics and builds are few and far between.

It almost feels like the lack of healers has caused them to be less valued and increased the perception that they are not needed. But they are needed in lots of content, and I would argue are more valuable in even overland content as opposed to tanks due to the flexibility good healers can bring. Buff dps, save lives, or bring some dps yourself. With enough gear and knowledge of the role, you can do all these things simultaneously or tweak to focus on one depending on what's needed.

If you like healing, I would say definitely join the party. You'll be welcomed in most groups and content. It sounds like you aren't at a place where you are tackling the end game content that requires specifically synchronized class/role makeups and that changes every meta anyway. It's almost impossible to not spend time being "undesired" in some settings due to your class or role because of how fast ZOS pushes out content and drastically changes core parts of ESO on a regular basis.

Eiagra · May 2021

My main is a Magicka Templar, and I've found that hybridizing DPS and Heals suits my play style best. I worked on maxing skills that gives me flexibility to slot depending on the situation (Symbiosis proved quite valuable in one case to keep our tank alive where resource management was otherwise a bit difficult). And early on leveling up I was always in a party with my sister, who was more the damage dealer, and I kept her alive. So, yeah, I'd say there's always room for a healer, just there are so many flavors of healer to pick from that you may find yourself adjusting based on what's going on.

Hal · May 2021

Shout out to all the great healers, who are still kicking around, healing me through both my own squishiness & my own 'standing in stupid' problems.

Thank you, you are appreciated.

(I need you)

AcadianPaladin · May 2021

I have a long running healplar and have two big problems with the current direction of healing.

First, sets/skills that support only those I'm grouped with. I loathe this. When Barrier changed to group only, I dumped it. Same with Earthgore and Winter's Respite. If I can't support my group AND randoms at the same dragon/harrowstorm/WB, etc, I'll favor supporting randoms since that is where I spend more time.

Secondly, the new CP system erodes the beautiful synergy of healing - that is, spell damage boosts both healing and damage. I fear the possible introduction of a 'healing power' attribute and completely separating healing and damage. I'd urge caution with this. If you ask this healer to choose between healing and damage, she'll choose damage and change her role accordingly. No damage support is why my tank is mostly retired. I understand the intent of this direction is to make dd's require a healer but if you strip healers of decent damage, there won't be many healers left for the dd's who want them.

I guess my real problem is that my primary activity is solo work - but it is fun to sometimes do group work. If made to choose, I'll go pure solo long before I ever 'optimize' for group only.

Agenericname · May 2021

LettuceBrain wrote: »

I'm just curious since everyone seems to think that 3 DPS and 1 tank are needed. I only really want to play healers in group content but I want to know if I am actually needed.

If you like healing, heal. There's room for healers. I'm like @Iccotak in this respect, in vet DLCs, the harder ones anyway, I'd prefer either a real healer (a good one) or no healer at all. I've seen some that can do both well, but they're pretty rare.

I think a lot of the 3DDs stuff is people trying to emulate what the cool kids are doing. With good groups, they can pull that off. I've seen a lot try and it was a dumpster fire, it depends on the content and the group.

We run with a healer. I'd argue that 3dds aren't needed. It does make some of the achievements easier, but not a necessity. 2 competent DDs with good support can easily get north of 120k group DPS ST.

So, play your healer, play it well, you'll find a group that appreciates you, then go conquer Tamriel.

Leia98 · May 2021

I've been a healer main for a year now and I never felt like people didn't want me in a group so far. For trials, your heals are absolutely needed anyway, normal and veteran.

For dungeons, what I normally do is being a buff bot, basically providing the group with important buffs like major courage, major slayer, minor berserk, minor sorcery(I'm a healplar). In most of the vet dlc hard modes, however, your heals are absolutely needed 99% of the time. Yes, there are groups that do most vet dlc's without healers, but they are very few people.

The main reason why people tend to go with 3dds is simply that it is harder to find a healer for a pug group than a healer, thus they look for a dd instead - Especially with 4keys dungeon runs. If people want to do the dlc as well, however, they will most likely look for a healer - especially the newer dlc dungeons like stone garden or castle thorn.

I've seen group dps go up to 160k with two competent dds in a dungeon run because the buffs they get make their dps stronger. They also don't have to care about self heals because you are healing them anyway.

ixthUA · May 2021

As a healer, on mob fights i often do 50-70% of total damage, while also healing/buffing the team.
On boss fights i do around 20-25% of total dps, also heal, buff, do mechanics, revive.
I stared as a pure healer, but often random team dps was low, so i changed my build to hybrid dps/heal/buff, it works much better.

LettuceBrain · May 2021

Thanks for the information everyone. I’m glad the majority of you feel that I am not useless lmao.

ThePianist · May 2021

Well in PVE, I think the pedestalization of the elites on the top leaderboards is driving the meta, and is leading to unhealthy expectations.

Optimal group comp xyz, abcd, ect... based on what? Every class and every imaginable group comp CAN beat the content.

For example, the meta claims BiS tank is DK. That’s an acceptable fact if your group wants to be ranked 1 or even make it on the leaderboards. Does that mean DK is BiS for a group that doesn’t care about leaderboards and just want to get the sunspore skin/mount? Again no, every class CAN beat the content. I’ve seen two Templar tanks and two sorc tanks from two different group comps that have done it.

If the only class available to play was a DK, and there were only 10 sets in the whole game; One person, one group, one guild will always be better than the rest of the flock.

Play how you want to play, and get together with the same people who has the same mindset and goals as you.

Jeremy · May 2021

LettuceBrain wrote: »

I'm just curious since everyone seems to think that 3 DPS and 1 tank are needed. I only really want to play healers in group content but I want to know if I am actually needed.

The problem is this game caters to DPS in a big way. Many of the "mechanics" in the more difficult content require you to burn down adds asap, or kill the boss fast within a given time window or the group is going to die no matter how good the healer is. Healers are also designed poorly on this game, with spells you have to aim and AoEs that require precise positioning or for groups to stay in a certain area of effect while the fights themselves are often chaotic and require players to run all over the place in a large battlefield. Therefore a lot of groups end up doing better with more damage and more reliance on self-healing. So if you plan on playing a healer, I highly recommend you have at least one good heal you don't have to aim and can use on people when they are scattered and all over the place. Otherwise you are going to be nearly useless as a healer on a lot of the harder 4 man content in unorganized pug groups.

Healers are nice to have around, because they can take a lot of the pressure off the group. But they are rarely if ever the final solution to the harder 4 man content. Those almost always revolve around having or needing moar deeps! which is something this game is simply obsessed with. It is what it is.

FrancisCrawford · May 2021

I've played this game since open beta, and it's always made sense to go into the healer role with one heal/buff bar and one damage bar. Of course, Elemental Drain could go on the damage bar or a damaging skill on the resto bar, but basically I've always built for all parts of the role at once.

In a weak group I might do 40-65% of group DPS myself. In a strong one I might do 10-15%. Either way can lead to success.

Suna_Ye_Sunnabe · May 2021

Find yourself a group that appreciates you, if you want to beat the hardest content on a healer. A GOOD healer will make any run smoother, and I can say that confidently as I have done very difficult content both ways. I always have a competent healer come for skin and personality runs; they just feel so much better, as with the buffs from our healer we have the same burn as many 3 dd groups but with the security of heals and resources, and the tank has less strain on him. It's truly a beautiful thing playing the game as it's designed. As others have pointed out though, a lot of people just want to try to be "cool kids", and it's apparently "cool" to not need tanks and healers, which is foolish to me, as a veteran player myself. It seems so much more common on platforms such as these forums as well, with everyone trying to show off how amazing their dps is.. Now, in veteran random pug dungeons, you will most DEFINITELY find yourself needed, and as a full healer at that. I don't buy this "hybrid" business when I go into random vets on my own healer. Rather I would recommend focusing on buffing your group to the max and speccing for as much healing as you can get away with on the side. Why, you ask? Because when no one knows mechanics in a veteran dungeon, as is so often the case, a TRUE healer can out-heal many mechanics and aid the learning process immensely. A hybrid is both a bad dps and a bad healer, imo, for such situations, and really only shine in premade groups from my experience. Better to focus on one aspect and master it instead of splitting yourself to shreds; if the dps is bad in a group, it's not your job to pick up the slack. It's the dds' job to improve. Best of luck though, whatever you decide to do! I hope you can experience how rewarding it is to play a healer.

ixthUA · May 2021

Suna_Ye_Sunnabe wrote: »

Now, in veteran random pug dungeons, you will most DEFINITELY find yourself needed, and as a full healer at that. I don't buy this "hybrid" business when I go into random vets on my own healer. Rather I would recommend focusing on buffing your group to the max and speccing for as much healing as you can get away with on the side. Why, you ask? Because when no one knows mechanics in a veteran dungeon, as is so often the case, a TRUE healer can out-heal many mechanics and aid the learning process immensely. A hybrid is both a bad dps and a bad healer, imo, for such situations, and really only shine in premade groups from my experience. Better to focus on one aspect and master it instead of splitting yourself to shreds; if the dps is bad in a group, it's not your job to pick up the slack. It's the dds' job to improve. Best of luck though, whatever you decide to do! I hope you can experience how rewarding it is to play a healer.

I did veteran dungeons as a hybrid healer. DPS bar has 4 damage skills + 2 healing skills. Healing bar has 4 healing skills + 2 support skills. DPS of a random group is often bad, in which cause i need to help team to dps.

orion_1981usub17_ESO · May 2021

Healers are for trials and PVP... and maybe a few vet dlc dungeons where you want a little lube. But we should all rejoice that we aren't needed everywhere. I mean look at the Arenas... they are why the healer is obsolete. You make a build that can get you through vet arena and you learn survival and dps and now no one needs healers outside trial and pvp. If classes didn't have access to powerful self healing, shields, buffs and potato chips, then they would need a healer and solo arena would be impossible and no one would have the super powerful arena weapons, which ranks 8/10 sad pandas on the sad panda scale. So healers, get over it! No one is gonna need you when Mirri heals more reliably than pale order anyway! Next the tanks, poor folks watching their jobs stolen by NPCs.

Suna_Ye_Sunnabe · May 2021

ixthUA wrote: »

Suna_Ye_Sunnabe wrote: »

Now, in veteran random pug dungeons, you will most DEFINITELY find yourself needed, and as a full healer at that. I don't buy this "hybrid" business when I go into random vets on my own healer. Rather I would recommend focusing on buffing your group to the max and speccing for as much healing as you can get away with on the side. Why, you ask? Because when no one knows mechanics in a veteran dungeon, as is so often the case, a TRUE healer can out-heal many mechanics and aid the learning process immensely. A hybrid is both a bad dps and a bad healer, imo, for such situations, and really only shine in premade groups from my experience. Better to focus on one aspect and master it instead of splitting yourself to shreds; if the dps is bad in a group, it's not your job to pick up the slack. It's the dds' job to improve. Best of luck though, whatever you decide to do! I hope you can experience how rewarding it is to play a healer.

I did veteran dungeons as a hybrid healer. DPS bar has 4 damage skills + 2 healing skills. Healing bar has 4 healing skills + 2 support skills. DPS of a random group is often bad, in which cause i need to help team to dps.

I'm not saying it's not possible to do what you do, but in my own experience, to be an effective healer limits your own dps potential (which in many cases isn't enough to pick up the slack enough anyway), and trying to perform two roles at once limits your own healing potential as well in tough situations. I find it more effective personally to specialize in one thing or another. I speak in terms of pugging dungeons as well... in an organized group, it's a different story entirely. (I should note that hybridization used to be much easier before the incessant nerfs to hybrid damage/healing moves as well.)

Saucy_Jack · May 2021

Starlight_Whisper · May 2021

Malkiv wrote: »

LettuceBrain wrote: »

I'm just curious since everyone seems to think that 3 DPS and 1 tank are needed. I only really want to play healers in group content but I want to know if I am actually needed.

Most of the time, buff bots (i.e. healers) are not needed in a normal dungeon, nor in non-DLC vets. Having a buff bot in a vet DLC dungeon is nice, so you can just focus on mechanics and parsing the boss. Where buff bots really get their time to shine is in trials and pvp.

Such a cringey name " buff bots"

Hapexamendios · May 2021

Speaking for myself, it isn't acceptable. I'm a terrible healer.

Zer0_CooL · May 2021

Only as a fakeheal. Though that might change with the "nerf" of pale order

ApoAlaia · May 2021

Personally I welcome healers even in normal dungeons.

I only do normal dungeons in group as PUGs for the daily and I find Tank/Healer/2xDPS the preferable combination.

In the vast majority of cases this ensures a smooth run; any other combination introduces an undesirable element of... inconsistency that at best will translate into 2-3 minutes shaven from the overall 'experience'.

The only ones who actually benefit from this are those who use the 'x is not needed' mantra to justify skipping the queue. For the rest of us is not really worth making do without.

Astrid · May 2021

Unless it’s moongrave HM due to healing debuff or Stone garden HM to babysit your tank, dungeons it’s a no. 3 dd and a tank running Olorime is far far easier. PvP and trials, healers are absolutely viable and good ones are very sought after : )