Orbs Nerf in Update 30?

gnollhide · May 2021

So I'm looking over the PTS changes and, assuming most of the changes aren't gonna change THAT much from what they're already doing, it looks like Necrotic Orbs and its morphs are getting a nerf. That made me wonder, is it worth running still as a healer? I main a warden healer with Enchanted Growth, Blue Betty, Radiating Regeneration, Combat Prayer, and Aggressive Warhorn. I've got room for one more healing-centric skill (since my back bar is lightning DPS/Buffs) and was trying to choose between Budding Seeds, Overflowing Altar, and Energy Orb. I was leaning towards Energy Orb before seeing the Update 30 changes, but now I'm not sure what to use to be honest. Will the changes to Necrotic Orb and its morphs matter that much, or is it still very good?

pelle412 · May 2021

One of the key tenets of the orbs is the added sustain it offers to other players, and this is an important factor to consider. It's still a strong heal.

YandereGirlfriend · May 2021

One thing that it definitely IS a nerf for Is the Gossamer set.

Orbs was an easy ability that could proc the whole set on your entire 12-man group since it had a twice-per-second tick rate and you can only heal 6 players at a time with AoE healing abilities.

I know that most people don't care but it is some collateral damage from this change that should be noted.

zvavi · May 2021

i dont like this change tbh. i liked the many ticks too.

Starlight_Whisper · May 2021

It's a nerf but doesn't sound too bad in paper at least.

gnollhide · May 2021

Okay so as a dedicated Buffer/Healer, I should still choose Orbs for its sustain synergy? How does it stack up against the Blood Altar's passive healing? And is Blood Altar slotted by tanks often? Because there's no reason to double up if so.

WrathOfInnos · May 2021

Blood Altar is sometimes doubled so everyone has access to the burst heal synergy. If just the only main tank casts it then they cannot use it to proc Alkosh.

There are times when you only want one Altar, like if the healer is using Twilight Remedy and trying to get synergies to everyone.

Suna_Ye_Sunnabe · May 2021

gnollhide wrote: »

So I'm looking over the PTS changes and, assuming most of the changes aren't gonna change THAT much from what they're already doing, it looks like Necrotic Orbs and its morphs are getting a nerf. That made me wonder, is it worth running still as a healer? I main a warden healer with Enchanted Growth, Blue Betty, Radiating Regeneration, Combat Prayer, and Aggressive Warhorn. I've got room for one more healing-centric skill (since my back bar is lightning DPS/Buffs) and was trying to choose between Budding Seeds, Overflowing Altar, and Energy Orb. I was leaning towards Energy Orb before seeing the Update 30 changes, but now I'm not sure what to use to be honest. Will the changes to Necrotic Orb and its morphs matter that much, or is it still very good?

As a healer, your three jobs are to keep your group healthy, provide them sustain, and buff them, in that order. So yes, especially on anything not a Templar as they at least have shards, you should absolutely be running orbs for the sustain it offers to your group, if you want to be efficient at your role. I would not personally consider a healer "good" if they're not running orbs for the dps and tank to sustain (I play all roles). Being a Warden healer as well, your other heals-over-time are so strong that the loss of a bit of healing off the orbs will likely be unnoticeable. (Also as a side note, I would HIGHLY recommend finding space for budding seeds on your Warden as a permanent skill as well, especially since lightning staves on supports are functionally useless now.) This is just my own advice to you.

gnollhide · May 2021

Suna_Ye_Sunnabe wrote: »

gnollhide wrote: »

So I'm looking over the PTS changes and, assuming most of the changes aren't gonna change THAT much from what they're already doing, it looks like Necrotic Orbs and its morphs are getting a nerf. That made me wonder, is it worth running still as a healer? I main a warden healer with Enchanted Growth, Blue Betty, Radiating Regeneration, Combat Prayer, and Aggressive Warhorn. I've got room for one more healing-centric skill (since my back bar is lightning DPS/Buffs) and was trying to choose between Budding Seeds, Overflowing Altar, and Energy Orb. I was leaning towards Energy Orb before seeing the Update 30 changes, but now I'm not sure what to use to be honest. Will the changes to Necrotic Orb and its morphs matter that much, or is it still very good?

As a healer, your three jobs are to keep your group healthy, provide them sustain, and buff them, in that order. So yes, especially on anything not a Templar as they at least have shards, you should absolutely be running orbs for the sustain it offers to your group, if you want to be efficient at your role. I would not personally consider a healer "good" if they're not running orbs for the dps and tank to sustain (I play all roles). Being a Warden healer as well, your other heals-over-time are so strong that the loss of a bit of healing off the orbs will likely be unnoticeable. (Also as a side note, I would HIGHLY recommend finding space for budding seeds on your Warden as a permanent skill as well, especially since lightning staves on supports are functionally useless now.) This is just my own advice to you.

Wait, lightning staves are useless on support? I've been keeping a wall of elements on back bar specifically for the concussed proc. What's changed since that was useful?

YandereGirlfriend · May 2021

I just think it's strange that Templar Shards still don't have unlimited synergies like Orbs do.

Class options should always be better than universal options, IMO.

hackdrag0n · May 2021

gnollhide wrote: »

Wait, lightning staves are useless on support? I've been keeping a wall of elements on back bar specifically for the concussed proc. What's changed since that was useful?

The exploiter CP passive used to give bonus damage to off balance enemies, and lightning staves can proc off balance. Now we have CP 2.0 so there isn't much benefit to running a lightning staff on a healer.

Athan1 · May 2021

Orbs are a must-have for any non-Templar healer. It's not about the DPS or HPS, it's about the group resources. A healer's role isn't to just replenish health, but all three resources. So yeah, you need to slot it.

EnerG · May 2021

Even as a Templar healer I run orbs and shards. This is a trial healer mind you and I run both to make sure i can throw an orb on my tank and shards in my dps, and in trials players tend to split farther during pulls and mechanics so having the two I find extremely effective to make sure everyone has a synergy off cd without recasting shards, moving it and risking somebody not able to activate it before I moved it. I also used to run twilight before moving to spell power but templars main oh *** prayer heal will pretty much always overheal my team in most situations causing everyone courage in 2 skill casts.

Tldr, i run both

Septimus_Magna · May 2021

Good thing about the orbs change is that its moving slower so the overall nerf might not be that bad. Also the resource return on the synergy is quite useful for the group so I think it will keep its place on most skill bars.