Melee healing situation

[Deadpoet]

Hi there,

This isn't a balance proposal nor does it contain any specific suggestion. It's more like stating an oponion, testing the waters and maybe gaining some insight if some dev cares to comment on the issue.

I am writing this post in relation to the ever present issue of granting WPs (and possibly DoKs but I will be focusing in WPs) that go melee a place in the game. As of the latest patch, Wrath WPs have received a much needed boost to their mobility (and in exchange have lost the possibility to go high enough in melee healing tree to grab key abilities for survival and group utility). Seems like a fair exchange, so I don”t get why some ppl are crying.

My contention is that mobility, probably the most glaring defficiency of melee DoK/WPs (especially WPs who dont have snare from covenant), is even more necessary for Grace WPs than it is for Wrath ones. Why do I say this?

Imho Grace (melee healing) is not only important for the class, but for the whole game. Many different non dps classes can and should be able to spec full dps and be efficient at it. Wrath tree deserves its boost, BUT of all 6 healers classes ONLY 2 can melee heal. DoK and WP represent a truly special effort in every pvp game. The effort to achieve a class that can heal their groupmates in the thick of battle. A class that risks everything in the frontline not to get KBs and the pleasure of murdering their foes, but to provide support to the team.

There are many ppl in the game who enjoy healing and helping people around them survive, but get tired of casted heals and want to try a more dangerous but more mobile and multitask style of healing. Also many of us enjoy the feeling of wielding weapons and smashing the enemy in the face while we do that. Melee healing provides this experience.

WPs (and DoKs) are healer classes with a heavy melee approach by design, and if you want to play the class as it was meant to be, you need to be abe to connect with your enemies to heal. That's why I think mobility is also sorely needed by melee healers.

Right now melee healing continues to be a challenge at worst, and one has only to check the empire forum where people who try to melee heal tell their experiences and how they are forced to figure out really complicated, very situational and extremely high rr gear dependent builds to attain a measure of success.

As an example, melee healers are sometimes forced to look for hybrid specs with salvation to try and deal with the mobility related downtime of melee healing as it is right now, having to forsake the also sorely needed AoE detaunt of Wrath because of that.

I know melee healing is probably the most difficult game experience to balance, so I fully understand that it is not yet viable, and that it will take a lot of tweaks and tests to make it work, so please don”t take this as a whine post and I hope it doesn't become one, which would only put unwarranted pressure on a dev team that are doing what they can and handing us a much more balanced game than the live one.

[Aurandilaz]

Melee healing is difficult and retains high skill cap because how extremely potent it can be with right group and in the hands of an experienced player.
A mdps DOK/WP is not just another dps, but basically an extra healer. And while midst of fight, will provide considerable extra healing support for their own party when played that way.

Because most players know how potent a well played dps DOK/WP can be, and how much a threat it is to their sides hopes of winning a fight, it gets focused down hard and fast. Letting a good dps healer keep both healing and dpsing is a mistake that will most likely cost you a fight.
That is why dps DOK are favourite targets for BW/SW/engi, and same way dps WP is ideal target pick for Sorc/SH/Magus - simply because with one kill your enemy team loses one potential dps AND one potential healer.

In similar fashion other high threat classes are something you simply have to shut down and beat in the opening moves if you want to increase chances of winning; a good team will beat down a WE/WH so their healers do not receive massive surprise burst, or a meleetrain rushes a Sorc/BW so they do not have to suffer from somewhat deadly ranged burst rotations.

I have played a bit on both my DOK and WP (both rr40+ alts, not much but still something)0, both with heal specs and dps specs (less so), but from personal experience when you are allowed to perform unhindered on a dps healer, you are a very potent asset in the fight and provides solid support to the team with okayish dmg and with okayish extra healing. Which is about why no sane enemy team wants to let a dps DOK/WP do their dpshealing unopposed nor unchallenged.

[Arbich]

I agree, melee healing as WP is to unreliable. You can dish out extremly high healing numbers, when you have good targets close to you. But if the enemy managed to constanly snare you (+kick), you are put out of order. With spammable sigmars radiance, divine assault with practical unlimited range for def targets and sigmars shield as extremly strong single heal, a WP has in theory immensly powerful tools on hand. So its difficult to balance this.

Maybe a somewhat copy of the dwarfen racial tactic stoutness of stone could help? Let grace of sigmar also halves the duration of all snare effects on player.

[Rydiak]

As an example, melee healers are sometimes forced to look for hybrid specs with salvation to try and deal with the mobility related downtime of melee healing as it is right now, having to forsake the also sorely needed AoE detaunt of Wrath because of that.

So I have been playing a hybrid Grace/Salvation build WP for a few weeks or so now (the build, the explanation, and a recent game I am particularly proud of), and could never imagine going back to Grace/Wrath at this point due to the healing coverage that Salvation provides when Grace is ineffective. That said, I have found the most important aspect of a melee healer to be positioning. Your positioning dictates not only your healing output but also your survival. One step too far forward and you no longer have the support of your melee line, and are murdered (though Sigmar's Shield + detaunt (even when single target) make you incredibly tanky). Too many steps back and you aren't outputting the level of healing you should. Since positioning is the most important aspect (at least in my opinion) of melee healing, the archetype is incredibly unfriendly to less experienced players. To be successful you need to put yourself in danger, often without Guard (which is provided to MDPS, unless you have a tank who is good at floating Guard). Very high level gear/renown stats can help overcome this issue, as can strong/competent teammates, but the archetype definitely is a lot higher risk (though I'd also argue higher reward) than straight Salvation.

Melee healing seems like one of those things where balance is a knife-edge. A little bit too far one way and the build is pointless. A little bit too far the other way and the build is god-tier. I'd say melee healing only needs a very small nudge in the right direction to be mainstream, though I am not 100% decided on what that nudge is at this point (it could be a healing buff, a damage buff, or a survival buff for example, but not all). I'd lean more towards a survival buff to help offset the extremely risky play, but again I am not sure where that buff could be applied (Sigmar's Shield? Sigmar's Grace? Grace of Sigmar?).