Which Class and what Content makes you really feel like a healer?

[Rubedo.1593]

Out of curiosity, what class makes you truly feel the closest to playing a healer in other games, and/or which specific content (if any)?

In my case, I love GW2 and its combat (especially playing with action camera), and it's still probably my favorite MMO, but never being able to 'feel' like I was really healing other peeps is the big reason I stopped playing some months ago. I know this game doesn't have a real trinity and that healing in the Open World is as useful as shooting at your own foot (sadly since I think OW is the part GW2 does best), so I tried healing all the strikes many times and a few fractals, but in that content even when healers are desired, the fact that most damage is avoidable (and when someone misses, in many instances they usually just get downed, so not much healing needed even for mistakes) makes it feel like GW2's healing is just maintenance healing, HOTs and stuff that keep you topped just as part, or even as a side-effect, of your rotation, which doesn't feel involved. However, I never got to try any raid, maybe it's different there! (I tried joining two guilds to run raids, but they never got to do them and that's when I finally left the game). I haven't found any content where you have to actively react and heal people efficiently and consistently, other than just healing very sporadic mistakes.

On the other hand, the classes I've tried didn't really help me feel like a healer either. Both Firebrand and Druid have very cool aesthetics, but it was very disappointing to see that, in FB's case: healing tome has great skills and animations, but it's super limited in its use, so basically you just save it for 'oh-kitten' situations, the main bulk of your healing is just a cast from your staff that heals only as a side-effect that keeps people topped, not as a reaction to damage, since you pop it not when needed for heals, but as part of your rotation to grant Might. In Druid's case: I love the concept of astral force, but it was equally disappointing to see that you don't save it for healing, which would be nice, but instead you go into it as soon as it's ready just to pop some Might, and some up-keep healing, pretty much like FB. And I like Druid's staff skills, but there's almost never a reason to use it, so you're supposed to camp axe most of the time, which weaponskills feel meh to me (I like FB's axe skills a lot though). Similar story with Mechanist, with any of them I just didn't feel like I was healing the team, just throwing boons.

I've recently thought about coming back and trying alac Tempest out, even if it's not popular, it looks and feels fun to play, its alac generation doesn't feel tedious to use (unlike Druid's spirits, jesus) and it feels like it's easier to access your healing when you really need it without dropping alac if you're fast going through water, instead of 'wasting' your heals just for boons?

That's just my personal experience and opinion, of course, and I know GW2 really (sadly) isn't the best game for people who have this sick addiction called healing, like me. However, I'm curious if other healer mains have found that there's indeed ways to REALLY feel like you're actively healing your teammates, maybe different classes or content?

[solzuul.6294]

Idk it's gotta be hands down druid for me. All the viduals and the sound effects really make me feel like I'm raining and flooding my squad with heals and cosmic energy. In ideal conditions yes you spend very little time on staff/Astral form, but if you're in an encounter that requires a lot of healing like say, boneskinner, you'll be milking every half second of Astral form that you can. 

 

Alternatively, even though not a dedicated healer, I love playing my specter to wack my teammates with my scepter/bound to them by tether, or jumping in and out of shroud for that big barrier burst on the homies. 

 

I find vindicator healing on dodge to be quite visceral as well, in wvw blobs  

[Khisanth.2948]

Unless people have change strategies ... Boneskinner strike 😛

Cold War during two out of the three weeks when the boss has https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Icy_Echoes and your teammates decide they would really like to murder each other

[Caitmonster.9036]

Druid, but at present it just feels rough to be pigeon-holed into bringing 3 spirits minimum for Alacrity uptime. I'm looking forward to that balance patch in June and hoping it'll let me bring more utilities rather than just 3 spirits I hit off cooldown. I also enjoyed staff healing Tempest a lot, but it's not the meta and I'd get laughed out of content for ever bringing it. Being such a powerful ranged healer with that staff felt so good. Holding out hope the next big balance update fixes that too.

I know I'll get flamed for it hard because nobody wants heals there, but healing during the Dragon's End final fight is really satisfying. Slap downed a bunch of people? Glyph of the Stars makin' it rain green numbers. North Drizzlewood meta during the CoJ fight, Boneskinner, just raids in general.

Honorable mention is a full heal Scourge. The sheer amount of rezzing power it brings with a few button presses feels so satisfying. I was running a friend through LS1 and we got to the Tower of Nightmares, with just a handful of randoms. Went cele heal Scourge and helped drag them all through.

Edited May 4, 2023 by Caitmonster.9036

[Kanok.3027]

Heal Vindi in WvW. A true healer class that the heals are not reliant on simply providing boons. We also cleanse and with the right build, can CC multiple targets to do even more healing. It's really the best healing class I've played in GW2 and it very heavy on the actual heals.

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

Every profession I've played has had the same core gameplay loop for damage as they did healing... except for one.  That was Heal Revenant.  

Heal Revenant is simultaneously one of the best and worst healing builds in the game.  When it comes to burst healing, Revenant is the best.  However, all of the good healing is tied to the Ventari Legend's tablet, which requires a lot of micromanaging.  You have to watch your teammates health, move the tablet around to whomever needs it, and use healing skills on demand instead of just sustaining others passively.  It is a very active, and I suspect that this is what you're looking for.

I say "Heal Revenant" because there isn't just one.  Ventari is core.  All elite specializations have a healing build, and there's a reason to use each one.  Herald gives the most boons, particularly quickness and a souped-up regeneration.  Renegade gives alacrity, might, and life leech while also having the best CC.  Vindicator gives Vigor and has the highest overall healing, making it mediocre in PVE but good in WvW.  A herald healer is the one you're most likely to be requested to play, and that looks something like this.  Though I will say that there are strengths to Renegade, particularly the flexibility in energy and legend swapping, since Renegade has all of its crucial boons on its F skills.

[the krytan assassin.9235]

I love the feeling of my Tempest healer and tbh its in a good spot after last balance patch. It has massive heal+carry potential with its only main downside being its limited might application radius while wielding staff. I play some druid/ham/hfb sometimes aswell, but they dont feel nearly as good as Tempest (im ele main aswell, so there might be a lil bias in there). 

 

The best content for healers is probably coordinated WvW zergs, and lategame instanced PvE (especially when solohealing). Raids provide in general decent content for healers, but its mainly focused on reactive healing instead of constantly high healing upkeep. Unfortunately due to healing priority on your own subgroup over the rest of the squad solohealing can be abit clunky sometimes. Almost all commanders tend to favor 2 healers nowadays to maximize the 90%+ health uptime (for some extra dmge traits on some classes/runesets) or to get better condi removal+access to stability & aegis. Unfortunately this results normally in healing being ridiculously overcapped in most encounters. 

 

Incase you're interested to raid, there are normally alot of guilds/groups recruiting for more raiders (atleast in Eu). It shouldn't be to hard to find a new guild/group to raid with. 

[Crystal Paladin.3871]

Class: druid.... 

Content: claw of jormag, seitung meta renyak boss, boneskinner, soowon, fire elemental, drakkar, chak gerent(though allies might be dead b4 u can do anything but hope healscourge f3 or druid search rescue might sate ur hunger)

 

If u want to feel and relish the idea of Ure saving ur allies, u can try using glyph of stars, search and rescue, glyph of unity(i guess)

 

Or play healscourge and use shade near downed allies+ f3 .... Other mmos have a skill named "rescue" to pull your allies out of harm's way... Healscourge f3 and Ranger druid search and rescue would give you a wholesome feeling.. 

Also notable mention: scrapper function gyro

[mizaru.1385]

Long time ago, it used to be heal guardian using staff to heal in fights like Whisper strikes (cos people are being seperated) so the diff teleporting heals make me feel like a hero lol.

 

But otherwise, I think HAT is currently the best feeling healer.

[Dadnir.5038]

Heal alac:

• Renegade: Probably the easiest. Somehow it seem like people sleep on this one.
• Mechanist: Would be the easiest if you didn't have to keep an eye on your mech position.
• Druid: A bit restrictif due to the need to use spirit in order to provide alacrity..
• Tempest: Providing alacrity hurt heal output and can be tricky. The best at managing downed and preventing downed in a team.
• Specter: I still don't get why the devs thought a single target healer would do well in this game.

Heal quick:

• Firebrand: Providing quickness with this one is actually a chore but it's the most widly used option.
• Scrapper: Unfortunately not that great of an option. The main issue being "who" to pair it with.
• Herald: Quickness sharing is a bit tight.

Other:

• Scourge: Barrier sharing freak with rallying ability.
• Warrior (all specs): A great potential spoiled by it's inability to add quickness to healing (or healing to quickness) and the lack of a main hand support weapon to pair with warhorn.
• Virtuoso: Surprisingly good amount of healing output but that's about all it does unfortunately.
• Chronomancer: Objectively not that good at healing but decent at providing either alacrity or quickness.
• Vindicator: Healer without attractive boons for PvE.

[Cuks.8241]

Firebrand. Foremost because of the aestethics, its spells look the closest to a priest, paladin type. Mine also matches that with white, silver armor.

It has those strong long cast or channel healing spells like empower. 

Also it can do everything you would expect from a healer support. All the preventive and reactive tools in the book and even retained some of the unique buffs like healing effectivness increase. 

[prototypedragon.1406]

Warrior for the fact you can yell at your allies (shouts) for standing in red circles 😉 now if only the heals were increased and provided protection,stability, and regeneration.