It's active in combat. It's a pretty slow heal though. There's around a 5-8s cooldown before it becomes active, and then once it's active you need to channel for 10-15 seconds to get back up. So if your group can successfully keep the enemies off you (assuming some of them would automatically go for you since you're in a downed state), then it rewards skillful group play, which IMO is great.
Well, that was pretty obvious that they would take the map mechanic from first Guild Wars and put it into Guild Wars 2, and I like it. I hope they will improve it some other ways as well.
The path of least resistance is the path most often taken.
---------- Post added 2012-02-21 at 06:07 PM ----------
You can't guarantee that you won't be hit by aoe damage. But I see this as a good thing even then. If something in the battle is more pressing than reviving a fallen comrade, a valid strat could, potentially, be to keep fighting and allow your team-mate to slowly revive himself.
It was also stated that it would take a long time to self-revive, so it's not ideal.
---------- Post added 2012-02-21 at 06:08 PM ----------
Patience. It's a virtue.We just finished a huge beta event weekend, and we’ve got beta events just around the corner. We have a lot of work to do to get the game ready, but we’re definitely up to the challenge and eager to show off the game to a larger audience.
I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies.
If you give in to your impulses in this world, the price is that it changes your personality in the real world. The player and character are one and the same.
This article is a million times better than anything I've seen from the press beta so far.
Actualy considering there are DOT effects this situation can be potentialy alot more common than you'd think. As an example thats all but an internet meme at this point how often have you killed an affliction warlock only to die 2 seconds later to all the dots he left on you? How bout a feral druid and bleeds? Even PVE in wow I had times where I overpulled and won with a sliver of health only to die to a dot still on me. Sure geting a double knockout where both parties land the final blow at the same time will be fairly rare but anything with either bleed poison or burning effects could very easily get a post mortum downing on you if the fight was close to start with.
Who is John Galt?
Love the self heal skill. Now when you're in a dynamic event with other people and none of them want to help you whilst they're wailing away on enemies you probably won't be able to kill in time, you always have this.
I've seen that scenario happen way more often than you think in these beta videos...