How is the pace for healing groups when mouse-over casting isn't available?

[Fencers]

I "feel" like I do a lot more standing around in TOR as a healer than in WOW or Rift. The healer skills for a Sorc are fairly slim and rather straightforward. When to use quick heal is about the most demanding decision in an OP.

Playing the BH healer is slightly more involved but it's mostly a matter of CDs and heat management. Altogether, I would say BH healer spec is harder than Sorc but reasonable in difficulty.

By contrast I felt healing was far more involved and complex [decision hierarchy] in World of Warcraft as a Druid, Paladin and Priest. However, I only played those classes years ago during Burning Crusade. I suspect much may have changed since then as I do not play WoW currently.

Rift's healing roles were less complex than WoW's but more attentive in my experience. Forcing me to play more attention to my actual heal bar; CDs, rotation, targeting, debuffs than most modern MMOs.

I would say the pace of TOR is a lot more relaxed than either Rift or WoW. If we are to use two MMOs close in style to TOR.

[Deleted]

I "feel" like I do a lot more standing around in TOR as a healer than in WOW or Rift. The healer skills for a Sorc are fairly slim and rather straightforward. When to use quick heal is about the most demanding decision in an OP.

Playing the BH healer is slightly more involved but it's mostly a matter of CDs and heat management. Altogether, I would say BH healer spec is harder than Sorc but reasonable in difficulty.

Agree on the varying difficulty of healer specs. Sorc is a much easier and much more forgiving spec compared to Operative healer. Bubble gives you extra time to react, the AoE heal is as fire-and-forget as it gets, ressource management is easier and unlike Operative you don't have to stick to a meaningful rotation.

As for the comparison to WoW, I feel healing in SWTOR is more relaxed only if you compare it to working with Blizzard's vanilla UI. If you compare it to healing with add-ons like healbot or mouse-overs, it's both not overly demanding.


Btw thanks for explaining your setup.

[namelessone]

The game is tuned to the possible peformance. In WoW, you can heal faster, so the raids are tuned in such way that you are REQUIRED to heal faster.

[Lovestar]

I find resources in SWTOR to be extremely enjoyable. Instead of playing the tedious "mana game" (most hated phrase in all of gaming), you play at a much more steady and deliberate pace where you control your resource gen and smart play will allow you to always have something to do. In emergencies you can dip down into your "savings account" (go below 50-60 resources) in exchange for the regen penalty; it has a really nice feel and pace.

Healing in WoW feels like starting a road trip with $20 and half a tank of gas and hoping you don't stall in the middle of nowhere before reaching the other side of the country. "Oops, we shouldn't have taken that one extra right turn, now we're doomed." Sigh. I realize this will chafe older-school gamers that enjoy being abused, but I am not a fan of "Oops, you failed!" gameplay design.

Personally, I find Operative to be the easiest healer by far. Energy management is a snap once you get the hang of it, your ability to slather someone with HoTs while you regen is amazing, and you can spread Kolto Probes in a cyclic rhythm to oppose heavy damage even on multiple spread targets. Surgical Probe is an awesome clutch tool and, combined with everything else, gives you fantastic mobility (with Exfiltrate adding even more). Very fun.

Merc is my favorite just because it's so twitchy, you're always spamming something, and often screaming during firefights, hahaha. I just can't get tired of the simple joy of pointing 2 pistols at someone and using PEWPEWPEW green bullets to heal them (I've had guild members turn their sound off before fights just to make the firing noise stop, lol). In contrast to Op, your movement options are strained and your multi-target healing is tricky, with nonstop single-target switching required. It's very hectic and so much fun.

Sorc is, ehhh... okay. I find it really flat and dull by comparison. I have to keep one as an alt because every so often, I need to fulfill my urge to be a Sith Lord running around shooting streams of lightning at everything (ha ha ha ha ha ha!!), but as far as the actual group heal gameplay it just feels mushy and unsatisfying. It sort of has WoW Shaman syndrome where there's this really mechanical pacing to it (HoT > Channel > AoE > hot's off CD, repeat) and Bubbles are so strong that they actually make things slightly boring because actual risk feels low.

I don't feel like I make very many decisions as Sorc, it's more following a pattern since every button is a good idea on cooldown. I do like the cannibalistic resource management and the tension between using Unnatural Preservation on CD to fuel more Consumptions vs. saving it for a true heal, the ability to exploit Bubbles on yourself for more Force via innate regen (and the incentive to avoid getting hit as a result), etc.

Sorc has some very cool stuff, it's extremely well-designed conceptually/visually so it's very appealing, and I like that the "Mana Game" has been mutated into a much less punishing version with alternative solutions (eg, trade your Health bar out and hope you don't get targeted). But its mechanical pacing and rotational play just don't keep me engaged for very long, vs. Op & Merc that I could play all day. =)

[Warlord Booty]

Rift's healing roles were less complex than WoW's but more attentive in my experience. Forcing me to play more attention to my actual heal bar; CDs, rotation, targeting, debuffs than most modern MMOs.

Really? I can't remember the two "extra" trees I had, the one that was disc priest (had bubbles) and then the one that was sorta paladinish with an early insta heal that was built off of a deep warden tree. Essentially, what it felt like was, a Resto druid with MORE Aoe spells with 2 Shaman earth shields, disc priest bubbles and a low Cd "oh shit" insta cast heal. Oh, and a spamable insta-cast damage spell that also did aoe healing. Add in the overheal splash buff and it felt like godmode. All the while never dropping below 70% mana.

My sorc feels... weak. Like, I don't have good force regen. I have consumption, but it feels like the force I get back, I spend healing what I just lost. Now, I don't have the PVP set bonus that limited the health loss (the regen) but it feels like I'm out of force really quick, if I try to keep everyone topped off at all times (which is what I usually did in WoW without much effort - resto druid). there were changes since I hit max level early, so I'm leveling a seer now to sorta relearn it.

[Fencers]

Really? I can't remember the two "extra" trees I had, the one that was disc priest (had bubbles) and then the one that was sorta paladinish with an early insta heal that was built off of a deep warden tree. Essentially, what it felt like was, a Resto druid with MORE Aoe spells with 2 Shaman earth shields, disc priest bubbles and a low Cd "oh shit" insta cast heal. Oh, and a spamable insta-cast damage spell that also did aoe healing. Add in the overheal splash buff and it felt like godmode. All the while never dropping below 70% mana.

Yea, Rift's healing felt more attention demanding. Especially in the longer more complex raids that required a lot of secondary damage sources on top of debuff tracking.

I played Cleric, Mage and Rogue healing and support variants. By far Rift demanded the most of my attention and the most skill heavy action bars. Even more so when Trion removed many of the long fail-through macros Clerics and Magi relied on to get around the skill bloat. Just tons of skill on your bar now, all situational, all useful.

My sorc feels... weak. Like, I don't have good force regen. I have consumption, but it feels like the force I get back, I spend healing what I just lost. Now, I don't have the PVP set bonus that limited the health loss (the regen) but it feels like I'm out of force really quick, if I try to keep everyone topped off at all times (which is what I usually did in WoW without much effort - resto druid). there were changes since I hit max level early, so I'm leveling a seer now to sorta relearn it.

On my Sorc I only use 4 main heals; long heal, quick heal, regen and channel heal. And my bubble. Occasionally I use overload as a 'oh crap" aoe heal but its fairly minor and limited. I mean that is literally it- 5 buttons and 1 bubble.

The rotation is such that I simply keep the bubble on as many risk targets [tank, melee] and roll the HOT between the tanks and myself. The HOT has a CD just long enough to let you tag like 3 people before it drops off your primary focus.

I keep the barrier on myself at all times [HP regen, Consumption counter] and roll consumption with unnatural preservation. Force isn't really an issue I found.

Sorc is pretty close to being the easiest healer spec I have ever played in an MMO.