Any Sage Healers gonna stick it out?

[Khadroth]

Good luck with that. Yes, standing in your own AoE will take care of the Noble Sacrifice health loss.... but it will still be massively force draining. Trying to find a reasonably low force cost rotation including lots of AoE will be a great challenge, I fear.

 

Also... most of the time, you need to drop the AoE heal on the melee group - so you're going to need to stand a lot closer to the action than you'd maybe want to in many situations.

 

As I said in my earlier post though... I'm not really looking to find ways to cope. I'm looking to have fun. It seems to me that they're killing the flexibility, variety and fun in my game-play... and I play to have fun, not to manage to get by.

 

X

 

Well if you want to practice without playing on the PTR, just spec out of resplendence and don't take advantage of DDing on conveyance procs. Try to figure out what works and what doesn't ahead of time and you'll have a leg up on the other healers. Less fear imo, more knowledge.

[CalBears]

Well if you want to practice without playing on the PTR, just spec out of resplendence and don't take advantage of DDing on conveyance procs. Try to figure out what works and what doesn't ahead of time and you'll have a leg up on the other healers. Less fear imo, more knowledge.

 

That's sort of what I did.

 

@OP...

 

I do plan on sticking it out. But to qualify my position, I'm a casual PvE player. My guild hasn't even done a single HM FP. But had SWTOR gone live with these changes ... my guess is that I'd still have chosen to be a healer and just dealt with how the mechanics worked. So when I look at it that way, I just think I'm basically playing SWTOR for the first time, except I'm already level 50 with gear (and yes, I understand that may be a dumb way to look at it).

 

Don't get me wrong, I realize most people are more than casual PvE players that have invested way more (WAY MORE) than I have. And I understand that for some (perhaps many), the changes are unbearable. I'm not diminishing their feelings as they are probably well justified...I'm just providing the "why" I plan on sticking it out.

Edited March 23, 2012 by CalBears

[XtremJedi]

I am a die hard sage. I love the way they feel to play.

 

I'm glad that you're loving the game - and I hope that you do stick with your sage.

 

But you should realise that 'the way they feel to play' will be deeply changed by the proposals. Where we're now great tool-box healers, able to react flexibility to changing situations, able to work across multiple targets and able to add in some utility stuff like Stuns, interrupts, cc etc... that looks like changing.

 

What we're seeing both from theory-crafting and from the reports on PTS, is that the sage is becoming a slow, single-target focussed healer who doesn't have the GCDs or speed to react flexibly or use their utility much.

 

If you want to love the way your sage feels to play in future, it may be worth your while trying to affect BW's decision making process, while these changes are still on the PTS.

 

X

[Claymaniac]

Absolutely gonna stick it out. I am already making adjustments. Trying as much as possible not to rely on quicker Deliverance and not using Noble Sacrifice for no cost. People like to toss out "Useless" and "Nerfed to the ground" anytime any sort of change is implemented, but lets actually wait and see. If it really becomes impossible to heal, I can always respec or play a different character till it gets changed again.

[JoeeyyMagzz]

Why wouldn't we stick it out? Even with the changes, we are still going to be great raid healers. This change just makes it so that we're not the ultimate Raid/Single-Target healers ever.

[ffsallmysnsrgone]

Definately won't be stopping, though I probably won't run as a 'tank' at the sametime, though depends on how I feel after the update I guess. Have played as a healer, like you, on every MMO I've played so a nerf won't really effect nor bother me.

[Kuvox]

I am definitely keeping my Sage for ops. I watched a few Twitch ops videos on the test server and saw that the healing Sorcs and Sages in these videos doing the new Denova ops seemed to do just fine.

 

I also watched 15 ranked PVP matches on Twitch from the test server that Darthhater linked to and also talked to three people who had their 50s copied to the test server (one of whom is a Sage healer).

 

From what I saw, and from what these former guildmates told me over Mumble, smuggler healers are posting the best numbers now, everyone seems to be dying a lot more (I felt like I was just watching spawn areas the whole time), and healing numbers seem to be down for Sages and Commandos (but it's really hard to tell not knowing what these healers normally post).

 

My Sage healer friend says he is down about only 5% in matches where he is targeted no more than his other teammates but by about 30% in matches where he is a major target.

 

I will still definitely try out 1.2 in PVP and do what I can to adjust.

[asbalana]

I have always played dps. I recentlay rolled a Sage healer to try healing and do like it although I have a ton and a half to learn and am still fumbling around. I rolled the Sage because I like Sages without thinking about whether they were OP or not. To this point I've done a few flashpoints and heroics and have felt great satisfation in keeping the group up and alive. Although I have a long way to go (feel like I am on a bike that still has it's training wheels on), I was looking forward to gettting to level 50. I am 25 now.

 

Reading about the changes which I do not fully understand makes me wonder if learning to heal on my sage is just an exercise in futility. I feel that I am growing a character to a point that is changing as I work my up. I am starting to feel that I am putting effort and time into something that may not be viable by the time I get to 50.

 

Perhaps the devs here are following the WOW model. Nerf a class, ignore the qqing, wait four or five months and watch the number of people playing the class plummet, watch higher level group content stall out because groups cannot be formed because there are not enough healers/tanks/whatever, buff the class to where it was before the nerf.

 

Devs sit and look at their obscure metrics and never seem to learn. In any case, I will still continue to play and level the Sage because I am learning to play a healing class and to understand what healers go through. Worst case, I still have my dps classes to play.

[hdvalerod]

When ppl gonna realise that class balancing is made of ups and downs...

 

There will be times my class will be underpower, sometimes overpower, sometimes balanced.

 

Here's how balancing works:

 

1 - Class A is better then Class B.

2 - Class B goes to foruns and QQ a lot.

3 - Patch comes out.

4 - Class B gets buffed and Class A gets Nerfed.

5 - Class B became better then Class A.

6 - Class A goes to foruns and QQ a lot.

7 - Patch comes out.

8 - Class B gets nerfed and ... Balance achieved!!!

9 - (Weeks later) Patch comes out.

10 - Repeat 1 to 9.

 

Just hang in there and have fun because after all this is A GAME!!!

[Malleable]

Well I have played quite a few classes.

The only ones I enjoy playing are my Sage and my Commando.

 

Losing interest in playing both before the patch is even in.

 

Feels kinda pointless I guess since the specs I like just arent going to be the same.

I just lost interest and didnt play at all this weekend.

 

Mal

[Quraswren]

Well I have played quite a few classes.

The only ones I enjoy playing are my Sage and my Commando.

 

Losing interest in playing both before the patch is even in.

 

Feels kinda pointless I guess since the specs I like just arent going to be the same.

I just lost interest and didnt play at all this weekend.

 

Mal

 

I think that for healing anyway, when the pendulum swings so far with such a class defining ability change there are quite a few that just decide to do something else with there time.

 

Some people put a lot of time into just one toon and BW knows this as it's in their legacy interview. So in turn, hit a class with a nerf or change to hard and those players just loss interest.

[JeremyDale]

Sticking it out. If it becomes a problem, I'll reroll. Not a big deal to me.

 

I"m beginning to wonder about some of people who play SWTOR.

 

Doing ground-breaking nerfs that ruin your character and cause you to "reroll" is no big deal to you?

 

I don't really even know what to say to a comment like this. It's clear to me this game could feed you broken glass and a lot of the people on this forum would still say thank you very much can I have some more more please.

 

From what I understand of these changes they are terrible. I'll reserve judgement until I actually play with them - but on paper it looks awful.

[Soshla]

From what I understand of these changes they are terrible. I'll reserve judgement until I actually play with them - but on paper it looks awful.

Pretty much. And I'll have to play for a bit. The changes won't affect me against the bads I play against 80% of the time. That 20% though? If that's a drastic change, it could get ugly.

 

If they fix Balance and TK instead of just nerfing hybrid I might stick around for that.

[Shimmer-Holler]

I'm going to stick out... after I get rid of the dress and burlap sack. I don't mind the nerfs so much (Noble Sacrifice is a bit much) but I hate the way the PvE set looks on a male model (I don't PvP to speak on that).

 

I haven't played him because he looks like a drag queen.

[Brittaany_Banks]

I'll TRY it. My main concern is long term healing in raid fights. If no matter what I do I consistently run out of force thus wiping the group then I'm done till they come back at least halfway on some of these nerfs. I can't always be standing in my AoE heal to regain health I have to lose from resplendance. Me killing myself in an Operation is detrimental to the overall success of that op ESPECIALLY when there are mechanics in place that will get the healer targetted and damaged regardless of hate level. Edited March 28, 2012 by Brittaany_Banks

[XtremJedi]

When ppl gonna realise that class balancing is made of ups and downs...

 

There will be times my class will be underpower, sometimes overpower, sometimes balanced.

 

*snip*

 

Just hang in there and have fun because after all this is A GAME!!!

 

I'm absolutely OK with being nerfed. I don't even care if my healer has the lowest output in the game. I don't even care, if I find that I can't really heal all of the nightmare content, without wipes.

 

All of that is wurst to me... I've played in MMOs since near the beginning of UO, in so many different ones. I've got a full expansion account on one that has been active for 11 years now. I'm used to getting nerfed and getting buffed and moving around etc.

 

But it's your last line that is worrying me. I have fun playing these games, because the game-play of the class interests me. I like my skill to be a factor and like flexible and variable game-play... and these are the things that I'm worried about losing.

 

They've really slowed Sage healing down a lot. We'll have far fewer GCDs (and possible a bit less force) available for target switching and casting on several targets - along with slower casting big heals, so also not enough time to cast them. There's less burst available, making our healing much less reactive and flexible. And there'll be less time available for variation and utility casting. People on test are already saying that Sage healing is now much more tank focussed and that they're Cast/Cancelling (stop-casting) the big heals - which is a hateful game-play style, and loses even more time for quick and variable, flexible play.

 

I honestly don't care about being nerfed... but I do care about being made into a slow, tank-focussed, stop-casting healer, with little time to use our tool-box of utility abilities. I've played healing classes like that in other MMOs and tended not to play them much, precisely because I really just don't like that style. It's no fun to play that way, for me.

 

I'm sure that there are people who don't really care that much about the play-style - and that's fine for them. I'm sure that these changes won't make all that much difference to them. But for me, this comes in a fairly average game, with a range of other problems and in which my 2 Sages and my Sorc were really the only thing I was still managing to have some fun playing.

 

As others have said, I'll see what actually hits live and how it actually plays... but I'm deeply worried about the game-play of the class and where my fun will be found. And if my Sages and Sorc are badly hit, then there's really nothing else to keep me playing this game right now.

 

X

[Senefera]

*snip*

 

I couldn't agree with you more.

I am used to being nerfed and I usually do not care, since there's always ways to work around them. Most games have two or more different healing trees for example, so if one spec gets the shaft there's always another one lurking around the corner. Sure, it'll change your play style a lot etc, but over all it's not that bad.

Here. There is ONE healing spec. And it is getting utterly destroyed for a reason I can not even begin to understand. Did they not have these data when they created the new PvE encounters? Why not make the new content.. you know.. harder?

 

I do not PvE much, I like it, but I prefer PvP, and I am worried. Since everybody and their dog rolled Mara, Juggs and Powertech I barely survive as it is. With these changes.. I will pretty much be a free kill. I won't be able to heal the damage I get, and I will absolutely NOT NEVER EVER kill the player attacking me. Unless he's afk.

Thankfully hybrid offers a bit more survivability and force regen without killing myself, but still. Worried.

 

If PvE turns into cast/stop cast I will not set my foot in it as a healer again. Which means I'll get bored and it will only be a matter of weeks until I've had it and move on to greener pastures. Shame. I like the game.

Edited March 28, 2012 by Senefera

[OrionSol]

I will keep the toon, I am just going to play other characters instead.

[boiled_owl]

I have a level 50 scoundrel healer that I'm going to be gearing. My sage will be doing the more advanced endgame stuff, but is probably gonna get phased out. I liked the mechanic of Healing Trance and Noble Sacrifice. I'm not a fan of 2.5 second pvp heals (or really lousy 1.5 second heals). "Toughing it out" is just a more positive way of saying "puts up with anything." 1.2 is focused on pulling players out of the endgame, in my opinion. The legacy patch is screaming "Leave our buggy, atrocious endgame until we can repair it to a point that it would be acceptable as launch content and play our stories!" Nobody was playing Sentinel at the launch of this game, so they got major buffs in the first two content patches so that people would play those stories. So many people have played the consular/inquisitor story that Bioware probably feels like effort was wasted on the classes that aren't getting played as much.

[Tonhl]

As a PVP player mostly (if not only) I will see how those nerfs are, if they are really too much i will just cancel and move to another game. Don't have the time and willing to lvl up another Class knowing that all my efforts would be prorbably wasted.

[Ewgal]

Sage healers still have force Armor, one of the best 'heals' in the game after 1.2. There's plenty of room for them still I think. Edited March 30, 2012 by Ewgal

[Connercan]

Wow someone finally said something that makes sense. That is how the game works!!!

 

When ppl gonna realise that class balancing is made of ups and downs...

 

There will be times my class will be underpower, sometimes overpower, sometimes balanced.

 

Here's how balancing works:

 

1 - Class A is better then Class B.

2 - Class B goes to foruns and QQ a lot.

3 - Patch comes out.

4 - Class B gets buffed and Class A gets Nerfed.

5 - Class B became better then Class A.

6 - Class A goes to foruns and QQ a lot.

7 - Patch comes out.

8 - Class B gets nerfed and ... Balance achieved!!!

9 - (Weeks later) Patch comes out.

10 - Repeat 1 to 9.

 

Just hang in there and have fun because after all this is A GAME!!!

[LancelotOC]

I'm waiting to see the changes on live but utimatly I play MMOs to be entertained via pvp. So if my expectations of these changes are correct, I will stop playing the Seer Sage as I fear it will not be very entertaining in pvp .

[astrocanis]

I have healed in a half dozen different games, and for some reason they always follow similar paths. First, they attempt to homogenize healing classes and specs - apparently it's either too hard or "unfair" if they don't make everything work the same. Next, they ALWAYS give you the expensive crappy little fast heal and the cheap, way-too-long-to-be-useful-unless-the-boss-or-your-opponent-is-an-imbecile heal that nobody can ever use. And let's not forget the hot that never hits for much and hits for less once they start with additional hots canceling the first.

 

Blizzard did it and that's part of the reason I detested the Cata expansion. My druid played like my paladin played like my priest. They called it balance. I called it tasteless paste.

 

I really do hope they don't go down that rabbit hole in this game.

 

[edit] Almost forgot: the most annoying of all is "We want you to have to manage your resources, so decide who you plan to let die." All it amounts to is frustration for both sides. Force management is not a switch. It's not "either heal or don't." It's more "use different heals and strengths of heals as you need to in order to make your resources last long enough."

 

Healing should not be binary.

Edited April 1, 2012 by astrocanis

[Lundorff]

I have recently discovered that I like playing a healing Sage, and of course the class is about to get "re-balanced"

 

Could anyone please make me a PvP healing build that will work in 1.2?

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#600.1