I think you’re missing the point of Re:build.
Every skill is getting balanced.
This is why we get targeted Heal on Cleric (so it can retain a low CD time and OH) and AoE Heal on other Classes.
Skills with larger AoE and multiple targets have higher CD times and thus are unfitting for Cleric.
A good parallel from the same team is the concept of Acolyte in RO, who has a targeted Heal.
The time issue is not really an issue if you want to survive. If you don’t Heal beforehand, chances are high that you have to heal inbetween, breaking combos,etc.
I’ve been through this already in endgame content where I had to cancel Rubric to survive with Heal.
If I had a HoT-effect maybe I could’ve pulled through, who knows?
And if you don’t need the extra Heal then you simply don’t cast it. It’s just an option given by the designers.
Talking about the Linger attribute, it seems to be broken like a lot of skill effects and attribute effects, which happens whenever IMC patches large updates.
I’m not really worried about it not working, I’d be more worried if it silently disappeared.
The damage mitigation was already divided between the 5 base Classes, providing every base Class with their own ways of mitigating it + at least one more defensive Class (Quarrel Shooter, Paladin, Peltasta, Outlaw,Cryomancer) to improve survival.
I believe the new system is very fair, it reduces the burden of Cleric and divides it equally between the Class trees to invest in equipment and skills that improve their survival.
The supplementary nature of heal skills comes from the observation that most AoE recovery skills have a larger downtime of 15 - 30 seconds.
They supplement the recovery that surpasses the damage recovered via potions.
If you don’t think it’s supplementary,
then you either ignore the fact that people have to pot unless they carry a full heal build,
or you think that it’s not supplementary because people can live by receiving the Heal once every x seconds.
Heal in this game is no longer providing the large recovery rates it did before Re:build, but you also receive a lot less damage and have halved potion CD times.
At least for me this is a clear sign they go away from the necessary Heal to an optional Heal every now and then to supplement for damage that exceeds the potion recovery, to ensure survival.
Healing Factor and Restoration have a special role since Healing Factor is single target only and Restoration can be scrolled and thus used by everyone.
Last but not least, if we go back to the targeting mode:
Of course they are not created solely for self-targeting/self-buffing, but it plays a huge role in the way they are utilized.
You can see that in the way you hit yourself (i.e. the standard configuration without directional input),
which is completely stress-less in comparison to targeting someone else.
This means that the basic use of the skill is to buff/heal yourself with it (makes sense because you’re the only player available outside a party with at least two members) and the use can be altered,
depending on the user, if he no longer wishes for self-support.
This also gives a player the option to use a skill on others if required, but that’s optional.
The fact it’s optional is reflected in the targeting system that targets you, the Cleric, by default.
I understand that you want to talk about the recovery capabilities that affect other players and how the new healing mechanics affect party play,
but you must understand that a lot of changes hint at less support from the Cleric and more self-sustainability on other Classes (which is congruent with the recent max HP change that increased the maximum HP of all non-Swordsmen to improve their survival even more) via mitigation and potion recovery.
That’s the point I’m trying to get through to the people who still think they need to throw Heal at everyone after the update even though the Non-Clerics take on average less damage than the Clerics and now have similar or even higher amounts of max HP by default (because Cleric has spread-out stats, it has less CON on average than Archer & Scout and sometimes even Wizard builds, which might result in Clerics running around with the least amount of HP in a lot of cases).
Heal will be mostly to completely self-sustain of the Cleric. That’s why Heal tiles would be disadvantageous (other could probably steal them) and take too long to cast for the faster pace of the game where you need to evade and move more.
Imo the changes are very beneficial for Clerics so they can survive while not weakening the role of Priest/Pardoner as party recover option if required.
