AoE healing - will Bard be allowed to be as good as a Cleric?

Forget single target healing where Clerics will shine without a doubt.
Will Bard be allowed to spec to be as good as a Cleric with AoE healing?
I would like that to be a reality! What do you think, and what is your opinion?

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Damokles

Dont think so, except if you maybe go Bard/Cleric.
But a Cleric/Bard will always do better healing than a Bard/Cleric.

Orym

I kind of hope so now tbh if they can't make cleric as appealing as the bard class. The cleric is just so dull and mainstream from what I have seen so far.

But from this preview it seems like Soulweaver (Bard + cleric) might be the go to for whenever I want to do some healing gameplay in A2 atleast. But hopefully both cleric and bard can be viable and unique healers in their own way later on.

Aszkalon

Damokles wrote: »

Dont think so, except if you maybe go Bard/Cleric.

I wanted to write just the same, but you beat me to it.

I think it was made somewhat clear that the Bard will be a more passive Healer and the Cleric a more direct, more active Healer. But a Bard can switch into the Cleric-Archetype for a bit later at LvL 25, can he ?

Spif

Symbiosome wrote: »

Forget single target healing where Clerics will shine without a doubt.
Will Bard be allowed to spec to be as good as a Cleric with AoE healing?
I would like that to be a reality! What do you think, and what is your opinion?

I do not want that to be a reality. At best I think the bard should have better single and AE regen/HoTs. But for AE group heals, I think the Cleric should be better than bard, same as single target heals. And as a followup, I'd say I think that a Cleric/x of any type should be a better healer (outside of HoTs) than Bard/Cleric.

Why? Mostly balance. We've seen the Bard has a *ton* of buffs, but also debuffs, hard-CC and soft-CC. Can't make them the games best AE healer too. (IMO)

Sengarden

The healing from the Bard reminded me a bit of WoW Druid healing. Want to heal a dungeon party of 5? Go for it. Want to heal a raid group of 10? You should probably bring at least one Priest.

From what was said during the stream, I imagine that will likely apply here too with Bards and Clerics.

spawn33

Bard's healing looked pretty underwhelming to me in the showcase.

Halae

From what I saw during the showcases, the difference is that clerics are specialized in burst support; strong effects that hit suddenly before going on cooldown, or cost a ton of mana, while Bards specialize in passive or nearly passive support to their teammates, but designed in such a way as to facilitate other action.

So if you're debating on a cleric or bard, the cleric will be better able to handle tankbusters, cleanse debuffs on teammates, slam down AoEs on enemies, and are generally going to be better at hitting the 'oh shit button' when things are falling apart. A bard, meanwhile, is going to be better at ensuring everybody is operating at max efficiency. For example, mana regen from Pensive Melody means people can keep using their high-output skills more often, while Cheerful Melody on its own does minimal regen, but makes other heals much more potent. The Cleric is a reactive support, handling things as they come up, while the bard is a tactical support, ensuring everybody operates better.

Their roles aren't really comparable, because they're handling different things within a party comp. Regen can patch holes when your team gets hit with an unavoidable AoE, for instance, but it won't mean crap when the tank eats a tankbuster.

Diamaht

Symbiosome wrote: »

Forget single target healing where Clerics will shine without a doubt.
Will Bard be allowed to spec to be as good as a Cleric with AoE healing?
I would like that to be a reality! What do you think, and what is your opinion?

From everything they've said so far, I don't think that is their intent. They want Cleric to be the superior healer in every way, with the Bards job to aid and supplement them (as well as every other class).

I'm guessing using the Cleric as a secondary will make the Bard a stronger healer but still not as good as Cleric. I'm also guessing adding the Bard as a secondary will add some support functionality to your character but not as good as the Bard itself.

ReLamas

The Bard is primarily a support class, and it's important to distinguish that support is not the same as a healer. Many MMOs have moved away from dedicated support classes, leading to the misconception that healers and support roles are synonymous. In Ashes of Creation, the Bard will have some healing abilities, but these won't be as efficient as those of a Cleric, whether in AoE (Area of Effect) or single-target healing.

The Cleric, while specializing in direct healing and sustenance, will also have support skills. However, just as the Bard's healing abilities aren't as potent as the Cleric's, the Cleric's support abilities won't match the Bard's efficiency in providing buffs, debuffs, and other group enhancements. The Bard's main role will be to enhance the group's performance and manage combat situations strategically, complementing the Cleric's healing and other support capabilities. It's essential to appreciate this diversity in roles and understand how each class uniquely contributes to the group's success.

buujah

Symbiosome wrote: »

I would like that to be a reality! What do you think, and what is your opinion?

The Bard has so many more utilities eg. mana reg, speed buff, dmg buff, mezz that in my opinion it would be OP that he could aoe heal as good as the cleric. that doesn't make sense to me and i wouldn't support that kind of "advancement" for that class.
like the others also said, the cleric is the main heal, single and aoe - and that is for me totally okay so.

Nerror

Symbiosome wrote: »

Forget single target healing where Clerics will shine without a doubt.
Will Bard be allowed to spec to be as good as a Cleric with AoE healing?

I don't think so, and I think that is a good thing. Bards can do many things clerics can't. No reason to let them AoE heal as well as a cleric.

Aszkalon

spawn33 wrote: »

Bard's healing looked pretty underwhelming to me in the showcase.

That seems to be intentional of Course. I mean, that was basically to LITERALLY the Regeneration Rate of being out of Combat in WoW or even below. x'D

For the finished Game of Course they will balance it, so that it is noticeably higher. Just not as high as direct Heals from a Cleric.

Halae

Remember, alpha testing is when numbers get balanced. Numbers are THE easiest thing in the game to adjust.

Nefficles

The bard will always be an off healer in my opinion unless in beast comps where groups consist of insane damage and high armor tanking that would prefer buffs/more damage over heals.

This version of the bard reminds me a lot of the chanter class from Aion. Their primary support was buffs in the form of mana, HoTs, and attack speed/cast speed. Their main responsibilities were providing damage, backup heals/support when the healer was overwhelmed, and insane burst dps buffs with long cooldowns to help the party chunk down difficult bosses or survive difficult situations in general.

AidanKD

Bards are meant to be a jack of all trades master of none anyway. I'm sure Cleric will offer good Heals, shields and damage mitigation.

Bard will have a wider toolkit with aoe heals, shields, damage mitigation - as well as mana regen, crowd control, increase ally damage, reduce ally damage, increase ally speed (reduce enemy speed?).

Not saying Cleric won't have all of these but Bard definitely has a wide kit.

mfckingjoker

They've stated many times that the one who will be the primarily class for healing will be the cleric. This definitely goes for both single target and aoe healing.

Songcaller

Last I heard Cleric secondary adds self healing boosts. I think a bard will not come close to a Cleric/Cleric.

Halae

AidanKD wrote: »

Bards are meant to be a jack of all trades master of none anyway. I'm sure Cleric will offer good Heals, shields and damage mitigation.

Bard will have a wider toolkit with aoe heals, shields, damage mitigation - as well as mana regen, crowd control, increase ally damage, reduce ally damage, increase ally speed (reduce enemy speed?).

Not saying Cleric won't have all of these but Bard definitely has a wide kit.

Actually, Bards as the Jack class isn't really consistent with what we've seen here. They're pure support, providing buffs, recovery, and a small amount of utility in the form of control and movement speed. Their offensive output doesn't look like it's above the Cleric or the Tank, because the vast majority of their skills are about providing a buff to teammates. They also don't seem to have the tanking ability necessary for that sort of thing. They do one thing and do it very well.

From what we understand, the Summoner is the Jack of all trades class, on account of being able to summon a new monster when they need to fill a new role, and they're not sharing that role with anybody.

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