Different styles of healers, lets hear em!

[Erywin]

Ok so I am DMing a 4e game of WotBS that starts this weekend. I currently have 5 players consisting of:

Dragonborn Warlord
Eladrin Ranger
Warforged Fighter
Razorclaw Shifter Avenger
Human Wizard

I was just asked if one more person could join us and I agreed, he is looking at playing a dedicated healer. So I was wondering what his options were? I know that from what I have read that Clerics kick arse in the healing department. Can that be done with other classes? I am looking at giving him options. I have a DDI subscription so pretty much all the books are open, minus Dragon Magazine. Lets hear your thoughts!

Cheers,
E

 

[LightPhoenix]

If the player really wants a dedicated healer, Cleric really is the best. This goes doubly if Divine Power is allowed.

The other leaders can heal, but they usually combine healing with something else. Personally, my favorite of the others is Bard, since they get a lot of supportive abilities.

 

[Mort_Q]

All the Leader classes have healing to varying degrees, depending on their feat and power choices.

• Artificer
• Bard
• Cleric
• Shaman
• Warlord

You've already got a Warlord.

If the new player wants to go dedicated healer, then the pacifist healer cleric option sounds fun to me.

I threw together a hybrid beast master ranger pacifist cleric that never has to damage the targets himself. YMMV.

 

[Garthanos]

I keep trying to figure out how to make a shaman pacifist (mc or hybrid cleric?) healer works but getting enough healing powers from cleric seems tough ... just reskinning the cleric version emphasizing nature skill might work fine.

 

[Turtlejay]

Artificer is nice, with two melee strikers you may run into a problem with them running out of surges. Artificer can take surges from one character and give them to another.

That being said, they are more of a buffing leader like a warlord. No matter what they bring, I'd encourage range, since it looks like 3 or 4 or your players are melee already.

Jay

 

[Herschel]

With a warlord already and a good front line I'd actually go Prescient Bard. You'll jack Charisma and Wisdom is the secondary, so he can multiclass as a Cleric easily enough. Take Stirring Shout as the Level 1 Daily to boost healing in a passive manner against a BBEG. Make it so you can multiclass in to warlord or paladin at some point also, if he'd like.

 

[DracoSuave]

Protecting Shaman and Cleric are your dedicated healers.

Taking a daily to passively boost healing isn't the same as simply having better healing.

Personally, I'd take the Shaman--healing as an OA is halarious.

But Hybrid/MCing won't actually increase your healing ability. Cleric's Healing Lore doesn't work with Shaman evocations, and Shaman won't get the Protecting Spirit Boon when Hybridding.

So it becomes sort of self-defeating.

If he doesn't want to deal damage, Cleric with Pacifist Healer is supereffective, but remind him that he a) needs to take powers that let players spend surges, not powers that simply give them hps, and b) that he'll have to do other things besides heal, if he is to be effective, even if it is not damage.

 

[Garthanos]

Personally, I'd take the Shaman--healing as an OA is halarious.

But Hybrid/MCing won't actually increase your healing ability. Cleric's Healing Lore doesn't work with Shaman evocations, and Shaman won't get the Protecting Spirit Boon when Hybridding.

So it becomes sort of self-defeating.

I did come to that conclusion but I was trying for having my cake and eating it too... the spirit can do some damage ;-) without me taking cred for it cant it.

 

[DracoSuave]

Well, no, actually you make the attacks, so Pacifist Healer certainly burns you there. All the spirit does is act as the point where range is calculated for Spirit powers, and LoE and LoS.

Contrast with Summonings and Beast powers, where the summoned creature/beast companion explicitly makes the attacks using your actions and your statistics. Huge difference, both in terms of flavor, and in terms of mechanics.

 

[Skallgrim]

I would definitely look at Cleric, both because the Healing powers are really good, and because they are really flexible. You can get powers that heal when you smite people, if you want to be really aggressive. You can get very dedicated pacifist healing powers. In addition, if he wants to be a 'dedicated healer', there are now a ton of Cleric prayers which do no damage, so even his "attacks" can be non-wounding!

The only reason I would look at Shaman is that you don't have a Primal character, and it might be cool to have someone with that Power source. Also, given that Divine Power is out, and not Primal Power, you're just going to have more options, right now, with Cleric.