Getting healing right

[Simplicity]

Okay, so let me get this straight... I am so confused about how healing works.

Healing Word Cleric Feature
You whisper a brief prayer as divine light washes over your target, helping to mend its wounds.
Encounter (Special) ✦ Divine, Healing
Special: You can use this power twice per encounter, but only once per round.
Minor Action Close burst 5
Target: You or one ally
Effect: The target can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6 + 3 hit points.

So, this means that the target spends a surge, gets the associated 1/4 hp AND 1d6+3 hp on top of that? Or does it mean that the target spends a surge to get only 1d6 +3 hp? If it's the former, can the target not spend a surge and only get the additional healing?
Why is it a burst when there's only one target effected? Isn't that usually called a ranged attack? Maybe there's later powers to increase the number of targets? Or maybe targets increase as you go up in level?

Cure Light Wounds Cleric Utility 2
You utter a simple prayer and gain the power to instantly heal wounds, and your touch momentarily suffuses you or a wounded creature with a dim silver light
Daily ✦ Divine, Healing
Standard Action Melee touch
Target: You or one creature
Effect: The target regains hit points as if it had spent a healing surge.

So, this means that a surge is NOT spent by the target, right? Why would anyone pick this ability when they could already heal twice an encounter as a MINOR action at range for more healing? Are healing surges really that important of a resource to justify all the penalties (including the level penalty?) Is it because they want to be able to heal three times in a combat? Are there really going to be that many situations where your nine healing surges have been brought down to one, and you need just one more heal to get by?
You can only spend so many surges in a combat as is...

Let's compare it to a paladin daily, shall we?

Paladin's Judgement Paladin Attack 1
Your melee attack punishes your enemy and heals an ally.
Encounter ? Divine, Healing, Weapon
Standard Action Melee Weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: +7 vs. AC
Hit: 3d8 + 4 damage, and one ally within 5 squares of you can spend a healing surge.
Miss: One ally within 5 squares of you can spend a healing surge.

Again. Use a surge, but it's at a range and you can make an attack at the same time. In fact, if you add on Lay On Hands, the cleric almost seems weak in the healing department.

Lay on Hands Paladin Feature
Your divine touch instantly heals wounds.
At-Will (Special) ? Divine, Healing
Special: You can use this power once per day.
Minor Action Melee touch
Target: One creature
Effect: You spend a healing surge but regain no hit points. Instead, the target regains hit points as if it had spent a healing surge. You must have at least one healing surge remaining to use this power.

FEAT
Healing Hands: When you use the lay on hands power, the target heals extra damage equal to your Charisma modifier

Note that a higher Wis bonus would have allowed more uses of Lay on Hands (I think)...

 

[keterys]

So, this means that the target spends a surge, gets the associated 1/4 hp AND 1d6+3 hp on top of that?

Yes.

If it's the former, can the target not spend a surge and only get the additional healing?

No.

Why is it a burst when there's only one target effected? Isn't that usually called a ranged attack? Maybe there's later powers to increase the number of targets? Or maybe targets increase as you go up in level?

Ranged provokes. Close does not. This lets it not provoke. I think 'Close 5' would have been preferable way to state it.

So, this means that a surge is NOT spent by the target, right?

Right.

Why would anyone pick this ability when they could already heal twice an encounter as a MINOR action at range for more healing? Are healing surges really that important of a resource to justify all the penalties (including the level penalty?)

Because this lets you heal a 3rd time in an encounter, and heal someone who has run out of surges. It's worth it.

Let's compare it to a paladin daily, shall we?

Daily attacks and utilities don't necessarily compare well, but ok...

Hit: 3d8 + 4 damage, and one ally within 5 squares of you can spend a healing surge.
Miss: One ally within 5 squares of you can spend a healing surge.

Again. Use a surge, but it's at a range and you can make an attack at the same time. In fact, if you add on Lay On Hands, the cleric almost seems weak in the healing department.

Paladin can't use this out of combat, and it requires a healing surge from the target. Cure light gives a free one. And it's a utility power, which is on a different balance scale.

Lay on Hands compares to Healing Word. I'll take Healing Word, thanks.

 

[DM_Flick]

So for the clerics Healing Word- the target can spend a healing surge. Does this mean he just checks off a healing surge right then and heal, or does he have to wait until his turn and spend a standard action to heal?

 

[keterys]

So for the clerics Healing Word- the target can spend a healing surge. Does this mean he just checks off a healing surge right then and heal, or does he have to wait until his turn and spend a standard action to heal?

Checks it off right then and heals.

 

[Lacyon]

Again. Use a surge, but it's at a range and you can make an attack at the same time. In fact, if you add on Lay On Hands, the cleric almost seems weak in the healing department.

The cleric can use Healing Words twice every encounter. That alone is better healing than this Paladin can do per day.

 

[Stormtalon]

Okay, so let me get this straight... I am so confused about how healing works.

Healing Word Cleric Feature
You whisper a brief prayer as divine light washes over your target, helping to mend its wounds.
Encounter (Special) ✦ Divine, Healing
Special: You can use this power twice per encounter, but only once per round.
Minor Action Close burst 5
Target: You or one ally
Effect: The target can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6 + 3 hit points.

So, this means that the target spends a surge, gets the associated 1/4 hp AND 1d6+3 hp on top of that? Or does it mean that the target spends a surge to get only 1d6 +3 hp? If it's the former, can the target not spend a surge and only get the additional healing?
Why is it a burst when there's only one target effected? Isn't that usually called a ranged attack? Maybe there's later powers to increase the number of targets? Or maybe targets increase as you go up in level?

It's the first -- 1/4 HP + 1d6+3 healing. Plus, the cleric can use it 2x per encounter, so he can dish out quite a bit of healing in a fight. The burst notation is just a shorthand way of saying, "You can do this to any ally within 5 squares."

Cure Light Wounds Cleric Utility 2
You utter a simple prayer and gain the power to instantly heal wounds, and your touch momentarily suffuses you or a wounded creature with a dim silver light
Daily ✦ Divine, Healing
Standard Action Melee touch
Target: You or one creature
Effect: The target regains hit points as if it had spent a healing surge.

So, this means that a surge is NOT spent by the target, right? Why would anyone pick this ability when they could already heal twice an encounter as a MINOR action at range for more healing? Are healing surges really that important of a resource to justify all the penalties (including the level penalty?) Is it because they want to be able to heal three times in a combat? Are there really going to be that many situations where your nine healing surges have been brought down to one, and you need just one more heal to get by?
You can only spend so many surges in a combat as is...

Remember, surges are a daily resource, not per-encounter, so a power that allows someone to heal 1/4 of their HP without using one is REALLY nice, even if it is a Daily.

Let's compare it to a paladin daily, shall we?

Paladin's Judgement Paladin Attack 1
Your melee attack punishes your enemy and heals an ally.
Encounter ? Divine, Healing, Weapon
Standard Action Melee Weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: +7 vs. AC
Hit: 3d8 + 4 damage, and one ally within 5 squares of you can spend a healing surge.
Miss: One ally within 5 squares of you can spend a healing surge.

Again. Use a surge, but it's at a range and you can make an attack at the same time.

Note that the cleric's Healing Word ability is a Minor action, so he can also heal & attack in the same round, just not in the same action. Since a low-level cleric isn't likely to have anything that requires a Minor to sustain it, it's not really a big deal. And again, the cleric can do it 2x per encounter as opposed to 1x for the paladin. The tradeoff is the paladin has the potential to do a good bit more damage to the enemy in the process.

In fact, if you add on Lay On Hands, the cleric almost seems weak in the healing department.

Lay on Hands Paladin Feature
Your divine touch instantly heals wounds.
At-Will (Special) ? Divine, Healing
Special: You can use this power once per day.
Minor Action Melee touch
Target: One creature
Effect: You spend a healing surge but regain no hit points. Instead, the target regains hit points as if it had spent a healing surge. You must have at least one healing surge remaining to use this power.

FEAT
Healing Hands: When you use the lay on hands power, the target heals extra damage equal to your Charisma modifier

Note that a higher Wis bonus would have allowed more uses of Lay on Hands (I think)...

With this, the paladin is spending his own Healing Surges to do so; a significant sacrifice on his part. The cleric can heal more damage more often than the paladin and once per day he can even allow an ally to heal without using a Healing Surge at all. The cleric is far and away the better healer of the two.

 

[Storminator]

Each PC can only spend 1 Healing Surge per encounter via Second Wind. So anything that adds to the number of times you heal during a fight is golden.

I've seen PCs burn thru a scary number of hit points in a fight. Especially a defender. The downside of stickiness is that things, well, stick!

PS

 

[crosswiredmind]

If I am not mistaken Healing Word cannot be used on an unconscious character because you need to be conscious to use a healing surge. The Cure power seems to work even when the character in unconscious.

 

[keterys]

Hmm... I hadn't heard that and find it unlikely, crosswiredmind, but I can't refute it at the moment.

 

[Phoenix8008]

I'll throw this question in just to make sure I've got it right in my head. Under "Healing the Dying" it says the following:

If a player character is dying and receives healing, the PC goes to 0 hit points and then regains hit points from there.

So, I understand that a PC doesn't die from damage until their HP's are equal to their Bloodied number but negative. Lets use an example PC with 40 HP's and therefore 20 Bloodied and Healing Surges of 10. Say they've been damaged to the point where they are at -15 HP's. The Cleric uses his Healing Strike power to allow this dying PC to use a healing surge. If I have it right, just starting a healing effect jumps the dying PC up to 0 HP's and then his healing surge adds 10 more so that he is instantly concious again and sitting at 10 HP's total. Is this right?