Let's face it, in previous editions, and heck, in a lot of other systems and games that are derived from D&D like WoW for instance, nobody ever wants to play the healing battery.
That's not knocking any of those systems or games, I'm just stating that it was a pretty well known phenomenon and I'll stand by that argument as I've seen it across dozens of systems and games over the last twenty odd years I've been gaming.
In fact, I would never have even considered taking a healing battery role until 4e. But for some strange reason, I really love clerics as healing batteries. It's come to the point where it's my preferred character choice.
Now I've only played my particular healing battery a few times and only ever at 1st and 3rd levels, but every time I have, I've enjoyed it immensely. He's just so damned uber!
My current healer is a human cleric. Eremus the Faithless I call him. It's an old character concept from my 1e/2e days that I never got around to playing or even making up as a character in those systems because I'd never have even considered playing him.
But in 4e he's got massive amounts of healing power and gives everyone in the party bonuses to hit, or penalties to the enemies or grants saving throws, or kills off minions or gives damage reduction to everyone or temporary hit points. And that's just at 1st-level!
2d6+7 plus the character's healing surge value thanks to Pacifist Healer. And with Astral Seal, he can target bloodied enemies and still heal allies and penalise the enemies defences.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH DIVINE POWER!
I thought I loved bards after they came out and I still like them, but with Divine Power out my first love has been eclipsed by the uber healer cleric (that I admittedly multi-classed into bard for an extra healing power...).
That's not knocking any of those systems or games, I'm just stating that it was a pretty well known phenomenon and I'll stand by that argument as I've seen it across dozens of systems and games over the last twenty odd years I've been gaming.
In fact, I would never have even considered taking a healing battery role until 4e. But for some strange reason, I really love clerics as healing batteries. It's come to the point where it's my preferred character choice.
Now I've only played my particular healing battery a few times and only ever at 1st and 3rd levels, but every time I have, I've enjoyed it immensely. He's just so damned uber!
My current healer is a human cleric. Eremus the Faithless I call him. It's an old character concept from my 1e/2e days that I never got around to playing or even making up as a character in those systems because I'd never have even considered playing him.
But in 4e he's got massive amounts of healing power and gives everyone in the party bonuses to hit, or penalties to the enemies or grants saving throws, or kills off minions or gives damage reduction to everyone or temporary hit points. And that's just at 1st-level!
2d6+7 plus the character's healing surge value thanks to Pacifist Healer. And with Astral Seal, he can target bloodied enemies and still heal allies and penalise the enemies defences.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH DIVINE POWER!
I thought I loved bards after they came out and I still like them, but with Divine Power out my first love has been eclipsed by the uber healer cleric (that I admittedly multi-classed into bard for an extra healing power...).
