Necromancer healer - good idea or blasphemy?

Instead of using Divine Favor, I'm thinking about making a N/Mo so I can put points in Soul Reaping to get more energy whenever somebody dies. I think that this would be useless in PvP and most PvE bosses, but I'd use this mainly for explorable areas and while leveling, in large-scale battles.

What do you guys think about this?

Necromancer healer heroes are the staple of PvE play. N/Rt's are stuck to just about anyone's hero bar, because of Soul Reaping. Heroes aren't very good at energy management, so Soul Reaping is an excellent solution.

You can do this as a player too. However, an N/Rt or N/Mo won't be as effective a healer as a primary Mo or Rt because of runes (not to mention skills from Mo or Rt primary attributes and the inherent boost from Divine Favor). Players can manage their energy better than heroes, so you wouldn't have the same problem as primary Mo or Rt heroes.

So: yes it's possible, but you won't be as effective as Mo or Rt players.

discord/sabway ftw

Thanks for the answer, Dzjudz. I'll just leave that idea for heroes.

there really isnt any point in using n/rt healers at all anymore. If you want a hero healer with high energy management, e/mo ether renewal healer/protters completely outclass n/rts.

Do they pump out just as powerful heals though?

hybrids zzzz

Far more powerful.

I've been toying with this idea for a while but not to be a healer but a great minion master u could use Mending to keep minions but i didn't get around to trying it

[[Mending] for your minions would be a bad idea. Eventually, the degen will build up far pass mending. To heal minions, use [[Blood of the Master], [[Dwayna's Sorrow], or [[Heal Area].

As others have said before, heroes are better with SoLS Healers because they know when to use [[Signet of Lost Souls].

[build prof=N/Rt SoulReaping=12+1+1 RestorationMagic=12][Optional][Optional][Mend Body and Soul][Spirit Light][Signet of Lost Souls][Protective Was Kaolai][Life][Death Pact Signet][/build]
Optional #1
- [[Weapon of Remedy]
- [[Xinrae's Weapon]
- [[Icy Veins]
Optional #2
- [[Foul Feast]
- [[Splinter Weapon (PvE)] --> Decrease Soul Reaping to 8, increase Channeling to 10.
- [[Weapon of Warding (PvE)]
- [[Blood Renewal] --> Decrease Soul Reaping to 10, increase Blood to 8.
- [[Strip Enchantment]
- [[Rip Enchantment]

But the current fad now are ER Protters:

[build prof=E/Mo energy=12+1+1 prot=12][Ether Renewal][Aura of Restoration][Aegis][Spirit Bond][Protective Spirit][Reversal of Fortune][Shield of Absorption][optional][/build]
- [[Mend Ailment]
- [[Shielding Hands]
- [[Gift of Health]. Lower E-storage to 10+1+1 and invest 8 in healing prayers.
- [[Reverse Hex]/[[Cure Hex]. Put 3 in Healing Prayers if Cure Hex is used.
- [[Guardian]
- [[Life Bond]/[[Protective Bond]. Would need micro'ing.

necro healers are awesome, but require too much minion management. basically you run a minion factory and use Dwaynas sorrow for healing every time a minion dies. Its on one of the discordway heros... but the soul reaping energy return is nothing new to PVE or PVP. for a while back when spirits gave energy for soul reaping, there was a build called sway that used N/Rt healers.

like it has been mentioned before, might as well go monk or ether healer if you are human

If you are locked into necro primary for the area you want/need then yeah, a necro healer is deffo a viable option for a backline role in pve. And it makes a nice change from running a mop nuker, mm or ss. *usually a hero takes this role tho in the meta h&h teams.

Be it N/rt can redbar well with some light prot weapons or splinter weapons<3
and a N/mo can redbar+prot well and abuse some of the higher cost prots like ps/sb more often due to soul reaping.

Weather an ER infoozer or ap prot would do better? almost certainly, but your a necro primary and swapping class is out of the question, so they are moot points here xD

I play a necro/rit in FA all the time. Soul Reaping is total energy hax.

I can hold a gate on the Kurzick side just as effectively as a monk or rit primary. Sure, they get the rune bonus, but I can hold out a whole lot longer than they can. I can pump out decent heals, too.

Watch the mini map in FA. The second I see the turtle ping, I throw Xinrae's on one of the gate NPCs. The turtle attack hits a second later and they lose health while the NPC stands perfectly alright.

Oh... i was under the impression that the OP was reffering to using his heroes as n/rt's, not as himself. For humans, ER protter/infusers will still be the most powerful form of "monking", but the energy management difficulties are far less of an issue on human bars as they are on hero bars. A decent - good human monk or rit should be able to manage their energy just fine. Obviously, humans dont have the ability to change the primary of their characters in PvE, so if you are playing as a necro, then by all means, n/rt healers work just fine. However, I would say that in humans, monks or resto rits > necros simply because managing energy with either one isnt that tough for even a relatively inexperienced human.

Then again, ER healers/protters are still better.

Taking a Necro primary and making a healer is perfectly sound and works well enough.
No doubt there are better ways to make a healer but there is no reason to always take only the most perfect way to achieve something in gw.

If you follow that insane rout you and up with eight 20th lvl characters and heroes using perhaps just 100 of the many skills in the game.
Nearly always using the same small number of builds and congratulating yourselves that your achieving something.

You are achieving nothing except a decline of your game into boredom and stagnation.

I take variety every time maybe I don't always succeed or finish as quickly as some other players but I have a whale of a time trying even after nearly 5 years of play.

Heros can handle ER?

With a slightly modified bar without bonds to maintain, yeah...with a little micro for ps (like any hero needs at the start of a ruck) and the occasional recast of ER if it gets stripped and they forget to recast.

something like
[ether [email protected]][prot spirit][spirit bond][infuse][aura of resto][aegis]
2x[optional]

Oh, i agree completely. Im not discouraging him from playing as a n/rt healer. He should do what he thinks is fun and if his main is a necro and if he enjoys healing, then by all means, he should play as a n/rt. My main is a mesmer and I often find myself playing fastcast resto, healing, or protting builds.

Yea, heroes use ER builds real well. My one uses:

ER
Aura of Resto
Infuse
Prot Spirit
Spirit Bond
Dismiss Condition
Aegis
Life Attunement (I precast it on himself)

I primarily use HB monk heroes for healers. I haven't ever noticed them having energy problems, but then again, I designed them not to.
They vary a bit from time to time, but a typical example would have:
Healer's Boon, Dwayna's Kiss, Words of Comfort, Healing Breeze, Signet of Rejuvenation, Mend Condition, Cure Hex, Rebirth.

Nothing fancy - low energy, quick recharge skills. Sometimes combined with a UA monk hero for speedy rez.

For myself, I use a similar build on those rare occasions that I play healer monk. If I going to be the healer in a group, I prefer to play a Restoration Rit. (more enjoyable for me.)

Anyway, in answer to the OP, yes, you can use a Necro as a healer. I've never done that myself, but lots of people do.