Whats wrong?

Hi hi. Would like some insight from someone that have some knowledge about being a healer in this game.

I've been an avid RPG player for well over a decade, and I usually go healer because I like having responsibilities in games (unlike in real life :P ), I like being the leader and the backbone of the group, and I have always been a great healer.

But the concept of healing in this game eludes me, I don't know what I'm doing wrong and I'd like to know, and I don't mind critisism.

I'm a monk/ele and this is usually what I do:

Toss Aura of Restoration on, set autoattack on an enemy healer (DPS if the healer is too far away), then I use different heals on team mates according to how fast they take damage and how much health they have left, if theres another person in our group helping with heals, thus my Energy bar is somewhat full alot of the time, I help by tossing some dmg spells on the enemy with least health left, and rez if any team mates should fall (except when I see another team-mate would die if I didnt spam heal them right away, seeing as ressed people arent as good).

Now heres the problems: Some times I die just about instantly, some people kill me in two hits and theres nothing I can do damage wise or healing wise to prevent it (is this game insanely gear dependant? How do people hit for 250-300 dmg? I hit for like 10% of that..). Team mates never help me, so if I get 2-3 players on me I'm alone in tanking them, and the sheer amount of times this happens makes me think I'm supposed to be able to tank them. Some people debuff me so much that I have to choose between trying to heal with the debuffs on (not possible, takes forever to heal once and they always get interrupted), or take so long debuffing I'd be dead 40 minutes ago, how am I supposed to fight this? I try to kite away to heal but that just makes me die even faster for some reason (is there a hidden defense penalty when you move like there were in Diablo 2?)

I'm so close to deleting GW right now, the community ingame is the worst I have ever seen (not exaggerating! It's even worse than on a PvP server in AoC 0.o ), thus I came to the forums in hope it too doesnt harbor nothing but flamers and trolls.

Hope someone can make my experience with GW less frustrating, for now I'll cool off by PvPing with FRIENDLY people in Warhammer Online -,-

I don't really play monk often but from what I can gather your problems are:

Attack spells - You should NEVER take attack skills on a healing monk, it's just a bad idea.

Attacking - Don't auto-attack, AFAIK it makes enemies more likely to attack you, and your a squishy, and important squishy.

Armor - Make sure you have max armor, or at leats the best yuou can afford, or you will die. Alot.

Tanks - Hopefully you'll have some hero's, so set up a warrior or derv with a tanking build, and then you'll hopeuflly have some of the heat taken off you.

If all this fails, you can always take some protection spells to cast on yourself, although i would not advise this.

Trolololol. If not then I sincerely urge you to play another game or spend a lot more time understanding the game mechanics.

sounds like you don't have max armor... and this is the least gear dependent game i have ever played. in a matter of hours you can have the best armor rating possible on gear. i recommend making a pvp character they start off with max armor let me know if you experience the same problems, if you die in 2 hits... you are doing it wrong. guild wars is very different pvp than most games... it may not be for you..

I've tried not attacking, then everyone just call me a leacher, no matter how much I heal/buff. I'm talking about PvP btw so can't use heros. Nor do I have any sort of currency to buy gear.

Yeah I realize I'm doing something wrong, but what am I doing wrong? How can I go from taking 300-400 dmg to taking around 20-60 damage? Keep in mind I can't afford anything..

Ahh, sorry I didn't realise. I can't help you then, sorry ;P

i dunno about people calling you a leecher as a monk if you aren't staving someone lawl.. never, ever bring damaging skills as a healer monk into pvp. you want a couple defensive skills and the rest prot/healing skills.

making a pvp character. just choose pvp instead of pve at the character creation screen, they are free and start out at max level and armor, but can't access pve settings. (dungeons, missions, etc.)

Yeah it's a PvP char.

I tried PvE but got bored with the game at lvl 2 :P (Nothing against the game, I'm just a PvPer.)

Is there any armor that I can get early which is better than the armor I start with?

Pretty hard to get into PvP these days without having a ton of skill and rune unlocks. Be sure to put things like a Superior Vigor on your armour (or unlock it as soon as you can), things like Survivor and Radiant Insignias and Vitae Runes are useful too.
Put a good weapon set together with what you have.
If you are getting hit too much, look for skills that will reduce damage taken or block enemy hits (Protection Prayers).
Also kiting helps a lot to stay alive longer.

Ohh, thanks for the hint, I used all my factions to buy skills -,- Gonna try runes next time

Protective Spirit and Guardian are some of the most useful Protection skills to use.=p Also get something to remove conditions and hexes.=p

I hate to be a jerk (ok I love being a jerk)

Go PvE.

I am totally serious. Learn a bit about the mechanics of the game and about the skills. Unlock some more skills and equipment (assume you didn't buy the unlock packs).

PvXwiki.
While I hate pointing people towards that. It is a decent resource for someone just starting to see how builds work and what not.

Armor.
If your a PvP char you have max armor. However, unless you bought the unlock packs odds are you have no mods on said armor. See my note about PvE. On that note. Don't use major or superior runes. Just Don't and try to have a superior vigor if you can.

Weapons.
Mod them. Mod them well.

OK been out of the game for a while now but I am gonna stick my oar in , if I am wrong then you will receive better info off those who correct me are you making sure you stay out of aggro range ? once you stray into that circle of doom you immediately become a target as you are sooo delectable as people have said never take attacking skills , you are there purely to keep those whinging melee guys alive and flailing. And here is where I possibly fall apart , enemies target casters so by carrying a melee weapon with correct runage on it you stand a better chance of hiding from them .

You must not have been on Tyranny.
The kids in here can be a pests and think they are a lot better then they are but common, it was grown adults in AoC acting 1000x worse ... {HOGG} comes to mind.


Healing in here isn't like anywhere else and will take much more time and effort to excel at.
It sounds like you need to get your runes and more skills unlocked, getting to know your skills is the key. {and there are lots of them!!!}
First and foremost you need to take things to make sure YOU stay alive {dead monks don't heal anybody} and you will always be everyone elses first target.

The post by End is right on target for what will help you most, PvE in GWs was designed to be the tutorial for PvP, learn what works and what doesn't then go kill people but that got sidetracked long ago and the PvE somehow took over this once GREAT PvP system but with the PvP toons you can jump right in, your learning curve is just going to be tougher since a lot of people already know how to kill monks and you don't know how to stop them just yet.

Hang in there and you will figure it out and perhaps when you run across some people in game that don't sound like 1337 spoiled kiddies, join their guild and get tips that way.
There are still helpful people around they just aren't as memorable as the jackasses...

this doesnt work for pvp:
enemies target casters so by carrying a melee weapon with correct runage on it you stand a better chance of hiding from them .

anyways try other pvp areas too

Go to the Guild Connections section of the forum and find a PvP guild who will practice with you and point out your mistakes instead of name calling.

Ok, some key points about playing a monk in GuildWars.

If you're there as a healer and you're attackign enemies, something's wrong.
The monk isn't there to do damage. They're there to keep the rest of the team upright, not to knock the enemy down. So swap out those attack and damage skills

Some would argue that the monk shouldn't be carrying a res either. There are a couple of schools of thought on that one, but I think it mainly comes down to playstyle.
I know my own guild run on the idea that if the monk's the last man standing, you've got worse problems than them not being able to res.

The amount of damage you're getting suggests you're in low low level armor.
GuildWars isn't gear driven like some other games, but you do need to have the proper equipment
Max monk armor has an AL of 60, and should be available from about the same point as you reach level 20

Also bare in mind, if you kite by having your back to the enemy, they'll get you with critical hits. Where possible kite sideways, and stay near the back. Whilst there's no taunt mechanic in GW, it doesn't hurt to have the weight of the rest of your team between you and the oncoming enemy. After all, casters such as monks do have the lowest AL even at max

Also, monks are not just about making red bars go up. There's also the protection line for stopping the lines going down. Many people forget this

Are you the only monk in your party? I usually run with 2 monks in an 8 man party. That way if one is getting hit, the other can focus on keeping you up. At leeast that's the theory

If you're monking for PUGs you have a thankless task. That goes for PVE, as well as PVP. Warriors will over extend, midline won't kite or move out of AoE, and the monk will always get blames when the team wipes.

If you can, find a guild that you can play with regularly, and to whom you can get to know and talk to. There are good players out there. Most of them are playing with guildies, leaving the PuGs to the rest.
When you have a team who know their rolls; manage front line, midline, backline; and who don't over extend or agro too many mobs at once,then things click.

im not much of a healer my self ( waching bars aint realy my thing)
i would advise you to check http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/monk-f207.html
and http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/g...arena-f30.html

if you are playing in PvP only char remember you can costumise your gear, maybe thats what if failing, also most pvper's use lots of diferent weapons sets acording to the situation

caster weapons + shields intead of stave and focus or staff

if you are healing then your bar should be prot prayers/healing prayers
for energy management maybe you should go for mesmers inspiration magic, no more than 2 skills imo, check out the signet skills. also when you select your armor inscriptions, remember that more armor is usualy better than more health ou 1 or 2 points of extra energy, if you realy need the extra energy then use the insignias in hands or feet because its usualy the place less hitted

Which of the PvP places are you playing in? There's different builds and tactics required for each of them, so for instance you'll get yelled at for bringing a res in some places and yelled at for not bringing it in others. If you want more specific help about tactics, you'll need to clarify this point.

Regarding skill choices, read the description of aura of restoration. Note that it says you get health/energy back based on your ranks in energy storage. Energy storage is an elementalist primary attribute, which means as Mo/E it's pretty much a wasted skill slot on your bar because you can't put points into it to make it more powerful. You'd do much better bringing another form of self-heal/energy management.

As advised above, as a starting point check out pvxwiki for the PvP place you're currently playing in and try and get the runes, weapon upgrades and skills for one or more of the Meta or Great builds for a monk. You'll find it much easier to learn all the other things you've got to try and get the hang of (positioning, weapon swapping, cancel-casting, kiting and pre-kiting etc) if you're working from a good foundation.

GW PvP is well-known for being so full of trolls haters and flamers that people find it necessary to turn off local and set themselves to Do Not Disturb if they don't like being yelled at for making mistakes. It gets better the further up the PvP ladder you go - once you start making friends, or join a guild, you'll find it more enjoyable I'm sure.

Dude...when i saw the dmg u take i just thought: he's a pve character and doesn't have a max armor at advanced game storyline...Could be....A boss ele in let's say Vabbi in Nightfall can hit u for 300 dmg also with max armor

But if u say it's a pvp char...shouldn't he get max armor from the beginning?? I also got some pvp chars and obviously when u create them u get max armor.

Do u use any of this skills (just to know :P): Frenzy, Heal Signet, Aggressive Refrain (??? *_*), Frenzied Defense, Soldier's Fury (lol, why should u, but asking it's not bad...).

If u use any of this skills while in pvp i understand why u take 300 dmg....Anyway: put some insignia in the armour to bring up the rating. U may have just 60 armour, that's pretty low. Some skills penetrate armor, the Attribute Strenght (Warrior) gives armor penetration. Critical strikes hit for high bonus dmg..

If u use any of those skills i posted before, stop it. They suck a lot..most of all for a caster!

^ I think he is using a pve char for pvp

You must be right...otherwise he's using one of those skills that lower armor....But i don't think he's such a bad player Even if i saw monks in RA using Frenzied Defense fighting against eles. u can get hit for 300 dmg in that case.

Good advice given so far for improving play, but this ^ should be well heeded. If you play any of the PvP arenas where people can actually notice you (you can sort of disappear in the frenzy in Jade Quarry and Fort Aspenwood, but will stick out like a sore thumb in Random Arenas), people will rage at you. And they will especially rage at the monk. That's just how it goes. It's always somebody else's fault. Once you come to terms with that, and find ways to shut out the whining, it's much more tolerable. Joining a PvP guild with an interest in teaching newbies is probably the key to your success right now.

Nice to see the community in the forums is alot better than ingame ^^

It is a PvP char yes and I play random arenas, I played PvE to lvl 2 then deleted it, have only had PvP chars since.

I'm only using the skills that monk/ele starts out with seeing as I can't afford anything else, I used up all my factions on my ritualist just to test something out, didnt know it was account shared >,<

Should I mainly stick to monk spells seeing my stats don't affect other classes spells? Is it worth getting a pet as a healer? Is it possible to get more than 1 action bar?

Answers to ur questions:

I understand u don't have any Balthazar's factions, so u cannot unlock more skills, upgrades, runes and stuff..

A simple advice: u'd better take a long look at this website: Guild Wars Wiki and learn more about the skills.

When u have learned which skills are better you'd better start doing some pve. In pve u can unlock skills faster, simply buying them by trainers. Skills u have unlocked on ur account are available to ALL urs pvp characters and ur heroes. You can also learn skills and elite skills u have unlocked on account simply using tomes and elite tomes for every profession.

If u don't wanna play pve (which is funnier at beginning imo) u can start with a easier character then monk in pvp. Monks in pvp are meant to heal, not to deal dmg. So u'd better take en ele, use the skills u have unlocked and get some factions. If u wanna speed this up u'd better find a Guild and ask ur guild mates to help u getting factions playing in Zaishen Challenge. It's fast, easy and safe. U get balthazar's factions so u can unlock some skills u need.

But basically i think u cannot play pvp if u don't excatly know every skill simply recognizing by the icone.

For ur monk: focus on an easier profession then monk; monk + pet is useless; your bar is limited to 8 skills; you can have only 1 elite skill (except using skills that copy others skills, but they are used in pve mostly).

Hmm ok, I'll try making a DD class and grind some faction first, thanks for the tip.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Random_Arena, particularly the Tips section about 2/3 of the way down the page.

You can bring other classes' skills if they help you do your job better. For example, taking the warrior skill balanced stance will stop you being knocked down in the middle of casting a spell. Your bar should be mainly monk skills though, yes.

Your job as healer is to heal. Pets don't help you heal better, so don't bring one.

You have one bar with 8 skill slots on it. You can change those 8 skills in the outpost between matches as many times as you like, but once you go into a match that's it, that's your only bar until the match is over.

are we talking about the same game? gear dependant lol