Ritualists compared to monks for gettting a group?

Ok im fairly new to the game, and i have a 20 Rit/Mo with most of my points in restoration. I Feel i heal pretty good as a ritualist, but getting a group, well its very hard. People dont ask for Healers, they just ask for monks. Some groups let me in, and suddently tell me im not a healer (Hmm wonder what my 30+ resortation heals are for then?) Or they tell me i cant heal as a good as a proper healer!

Are restoration specced Rit/Mo 's that much worse than an appropriate specced monk?

I've even takent o levelling up a Mo/Rt and i get so many more groups, even for a laugh i put all my points in the Rir's skills and took zero monk heals only the Rit's heals and i still got thanked for being a good healer, this coming from a group who told me to log into my monk, as a Rit isnt a healer!!

So is it just ignorance, is it just people scared to break the Tank/monk/nuker magic group i see everyone asking for? My progress in the Canthan missions has ground to a halt, as im not seen as a healer.

Anyone else seen this, and also will this perception change when people realise what a Resto Rt can do, or what a protective spirit Rt can do?

It could be worse - you could be a monk with a single smiting skill on your bar. Remember, monk's only have 3 skill lines: divine favor, healing, and protection, but protection only on wednesdays.

The elitism in this game is ridiculous and is exasperated by rank.

That's the most intelligent thing I have ever heard in a long time.

The rejection of ritualist 'healers' (or restorers) is simply down to ignorance right now because most people have dove in to the assassin end of the pool and know very little about ritualists as a result. Its a tough job getting wisdom to some of those elitist 'dictators' but persist and show your abilities then they'll be begging you to join as if you were a monk.

At the moment I'd say its just ignorance - and every other class being massively outnumbered by Assassins and Ritualists in the new Factions areas. That naturally comes with quite some poorly played Ritualists and may result in even more ignorance.

I've seen some good Ritualists by now though, and I usually try to take one Assassin and one Ritualist per group to get used to them.

But I still have to play the Ritualist by myself to really judge it - so count me in on the ignorant side

People do realize what a protectice ritualist can do. I have no trouble finding groups when I say "Protective Ritualist LFG". As far as healing goes...no, you don't even come close to a monk's healing ability. The simple answer to that is divine favor. Healing is all about health healed per energy spent. Divine favor tips that ratio way in favor a full monk.

There's no reason you can't mix the protection spirits and some direct healing skills to act as a support healer though. But to claim you are a full healer would be a mistake. In fact, until you get far enough to cap ether lord so your protective spirits recharge fast enough, I find bringing along healing spells to use during the down time is very nice. In fact, Mend Body and Soul removes conditions too which is helpful.

I’ve played a healer monk for my entire time in Prophesies and now having a level 18 Ritulist i can assure you that you will have a hard time in the game if you advertise yourself as Ritulist healer.

I did take a couple of Restoration skills as a back-up healer if required, (including ‘Soothing Memories' which also gives +3 energy), but a Ritulist strengths lie elsewhere.

As of now I love the Ritulist to death.

Its a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. I play mine like I play my monk, going into battle with two things I can do instead of just focusing on one attribute.

But as long as I been playing, I found any group needing a healer monk is probably a crappy group to begin with. Especially if they want two.

At the beginning of Factions the guy training you tells you "lets focus on skills that will keep you alive". That goes for every class in the game. Monks can't do everything.

And a good ritulist makes everyone elses job a little easier.

Even so, still easier for a ritualist or assasin to get into a group then a mesmer.......

Breaks my heart too.

Pure ignorance

Some Ritualist heals are better simply because of side effects (memories costs 2e when holding item, mend can heal conditions when spritis are present, spirit light is a heal other you can use on yourself), but as a whole - they dont have divine favor...which is more important than you think.

Their spirits like Union make them atleast worth it though.

Hi

Hmm, not so sure i agree with you on that one, for heling per energy spent, restoration has a couple that totally outweigh divine favour.

For example: recuperation, at a decent level in restor magic this gives a +3 regen to the whole group for 40+ seconds for a whole 15 energy. Thats 6 health a second per person, for 8 people, (not including pets/allies) for 40 seconds making a grand total of 1920 health (ok i know that this is unrealistic, but it is certainly a large amount of health, you definately notice the difference with it as opposed to without it)

Then theres preservation: which for 5 energy gives a 100 ish heal every 4 seconds, thats a total of 1500 health for 5 energy.

Then theres soothing memories, which if palyed right gives you an almost 100 heal for 2 energy (less if you use the ritualist energy management elite), mend bopdy and soul which gets rid of a condition if used right as well as healing for almost 100, and spirit transfer healing for over 200 for 10 energy.

I agree that monks are easier to play as a good healer, but i disagree that they make the best overall healer.

oljomo

Monks > Ritualists.

I play a Ritualist - Haven't had much problem. While I do not bill myself as a healer - I do bring some along. Have a monk heal you while you spam Flesh of my flesh and you can rez a party fast - which is great since the missions are timed.

I tend to focus on spirits - some heal and buffs, some attacks. Let the party engage and start running in and out placing these things. The difference is noticable - not only do you spread some blind, damagem regen to your party - these things also draw aggro off party members - and then a little spirit rift for an AoE - followed by Channeling strike - AoE for the mob and a huge damage spike for the recipent.

I haven't found that at all. My mesmer receives invites all the time. I've had no problems grouping. I signed on a couple of nights ago planning to do one storyline mission and a couple of quests and then switch to my ritualist. I ended up playing my mesmer all evening. She couldn't step into a town or outpost without getting an invite. Ended up doing three storyline missions and a number of quests. Could have kept going but it was late. So my Canthan mesmer is finding it much easier to get into groups than my Tyrian mesmer ever did.

Ritualists are defensive utility/support units (sometimes can provide nice offence) but they are not healers.

I wish I was you.... Maybe it's the name.... or the fact that your character is female. I find it difficult to get into groups.

I'm no good at playing monks, Ritualists are much easier for me - energy management wise. I don't see problems with ritualists getting into groups. It's just that you get the odd new player coming in and is still learning the ropes, which is fine for some, but you have some really hardy ppl who don't like to lose. And spirits make a big contribution as they are hardly targeted as high priority.

I think of it as more like a paramedic. I can kick in a quick small heal to try and keep someone alive (and it usually removes a condition or two) until the monk can get to them. I also keep an eye on the monk and give them a quick health hit if necessary.

Rit healing is a back/emergency thing in most cases. I'm sure it can be played as a primary healer to good effect, but there are better classes for this.

I think 2 ritalists, who have coordinated between themselves the usage of weapon spells and spirits can handle all the PVE just fine. That means using spirits that cause blindness, slow down adrenaline gain and such. Although the difficulty in PVE is up now in Factions, most of the enemies are lvl 20, as opposed to lvl 24 in the old game. They just come in greater numbers and do less damage, but for a longer time. And i think ritiualists are ever better suited to cope with pressure damage than monks. So, yes, ritualist can do a fine job as long as you put a little coordination in your groups.

Well, I find that the PUGs I join with my rit often have a mesmer in them. I was just out with a male mesmer last night. So it's not just me. I really can't explain why I'm having such an easy time. I think part of it is that people are still willing to take anybody right now. We'll eventually get to the same sad state as Prophecies, where people are convinced you need 2 of X, 2 of Y, and 3 of Z to beat the mission, but we haven't reached that yet in Cantha. But also, mesmers really shine with higher level opponents, and in Cantha, you come up against powerful casters and mobs early in the game. Most mobs contain multiple casters--shutting them down really helps. Savvy players realize this, and that may be why I'm being invited into groups, something that just about never happened in Prophecies (note that I'm talking about the regular game content, not places like UW).

Another reason may be that there are too many rits and assassins right now, so people who are looking for a little variety in their groups will take any other class they can get their hands on.

Or yeah, it could be her sexy outfit.

I've seen lots of groups calling for anything but rits and assassins, but my rit hasn't had a problem grouping yet.