But healing doesn't have as much out-of-combat usage as it really should, apart from like, healing limbs broken when falling out of trees. (Which doesn't really count.)

Healing should be as much combative as hexes are, every guild gets three (COMBAT) skillsets, and if an option screws you over...meh.

I'd like to say thank you to the admins as well for the fast Envoy changes, it hasn't even been 2 weeks since the due date and you guys already started working already.

It's certainly a change from Achaea where the last classlead reports were turned in since mid-Januaray and no changes have gone in at all.

Shiri, why should a Guild get 3 combat skillsets?
They really should be given a choice.
As to whether to fight or not, which influences their tertiary SKILLCHOICE.

So is that why all of a Mage or Druid's Primary and Secondary skillsets are all combat-orientated? Including Dreamweaving and Runes?

Dreamweaving isn't so much combat orientated. It has utility.

Magic?
and besides, different guilds, different skills, different choices

Nihilists, with tarot and hexes?

A guild should get three combat skillsets, because...they do. It's not like healing can be used for anything non-combat orientated really. You have influence for that stuff, and so forth. Healing should be as good at combat as hexes, just with a slightly different slant. They shouldn't get screwed over because of their tertiary SKILLCHOICE.

Let's get something straight.

The reason Nihilist fighters choose Tarot over Hexes is because it is more powerful in PvP.

The reason Nihilist non-fighters choose Tarot over Hexes is not because it is the better skill (even though it is), but because it offers more utility use, and is far more useful outside of combat.

Same goes for Healing. However, Healing should gain more utility (no equilibrium loss when diagnosing and healing others would be a start) and Hexes should gain more offense.

It's sort of like the difference between Malignists and Clerics in a way. Malignists were pretty close to Clerics except they got Evileye instead of Healing. One is more defensive, the other has raw offense with a fast affliction rate.

As long as I actually GET utility. Right now I have next to none in Healing. I still think we should get the ability to fight too, since it's just sucky if you don't IMHO, but if the designers disagree then I'd at least like utility. And more than just no eq-succoring, stuff like a passive affliction drain from one person to another, a 10P full moon effect on someone else, even further range healing at twice the loss on the healer's end, etc. etc.

That said, Estarra's said new abilities aren't added except when desperately needed, so given that that's not going to happen I don't figure choosing healing and still having the ability to fight is a paticularly unbalancing feature, nor does it particularly go against what is necessary. :/

I am familiar with curses and evileye in other realms. Do you know that drawing and hexing has the same balance time as casting a curse in other realms? Hexing an already drawn hex is basically the same as swiftcurse? So basically if you have 6 hexes drawn, you can hex all 6 at the speed of swiftcurse. That's why I'm a little confused when someone makes that comparison and say hexes are weak.

Hexes < Curses = Evileye.

Evileye allows double affliction at trans, on top of some very nice non-message or afflictions like cowardice. On top of that it is instant.

Curses is also instant, but the trans ability, Blight, allows the Shaman to store the curses ahead of time and cast them without messages, especially deadly with swiftcurse up. This is why any Shamans that fight only reserve curses for the end of a fight when they have someone already fashioned up to put them in truelock. It is impossible to remotely keep anyone afflicted long with curses, even with Swiftcurse/Blight.

Hexes just plainly sucks. It takes eq to prepare and balance to throw, in addition the trans ability allows you to afflict with all 6 hexes, though nice, is still easily cured by anyone with focus mind, or passive affliction healing abilities.

So wait, you are saying Drawing + Hexing = Regular cursing?

I don't think so, I had a Ssylsin Wytchen (Think Rajamala Shaman), and cursing was much faster then Drawing + Hexing, plus you could swiftcurse for short periods of time.

Even if you draw out 6 Hexes prior, then when the target enters, start Hexing them off in quick succession, those 6 afflictions do not do anything, or phase anyone. They can't. It's simply far too few afflictions to get a decent affliction string going. Once they are gone, they are gone, don't bother drawing out 6 more, because even with poor curing, the target will be unafflicted before you draw your second hex, and decent curers will have cured the 6th affliction by the time you've recovered equilibrium.

Anyway, as an afflicting skillset, Hexes is subpar. As a utility skillset, it has absolutely none, unlike Tarot.

Oh, and Evileye > Curses, Terenas. And the evileye afflictions that didn't have messages were dizziness, amnesia, confusion, cyanide (voyria), and perhaps a few others (Impatience?).

Edit: Should I take that to mean you won't be upgrading hexes?

What changes are there to whine about? Has something major happened in the last thirteen hours?

wow are there -any- Nihilists with hexes ?

Case in point, even, Athana. Thank you.

So um... can we piss and moan yet? Because I really need to vent.

OOOIIII TUEK YOU HIJACKER

DONT HIJACK MY THREAD

Start your own about healing and hexes, this thread is a stop bitching thread, not a rant about hexes....

see the new topic button? USE IT

What people seem to forget is that curses also had blight.

Being able to conceal the afflictions hexes give would certainly go a long way towards rectifying the current weakness.

/hijack

Well I'm happy to see changes, any changes really. A static game is very dull, even if changes break or screw a few things. Forces you to change, adapt, grow. Very much more a fun environment. Murphy's right, there was a lot of speed work being put into this. What we really need are more Envoys who are looking for cool and fun, rather than stupid and overpowered...