Healing and aggro

[HargloweHyfryd]

Found an interesting thread on the Vn-boards:

http://vnboards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=37048160&replies=9

from which one reply of the warden teamlead (MacGyani) sounded interesting from a healer's point of view:

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Mobs have a range of view. Different mobs have different ranges. If you are within the range of view you make yourself a visual target for the mob. The closer you are, the better view of you the mob has. The mobs also cannot "see" behind themselves. It's kind of tricky to explain the particulars of it but generally think of the mob as a player. Can the player see you healing the tank? They can see the tank being healed by they can't see where the heals are coming from. If they can see where the heals are coming from, they will go after the healer if they believe that will have a better chance at success than staying on their current target. There is an "extreme" point though. Once this point is crossed (such as extreme damage) the mob breaks with the norm and makes a bee line towards the target that has tipped the scales against them, whether it be healing, damage, ect. Generally you are safer healing from range but it is not 100% risk free.

In my opinion, the safest set up would be for the tanks to position the mob's back towards the healer in the group with the healer at range. That way the healer is at range and behind the mob, avoiding it's area of view, and the tanks can visually see the healer so as to better protect them (warn of wandering aggros, see when the mob targets them instead of another, ect).
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So: as a healer, keep your distance (common sense and most healers already do that) AND try to position yourself at the mob's back.
Maybe common knowledge, but it was partially new for me.

So

 

[old.The McScrooges]

Interesting. My healer has to now stand in front of the puller?

Eep!

I'll still hide a bit behind the tanks and hope they know about the /stick command.

 

[Kagato.]

Handy infomation (even for a Tank like me) thanks

 

[Jiggs]

i have always done this.
mainly i spin the mob once i taunt so i can see mezzed adds and watch aggro better

 

[Danya]

/stick is EVIL for pve! Bad tank!

 

[Kagato.]

Whats wrong with /Stick ?!

 

[old.Tzeentch]

Makes sense.. but... as you all know, if you go up to an aggro mob from the rear, it will spin round and go for you anyway.. I don't think then it would be different for healing?

Certainly, with the upcoming range increase in heals, I'd rather be behind the fighters at max range, than on the side of the mob, the mob AI doesn't seem to care for LOS.

Consider that we get aggro from mobs that are the opposite side of a tree, and we cannot see etc

Or mobs such as the epic ones in cursed forest, can come after you after you have had a 30 sec head start and still track you down and kill you.

A huge difference then, if that is true.

 

[Anu]

Yeah figure this..

I was in DF and a Coalinth (sp?) spider was killing cjkace s i healed him some as well as Azimov and another Druid b4 it looked dire i ran off to the merchants.. NOW the dead players told me the spider had gone back to it's area.. so i say "ok i'll come rez then.." so off i go as as i near they say the spider is coming back and v fast i might say whacked me to death.. NO LOS either for it coming back after me.

Bad Spider!

Ouch !!

 

[Archeon]

so thats why i kept getting mowed down at the lair last night, and here it was thinking it was because i kept making degrading statments about the dragon's mamma