"Healing beams" for the Medic/Engi

[Sirisian]

Originally Posted by NewSith

PSide had a med applicator: 10hps, 0m range, it worked fine.

0m range as in you had to inject healing, not beam it.

I never liked the PS1 system. It didn't encourage battle medics. The beam doesn't either really. I'd prefer healing over time. So like a 0 meter syringe applicator you shoot into friendies that heals over time (and stops healing if they take damage). Much easier for someone that's just running with a squad.

Don't have to continuous heal someone and you don't have to stand in the same spot. A sane cooldown makes it a solid implementation.

[IMMentat]

Originally Posted by elfailo

How far do they go?

How fast do they heal?

Does their rate of healing/repairing accelerate depending on movement & other factors? (like taking damage mid-heal)

Is there a cooldown?

What are trade-offs for medic (and engineer) class?

Will they stack?

etc etc etc

Underlines are my edits.

I want triage support (out of combat) rather than heal-bot players, but it seems I probably won't get my wish there.
Here's hopeing that PS2 is not the new heavy/medic spamfest (boomers will help for indoor areas, wait a bit then splat goes the medic).

TTK is pretty fast for most targets so unless the healghuns are really ramped up then massed/focussed fire should kill any meatshield quickly enough leaveing a weaponless medic as the second line of attack (bullet magnet).

[raidyr]

Originally Posted by NewSith

PSide had a med applicator: 10hps, 0m range, it worked fine.

0m range as in you had to inject healing, not beam it.

Yes thank you I played Planetside 1 thank you for the information.

[GreatMazinkaise]

Originally Posted by IMMentat

Italics are my edits.

I want triage support (out of combat) rather than heal-bot players, but it seems I probably won't get my wish there.
Here's hopeing that PS2 is not the new heavy/medic spamfest (boomers will help for indoor areas, wait a bit then splat goes the medic).

TTK is pretty high for most targetse so unless the healghuns are really ramped up then massed/focussed fire should kill any meatshield quickly enough leaveing a weaponless medic as the second line of attack (bullet magnet).

I hate to nitpick, but this comes up so often on this forum.

High Time To Kill == Long Time To Kill
Low Time To Kill == Short Time To Kill
Time To Kill == The length of time it takes to kill someone

I know, it's an easy thing to mess up on, but it's this forum's equivalent of Rouge or Turrent.

Your point is valid regardless... don't think that pocket healers will work for this game.

[NewSith]

Originally Posted by IMMentat

TTK is pretty high for most targetse so unless the healghuns are really ramped up then massed/focussed fire should kill any meatshield quickly enough leaveing a weaponless medic as the second line of attack (bullet magnet).

watch the video I posted and please take a note of when I die in that video, despite being the ONLY medic. If healbeams stack, than however nerfed they be, they will still focus the game around medics.


MOST IMPORTANTLY - heal beams and HoT darts render long-range combat useless, and THAT is my main argument against them. I want PS to be a tactical shooter, not a twitch shooter.


^^^Sirs, you take a note of that too, please^^^

[Cosmical]

Dont forget man that shields regenerate aswell, so a medic is basically doing half the job. And staying alive and standing still dont go hand in hand with modern day shooters, and PS2 seems to be as move heavy as any.

Also i think statistically medic is the least desirable class to play, yes i enjoy playing it aswell. But stats dont lie, and anything to keep a medic in the fray and making them feel part of the combat is integral. Rather than having them sitting in a corner with band aids wondering whats happening on the front, like in PS1.

I know what youre saying tho, a beam is a little cheaty. Most game changing healing mechanic in an FPS is probably FARCRY2, but that was to enhance the feeling of a survivalist badass rambo type figure.


Best idea i can think of is maybe to do a revive you have to pop a medic scan mode and directly heal the area that killed them. But thats shit. haha

[SGTalon]

They called it a glue gun in PS1. Not sure why you guys are worried.

Standard Planetside fare.

[IMMentat]

Soz bout that posts wording its late and I used the wrong word
Edited the post.

I don't object to a heal/rep beam mobile and ranged heals have benefits in a game where staying still gets you ambushed (unless it goes multi-target).

I object to players running around mid-combat zapping friendlies with miracle-beams instead of helping them supress and flank the enemy. It inspires blob-formation-combat, super heavy vanguard/shock/siegebreaker troops, then flanking/support heavies then medics then protectors of medics then the poor SoB's that are not tanky enough to be worth wasting valuable #miracle beam# time on.

[CuddlyChud]

I think it gives medics a more active combat role. In PS1 everyone was a rifleman first because you couldn't do support actions under fire. Therefore medics were only useful after a fight was over, they had no bearing on the fight itself.

[blazie]

I loved being a medic in PS, but it was just a pain trying to get people standing completely still. Or people tapping out too quickly when they died.
If it has a short range beam I'd be happy with that, or if its the healing tool I'd be happy with that too so long as it didn't deactivate if someone moved a tiny bit.

[WorldOfForms]

The tether beam mechanic is boring gameplay, especially for the medic. I've done it and it puts me to sleep.

However, Global Agenda had great other ideas for healing, like healing grenades, a heal gun that you have to shoot like a pistol, healing waves (PS could have a healing shotgun) etc.

There are not just 2 options here. Tons of ways for medics to heal that could be interesting, require skill, and be balanced.

[SniperSteve]

Healing beams make more sense in terms of the lore than medic 'boxes'.

The effect on the beams looked incomplete, IMO.

[Drakkonan]

Requiring people to stand still will discourage people from playing the class. It's extremely frustrating to try and heal someone who's oblivious to the fact that they're about to die, and won't stand still. It'd be fine, as it was in PS1, if there was no point system, but I assume they're going to award points for healing (ala BF3) in this iteration. You could argue that it's the fault of the idiot player, and that they deserve to die, but that shouldn't prevent the medic from getting points if they decide to go the extra mile and tag along behind to heal.

[GoldDragon]

Originally Posted by CuddlyChud

I think it gives medics a more active combat role. In PS1 everyone was a rifleman first because you couldn't do support actions under fire. Therefore medics were only useful after a fight was over, they had no bearing on the fight itself.

Originally Posted by blazie

I loved being a medic in PS, but it was just a pain trying to get people standing completely still. Or people tapping out too quickly when they died.
If it has a short range beam I'd be happy with that, or if its the healing tool I'd be happy with that too so long as it didn't deactivate if someone moved a tiny bit.

On the note of these comments - It all boils down to how players want to play and how outfits coordinate. For example, my crew had a dedicated medic that generally sat near the back of our formation and happily dropped her rifle to heal/repair us so we could hold formation. Also, there are time where we would have to break formation and fall back to a safe point **Near but not out of the fighting** in order to get on our feet again. This method of combat works well for US and the medic involved who much preferred healing to fighting.

All that said, there is no reason the medic can't have both.

Originally Posted by WorldOfForms

The tether beam mechanic is boring gameplay, especially for the medic. I've done it and it puts me to sleep.

However, Global Agenda had great other ideas for healing, like healing grenades, a heal gun that you have to shoot like a pistol, healing waves (PS could have a healing shotgun) etc.

There are not just 2 options here. Tons of ways for medics to heal that could be interesting, require skill, and be balanced.

This is true, but a very, very short range beam might be more viable for combat medics in PS2 than the Med App from PS1. Again, that doesn't mean we can't have both. The "beam" or similar tool might be better for on-the-go heals but the stationary med app might heal greater amounts. So say you're with you're squad rushing a position, having a medic with the beam keeping you all fairly well off could be a good thing. But say you get sniped or take heavy damage and are in cover, while the beam (Healing over Time) works here, a med app that might deal out a massive heal could be better. This also would work for a medic holding position too. As troops come by, pop them with a quick heal and let them get back to the fight instead of chasing after them.

I know this is an FPS, but that doesn't mean a stationary medic can't work. I know a few older players that don't have the twitch of high school kids, college students, and younger adults. If PlanetSide 2 goes to extreme either way they'll knock out potential players.

One of the best things about PlanetSide was that players who weren't the best at combat and fast-paced game play still had something to do. While many might not consider that a high point, it did set the game apart. Even though round 2 is going to be much faster paced is it really worth losing some good friends and players?

Just my thoughts, but not every good player has to have good twitch skills. I'd like to see that again.

[T MAN]

I think i saw at one point a medic heal of a aura effect like circles around people and for the engineer repair was the beam.

If there is a heal beam then i dont like either, that would be like tf2 medics healing the heavys only here it would be the new MAX crash with couple medics attached.

Speaking of medics, i did like the BRINK way of reviving people. you would just throw them a device to revive themself if they wanted to or not.