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We are not hitters, we are not healers

AuthorMessage
Defender
Nov 24, 2012
124
This post is different to my previous one with some of the same points as my last one. This one, however, has a question I can't seem to answer: how does the new critical system balance the game? Is KingsIsle's definition of "balancing" the game nerfing a school to the point it becomes pointless?

The Life school was the most affected by the new update, without a doubt. It's like we received a slap to the face for being good at something we were intended to be good at: healing. Yes, we can still heal--but so what? So can everyone else.

What made Life wizards' healing more effective than anyone else's was because of critical heals. Now, our heals are not any better than a nonlife wizard's. This update had a huge impact on Life and KingsIsle knew it, yet they took this update to live realm anyway. The minor bonus to critical heals does nothing to solve this problem. It was put up there to make fun of us for a critical that we most likely won't achieve. Guardian Spirit has become pointless, as well. I'm not expecting to critical when casting this spell. It is 15% right off the bat. Taking something away from a school that was intended to be something they were supposed to be good at, is not my definition of balancing the game. Bring the old critical system back.

Notes: the name of the title was not meant to be taken seriously. Any school can be a 'hitter' with the right gear--but not everyone can be as good as a healer as Life. That's what MADE Life special. This update affected everyone, not just Life wizards, but it is to my believe that Life was the most affected.

"Life Magic rests between Fire and Storm, for the spark of Life comes from those two forces."

Geographer
Oct 09, 2011
946
Well said. I completely agree with you.

Survivor
Feb 24, 2015
4
Explorer
Dec 25, 2009
76
What's funny is that KI thinks they covered the critical heal. In one of their posts, they said that if you critical on a heal, they reward you with "bonus" healing.

It's like 20-30% bonus healing though.

Don't worry, this patch effected my Balance play-style, I can't rely on my critical Availing Hands anymore

Defender
Nov 24, 2012
124
I have not been playing the game recently, because the game is no longer fun, but I heard that the critical heal bonus was only 10 percent in the test realm. KingsIsle never stated the critical heal bonus percentage, so it could be possible that they increased the bonus in live realm; although, I'm not completely sure if they did.

If the critical bonus was increased to 30 percent, then I could bare with that*; however, 10 percent does not make up for our decrease in critical heals.

Critical heals need to be separated from critical damage. Honestly, I'm not expecting KingsIsle to fix this issue.

I've read the 12/3/15 update notes, and I was upset to see that nothing was done about critical heals.

*With critical being reduced in mind, achieving a critical heal is not as common anymore, making any type of critical heal bonus unworthy.

Survivor
Jun 29, 2009
21
This entire update essentially nerfed the Life school. For Wings of Fate - We're healing or hitting if we did both, it would need to be at once... Not over time.

Critical heals were fine in the past - A boost would be needed for when you don't critical.

The Wings of Fate is like a hit from the life Morganthe jewel, and an enhanced unicorn - Give or take some, but who wants to wait for a dot? It's three rounds just to get the heal and damage finished. I'd just save up pips, and have it as two separate spells. We already have Spiny which is a damage over time, we don't need (shouldn't say need, we don't want) another. Life wizards had a desire for an all enemy hit and am grateful that we have one now, but its not effective with the over time.

I understand the idea of a constant flow of healing and damage, which is what the Wings of Fate spell does, but this spell isn't in the same range of other new ones. Maybe with more critical rating that would affect its heal it would be more effective, but its not right now.

I could ramble on a bit longer, but I'm going to stop right here. Forgive me for any of my messy errors.

Duncan StrongSword Level 110

Survivor
May 27, 2014
14
Hey! I defiantly see your point and all, but if this is making you not play the game as much anymore, I think it is time you create a new wizard. You are supposed to create new wizards, it makes the game more fun, gives you a different play style, and also keeps you playing when things like this happen or when you max out one wizard.

Big deal you may have to redo what you already did, but the thing is, its fun to do the quests! Perhaps try a storm wizard? Being an extremely strong attacker could be a super fun experience when you been healing mostly so far.

Don't take me the wrong way here, by no means do you not have a valid point. All I am trying to say is maybe you should try out a different wizard if a life wizard no longer works for you.

Whatever happens, hope you keep playing Wizard101, just try out my idea and see if it works out!

Astrologist
Sep 19, 2013
1006
Tyguy2464 on Dec 6, 2015 wrote:
Hey! I defiantly see your point and all, but if this is making you not play the game as much anymore, I think it is time you create a new wizard. You are supposed to create new wizards, it makes the game more fun, gives you a different play style, and also keeps you playing when things like this happen or when you max out one wizard.

Big deal you may have to redo what you already did, but the thing is, its fun to do the quests! Perhaps try a storm wizard? Being an extremely strong attacker could be a super fun experience when you been healing mostly so far.

Don't take me the wrong way here, by no means do you not have a valid point. All I am trying to say is maybe you should try out a different wizard if a life wizard no longer works for you.

Whatever happens, hope you keep playing Wizard101, just try out my idea and see if it works out!
That was really insensitive. OP has a legitimate complaint about how they made Life even weaker, and your advice is to abandon the wizard they put so much work into? If anyone told me that I should throw out Kane WildThief because Winged Sorrow isn't nearly as cool as Call of Khrulhu, I'd suggest they made accomodations in Tartarus.

@Angel of Solitude, I feel you. Nerfing both crit chance and crit heal boost really hits Life hard.

Defender
Nov 24, 2012
124
Tyguy2464 on Dec 6, 2015 wrote:
Hey! I defiantly see your point and all, but if this is making you not play the game as much anymore, I think it is time you create a new wizard. You are supposed to create new wizards, it makes the game more fun, gives you a different play style, and also keeps you playing when things like this happen or when you max out one wizard.

Big deal you may have to redo what you already did, but the thing is, its fun to do the quests! Perhaps try a storm wizard? Being an extremely strong attacker could be a super fun experience when you been healing mostly so far.

Don't take me the wrong way here, by no means do you not have a valid point. All I am trying to say is maybe you should try out a different wizard if a life wizard no longer works for you.

Whatever happens, hope you keep playing Wizard101, just try out my idea and see if it works out!
Honestly, you lack awareness of the problem, and it is you who does not have a valid point.

Create a new wizard? Oh, great idea! Why didn't I think of that? You see, creating a new wizard does not solve anything. By creating a new wizard, all you're doing is ignoring the fact that the new system unbalances the game—see the flaw in your "solution"?

If you're going to tell me that by creating a new wizard the problem is solved, you might as well answer by saying "Deal with it."

It is obvious that you are unaware of the problem, and I know that there are other players out there who are aware of the same issue, so I know that I'm not alone.

Some players are aware on what the new system has done to Life, yet they chose to ignore the problem because it does not affect them; other players, like yourself, are completely unaware of this issue.

KingsIsle—or perhaps everyone—is getting sick of seeing all these posts from me stating how the new system impacted Life. But believe me, when I see a problem, I see an actual problem. A problem that you and others have failed to realize and understand. I am not asking for stronger hits, better shields, minions, DoTs, drains; I'm asking for our ability to heal effectively back. Something that Life wizards were intended to have.

KingsIsle did not add the minor bonus to critical heals for no reason; they added that bonus for a reason. The bonus was their way of solving the critical heal dilemma. Funny thing is, that bonus did nothing to solve the critical heal problem.

There is no doubt that the new system unbalances the schools, yet here we have KingsIsle talking about "balancing" the game.

A message to KingsIsle: If you truly wish to balance the game, separate critical hits from critical heals. I am not the only player who is aware of this major issue; there are many other players who are aware of the same thing. Why is it that you guys can't see it?

Geographer
Mar 12, 2013
923
Tyguy2464 on Dec 6, 2015 wrote:
Hey! I defiantly see your point and all, but if this is making you not play the game as much anymore, I think it is time you create a new wizard. You are supposed to create new wizards, it makes the game more fun, gives you a different play style, and also keeps you playing when things like this happen or when you max out one wizard.

Big deal you may have to redo what you already did, but the thing is, its fun to do the quests! Perhaps try a storm wizard? Being an extremely strong attacker could be a super fun experience when you been healing mostly so far.

Don't take me the wrong way here, by no means do you not have a valid point. All I am trying to say is maybe you should try out a different wizard if a life wizard no longer works for you.

Whatever happens, hope you keep playing Wizard101, just try out my idea and see if it works out!
Most people go back and make a new wizard when they like what they see, and are coming back for more.

Why on earth would the OP go back and start all over again, if he already has a major issue with the game?

"Coming back for less"...nope.

There *are* in fact new crit items falling out of pockets in Horizon Hold. The life robe has an absurd amount of outgoing. However, that's pretty much all you get - a paper hospital gown with token resist and arguably a token amount of block. Meanwhile your caboose is still hanging out, getting landed on by blade stacking MOBS using rain and lulu and FFA.

Your team could really use a crit rebirth, oh wait it didn't crit and now you're all dead.

This isn't an answer, it's a parody. If you're dead, you can't heal your team, crit or otherwise. Glass cannon storms work because they kill enemies dead. Glass cannon life healers ... don't.

Squire
Jan 21, 2010
571
Well you still have the most versatile healing abilities: heal multiples, heal over time, heal multiples over time. Your gear has specific bonuses to healing. All life spells have base accuracy of 90% so you need less accuracy on your gear than other folks.

Haven't played in a while, but still only has the one healing spell right?
As a my healing spell hurts me, and when it crits I take more damage from it, otherwise I can only heal myself with drain spells.

I would rather think that you would be complaining about all of the pets that can cast healing spells. On the other hand you are more reliable than a pet that may never heal the right target at the right time.

This is similar to the complaint threads. All storm has going for it is high damage and hit crit chance, and they complain that the other schools are catching up to them. They demand to know why they should suffer low hp and 70% base accuracy if they could be fire school and still deal as much damage.

There were school threads complaining that they were supposed to be the tanks and that wizards had too much health and that they shouldn't have a shield spell to block damage because that is what ice's tower shield was for.

The schools have overlap so that people don't get stuck, as often, trying to run group content. In other mmo's I have had to wait for hours while trying to convince a healer, or a tank to join our dungeon run so that we could survive.
As It is now if no life wizard is available it is nice to know that a death or a balance wizard can substitute. They can't do it as well as a life wizard, but it is good enough most times.

Survivor
Dec 05, 2008
1
Well the problem with the new life spell is that you don't really need to use it. You could use forest lord instead to do more damage quickly. It was the only multi-attack spell life wizards had that could be learned through game play. The new life spell really is not all that good. It's weak. And with the shadow pip, it could take a long time to get close to doing the spell, where you could have done forest lord thrice over. I would much rather have a spell about as strong as forest lord that did still heal. That would be better.

As for the complaints about over-time attacks, get over it. Fire wizards have to struggle more with that. Maybe not recently, but it still sucks. If there is another utility spell added, it has to cater to a DoT spell or it is one. My main wizard is fire so I know the struggle.

I personally think that some of the new spells need improvement. , , and lack compared to the other schools.

Defender
Nov 24, 2012
124
Zebulous Newt on Dec 11, 2015 wrote:
Well you still have the most versatile healing abilities: heal multiples, heal over time, heal multiples over time. Your gear has specific bonuses to healing. All life spells have base accuracy of 90% so you need less accuracy on your gear than other folks.

Haven't played in a while, but still only has the one healing spell right?
As a my healing spell hurts me, and when it crits I take more damage from it, otherwise I can only heal myself with drain spells.

I would rather think that you would be complaining about all of the pets that can cast healing spells. On the other hand you are more reliable than a pet that may never heal the right target at the right time.

This is similar to the complaint threads. All storm has going for it is high damage and hit crit chance, and they complain that the other schools are catching up to them. They demand to know why they should suffer low hp and 70% base accuracy if they could be fire school and still deal as much damage.

There were school threads complaining that they were supposed to be the tanks and that wizards had too much health and that they shouldn't have a shield spell to block damage because that is what ice's tower shield was for.

The schools have overlap so that people don't get stuck, as often, trying to run group content. In other mmo's I have had to wait for hours while trying to convince a healer, or a tank to join our dungeon run so that we could survive.
As It is now if no life wizard is available it is nice to know that a death or a balance wizard can substitute. They can't do it as well as a life wizard, but it is good enough most times.
Having the most heals is not what truly makes—or used to make—Life great healers, it was our ability to heal effectively and sufficiently that made Life wizards great healers. Think about it this way: Life could have a million heals where as Storm only has one, but what's the point of having more heals if you lack efficiency?

Storm has always had more Critical rating than Life; therefore, the minor bonus to critical heals favors Storm more than Life. That one healing spell Storm has, Healing Current, has become more reliable than a Satyr.

Defender
Nov 24, 2012
124
fang2888 on Dec 14, 2015 wrote:
Well the problem with the new life spell is that you don't really need to use it. You could use forest lord instead to do more damage quickly. It was the only multi-attack spell life wizards had that could be learned through game play. The new life spell really is not all that good. It's weak. And with the shadow pip, it could take a long time to get close to doing the spell, where you could have done forest lord thrice over. I would much rather have a spell about as strong as forest lord that did still heal. That would be better.

As for the complaints about over-time attacks, get over it. Fire wizards have to struggle more with that. Maybe not recently, but it still sucks. If there is another utility spell added, it has to cater to a DoT spell or it is one. My main wizard is fire so I know the struggle.

I personally think that some of the new spells need improvement. , , and lack compared to the other schools.
I'm not sure whom you're talking to, but no where in my posts am I complaining about the new Life spell. I never mentioned the new Life spell to begin with.

Survivor
Aug 16, 2011
49
*Pats on the back*

I understand how that might feel,sorta and sorta not. I am only lvl 11. But one way to make it better is to be the best life you can be! and incorporate a new spell saytr party!!!! It could heal all allies ALOT like 3K or something.

But the main thing is I'm sorry your frustrated with your guy/gal.

Squire
Jan 21, 2010
571
crit only has a chance to proc. If it fails to do so, how good is healing current then? They also just reworked the critical hit system and there are complaint threads about that.

The variaty of heals does add to their efficiency you can heal one person to full when necessary or heal the group for less. Your heals provide more health per pip than other schools heals, whether or not they happen to crit. Life is a support class. It keeps the party running at full health in all situations. Your class is still in high demand for dungeons.

Quite frankly, I suspect that your school is the way it is because of the insanely high accuracy of its spells. Without gear you have a 10% fizzle rate! Of course you have low damage and low crit.

you are basically the opposite of storm.

Delver
Jan 21, 2014
284
Zebulous Newt on Dec 16, 2015 wrote:
crit only has a chance to proc. If it fails to do so, how good is healing current then? They also just reworked the critical hit system and there are complaint threads about that.

The variaty of heals does add to their efficiency you can heal one person to full when necessary or heal the group for less. Your heals provide more health per pip than other schools heals, whether or not they happen to crit. Life is a support class. It keeps the party running at full health in all situations. Your class is still in high demand for dungeons.

Quite frankly, I suspect that your school is the way it is because of the insanely high accuracy of its spells. Without gear you have a 10% fizzle rate! Of course you have low damage and low crit.

you are basically the opposite of storm.
I've always thought that. We actually derive from storm. In that case death should be like storm

About the reason we have low crit. I've been meaning to say what you just did say but I couldn't place the words exactly. But you just did! So i guess that's one less problem for me!

The new critical system affects us all regardless of school, gear or speciality (defense or offense) I honestly just say to everyone that asks to my opinion on this topic to just try and get used to it. The point i think of this update is to make battles more challenging in the thinking way.

Tell me, how many times did you just build up damage to just do a heavy hit instead of thinking about his resistance or a counterattack or his critial block, etc... What Critical did in the past was just make everyone heal or attack insanely withought even thinking. I suppose that this update is to make battles more challenging or realistic.
(But then again a kid wizard fighting lizards, birds, dogs and any other weird creature doesn't sound all to realistic.)

But then again critical always does that regardless of the game. I honestly like the fact that wizard101 decided to be different.