Attributes & Playstyle

Due to the 30% increase in healing effectiveness provided by light armor, it is highly advisable to prioritize light armor for your healer build. However, there may be situations where a more niche melee playstyle, such as VG Flail, calls for a medium armor setup as you are essentially playing as a dps. When embracing the role of a healer, it is crucial to take into account your team's capabilities and adapting your stat allocation accordingly.

The key to success lies in a thorough assessment of your team's unique capabilities and making informed choices. Several factors should be considered:

Survivability:

Your own survivability is a primary concern. When running with pick-up groups (PUGs), aiming for around 100 Constitution can provide a reasonable balance between healing and personal defense. If you continue to face survivability issues, it's essential to assess your skill usage, team composition, or, as a last resort, consider transitioning to medium armor for added protection.

Team Skill Level:

Team coordination and skill level play a crucial role. Starting with 300 Focus is a good baseline, but it's important to adjust this figure based on your team's performance. In well-coordinated premade groups, reducing Focus to 200 may be sufficient, as the team's efficiency reduces the demand for healing.

Voidgauntlet Usage:

Your playstyle with the Voidgauntlet is another critical factor. Ideally, healers will spend most of their time wielding the Voidblade, actively contributing to the team's DPS, applying Rend effects, and empowering allies. However, if you opt for a more passive support style with the Voidgauntlet, investing points in Intelligence may not be as beneficial, and reallocating them to Focus or Constitution might prove more advantageous.

Balancing these considerations ensures that your healer build aligns with your team's needs and maximizes your effectiveness in both supporting and healing roles.

The Life staff is your off hand

When engaging in speedrunning, it's advisable to consider the life staff as your secondary weapon. The typical sequence involves deploying your healing abilities such as Sacred Ground, Orb of Protection, and Beacon. Afterward, you transition to your Void Gauntlet to engage in DPS (damage per second). Depending on your cooldown management, you might need to execute 2-3 light attacks with the life staff before switching to the Void Gauntlet to ensure your abilities are ready in time. The primary objective with the Void Gauntlet is to maintain high Oblivion uptime, maximize damage from the Void Blade, and choose between using Scream (recommended during Nature weeks, as it can apply Putrefying Scream to the Void Gauntlet, greatly reducing enemy healing) or Rupture to provide your team with additional life steal.

For novice healers, I suggest learning the optimal timing for healing by following this sequence: first, deploy your healing skills, then perform two light attacks, switch to the Void Gauntlet, cast Oblivion followed by Scream or Rupture, and continue attacking with the Void Blade until your second Oblivion is ready. Finally, return to the life staff. This approach allows you to practice effective rotations safely.

Additionally, it's important to note that healers generate significant threat, which can lead to aggro during skips. So, exercise caution when using abilities like Beacon or Orb of Protection in such situations.