Attention Healers in Notum Wars...

[Jynne]

Stay 15% to 25% in levels behind the highest-level person in your organization, and never ever advance past level 150, if you want to be able to heal the widest range of people during battle - and thereby contribute the most you can to your organization.

It doesn't matter how big of a heal you can cast, if you aren't allowed to cast it on your comrades.

Proof is in the following thread; thanks Beaker for the chart.

http://forums.anarchy-online.com/sho...threadid=80263

Thanks for this nerf goes out, as always, to the Devs who can't think of anything better and install changes before they're tested.

[____________Travesty]

Also, add in that unless you are a mega guild, don't build towers, because now you probably don't have enough members in the exact pvp range to defend it for six hours.

If you are new to AO, join a mega guild.

If you are a vet, leave your current guild and join a mega guild or a level restricted guild.


Unrestricted war may be unfair.
Overly restricted war is unplayable.

[Jynne]

Some analysis based on Beaker's chart:

L149: pvp 119-186
L150: pvp 120-200
L151: pvp 121-200
L160: pvp 128-200
L170: pvp 136-200
L180: pvp 144-200
L185: pvp 148-200
L186: pvp 149-200
L187: pvp 150-200
L188: pvp 150-200
L189: pvp 150-200
L200: pvp 150-200

What do we learn from this?

1. At level 150 you can heal an 80-level spread. From this point it only keeps getting smaller.

2. After level 187 you can only heal within a 50-level spread.

3. Levels 162 through 189 are title cap levels; the healing power of a heal-focused character does not increase at all during this time. However, the range of character levels that can be healed shrinks from a 72-level spread, to a 50-level spread.

Conclusion: A level 189 healer is clearly and significantly less useful in Notum Wars than a level 162 healer. For that matter, any healer over level 162 is nerfing themselves by leveling: their healing power doesn't increase but the number of people they are "allowed" to heal goes down.

Additional, profession-specific analysis: Most Doctors, to focus on my own profession and the one that is hardest-hit, are casting Lifegiving Elixer, and Complete Heal, before level 150. Our healing-per-second output is essentially static from high title 4 onward. A level 200 doctor is probably using the exact same "workhorse" healing nanos that a level 130 doctor is.

Therefore, Doctors who aren't in organizations that only admit level 150+ characters, and/or who are in organizations with no level 180+ characters, leveling past the title 4 cap is essentially decreasing your power by limiting the number of people you can heal with the exact same nanos.

Well, I guess Christmas came early to all the people who've wanted Doctors to be nerfed.

EDIT: PS, Cz, I think this warrants a reply from the Devs.

[Detonate]

Maybe it's just me, but I like this change!

It wasn't very fun attacking a base a level 75 base in broken shores.

We had around 10 people there, and the defenders had about 25. Only they had 3 people in our PVP range, and the rest were all 180+ healers. Needless to say, all 10 of us on 1 person green to me, and we never got their health below 1/2....

[Jynne]

Yes Detonate this change is great for organizations that are primarily title 4 and under.

But read the chart and analysis. This is a nerf... not of healing, because healers are still using the same heals.

It is a nerf of leveling for healers.

Let's take your example. Would there have been much of a difference in the outcome of that battle if the healers there were level 130 instead of level 180? A level 130 doctor and a level 180 doctor are mostly using the same heal nanos.

So why is a level 130 doctor allowed to heal down under level 100 and a level 180 doctor can't heal under level 140? Same healing output.

[Detonate]

It makes a huge difference. You can't honestly believe that a level 130 doctor is just as good as a level 180 one, just because they use the same nanos.

Had the docs at the battle been 130, our guild's higher levels would have easily came in and smashed them!

Smashing a level 180 doctor is a whole different ball game.

[_____________Rebbeca]

To all omni docs: ignore Jynne's advice.. you are very much needed at lvl 150+

To all clan docs: Jynne is right, you should stay at 150 so you can heal as big a level range as possible. Oh yeah, no more init debuffs for me too

[Jynne]

Originally posted by Detonate
It makes a huge difference. You can't honestly believe that a level 130 doctor is just as good as a level 180 one, just because they use the same nanos.

Had the docs at the battle been 130, our guild's higher levels would have easily came in and smashed them!

Smashing a level 180 doctor is a whole different ball game.

But those level 130 doctors could have gotten heals from level 150 doctors... who could have gotten heals from level 200 doctors.

This change doesn't solve the problem, it just means that you have to stagger the levels of who heals whom.

But its side effect is to screw over doctors who level up past 150 and don't join 150+ only guilds.

[Jynne]

Originally posted by Rebbeca
To all omni docs: ignore Jynne's advice.. you are very much needed at lvl 150+

To all clan docs: Jynne is right, you should stay at 150 so you can heal as big a level range as possible. Oh yeah, no more init debuffs for me too

And yes, Rebbeca, I did put in the 'uber guild exception.'

I can't say I haven't thought about what an Apocalypse or Synergy Factor or Storm tag would look like under my name since I read the patch notes from yesterday. At least I won't be cut off from my guildmates by a half-thought-through, untested mechanic there.

[assassimon]

If you are teamed with the lvl 130, so he/she only can attack lvl 150+ char, can you heal him then?

If you can, I see nothing wrong with this change, if you can't, then they need to tweak it abit.

[Jynne]

I'm not sure, Azzazzimon, teaming seems to screw things up even more, but the guide I think is that if you're in a team, the whole team uses the pvp range of the highest level character in that team.

Low level battles can still be interfered with by high level players if they set up "healing chains" where a level 130 heals a level 100 who heals a level 80.

And of course, in most circumstances it will only be the attacking force who is able to find and bring the correct people to do this ahead of time.

I'm not against trying to keep high level people out of low level battles. I'm against doing it in a stupid and exploitably ineffective way.

[Detonate]

The healing chain doesn't really matter.

In the case of the level 75 tower battle. Even if the slightly higher level doc was being healed by an even higher doc, it wouldn't have mattered, because we still would have been able to beat down the same level defenders, because they wouldn't have been recieving uber healing from above.

Since this change, all battles have become much more intersting. I'm totally digging it!

Although I'll admit that it would be nice to have OmniAngel, our level 200 doc, healing my 138 Adv in a 150 tower battle. I'm much more content to team with people closer to my level range to even things up.

[Bystander]

Ok how about they change it from,

Doctor isn't allowed to heal target outside range.
to
Doctor isn't allowed to use heal outside range.

Thus a 200 doc can't cast CH on a lvl 75 but could cast Nano Surgery (ql 93) for instance.

(This may need biasing a bit.)

[_____________Rebbeca]

Originally posted by Jynne
And yes, Rebbeca, I did put in the 'uber guild exception.'

I can't say I haven't thought about what an Apocalypse or Synergy Factor or Storm tag would look like under my name since I read the patch notes from yesterday. At least I won't be cut off from my guildmates by a half-thought-through, untested mechanic there.

Well the lower level battles where you have a bunch of high level healers is lame and this is basically what FC was forced to do to stop it. I understand where you are coming from with you not being able to help out your guild, but it is needed so lower levels can enjoy NW too.

Honestly, if you aren't in a guild adequate for your level, you can't complain that you aren't able to help out your guildmates. You don't have to join an uber guild, there are ones oriented toward friendship and not the pursuit of "uber" for higher level people too.

[Jynne]

Originally posted by Rebbeca
Well the lower level battles where you have a bunch of high level healers is lame and this is basically what FC was forced to do to stop it. I understand where you are coming from with you not being able to help out your guild, but it is needed so lower levels can enjoy NW too.

Honestly, if you aren't in a guild adequate for your level, you can't complain that you aren't able to help out your guildmates. You don't have to join an uber guild, there are ones oriented toward friendship and not the pursuit of "uber" for higher level people too.

I shouldn't have to change guilds at all. There are other ways to have worked this change - I have listed some, such as pegging the rules to the controller QL in the area being fought for - that wouldn't be destructive to organizations.

Both my character and my organization pre-date Notum Wars by over a year. If I wanted to leave, I would have left a long, long while ago. Now, though, I've paid $20 to get... not from you, but from Funcom, "Oh well, we want to rush in an untested and exploitable system, so go join another org that's more your speed."

Like I said, people who always wanted Doctors to get nerfed - rejoice, your Christmas came early this year. Sure, it falls mostly on Doctors who aren't in high-level-only organizations, but then, they don't really matter.

[_____________Rebbeca]

Originally posted by Jynne
I shouldn't have to change guilds at all. There are other ways to have worked this change - I have listed some, such as pegging the rules to the controller QL in the area being fought for - that wouldn't be destructive to organizations.

Both my character and my organization pre-date Notum Wars by over a year. If I wanted to leave, I would have left a long, long while ago. Now, though, I've paid $20 to get... not from you, but from Funcom, "Oh well, we want to rush in an untested and exploitable system, so go join another org that's more your speed."

Everybody makes a choice in what org they will be in, you have made yours and now you must live with it.

[Jynne]

Originally posted by Rebbeca


Everybody makes a choice in what org they will be in, you have made yours and now you must live with it.

Look for a lot of people to quit playing their doctors and/or cancel their accounts, if that's your attitude.

[_____________Rebbeca]

Originally posted by Jynne
Look for a lot of people to quit playing their doctors and/or cancel their accounts, if that's your attitude.

The reality of this game is that you can't even do anything in this game without docs (not talking BS missions). Certainly not useless at higher levels in any way. Let the low levels have their fun.

[assassimon]

I don't really see the problem, if you are lower lvl and want to help the higher lvl, just team, if you are higher lvl and want to interupt low lvl PvP, you can't.

Sounds great to me if it works that way.

[Jynne]

Originally posted by Rebbeca


The reality of this game is that you can't even do anything in this game without docs (not talking BS missions). Certainly not useless at higher levels in any way. Let the low levels have their fun.

Yes I know about how vital doctors are at the new high level encounters. It's the same as the old EQ CH chain. But again, check the analysis. A level 150 doc heals the same as a level 180 doc pretty much heals the same as a level 200 doc. So why level from 150 to 200? It's a lot of time and effort, and what are you better at? Causing damage and debuffing, and a bit of extra hps and nano. But not healing, not really. Factor in mochams, too... and you only really need title 5 doctors to kill the ubermobs.

Now, I'm very, very unhappy to be cut off from over half my organization if there's a battle. Unhappy enough that I'm half-seriously considering clicking the cancel button rather than continuing to expose myself to continued disappointment, and especially rather than continue to pay for a defective service being delivered in an unsatisfactory manner.

If FC causes leveling up to isolate healers (and others) from their guildmates as regards notum wars, even at 150+ bases (as Detonate noted, his 138 adventurer can fight around a 150+ base, but a 200 doctor guildmate couldn't heal him), expect those healers to start getting unhappy, and disappointed, and very probably to change characters, or change games.

Leveling is supposed to be an accomplishment, but instead, Funcom has changed it to create alienation. People who want to stay with their guilds will make alts. People who don't will join other guilds, but in most cases, it will be because they consider it a lesser evil, not a greater good.

And if I switch to an alt, the only time I'll log Jynne on is to help another guildmate or a friend. Not for someone I don't know to get the one good thing that drops from an ubermob that I don't care about and where everyone but the healers get to hit Q and go watch TV for half an hour, while the healers get repetitive stress injuries.

Lastly, I'm not flaming/angry with you, Rebbeca, I'm just really disappointed in Funcom.