Artificers - You are the ultimate raid healers for most raids. Exploit this utility.

[Shade]

How:
Very Easily:
1. Get scroll mastery IV.
2. Carry heal scrolls (Too poor, ask your party, they will gladly chip in the cost, any decent veteran player can afford unlimited scrolls.)
3. Win at DDO.

Why this is awesome, especially for difficult raids:
1. SP is not infinite. There is not a single clr/fvs in the game that can heal through Lord of Blades using purely SP alone (ok maybe in the extreme 1% fringe case of a pro 100AC tank in normal, but not in 99.9% of runs). All the good ones make heavy use of scrolls to combat this and not waste sp pots.
You are WAY better at scroll healing then them, and decent at SP healing. You should be the ones using scrolls.
2. Your scrolls can hit for insane amounts:
At 20 you'll have Artificer knowledge - scrolls. You're scroll mastery is far superior to clrs and fvs.
How superior:
A properly spec arti scroll healer, on a decently geared tank can heal for 500+ per scroll. They are that good.
(And thats not a human/monk/etc.. It's any race (well non-wf), any class, no PL paladin, no enhancements for healing amp, just a few good pieces of equipment.)

On a human tank you could heal for somewhere in the 575+ range.
On a maxxed out solar phoenix type build, you could heal for 800+.

Your average clr/fvs heal scroll will only hit for ~300.

Reconstruct can't even come close. Use scrolls. Love it.

Math's for those who like nubers:
Scroll:110.
Scroll with arti knowledge: 150
Full mastery: 175%
= 263 on a naked basic non-WF character
Healing Amp on a properly geared tank (non-human/halfelf, no relevant pastlives)
207%
263 x 2.07 = 544 points healed.

Non scroll healing:
Contrary to popular beliefe you get some very nice mass cure spells. Yes they are called infusions, they use potions and they are a bit slow. But they are otherwise 100% identical healing power to mass cure spells (and actually after some bug fixing may be slightly superior). You can maixmize, empower, and empower heal them. The the mass cure serious can deal upwards of 400+ points of healing. They are VERY low sp cost. They infinite range.

Yea they don't have the speed of a clr/fvs's masses (more equiv to mass heal), and won't work great where speed is neccesary, but they are awesome for handling the odd AOE heal when the tank is otherwise full health and safe, and the DPS took some splash dmg.

Some tips:
#1. You are not a pure DPS-only class. You are a jack of all trades class. You are the ULTIMATE MASTER of scrolls, wands and clickies. Why not exploit this advantage to it's fullest. Carry heal scrolls, carry PK wands, carry clickies of haste, you can be awesome - it's just a matter of carrying the right things.
#2. You are the ULTIMATE single target healer. Yes, better then a cleric, better then a favored soul. And no, not for warforged only. For all races.
#3. Your DPS is not THAT good. Crossbows no matter how fancy, are still crossbows. They still fire slow, they are not great DPS. Sure fire yours off when nothing else is going on, but if your in the Lord of Blades fireing off your crossbow and the tank dies because you wanted to shoot instead of heal.. Whos fault is it? Yours. Don't be that guy.

Rant:
The last 25 Artificers I've let in my groups sucked. (well maybe 1 was good)
Everyone of them thought they were a pure DPS class, that could only heal waforged characters.. Then they proceed to do terrible DPS, get little to no kills, heal no one (no one in the group is warforged), buff no one and generally waste space in my raids/groups.

Yet they are not a bad class. Just no one seems to know how to exploit there strengths yet and most seems to want to play them like there some kinda pure DPS class without any umd/scroll ability.. So thus this post. Stop sucking .

[quijenoth]

interesting...

So what would you recommend a non-sucky Artificer take?

How many heal scrolls per raid?
How many potions?
Any specific clickies you would recommend?

Planning on doing a pure arty soon so just wondering what to stock up on.

[wax_on_wax_off]

You are WAY better at scroll healing then them, and decent at SP healing. You should be the ones using scrolls.
2. Your scrolls can hit for insane amounts:
At 20 you'll have Artificer knowledge - scrolls. You're scroll mastery is far superior to clrs and fvs.
How superior:
A properly spec arti scroll healer, on a decently geared tank can heal for 500+ per scroll. They are that good.
(And thats not a human/monk/etc.. It's any race (well non-wf), any class, no PL paladin, no enhancements for healing amp, just a few good pieces of equipment.)

On a human tank you could heal for somewhere in the 575+ range.
On a maxxed out solar phoenix type build, you could heal for 800+.

Your average clr/fvs heal scroll will only hit for ~300.

Reconstruct can't even come close. Use scrolls. Love it.

Math's for those who like nubers:
Scroll:110.
Scroll with arti knowledge: 150
Full mastery: 175%
= 263 on a naked basic non-WF character
Healing Amp on a properly geared tank (non-human/halfelf, no relevant pastlives)
207%
263 x 2.07 = 544 points healed.

Not to nit pick but you said that an average clr/fvs can hit with a heal scroll for ~300 but that a full mastery lined arti only gets 263.

Full Wand and Scroll Mastery cleric/fvs will get 110*1.55=170.5. 340 against a 200% heal amp tank build.

I really like what you're trying to do here but I'd mention that with this style of healing that you don't really have much in the way of panic buttons. What happens when the tank rolls a 1 on his disintegrate save and drops to <100 HP? Heal scroll is on timer, potions take too long ... Maybe there is a heal clicky you could use but otherwise need a second healer around, or did I miss something? (cure crit scroll would only heal for 60).

Arti's make great scroll healers as you say but they won't trump a cleric, bard or fvs for when things go south

[sumnz]

All of this could be said of a tank that built kensei to do loldps. Or a favored soul that built meelee. Or any combination of other classes doing something outside their classes classic box. Please dont try and push the mantra of omg your the best healers you should heal then! Its done in every mmo, all the time, because bottom line someone wants someone else to babysit them. If they dont want to play babysitter, and do 75 precent of a meelees damage, let it go.

The reason you see most artificers doing ranged builds, is because thats how they wanted to play their characters. If all of a sudden it became common to ridicule them end game unless they would heal, do you think most would go "o ok, i get it now, im worthless doing anything but healing, so healing i shall do" OR do you think more likely they would just start another toon to get in their pew pews. Im gonna go with choice number two.

[jaegarnel]

All of this could be said of a tank that built kensei to do loldps. Or a favored soul that built meelee. Or any combination of other classes doing something outside their classes classic box. Please dont try and push the mantra of omg your the best healers you should heal then! Its done in every mmo, all the time, because bottom line someone wants someone else to babysit them. If they dont want to play babysitter, and do 75 precent of a meelees damage, let it go.

The reason you see most artificers doing ranged builds, is because thats how they wanted to play their characters. If all of a sudden it became common to ridicule them end game unless they would heal, do you think most would go "o ok, i get it now, im worthless doing anything but healing, so healing i shall do" OR do you think more likely they would just start another toon to get in their pew pews. Im gonna go with choice number two.

That's... narrow-minded is the nicest way I can put it. So it only matters what you want to do, and who cares what the party needs, is that it?

Personally, I built my pure cleric to be a caster. In most quests with a good group I have very little healing to do and most of my sp is spent on offensive casting and CC, because it's what I like to do.
Does that mean I should do the same thing in raids, and ignore the fact that the group usually needs me to focus on healing?
That way lies lots of wipes and getting into lots of blacklists, if you want to know.

All Shade is saying is that Artificers, like bards, are a polyvalent class. They can do lots of things well, but aren't the best at anything (not even at healing, because scroll healing usually isn't enough in raids).

Therefore it falls on any artificer to determine what the party needs him to do and how he can best help to achieve completion.
If that means sticking to scroll healing, and only doing ranged damage when nobody needs to be topped up, that is what they should do.

Frankly, if you refuse to play to the strengths of your character and stick to what you want to do, no matter what the group needs, you have no place in hard raids. It's that simple, imo.

[quijenoth]

Shade makes alot of sence but i think hes looking through rose tinted glasses without actually puting the idea into practice. I think an arty is all about utility. bar none, the artificer can fill almost any important role in a group should the need arise.
if the cleric dies they can scroll heal/res etc.
if the rogue dies they can cover traps.
if the sorc/wizard dies they can crowd control.
if the tank dies ... well ok they cant cover everything

Point is they are there if needed and while not needed they are medium to good DPS.

[destiny4405]

#1. You are a pure DPS-only class.
#3. Your DPS is not THAT good.

anything needs to be edited?

[B0ltdrag0n]

Arti's are the best scroll healers. That much is true. They do a good job in the couple/few raids where scroll healing a Main tank is the more efficient method of healing. And can toss pew pew/rune arm shots while doing it.

However, to say that Artificers have been useless in your raids? Whose fault is that if you are the raid leader? What with a class so new, and people not asking for buffs. It isn't everyone elses job to ask if you Have Lit II's and need a Silver/Adamantine weapon or if you can break DR without it. Raid leaders haven't yet adapted to add what an artificer can add to the group to their tactics.

yes they can toss some scrolls, but One man tossing scrolls generally isn't enough and you know it. However, it IS one of the roles they can fulfil for a group if asked to, and they will do it well. They do have good DPS with rune arm and A proper Repeater they can dish out two thirds or a bit more or less of a full ****** Axer build, by some calculations I have seen. And they require only ruidmentary multi click management to do it.

Now things I have noticed: Arti's you have a 30s every five minute 25% damage reducing buff. Toss that sucker on the main tank when its off timer. It helps so much. For bosses that spam elemental attacks, you ahve mass, prot elements. Toss it out when Harry does his Kamehameha wave or when Sally does his little lightning stomp. Seriously you have some sp in those boss fights use it for things that make the Cleric/FVS job easier...or even your own job if you are tossing a Heal Scroll every so often.

Rant:
The last 25 Artificers I've let in my groups sucked. (well maybe 1 was good)
Everyone of them thought they were a pure DPS class, that could only heal waforged characters.. Then they proceed to do terrible DPS, get little to no kills, heal no one (no one in the group is warforged), buff no one and generally waste space in my raids/groups.

Again you led these groups, a fair assumption based on you saying you 'let' them in. Thus since you apparently know how they should play their class better than they do, help them and talk to them when you form the party instead of starting a thread about a pretty new class, that few have much experience with and complaining that they are playing it wrong.

[Mistycball]

Thank Shade im working on that.

[kaleid0star]

Arti's are the best scroll healers. That much is true. They do a good job in the couple/few raids where scroll healing a Main tank is the more efficient method of healing. And can toss pew pew/rune arm shots while doing it.

I'm sorry but bards also get 75% for their Scroll mastery IV so why is the arti the "best" scroll healers? I've been using it on my bard ever since I started so what does the arti have an edge on a bard when it comes to scroll healing?

Don't get me wrong, I am also planning to roll up a healing specced Artificer when it becomes available thru favor in U12 so every information is valuable and much appreciated

[whitehawk74]

how will this go when they nerf the class in 2 months?
we all know its going to happen.

[destiny4405]

I'm sorry but bards also get 75% for their Scroll mastery IV so why is the arti the "best" scroll healers? I've been using it on my bard ever since I started so what does the arti have an edge on a bard when it comes to scroll healing?

their heal scrolls have cl 15.

[AtomicMew]

I'm sorry but bards also get 75% for their Scroll mastery IV so why is the arti the "best" scroll healers? I've been using it on my bard ever since I started so what does the arti have an edge on a bard when it comes to scroll healing?

Don't get me wrong, I am also planning to roll up a healing specced Artificer when it becomes available thru favor in U12 so every information is valuable and much appreciated

Arti's get increased caster level on scrolls. Heal maxes out at level 15, whereas bards use the default level of 11.

[Deathdefy]

I'm one of the 25. Feel a little dumb for not having Heal scrolls at the time now, but Shade didn't just post this thread and did explain in group about why Artis should be packing heal scrolls and the enhancement line.

I'm also very pro him posting this thread, since Artificers are also new to those of us playing them and all eager for whatever advice is out there.

I'm still getting a handle on how to play.

The weird effectiveness of even low DC tactical detonations,
keeping lightning motes up for anything big enough to triple stack eladar's on,
keeping decon up,
learning the various rune arms' eccentricities (type of save, where to stand given bullet paths, enhancements),
what scrolls I should be carrying,
what on earth I should be using the dog for,
which elemental damage won't be totally nullified on which boss.

These threads are good. Respeccing to get the scroll enhancement line and picking up 100 heal scrolls has already paid off multiple times - and I haven't played officially played raid healer at all yet.

EDIT: For the record, I don't concede terrible dps for artificers. Have every intention of backing this up by videoing a dps challenge attempt in the near future.

[kaleid0star]

Thank you for the quick replies destiny and atomic

[cru121]

So Shade, would an artificer 6 / bard 14, with 7/8 song + CL13 scrolls @ +75% be a so-so alternative to standalone warchanter 20 and arti 20?

[dunklezhan]

I think Shade should be made Artificer King, and we should build him a throne, fashioned from cogs and broken defenders.

[vittordevittor]

Nice post, i did not know that artificers could be that good on healing.

[Feralthyrtiaq]

I've been getting a taste of the Artificer Power with my 3rd Lifer "Returning", currently at level 8.

Really awesome to see this potent scroll healing combo brought into more focus.

Add in a little Radiant Forcefield iirc on the tank as well.

Now just to spread the word in game...

[voodoogroves]

I posted it in the "what's a rogue to do in the new raids thread" but the bone to rogues for an better scroll line is solid too - you don't raise the caster level but you are a better scroll healer than just about anyone else as well.