Hmm seems like this thread has gone from 'Are drive-by group invites rude? Stop it' to 'Darn you fussy healers'.
In defense of healers [if you like the following, you should know that I play a healer, Caitiri. If you hate the following, I play ONLY an enchanter, Asphe. Thank you in advance for your self-imposed suspension of disbelief]
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Survey
Are there enough healers?
Document Type: General Survey
Author: Special Council Assisting Reduced Deaths, Department for Inquest Enquiries and Norrathian Organization for Newly Undead, Departed or Entombed.
Primary Audience: Fighter classes
Copyright Holder: The Overlord
Renown Guild Healer Availability Survey Results
Executive Summary
Negative reaction to low healer availability is increasing. As groups approach their preferred experience gain deadlines, a significant portion - over 36% - of groups simply break up due to the lack of sufficient healing capacity. Another 38% say they are actively seeking alternatives to full healers and doing without shamans, druids or clerics and relying on self-healing paladins and shadow knights. Desperate groups have even resorted to low healing tanks that attempt to avoid damage in the first place.
These are the results of the latest survey over a few dozen groups found in the Commonlands and Antonica regions, including adjoining dungeons.
Reactions from those polled indicate outrage and resentment over the perceived lack of healers. Particular ire is directed over groups with multiple healers. Dwarf Oneton Suup remarked that groups with multiple healers meant fewer active groups. "That's da way they likes it too! Bloody, greedy farmers are bribing the med slingers! There's bloody nothing left for us! Hoi chanter! Keep that mob mezzed whilst I talks to this nice lady!"
As a result, more and more groups are more willing to try alternatives. The classes most often cited by group leaders are paladins and shadow knights, due to the self-healing nature of the classes. Principal disadvantages include both the inability to revive the inevitable dead party members and the elevated level of testosterone induced behavior consistent with fighter classes.
As with the earlier survey, the high response rate from chat channels is a clear indication that Basic Low Availability of Healers is the prime issue in any prospective group leader's priorities.
Fully half of the survey respondents indicated that the frustration, foul-ups and frequency of deaths associated with BLAH would almost certainly delay their leveling. Ratonga Dumache Fur bemoaned the lengthy periods between the coveted dings. "I swears to give up cheese ifs I gets a healer nows!"
In an ominous portent of things to come: 38 percent of level 17 and below adventurers are seriously switching to rival Qeynos as a direct result of their displeasure over BLAH. This is a slight increase over the 36 percent of adventurers to this same question in the first poll last December.
Overall, the findings from this survey closely track with the responses from the survey six months ago. This is strong indication that adventurers are not just reacting out of emotion but will make decisions for pragmatic reasons such as time and definable entertainment needs. Rather, there is a clear trend that the anger and resentment towards what adventurers perceive as Freeport's worst BLAH rating over Qeynos.
Survey Highlights
Disclaimer: This is a self-selecting, totally biased survey undertaken to make fun of you and other adventurer’s behavior and their comments. The findings are not absolute and no one can predict with any certainty how any of us will act in the future. In short, you can't sue me. That said, the results of this latest survey track very closely with the results of December's survey carried out in Qeynos. The grass is NOT greener on the other side.
The Findings:
* Only 12 percent of adventurers say their groups have the necessary healing capacity to travel to more dangerous zones, compared with 41 percent of the respondents that say they lack the necessary healers to even survive where they are.
* Just over one-third or the respondents -- 36 percent -- say they have yet to determine whether or not they will remain or ditch their groups while the remaining 11 percent indicated they are still studying the matter and trying to find a healer sometime real soon.
* Approximately 37 percent of groups said they will not travel to other higher tier zones; while another 38 percent said they are seriously contemplating healer alternatives like multiple self-healing tanks.
* Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they had a negative view of BLAH. Only 1% had a positive reaction. The remaining 19 percent classified themselves as “unsure†and said they were reserving decision.
* 1% of all respondents are healers with a further 19% having a limited capability to self-heal.
* Only 22 percent of respondents said they had a healer experience in the past week. 45 percent said they had grouped with a healer in the past month and 24 percent had never seen a healer.
* The biggest areas of dissatisfaction identified by groups is concerning the tendency of healers to leave low performing groups.
* Some 12 percent of groups that have a healer or are in the midst of negotiating with a healer said their experience was a positive one; when spoken to with the healer not present, the percentage dropped to 1% another 32 percent gave a “fair†rating to the negotiating process.
* However, 51 percent of groups said their experience negotiating with healers was negative.
* Mean Time Between Dings continue to lengthen: only 13 percent of adventurers said they dinged every week, compared to 30 percent that dinged every fortnight. But a majority 57 percent of adventurers say they dinged only every four-to-six weeks.
* The level dings for non-healer classes are lagging even more: only 15 percent of non-healers ding every two weeks and only 23 percent of adventurers ding every month. By contrast, 50 percent of healers wait four-to-six minutes to find groups and 49 percent wait that long to transfer to a better group.
* Perhaps the most surprising and dismaying statistic is that nearly one year after Everquest 2 has gone live, 93 percent of adventurers do now know the difference between a shaman, druid or cleric.
* And in another indictment of healer behavior patterns: nearly half of the survey respondents - 49 percent described their healers as under equipped or using Apprentice I level spells while demanding first choice on all looted items. Only 16 percent said they were prepared for this kind of negotiation process.
* But of the remaining 37 percent of adventurers that have succeeded in recruiting a healer, an overwhelming 90 percent say their dingage will increase and 76 percent said their dings would increase anywhere from 20 percent to treble what they are experiencing previously.
* Over two-thirds of groups who have completed or begun the healer recruitment process reported that they did not experience any pressure from healers or healer brokers when voiced hesitancy about giving preferential healer treatment. Some six percent said they had been threatened with a boycott if they did not give in and 26 percent said healers have alluded to the possibility of a 'late' heal. However, it should be noted that a disturbingly disproportionate number of groups - including large guilds - had been threatened with the threat of 'late' heals unless they provided better healer incentives.
Conclusions and Recommendations
In summary, you need healers but WE don't need you!