Healing Fundamentals

Every healer build on this site does the same few jobs. Learn them once and every class makes sense.

The healer's job

A good group barely notices its healer, because nobody is low on Health. Most of a healer's value is everything else they do, roughly in this order:

01
Keep the group alive
Heals over time before damage lands, burst heals and shields when it does.
02
Buff the group
Sets and skills that make every damage dealer hit harder.
03
Debuff the boss
Off Balance, Vulnerability and Breach so the group's damage lands harder.
04
Feed Ultimate
Cast Ultimates often and give the group Ultimate with sets like Pillager's Profit.

Keeping the group alive

Heal before the damage, not after it. Keep heals over time rolling on the group so big hits land on full Health bars, and save burst heals and shields for the moments the fight tells you about. Every healer on this site starts from the same Restoration Staff kit and adds its class on top:

Skill	Its job
Radiating Regeneration	Sticky heal over time on three allies. Your filler.
Combat Prayer	Burst heal in front of you, plus Minor Berserk and Minor Resolve.
Illustrious Healing	Ground heal for a stacked group, and what the Master's staff needs.
Echoing Vigor	Heal over time for the group, and the cast that procs Powerful Assault.
Overflowing Altar	Minor Lifesteal on the boss and a Blood Feast synergy. One healer per trial.
Elemental Blockade	With a lightning staff: Concussion and Off Balance on the boss.
Reviving Barrier	The healer Ultimate: a big group shield and heal.

Sustain

Healers run out of Magicka, not Health. A fully charged staff Heavy Attack restores Magicka and, through

Essence Drain, gives you Major Mending. Weave one in whenever the group is healthy.

Buffing the group

This is where healers differ. Every build gives Minor Berserk and Minor Resolve from Combat Prayer and Powerful Assault from Echoing Vigor. On top of that, each class brings something only it has: the Templar's Bright Harbinger, the Warden's group Major Heroism from Bountiful Harvest, the Dragonknight's Lead from the Front. The buffs you'll see across these builds:

The core sets

Spell Power Cure and Powerful Assault are the two sets every healer needs, and both are free to get. In trials, Pillager's Profit on the body turns every Ultimate you cast into Ultimate for the group. Powerful Assault on jewellery and the back staff adds group Weapon and Spell Damage, Ozezan the Inferno is the monster set, and the Master's Restoration Staff (Grand Rejuvenation) restores resources to everyone your Illustrious Healing touches. Wear all seven pieces as Light armour: Evocation gives you the Magicka Recovery. See Item Sets for the full list.

Debuffing the boss

A lightning staff on the back bar with Elemental Blockade keeps the boss Concussed (Minor Vulnerability) and sets it Off Balance, which damage dealers with the Exploiter Champion Point hit harder. Overflowing Altar adds Minor Lifesteal. Some classes add more: the Necromancer brings Major Vulnerability and Major Breach, the Warden Major Brittle with an ice staff.

Good to know

Put a

Weakening enchant on your back staff: the boss hits a little softer whenever that staff hits it. Your resto staff takes Berserker, for stronger heals.

Trials and dungeons

Every healer build has a Trial and a Dungeon setup. Trials have 12 players who stack, so ground heals reach everyone at once and only one healer needs Overflowing Altar. In 4-player dungeons people move, so sticky heals do the work, Banner Bearer goes on both bars, and Spell Power Cure replaces Pillager's Profit for group Major Courage.

Pure class or subclass?

Pure class keeps your Class Mastery, which is where the unique group buffs come from, so a pure-class healer brings more to a trial. Subclassing trades that for faster Ultimates and more flexible lines, which suits dungeons. See the Subclass Healer for the dungeon build, the DPS Healer for one that heals and deals damage, and the Healer Tier List to compare every class.