Self-Healing/Buffing should be default, not targeted

We have to currently hold down Alt if we wish to ensure our Healing Touch or other healing/buff spell hits us, rather than a 'friendly' target in front of (too close to) the reticle.

How many times do I forget to do this, casting to the wrong target and having to wait for a cooldown to cast it on myself again?? All the time! Derp!

I suggest that Alt behavior is switched, that is, healing/buff spells are targeting yourself by default, and if you wish to heal/buff someone, that you have to target them.. temporarily with the Alt button maybe?

I am unsure of how a healer type feels about this instead of what is happening now, but I would think a healer/buffer would likely target their intended target manually anyway (probably using the shift-click, or less likely the G key), so should cause no difference in gameplay.. but I'm sorta guessing here...

What do you think? It sounds like a simple change.. and might be more convenient for most/all?

 

I think this would make things worse for healers.
Non-healers mostly use healing touch, which is point blank area effect now. (minus the bug that causes you to turn towards closest friendly).

Healers use f1-f5 to soft target then cast.
Or they are very carefully directional facing a target and then casting

You change means they have to target + alt + cast now.
Which is opposite of the normal convention in most MMO's

Where solo players without a pet automatically self cast. (doesn't matter to them either way)

Only grouped players, and players with pet have to use alt-cast to self target anything, and then only on a couple of buffs, and healing ray.
Healing Rain is Ground target area effect,
Healing touch is point blank area effect (currently has a face friendly in range bug though).
Healing burst and Healing Grace are only used by healers.

I think the change shouldn't be made because it's the opposite of norm.
It makes things more difficult for actual healers.
It doesn't help most players most of the time.

 

Yes, healing touch is aoe, so it's not really the main problem.. maybe Healing Grace, or the Strength buff spell in the Earth tree is a better example, and is what I'm perhaps more aiming for.

True, it does only affect me when I'm in a party, and not solo at all, as current game rules prevent me from actually healing or buffing anyone else not in my group... But these rules will change, mark my words.

My change would not take away the targeting of f1-f8.. that would stay the same, and therefore would not affect the healer healing in this way.. but only when they are trying to target something with the reticle and heal, at which point my change would come up, and they'd have to hold down Alt to target the player under the reticle...

 

Targeting f1-f8 is affected by alt key currently, and should remain that way otherwise they have to untarget or explicitly target themselves via f1 to self heal.

Healing buffing others is already convoluted enough already, you change just makes it more so.
Although it does make life easier (slightly) for self casting while in a group or with a pet.

 

How is Alt used with f1-f8? I did not know of this interaction? F1 selects yourself.... EDIT: I think I see what you mean, when the healer wants to heal themselves, and they have say f2 targeted.. this change would have to make them unselect the target... hmmm yeah, not good.. not bad.. but not great in this one case (and probably common case, for a healer)...

Yes, this is probably about all it does and yep, that's me That's why I was wondering other viewpoints