Unable to heal non party member... highvale

So I went back to Highvale after talking to some lord in resolute, I see a fellow avatar in trouble and try to heal them with healing ray... but even with them targeted I just healed myself...

sorry forgot to /bug. I tried both healing ray and standing close and using regular heal. No effect on them.

 

Did you party the individual? If not, probably the result of the no-heal clause.

 

Cannot tell if joking...

 

Well, since I've never partied anyone, I can't figure out if you partied anyone from the pic so, I asked?

And if you're not in a party, then party the person so you can heal them. Otherwise, there's now a no-heal unless partied clause. PVP thing, I hear? Don't do that either but that's what I heard.

 

Oh thats a shame. They were not in my party, no one I knew, just saw them outnumbered and losing health quickly. I don't think it would be kind to interrupt a fight to the death to ask if they want to party do you? And for PVP it would seem like such things should be blocked... but why should that affect non PVP folks?

 

Not really sure myself. Never heard the argument as to why a pver couldn't heal a pver in a pve enviroment unless partied. Guesses at - we don't hold hands attitude? Or, find ways to be creative while helping someone - get the agro, weaken the enemy without killing? Or, I don't need the help (heal), ok, so thanks-but-no-thanks-for-the-help type pve players?

Hmm, maybe I did hear the argument somewhere and just can't remember it *looks at what I wrote*.

 

@Dirk Hammerstrike @4EverLost This is currently by design, however we're always open for feedback. This has been a heavily discussed issue in the past which @Chris is able to elaborate further upon. Moving this thread to the feedback forum so it can have a chance to live, instead of getting buried in the land of bugs. Thanks for reporting.

 

Hi @Chris
Many of my first friends in this game were made by either them coming to my rescue, or me to theirs. Often it started with the aid of a few well timed heals and then the offer of blade & party. I can see the possibility for abuse during PvP, and why players flagged thus would be excluded... but why should that affect the general population?

Obvious Question #1: Why don't you just form a party?
When someone is on the verge of death, being overrun by mobs, the last thing they want to see is "Do you want to form a party?".

Obvious Question #2: Why bother? Its not like it happens all that often.
That is true but I would approach this another way. There are many negative actions that can be done by other players. Kill stealing, grabbing resources while someone else is taking the aggro, or just outright douchbaggery. Hell someone with an HP > 400 (obviously not "new" to this) killed a wolf while I was taming it after watching my repeated attempts a few days ago. Why would you remove any options to allow for player altruism?

 

This is very well said, Dirk. I agree. If one seeks to walk the path of virtues, being unable to assist those in pain and need seems very out of place. Compassion is a virtue, even if it may not have landed in the collective cultures of Novia in this age.

Perhaps in the next one? (hopeful look)

Edit to add: I suspect that, at present, the flag is set to be on or off only when grouped so as to make more obvious that healing in a group with a flagged player will flag you; if so, chances are that nothing is in place just yet for keeping you from flagging someone else by healing them, so healing outside group is off until they can get to coding it for the various cases it needs to be able to respond to correctly... things like:

1. Unflagged Player heals Unflagged Player (UPxUP = Allowed)

2. Flagged Player heals Unflagged Player (FPxUP = NOT Allowed - can only heal in group, so spell targets self instead)

3. Flagged Player heals Flagged Player (FPxFP = Allowed in Group only to avoid abuse)

4. Unflagged Player heals Flagged Player (UPxFP = Notify.self.pvpf.on = TRUE? pop notify message warning of PvP flagging ELSE heal [self.target], THEN flag.self, THEN END.

Then again, I could be utterly wrong (it happens more than you may think!).

Would love to hear more from @Chris regarding how this works.

 

I got used to the idea of throwing heals at people from my days in FFXI. But that's not the only way to help someone out. There is a corresponding difference between what I was used to in FFXI and how SotA works. That difference is that when you are fighting a monster, someone else can still attack it. (And I still have no idea how XP is divided when that happens. But I don't really care too much either.)

You can simply change your reaction to help someone by helping to kill the monster, or try to pull one away if there are multiple attacking. Really, being double-teamed was my big problem when I was new. It's still tricky for me to pull only one or two when five stand up at the same instant to attack you.

 

Used to be the last hit got the xp unless you were in a party. So throwing heals was safer than helping to kill least you be accused of kill stealing. Having said that I've helped whittle down a mob's HP gauge, even in R26...

 

There are other ways you can help a player in need besides healing them.

You could root a mob and tell them to back up... then root another one. That should give them a chance to heal them self or flee.

You could simply attack the mobs and either kill or severely damage so the player can finish them off.

You could use spells like Discharge (AOE stun) or Ice Field (AOE slow) that could give the person a chance to recover enough to heal up or finish off a mob and even the playing field.

While I agree that healing a stranger could be a great way to rescue them... it's not the only way.

Don't let game mechanics prevent you from being a hero!