I think the first time I logged into DR was shortly after the James Bond flick 'Goldeneye' came out - I distinctly remember one of the players who helped me figure out how the game worked being named that.

And DR has gone through a lot of changes since then. DR2.0, NMU getting magic, clerics getting TM vs. living, and so on. The past few years alone have seen a massive sea-change on how game development and user interaction are planned, with some of the best user convenience features in the game (rested exp, offline drain, F2P accounts for buddies who aren't sure).

One of the most sticky problems that continues to pervade DR, though, is the healing system. It still feels like it's tune for 1993, when we had enough players for a full, dedicated, support class, to heal everyone. At that point, the NPCs being deliberately handicapped made sense - drive players into the other players, who, as a repeated cycle, need players to train on.

Except these days everyone just gives up, drives to Dokt, falls over, goes AFK to watch a youtube video, and comes back in a few minutes. Because odds aren't great there's an empath online, in your area, at any given time.

Politely asked: Can NPC healing, and by extension herb healing, be updated. Increasing the overall speed of every healing in the game to match the Fang Cove healer would be great. Turning down the pauses after healing don't really reflect modern entry-level empaths, but they were fairly reflective of the game...25 years ago...

And it would be really nice if, if a player dedicated the time and energy to make healing items, they worked. Rather than having to carry around a dozen bespoke herbs for wounds and scars and then having to deal with NPCs not healing the scars anyway, would be nice. An 'all healing' item as a mid-tier alchemy item, one wounds and one scars, would be great.

DR has embraced its 'game nature' so much over the past few years, it's really frustrating to see it stuck in a 'simulator nature' with systems that just aren't fun to interact with.

I've recently come back from a break, and spent a month or two plodding around as a F2P and then as a subscriber again. And honestly, healing is just an albatross around my neck as a non-empath. It's so cumbersome, especially if we compare it to the 'death mechanics' - where a cleric makes it better but doesn't make it required. DR's population is just too small to support a purely player based support class in such a high-requirement roll.

Its not bad for premium players, with the fang cove mechs working quickly and the auto transport. The lines at the other autopaths, and defaulting to the worst injuries means you can be waiting for a long time.

I like the suggestion of better herb type. My remedies smock that I keep stocked weighs 216 stone right now, and that's just the completed remedies, not everything I'm stocking to keep resupplying. Maybe mid tier remedy would be 4 kinds for internal and external fresh, internal and external scar. With the highest tier being being either more efficient. And also first aid training for usage.

Jalika

Any changes in this area will need to be approached pretty carefully. It's pretty bad on the other side of the coin too: nobody is ever seeking healing anywhere, and patients are all but completely non-existent. There was some sort of plan for some sort of something to help patients and healers intersect, but unfortunately the GM who was working toward that is no longer on staff. I think it was left off as "approved proposal" the last time we got an update about it.

If changes are made to make it easier and/or more convenient for people to be healed by means other than player Empaths (which may well be a valid need, I don't have much recent experience from that side of the exchange), there must also be something aside from other players for Empaths to heal at the same time (or first). It is important that the playable role of a healer be preserved (or rather re-created at this point, since it currently doesn't really exist).

Thanks,
-Biomancer Karthor

100%

Maybe you all will hate me, but would also give FA a good use if FA boosted remedies benefit.

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TG, TG, GL, et al.

"Disagreement with the fundamental plan at this point is akin to supporting Richard III vs the Tudors." -Raesh

<<I think we do get some FA for using herbs. I don't think it is much or maybe I'm wrong and I just notice the ongoing FA I am getting from sometimes tending my wounds. But if we don't get FA from remedies, I feel we should as we would have to use FA knowledge of which herbs to use where.>>

Unfortunately Zinaca using herbs to cure your wounds doesn't teach anything. Or it doesn't for me. Never has to the best of my knowledge. That's why I keep mentioning it.

It doesn't have to be a lot of experience IMO. Just say getting an abrasion to fully healed get you up to say 2/34. Not a lot but it should teach a small bit.


Bluefalcon

Herb healing is tiresome. Add reverse voodoo doll creation into enchanting, let empaths make items that allow you to transfer your wounds, which disintegrate with enough damage.