The Warden
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Healing over time is the specialty of the Warden, making them a prime
candidate for raid healing or support heals. Deep spec Wardens are the
picture of efficiency and are highly desirable even as a second or third
soul in a well rounded build
Pros
- Extremely efficient
- Continual heals help mitigate spike damage
- Well suited for PvP
- Excellent survivability
Cons
- Lack of big heals
- Requires a proactive player, not a reactive one
- Maximum benefits lie deep in the tree
Overview
The Warden is a heal over time
specialist who draws their power from the currents of oceans and
streams, manifesting those waters in the form of healing energy. What
they lack in speed they more than make up in stamina as their abilities
lend themselves best to long, drawn out encounters. Wardens are not
great tank healers, but there may be no one better at keeping the rest
of the group alive.
Solo Play
As with any primary healing soul, the Warden is a tough road to hoe as
the primary focus of a build when it comes to soloing. That being said,
they are the perfect compliment to any of the DPS souls in the calling
as their efficiency and survivability are hard to beat. The Warden also
has one of the more dependable knock-backs in the game which allows
them to better control the battlefield.
Group Play
During the leveling experience most groups will only need one healer as
they progress through normal dungeons. While the Warden is a fine
healer - a build with this as the primary soul will usually struggle in
that role. A deep spec Warden really shines in large group or raid
content however as they can easily handle the topping off and healing
of multiple targets, as well as assist the main tank healers by
providing a blanket of steady healing to help mitigate incoming damage.
Pairs Best With
Druid
Even though the official game documentation recommends pairing the
Warden with the other two healing souls, when paired with a
DPS soul is when it really shines. A Warden/Druid combination conjures
up memories of druids from other MMOGs; such as Everquest and
WoW, giving the jack-of-all-trades soul one thing it is missing in Rift
- capable heals. The truly brave will pair these two souls with a
shaman for a build that was born to chain pull mobs.
Sentinel
Combing a strong HoT soul with a strong AoE healing soul is a no-brainer
when forging a top notch raid healer. Although their may be some
overlap in these two souls, there is plenty of synergy to be found such
as Embolden, which increases the radius of AoE heals with as few as 11
points spent. Throw in the increases to spell power and healing
effectiveness as well as a nice statistical buff and you get a lot of
power for not a lot of points when combining these two souls.
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