So you want to be a healer, do ye?

I am playing a Cleric this open beta instead of a Sorcerer. The legion needs them, the group would go well with them and it makes for a change of pace before I start blowing things up come Live. Not to put this experience to waste, I shall endeavour to teach what I have learned about the class to you, the valued reader.

You've probably heard that they are powerful in PvP and yes, this is the case. In group PvP, they can easily turn the tide of a battle. In solo PvP, they can stay alive very easily and take down almost any other class with ease. You'll also probably have figured out that clerics get a lot of love -- everybody wants one in their group. So, first thing's first: forget about all of this.

The Cleric is first and foremost, a healer. You heal. At low levels, you'll be healing. At high levels, you'll be healing. You'll be healing in PvE, you'll be healing in PvP. Even solo, you'll be healing yourself a lot. Cleric Healing is the best in the game and accordingly, Cleric Damage is the worst. If you want to kill things quickly or contribute lots of damage dealing to your group or you hate healing all the time or you just love the fuzzy feeling of group appreciation, forget this class. You'll get bored pretty quickly.

Enough of that, let's begin the main course.

Starting as a Priest, your first nine levels will be slow and ponderous unless you've got someone to play with. I managed to power it in 2 ½ hours solo; I would have shaved an hour off of that if I had a damage dealer with me. I don't recommend powering through the game though -- take your time and enjoy yourself. As a Priest, your healing options are:

• Healing Light. A two second straight healing spell, this is your first main ability. At priesty levels it will heal you or anyone else for roughly half their health per cast with no cooldown. It will remain with you throughout your Cleric's life as a reasonably efficient staple heal.
• Light of Renewal. An instant-cast Healing Over Time spell (HOT) on a six second cooldown that gradually heals your target over the next eight seconds. If this spell looks underwhelming... well, it's because it is. HOT spells are very useful but in this case, not very. It is mana inefficient and doesn't heal for jack.
• Light of Resurrection. You can resurrect anyone, if they don't release that is, whether they are in your group or not. Be aware that when they do resurrect, it will be on the same spot that they died and they will have low health. If monsters are near, they may just tuck in for seconds. You can also cast it "in combat".
  

HOTs are useful in that they are instant cast and release their healing gradually. You can cast one on someone as you anticipate them taking damage and depending on the strength of the HOT, you may not need to heal them again. At the very least, a HOT will increase your healing-per-second potential on a target. If a HOT does 20 healing every 2 seconds for 30 seconds, you essentially are healing 300 damage with an instant cast spell. Do not underestimate them!

Upon Ascension you will encounter an upgraded version of of your Priest HOT: Light of Rejuvination. This HOT is vastly superior and the two spells share the same cooldown, so replace LoRenewal on your bar with LoRejuvination. Keep this heal up on your tank whenever he is in combat as it is very mana efficient. Cooldown permitting, cast it on other group members that do not need immediate healing. At 13 you will get Dispel, allowing you to remove physical debuffs instantly on any friendly target, and at 19, mental debuffs as well.

At level 16 you will get a second straight healing ability: Radiant Cure. This spell takes longer to cast than Healing Light (3 seconds instead of 2) and has a six second cooldown but it heals for 2-3 times more than Healing Light. You will often heal heavily damaged players to 100% with just this one spell (some classes may need a little more, such as tanks and other players with high health). At 22, you will get your first AOE healing ability: Healing Wind (snicker). This 3.5 second cast spell heals everyone in your group for a lot of damage, on a six second cooldown. Unfortunately this comes a little late for fights like Cheiftain Kraka that sorely need AOE heals, but hey, challenge is good right?

This is how the typical elite monster fight pans out. Your tank charges in. At this point, cast your HOT on them and make sure it stays up. It lasts for thirty seconds so you have plenty of time... to forget about it :P. Gauge the kind of damage he is taking and cast Healing Light when he needs it. As you get better at it, you will be able to accurately cast Healing Light in advance and have it land just as he's lost enough health for it to be most effective. Cast Radiant Cure if he (or anyone else) takes massive amounts of damage.

If your tank or anyone else is at low health, your first instinct is probably to cast Radiant Cure on them to get back as much health as possible. Don't. Instead cast your fastest heal, which at this level would be Healing Light, then follow up with whatever spell you wish. It is imperative that you use quick spells for emergency heals. The difference between a 2 second cast and a 3 second cast is life or death.

Watch for green health bars: they indicate a status debuff on the player. If you wish, hover over the debuff to see what it is... it may not be worth dispelling. This is generally the case if it is a weak Damage Over Time effect on the player, or the effect is flashing rapidly indicating a short duration on the debuff. Note that there are two types of debuffs: Physical and Mental. Debuffs like bleeds and fire are physical while debuffs like sleep are mental. Make sure to use the right Dispel for the debuff.

As you get more comfortable, let your eyes drift from the health bars and to the actual world. Observe the locations of patrols and monsters, the positioning of your group mates, and adjust your own position to best heal your group and be out of harm's way. Observe what the monsters are doing to anticipate incoming hard-hitting abilities or debuffs.

If somebody dies, you can resurrect in combat. If you have a chanter in your group you can get them to resurrect, or take over healing while you resurrect. Aion is somewhat unique in that it doesn't have "in combat" limitations to abilities; you can use them whenever you want.

Healing has its limits. If in doubt, stick with taunting.

In the Open Beta this is about as far as I've got, but higher levels bring considerably sexiness.

• A stigma ability that instantly heals your target for a decent amount, with only a 30 second cooldown
• A small and quick one-second cast heal with a two second cooldown, perfect for emergency healing on a low tank or a squishy target
• A massive self-shield that increases your healing on yourself and absorbs a lot of damage
• A spell that swaps your HP value with your MP value
  
• A 20-yard AOE resurrection!
• A 30-yard AOE resurrection + summon!
• A 2-second cast massive AOE heal with no cooldown
• An instant AOE group dispel
• A massive instant AOE heal on a 2 minute cooldown

And much, much more... maybe I should go Cleric for live...