Why do people play healers in games? Where does that drive come from for someone to log in and want to help someone else instead of seeking glory of their own?
I’ve wondered about it ever since I started healing in Dark Age of Camelot 20 years ago. I don’t know why I did it or stuck with it, but in every game I play now, I gravitate towards that role.
And having played healers for so long, I’ve seen the good and the bad of it. I’ve been moaned at, and I’ve been killed as a matter of priority by enemy teams more times than I can count. And let’s face it, it’s not always fun – not just for those reasons, but because healing isn’t the flashy stuff games are sold on.
Fundamentally, you are there to enable other people’s heroics. It’s a bit like being a goalkeeper in football: it’s an essential role but one nobody really wants. They want to score goals.
To paint a quick picture for you: in World of Warcraft, healing in a raid meant standing in a corner and taking it in turns, in teams, to heal a tank character fighting a huge monster. Who’s more heroic in that scenario: the pack of heal-bots in one corner or the character fighting the massive dragon?