Gearing Up for Glory: The Ultimate ESO Healer Armor Guide

As an experienced Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) healer, I’m constantly bombarded with questions about gear. So, let’s cut to the chase: light armor is generally the go-to armor type for healers in ESO, paired with a Restoration Staff as your primary weapon. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Optimizing your armor involves understanding set bonuses, traits, enchantments, and your specific class abilities. Your choice also depends on whether you’re tackling dungeons, trials, or PvP combat.

Diving Deeper: Light Armor and Why It Reigns Supreme

Light armor offers significant advantages for healers thanks to its passive bonuses:

• Magicka Cost Reduction: Reduces the cost of your crucial healing spells, letting you sustain your healing output for longer.
• Magicka Recovery: Increases your Magicka Recovery, allowing you to regenerate magicka faster between casts. This is essential for keeping your resource pool topped up.
• Spell Critical Chance: Boosts your Spell Critical Chance, making your heals more potent.
• Magical Damage Mitigation: Reduces damage taken from magical attacks by 1% per piece, offering some added survivability.

These bonuses directly address the core needs of a healer: sustain, healing power, and some degree of survivability. While heavy armor offers better protection, the resource management penalties are generally too steep for a healer who relies on constant spellcasting. Medium armor lacks the magicka focus needed for efficient healing.

Must-Have Armor Sets for ESO Healers

Selecting the right armor sets can dramatically improve your healing effectiveness. Here’s a look at some of the top contenders:

Best in Slot Sets

• Olorime (Cloudrest Trial): When you overheal an ally, you grant them Major Courage, increasing their Weapon and Spell Damage by 430 for 5 seconds. This is a staple set for maximizing group damage output.
• Z’en’s Redress (Earthen Root Enclave Dungeon): Applies a debuff to enemies, increasing their damage taken from all sources. This can be a great set for increasing raid group dps.
• Powerful Assault (Imperial City): After casting an area of effect ability, you and up to 11 nearby group members gain 300 Weapon and Spell Damage for 10 seconds.

Other Powerful Sets

• The Worm’s Raiment (Vaults of Madness Dungeon): Reduces the Magicka cost of abilities for your group, improving overall sustain.
• Hollowfang Thirst (Moongrave Fane Dungeon): Restores Magicka to you and your allies when you apply a status effect to an enemy. Great for resource sustain.
• Sanctuary (Banished Cells I & II Dungeons): Increases the healing received by your group members, bolstering their survivability.
• Jorvuld’s Guidance (Reward for the worthy):Increases the duration of buffs you apply.
• Kagrenac’s Hope (Craftable): Speeds up resurrections and boosts Health, Magicka, and Stamina. A solid crafted option for general use.
• Torug’s Pact (Craftable): Increases weapon enchants for higher healing throughput.
• Martial Knowledge (Cyrodiil): When you heal an ally, grant them bonus weapon damage.

Perfecting Your Armor: Traits and Enchantments

Choosing the right traits and enchantments further optimizes your armor.

• Traits: The most popular trait for healers is Divines, which increases the effect of your Mundus Stone. The Infused Trait is useful when trying to increase the effect of an enchantment on a Large Armor piece.
• Enchantments: Prioritize Magicka enchants on your armor pieces to maximize your resource pool. Weapon enchantments like weapon damage can increase healing throughput.

The Restoration Staff: Your Healing Conduit

The Restoration Staff is the quintessential weapon for healers in ESO. Its skill line provides essential healing abilities and passives:

• Healing Springs: A potent ground-based heal that provides sustained healing to multiple allies.
• Regeneration: A vital heal-over-time (HoT) ability that keeps your allies healthy.
• Combat Prayer: A powerful burst heal that also buffs your allies’ damage.

Passives like Essence Drain (restores Magicka when healing a low-health ally) and Restoration Expert (increases healing done) further enhance your healing capabilities.

Armor Ability Perks (Glyphs)

While traditionally armor perks haven’t been as widely used as weapon and jewelry glyphs, they can be useful in very specific scenarios.

• Keen Beacon: Healing an ally grants them temporary spell damage
• Fortifying Sacred Ground: Improves the healing done by allies in your Sacred Ground
• Diminishing Orb: Reduce damage done by enemies when they’re near your damage shield

FAQ: Your Burning Healer Armor Questions Answered

Here are some frequently asked questions I get from aspiring ESO healers:

1. Can I mix armor types as a healer?

While primarily using light armor is recommended, a one-piece heavy armor (usually the chest piece) is occasionally used to increase survivability, particularly in PvP. However, focus on maximizing light armor bonuses for the majority of your gear.

2. What Mundus Stone should I use as a healer?

The Atronach Mundus Stone, which increases Magicka Recovery, is a popular choice. However, the Thief Mundus Stone will increase your Spell Critical rating, making you have more powerful heals. Consider your play style and resource management needs when choosing a Mundus Stone.

3. How important is Crit Chance for healers?

Crit Chance is important! Critical heals can significantly boost your healing output. Invest in gear, passives, and Mundus Stones that increase your Spell Critical Chance.

4. What is the best race for a healer in ESO?

Breton is a popular choice due to its Magicka cost reduction and Magicka Recovery bonuses. Other good options include High Elf (for Magicka bonuses) and Argonian (for healing received bonuses).

5. Can any class be a good healer?

Yes! While some classes have natural advantages (like the Templar’s focused healing abilities), any class can be an effective healer with the right build and gear.

6. What stats should I prioritize on my gear as a healer?

Prioritize Magicka, Magicka Recovery, Spell Critical Chance, and Healing Done.

7. Is it better to stack Magicka Recovery or Magicka Cost Reduction?

It depends on your play style. If you find yourself constantly running out of Magicka, focusing on Magicka Recovery is beneficial. If you can manage your resources well, Magicka Cost Reduction can allow you to cast more spells.

8. What secondary weapon should I use as a healer?

A Destruction Staff, particularly a Lightning Staff or an Inferno Staff, is a common choice. This allows you to contribute to damage when healing isn’t urgently needed.

9. Should I use a shield as a healer?

While not typically recommended, a shield can provide added survivability in challenging content or PvP. However, it sacrifices healing output and resource sustain.

10. What are some good skills to use besides Restoration Staff abilities?

Class-specific healing abilities, like the Templar’s Breath of Life or the Warden’s Healing Seed, are essential. Support skills like Combat Prayer from the restoration staff skill line can be also very useful.

11. How important is positioning for healers?

Positioning is crucial. Stay within range of your group, but also maintain a safe distance from enemies. Good positioning allows you to effectively heal your allies while avoiding unnecessary damage.

12. What is the best food/potion for healers?

Bi-stat food and Tri-stat potions are both incredibly useful. They provide a balance of magicka, health, and magicka regen.

13. Should I use sets that buff my group’s damage as a healer?

Absolutely! Sets like Olorime and Z’en’s Redress provide significant damage buffs to your group, making you a valuable asset beyond just healing.

14. How do I practice healing effectively?

Start with dungeons and gradually progress to more challenging content. Pay attention to your group’s health, resource management, and positioning.

15. Where can I learn more about healing strategies and builds?

There are numerous online resources, including forums, guides, and video tutorials. Experiment with different builds and strategies to find what works best for you. The Games Learning Society also offers valuable resources related to gaming and learning through games, including aspects of team collaboration and strategy that can indirectly help your healing play style. Check them out at GamesLearningSociety.org.

Final Thoughts

Mastering the art of healing in ESO requires a deep understanding of armor sets, traits, enchantments, and class abilities. By optimizing your gear and honing your skills, you can become a powerful and invaluable asset to any group. So, gear up, embrace the light, and get ready to keep your allies alive!