How to heal as a Skeleton Archer?

[Zanatar]

Ok I'm fairly new to the game (been away 3 years).. I have never played as a Skeleton Archer. I'm doing so now, but finding it difficult to stay alive. Mainly due to caster type enemies that put a DoT on you and I have no way to counter it, short of Heat Beam, to hopefully remove it.

Given we cannot use Infusions as a skeleton, just how are we supposed to heal? I have some armor that raises my health Regen, but that's not really going to cut it, when I'm in trouble and need to to find a way to escape and survive DoT's etc.

I'm sure I'm overlooking something obvious.

Thanks.

[Coldbringer]

There's a Skeleton racial ability to heal. You need good shielding runes too - adding temporary HP in the form of shielding isn't exactly healing but it amounts to the same thing. There are amulets that heal you, tool slot items that heal you, healing mod and life regen items. Unique items that allow you to cast healing spells. Then there is flat damage negation from gear and torques.

For status removal, prevention is the best option with stacking immunities and or high saves. But beyond Heat Beam rune, there is lightning rune, acid wave rune, the freezing one. They aren't as good as a wild infusion, but I hear the next big update will include a reworking of runes and natural infusions as Darkgod and the other devs realize there are issues with the current imbalance.

[Zanatar]

Thank yo for your reply.

I think the thing that amazes me most, is the fact that this game is still actively being updated. That is fantastic and amazing to me. I love that.

Any thoughts on when the next update might be?

[Razakai]

As an Archer, the best strategy is to kill stuff before you need to heal, via Concealment/Called Shots/Sentinel. Note that Munitions does grant a small heal over time - it's only about 350-400/8 turns but it's something.

[PseudoLoneWolf]

Thank yo for your reply.

I think the thing that amazes me most, is the fact that this game is still actively being updated. That is fantastic and amazing to me. I love that.

Any thoughts on when the next update might be?

Soon(TM). DG and Razakai and the others have been hard at work on the next major update + DLC. We don't have a release date yet, but I've seen some pretty neat things in teasers here and there.

[Frumple]

There's a Skeleton racial ability to heal. You need good shielding runes too - adding temporary HP in the form of shielding isn't exactly healing but it amounts to the same thing. There are amulets that heal you, tool slot items that heal you, healing mod and life regen items. Unique items that allow you to cast healing spells. Then there is flat damage negation from gear and torques.

Have a bit of care putting too much hope behind the equipment based heals, though. More than one are completely non-functional for undead, since they operate off the wild gift talents undead can't use even if they can somehow get a hold of the talent. At the absolute least, if you find one and want to use it, test it before you need it to make sure it'll work for you.

... that said, stacking healmod+regen definitely never really hurts, if you're not sacrificing much else in the process. There's a few slots where it's pretty easy to get some alongside better stuff in randarts or whatever, so ending up with a 30-50+ point regen at some point can be pretty easy. Still won't negate major damage over time effects or what have you, but it can certainly mitigate a lot of the weaker stuff and take an edge off the stronger.

[Chronosplit]

If you have Embers of Rage and have done the necessary unlocks, take Tinkers and get at least 3 into Therapeutics immediately when you do. You'll be able to craft salves which do heal undead once you get the schematics (you may even find the salves right where you got Tinkers), though they pale in comparison to infusions. A Fungal Web will provide extra healing to go with this.

These carried my spooky skeletons a good bit longer than they would've otherwise, even though you can only use two injectors.

[Coldbringer]

I wouldn't say salves pale in comparison to infusions.

A typical healing infusion is about 200 hp, 0 turns, removes wound and poison, or the regeneration one that takes a turn to use and heals about 600 over 5 turns. There are crappier ones and better ones. I've seen up to 400 for healing and 900 for regeneration. But those are rare.

Healing salves take a turn to use, but they can heal over 1000 hp in one shot with the higher quality medical injectors. And you can use two in a row.

So while taking zero turns (and removing wound/poison status is nice) healing infusion doesn't do quite as much. And while regenerating several hundred hps over a number of rounds can be helpful situationally (like with dots/continual AOE), sometimes the big burst healing is necessary to survive.

I would say healing salve is superior to both infusions in most situations. If you have a high healmod I can see regeneration being better overall, getting 200 or 300 hp per turn.

[PseudoLoneWolf]

The true value of injectors are the split cooldown and the sheer number of options that you get with them. When you use infusions, you inscribe your healing, your regen, your heroism, maybe a movement, and you lose out on everything else that you don't have equipped. It's an opportunity cost. Injectors let you craft as many salves as you want and use any or all of them, as well as being able to quickly use two of the same one if you have to - namely, healing. A regular healing infusion will go on CD after using it whereas with an injector, you can use a healing salve and keep the other injector handy and off CD so you can heal again without having to wait. Cycling these back and forth with good injectors can easily cause your healing inscription, in this case a salve, to have around 3-5 turn CD rather than the 12 that's roughly average for infusions. And if you're a psyshot it gets even MORE crazy with the additional injector via Mind Injection which you should DEFINITELY always get and max out.

A regen infusion will usually give you more health overall, sure, but the value of an injector comes with the options that it gives you. You can always pick the right tool for the job.

[bpat]

You don't heal as Skeleton Archer aside from Re-assemble. Instead you use a combination of Shielding Runes, Bone Armor, various defensive talents, and 13 range to never die.