Which upgrade do you all prefer for Lay on Hands?

[ArnoldRimmer]

I notice most enemy Paladins (like Risen Champions) prefer Hands of Light. What do you all choose? I normally go with GLoH but am trying HoL this time round. At first I thought I would miss robust (for me, GLoH is the best single target heal in the game) but HoL is better than I thought as it makes you immune to interrupts which I had never noticed before - quite useful if you are surrounded and trying to get off some ability or spell but keep getting knocked down.

Edited July 24, 2022 by ArnoldRimmer

[MaxQuest]

9 hours ago, ArnoldRimmer said:

as it makes you immune to interupts which I had never noticed before - quite useful if you are surrounded and trying to get off some ability or spell but keep getting knocked down.

So far I was taking Greater Lay on Hands for extra health regen; and because I really liked that +2 AR in early-mid game.

Not getting interrupted is nice, but Repulsive Visage was usually getting me through such situations. If not, Gaze of Adragan plus 2 ciphers were providing enough of other cc. 

And lastly: The Magnificent Escape Cape, Rakhan Field Boots and repositioning abilities help against getting surrounded too.

[Boeroer]

I usually don't take any uprade for Lay on Hands because the higher cost of 2 Zeal isn't worth the upgrade (and the precious ability point) imo. 

[Jayd]

I only ever take Hands of Light. The worst feeling in this game is having a key character get chain interrupted so they can't get their actions off. It's also one of the most threatening things about high-level fights. It's also one of those things that it's very hard to do anything about if the enemy AI fixates on doing it. A Paladin being able to completely negate that threat is worth a lot more than the benefits of Greater Lay on Hands, in my opinion.

[ArnoldRimmer]

14 hours ago, Boeroer said:

I usually don't take any uprade for Lay on Hands because the higher cost of 2 Zeal isn't worth the upgrade (and the precious ability point) imo. 

I have to say I really like GLoH... it has saved my life more often than any other healing character (priest/druid). It gives 2 sources of healing and boosts health and armour. Robust is pretty good if you are trying to go without a real healer in the party - often I find a Paladin and Cipher is enough to keep my parties alive and if I do have a priest it is one of the reason why I summon a spiritual ally

Edited July 24, 2022 by ArnoldRimmer

[ArnoldRimmer]

11 hours ago, Jayd said:

I only ever take Hands of Light. The worst feeling in this game is having a key character get chain interrupted so they can't get their actions off. It's also one of the most threatening things about high-level fights. It's also one of those things that it's very hard to do anything about if the enemy AI fixates on doing it. A Paladin being able to completely negate that threat is worth a lot more than the benefits of Greater Lay on Hands, in my opinion.

I'm starting to like it more. As you say, if you have a char who needs to get off an important ability the last thing you want is to get interrupted, especially if surrounded. A Fury Druid empowering greater Malestrom, someone about to use Worthy Sacrfice - the last thing I want is for those to get cancelled. It gives the ability more utility, you don't just have to use it to heal but to make sure a character can do what you need them to do.

I think maybe I shall pick it more often, I have a cipher at the moment in case I need Robust too

Edited July 24, 2022 by ArnoldRimmer

[yorname]

I like the greater one because it can cancel CON afflictions and heal at the same time. And burst healing being less in total than content healing of the same cost is natural. But it's all about playstyle and composition, I personally don't find chain interrupts too much of a problem for a party so never picked HoL

[thelee]

On 7/24/2022 at 6:34 AM, yorname said:

I like the greater one because it can cancel CON afflictions and heal at the same time.

yeah this is why i prefer greater.

non-interruptibility can be a life saver, but often times i feel like the bigger threat is my tank or someone in dire straights has a CON affliction on them (and in a few situations late game, enfeebled even) and needing a heal. spending 2 zeal for the equivalent of a full-strength baseline LoH can make all the difference since you can't stack lay on hands.

either way i agree with other folk on the zeal cost-effectiveness - most of the times i'm just using the 1 zeal base version and only using the 2 zeal one when i really need it.

[Elric Galad]

A small note about Lay on Hand is that Courageous includes the effect of Tier 2 Resolve Inspiration. Tier 3 makes you immune to interrupt while Tier 2 periodically gives you back 1 Concentration (non stacking).

Why does it matter since you are Immune to Interrupt anyway ? Because when Hands of Light ends, your target keeps this 1 Concentration without duration limit.

 

But I agree with the crowd. In general Base Lay on Hand > Greater one > Hands of Light.
So you can skip the "upgrade" (which is not technically one) or pick whichever you prefer as a backup, GLoH being the most useful in general, but Hands of Light having its use.

If you have a fighter, Unbending Shield does the Concentration job for the party though, while being arguaby the best fighter ability.

[NotDumbEnough]

I personally think the problem with Hands of Light is that Courageous is overkill. There are very few situations where Courageous is a substantial improvement over Resolute (i.e. you are getting interrupted more than once every 6 seconds), and a Priest can already very easily give the whole team Resolute with a tier 2 spell with a very good duration. If you are getting interrupted more than once per 6 seconds then either your defenses are very poor or you are positioning badly.

[thelee]

4 hours ago, NotDumbEnough said:

I personally think the problem with Hands of Light is that Courageous is overkill. There are very few situations where Courageous is a substantial improvement over Resolute (i.e. you are getting interrupted more than once every 6 seconds), and a Priest can already very easily give the whole team Resolute with a tier 2 spell with a very good duration. If you are getting interrupted more than once per 6 seconds then either your defenses are very poor or you are positioning badly.

i think the big thing for me is enemy rogues. they frequently dual-wield and rogue abilities are all interrupt on hit. while i prefer GLoH, HoL does fill its niche pretty well, because especially around the level I get it (SC or MC) those skeleton rogues on PotD start appearing everywhere and they can be absolutely punishing in the early-mid game w/ no chance to react to multiple hits. (and i don't think the timer on their ability cooldown script is shared between their normal strikes and finishing blow, so i feel like i often see a relentless sequence of crippling/blinding strike -> finishing blow = interrupt-locked to death)

Edited July 28, 2022 by thelee