I don't think overall the heal magic is even being weakened, just HP. Sap and Stam will be a lot stronger as has been mentioned, and it looks like no one has noted that AoE heals will be twice as effective as well. Hopefully that will make it easier for one healer to tend to a whole team. People will just have to conserve on hp credits.
It makes perfect sense to me that sap and stam heals be a lot larger than hp. Saying this change doesn't make sense is the same thing as saying having magic that does 3k damage is stupid and we should just invent a 1 shot desintegrate spell.
Is it easier to heal from a broken leg or to rest up from a mile jog?
Even magic has limitations.
While initially I suspected this change would increase the value of sap and stamina boosts on equipment, lately I've been doubting that. With HP being the hardest to heal, people will want to have as much as possible because dying is a bigger deal (as I think it should be)
That's unfortunate, I've always found sap and stam boosts not very useful personally but I can't seem to think of a change that would help them.
_idea as typing_
What if sap and stam boosts were bigger in relation to HP in the same ratio the new heals will be?
So HP boost 3 will put 15 hit points on the item, but stam boost 3 will do 22. I would like that system.xenofur wrote:-> result:
hp: 15, stam: 22, sap: 22
As far as the weaker heal making hunting too hard and unenjoyable, I don't believe it. I very, very regularly hunt in teams where no one is healing at all during the fight. That's for both my lowest skills and my highest, 190+. It just means I have to find the right combination of other skills and the right creature to hunt.
I however still would love to see all the other forms of damage reduction enhanced, as been mentioned earlier. More no-healer team options would be great.
Any single skill should not be necessary for a successful team. Right now heal and ele are the hardest to do without, but it's not impossible. A SERIOUS increase in armor protection would go a long ways, the proposed change is a joke. Although mob special absorption is a very good start, I would prefer to see it implemented in armor so melee is better at it then mages.
Shield absorption currently is a joke too. On anything that gives me reasonable XP solo, my tests have concluded it absorbs a total of ZERO damage. It's lucky it looks cool, or I wouldn't use it at all.
I fail to see how having very high damage absorption on fighters can hurt the game balance. A melee with full heavy armor should be able to take a LOT, and adding a shield should make a noticeable difference on top of that, and not just with something half your level.
Afflictions I have mixed feelings on. They can be completely useless XP leechers at times and lifesavers at others. I have often used them myself as competent alternatives to healing, but I suppose they would need to be a little more reliable overall to see widespread use. (which I suppose I don't want to see, keeping the ultimate power all too myself, muahahahaha) I would love an introduction of multi-linking. (at lvl 100 in place of "double missile")
But, aside from all the offtopics, I think the heal changes are a good thing.

There are enough alternatives in game currently to deal with it, but more options are always better.
More armor absorption!