Ability discussion: heal beam

I wish they had alternate abilities as well in BfN, I was hoping for that since the game's release (I suppose that is what the ability upgrades are for). Are you going to discuss alternate abilities as well? 

I'll participate in these discussions as I really like most of the abilities in the shooters, and the alternates as well. I will mention ability upgrades in BFN and what I think of them as well.

HEAL BEAM

Heal Beam for the Sunflower is really useful from my experience, since I prefer a supportive and a defensive playstyle in general, this is one of the best abilities for me to use, as being able to use it continuously without waiting for a cooldown is really useful. It sort of is a shame you cannot heal yourself with it, although that would probably make this ability very overpowered, especially in BFN. It can really be difficult to get maximum use of this ability when lots of allies are in need of healing, as you can only heal a single ally at time, although this can be somewhat countered with your Heal Flower or Sunny Side Up ability, depending on which game. Being able to attack, except in Sunbeam, while healing is quite useful as well, as while Sunflower's attack is not that powerful, the extra damage can help. It annoys me though because I seem to only be able to concentrate on healing or attacking when playing Sunflower and I do not know why. I knew about the fact that the Sunflower's Heal Beam would automatically detach from a target after 4 minutes on its own for a while, I do not particularly see the point of this as I have never healed the same ally without changing targets for anywhere near that long, but an interesting piece of trivia nevertheless.

GW Alternate Abilities

Rainbow Heal Beam: This alternate ability is the only alternate ability that has been around since GW that has no differences apart from no cosmetic changes, which is interesting. I really like the cosmetic difference and would almost always use it over the regular Heal Beam, although it would have been cool if the heal rate could have been slightly increased.

BFN Ability Upgrades

Cocoon: Costs 3 upgrade points. You can overheal allies even more with this upgrade, however the additional overhealth only remains while you have the Heal Beam attached to that target. This is really useful to heal someone under constant fire. Even more healing is really cool, I do wish the allies kept this overhealth for a bit longer after detaching, although that could make this upgrade overpowered, not sure. Overhealth is really annoying for enemies to deal with already.

Full Bloom: Costs 3 upgrade points. Your Heal Beam can heal allies from further distances and stretches further. I can see this being really useful, as you can stay more hidden and protected from enemies while healing, which is especially useful if you have less health, but still continue to heal your allies that are not too far from you without being in too much danger. It makes it more  convenient for healing allies as well in general.

Blossom: Costs 5 upgrade points (it could be 3 but I think this got buffed a while back and I cannot remember). You can heal up to 2 allies at a time if there are multiple allies close to each other. The Heal Beam will branch out and heal another ally. I absolutely love this upgrade, this helps to deal with times where lots of allies need healing at once and the overall healing rate is much faster. Upgrade is expensive, but worthwhile. If it does cost 5 upgrade points, I suggest it being reduced to 4.

Pocket Protection: Costs 3 upgrade points. This does not directly impact the Heal Beam, but it benefits you when using the Heal Beam on allies. You know how I was going on about that it was a bit annoying that you cannot heal yourself? Well, with this upgrade, you heal about 10 health per second while you are healing allies, which is great and really useful. This rewards the healer for healing allies as well as giving the healer a passive way to heal. Having support characters left alive for longer allows the team to stay alive for longer.

Sunslinger: Costs 2 upgrade points. You actually heal allies that are at low health at a faster rate with this upgrade. This is really useful for keeping them alive and saving them from being vanquished, reducing the time before they will be completely healed and you can get started on healing another target more quickly if you wish. I find this upgrade really useful, cheap to use, and this can really help save your team when multiple allies are at low health. 

Conclusion

I find Heal Beam really useful, being able to heal allies at any time without a cooldown, and still being able to attack while healing is a helpful bonus. It is such a versatile ability and the BFN ability upgrades make it even more powerful. It can be difficult to heal all your allies when many are in demand of healing, although you can use your Heal Flower or Sunny Side Up, depending on the game, for even more efficient healing and better grouped healing if needed. Really useful upgrade, and I really enjoy using it due to my defensive and supportive nature.

Remember in BfN when you could have Cocoon and Blossom at the same time before they changed the values so you couldn't? Along with the fork of the heal beam being able to heal yourself was extremely obnoxious.

Despite healing being too good in BfN, playing Sunflower in the game has somehow been less enjoyable than either GW game, it drove some old friends like Asaibada away from the game over just that alone. Overheal as a concept doesn't bother me, but it just makes things more tedious in BfN. Healing XP is part of the issue, as despite how powerful it is, you don't get all that much XP from it. It feels bad to be top healer and do decently on vanquishes, but be in the lower half of your team because of that.

Sunflowers always felt a bit too vulnerable in GW, but in GW2 they felt so good to play, even before their health was increased by 10. I swapped to the rainbow healing beam in both GW games, because why not?

It's critical to have a Sunflower or 2 when fighting the Yeti King boss hunt in GW2, mostly for that heal beam.