How important are Healing items to you, overall?

[Elieson]

This is kind of based on G.Knight's thread about the Recover staff/staves

Aside from using Vulns in a few early chapters, or occasional Elixers in later chapters, I try to rely on using Staves for exp/wexp as often as possible. Usually I just sell them for cash though, because they pile up pretty quickly and when you're steamrolling through, you start not really needing them anyway. Elixirs are kind of too expensive to fit into my weaponry budget, and Vulns are just outclassed. I sometimes use Concoctions in FE13 when grinding for exp, but that's more of a luxury.

[Not very]

Am I alone in this?

[ZemZem]

I sell all my vulnararies (spelling?) right when the convoy is accessible, so I don't really need them.

Elixirs are kinda nice later on, but the chances of me using one are slim.

[Fruity Insanity]

It depends.

Both on the game and the difficulty.

Like, you need healing items in FE12 Lunatic/Lunatic Reverse Prologue.

It's pretty important in the beginning chapters of FE13 Lunatic, too.

Aside from in the beginning, though, no, not really.

Although, again, it totally depends...

[Scarlet]

I don't use healing items much, either. 10 HP quickly becomes quite insignificant in most games, and they're not exactly cheap. Elixirs especially I almost always sell for the cash. 1500 G translates to a nice weapon!

Exceptions do exist, however.

In FE5, vulneraries are quite useful, considering they're basically elixirs, but a lot cheaper and easier to aquire. In addition to the fact that unlike healing staves, vulneraries cannot miss (lol), I like to have a few on me at all times.

In FE10, healing items are quite potent, and while not exactly cheap, they have a lot of uses and you get quite a lot of them for free. I still sell the elixirs because for the most part, concoctions do the same thing and are cheaper, but other than that I like to keep them around.

[General Horace]

i put one on every unit at the start of a chapter then all it usually does is take up an inventory slot then get sent to the convoy when i get a droppable item

then the unit that actually ends up needing one doesn't have one and I rage.

But generally they sit in the convoy for a really long time until i run out of space, then they get sold. Other than in drafts, I very rarely use them

[Shadow Mir]

Other than early on, not that important, given that in most games, 10 HP of healing doesn't hack it by midgame, and I'm ALWAYS using at least one healer. In some games, though, I might keep them around as a fail-safe (those games are generally NOT the ones that only offer vulneraries and elixirs for healing items).

[Duke of Dozel]

I tend to do well in Fire Emblem without the need of a healing item. I hardly use healers for that matter.

The only game that I really use healers is in FE4 (where I have no choice), FE5 (because status effects) and FE10. Even then, I hardly need to use healing items, per se.

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

i use them more in the harder games, and in hacks.

[Icon of Sin]

Healing items : almost never. FE5 does have its cheap Elixirs, but staves being so good mean I'm probably better off spamming them instead.

Staves : not that many, and even then I'd rather promote an offensive magician rather than train a staff unit.

[deleted35362]

i figure i should save my healing items. they'll be useful later on.

*progresses 5 chapters*

mfw convoy is overstocked full of healing items :U

[IceBrand]

Those healers can't be every where you know? I make sure to give most of my characters a concoction or vulnerary.

Edited May 24, 2014 by AllAroundGamer9

[X-Naut]

i put one on every unit at the start of a chapter then all it usually does is take up an inventory slot then get sent to the convoy when i get a droppable item

But generally they sit in the convoy for a really long time until i run out of space, then they get sold. Other than in drafts, I very rarely use them

This is my approach to them.

It depends on the game though. In earlygame and FE5 they can be a godsend, but otherwise I usually turn to my healers. If I am using them, it's either because the unit is far from healers, I'm taking too much damage to keep up with healers alone, or my healers would be otherwise vulnerable.

[Jotari]

I always try to have a vulnerary on every character just in case, at least up until the point I want them to have enough variety of weapons to take up every slot. I end up almost never using them though and end the game with like 30 vulneraries. The exception is my current first playthrough of Thracia where healing items seem to restore full health and the game gives you a lot more of them then it gives you healing staves. Mostly though if it comes down to it I use healing staves for exp.

[LunaSaint]

I use them pretty frivolously in the early chapters, then they just take up space from then on.

I like them, but they usually do fall behind when they're only 10HP. If they had a couple more uses, I'd totally use them a lot more just to top up units mid-chapter.

[Logience]

I keep them as emergency items in case something stupid ends up happening.

Though in FE13, they're mostly just there for decoration, especially since healing is completely useless in this game past Chapter 16.

[Shadow Mir]

Though in FE13, they're mostly just there for decoration, especially since healing is completely useless in this game past Chapter 16.

I'd like to know just what's up with this mindset, given that I think "healing" and "useless" are two words that just do NOT belong in the same sentence.

[Logience]

I'd like to know just what's up with this mindset, given that I think "healing" and "useless" are two words that just do NOT belong in the same sentence.

Sorry, brainfart. I forgot that FE13 has more going on than just grinding supports on Spotpass units, but really, can you blame me?

[Ϲharlie]

I use vulneraries fairly often early on, but they tend to be insufficient beyond that. Elixirs are kind of nice during the later parts of the game, but I find myself using them only on occasion.

[dondon151]

FE11 H5 is one of those few modes where healing items are in high demand early in the game.

the issue with vulneraries in general is that the units who tend to want to use them the most can be doing better things with their player phase actions than healing 10 HP. they're a necessity for some LTC strategies because it's not always practical to have a healer in range (or deployed at all, for that matter).

Edited May 24, 2014 by dondon151

[BrightBow]

I can't live without them. It's always important to have some Cleric-in-a-can with you, just in case the actual healers can't keep up. But I can rarely bring myself to use Elixirs.

Edited May 24, 2014 by BrightBow

[PKL]

It depends on the game for me.

FE6: I use them, kinda often-ish, judging from the number of vulneraries I have left in Chapter 16 of my casual run.

FE7: I rarely use them past earlygame or on a few defense chapters.

FE8: Rarely actually need them. When it's a draft, I tend to use more because of the nature of drafts.

FE9: Use them here and there, not very often. In FE8 drafts, I use more vulneraries. In FE9, I use less and heal more to even make Soren reach Rescue by Chapter 21. Yes, Soren reaching Rescue in LTC.

FE10: Use them more often. Especially in Part 4 with it's EPoriented gameplay and healing items being better in general.

FE11: Invaluable in earlygame. Not used that much past that though, especially when you have PHYSIC.

FE12: There are like thousands of vulneraries in this game I swear. I use them more in Lunatic but I still end up with a bunch of vulneraries to sell by lategame.

FE13: I use them a lot because it's an EP oriented game and I usually go semi-LTC in Lunatic with absolutely no Nosferatu or Avatar snowballing.

[Nik]

As soon as you get a healer, items become useful only to units that fights far from the main group. When that healer gets the ranged healing staff, they become almost useless.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Hmmm...Not very important overall, but it does vary by game. So im gonna do like PKL and go through that way.

FE6: Well i dont play this game too much, but im usually using Ellen more than vulneraries.

FE7: Pretty common for me to use em early game. After a certain point (Read: getting Priscilla), i dont tend to use them. Like, at all.

FE8: Exceedingly rare for me to really use them after Moulder shows up.

FE9: lol nah.

FE10: lol nah.

FE13: pfffffff. The only time i really needed to use those at all was in early game Lunatic.

[Jotari]

On a somewhat related subject, does anyone ever use Mend when they have Heal available? I tend to use Mend very rarely even though I useually have both on my healer for most of the game. Two uses of heal tends to give more EXp (I hope otherwise I've been wasting a lot of time) and if my unit really needs the extra HP from Mend (also in the cases where Heal isn't powerful enough to fully restore HP which only tends to happen with high HP curv units) because they're in danger of dying then I don't really want my healer standing around in that area to heal them in the first place.

[Ϲharlie]

May 24 --> July 12. That constitutes a necro. Closing this.