Deciding when and which heal to play is crucial. You start the game with Raise the Spirit, which has an induction time. Knowing how long it will take the heal to go off is key, and complicated by the fact that anything that hits you can set back or even interrupt the induction. You’re unlikely to get it off if you’re taking agro from four or more mobs.
At level 10 you get a group heal, Inspire Fellows, again with an induction delay, actually a rather long one. It a bad choice if two or more things are hitting you. This one can’t be spammed since it has a 5 second cooldown and the power cost would be prohibitive anyways, so break it up with your other heals.
At level 18 you get Bolster Courage. Though it has a longer induction than Raise the Spirit, it has a far better power cost to morale restored ratio, so it largely replaces Raise the Spirit as your main heal. If time is a factor or you are very low on power Raise the Spirit is still useful, particularly if you are getting beat on by 3 or more mobs.
There are only three healing skills that don’t have an induction. At level 30 you get Triumphant Spirit, which is a large, instant, group heal. It has a very long cooldown and incurs a lot of agro though, so it is a last resort, and try to follow it with Still as Death (detailed in the Other Skills Section).
Level 38 offers Chord of Salvation, which is instant, but has a 30s cooldown. Therefore, use it when someone needs health immediately, or you have too much agro to get off an induction heal. At level 56 you get Soliloquy of Spirit, the only Minstrel heal which is not only instant, but can be used while running. It is a heal over time, so use it to help yourself out when running from stuff. It is also nice to throw on one person taking damage so you can switch to another person taking more damage.
There aren’t many to worry about, but remembering to toggle one on and using the right one makes a big difference. You get Tale of Herorism at level 22, and you should have it or another Tale on from that point forward. Tale of Battle is available from level 32 on, which is good when you are fighting things that do a lot of Wounding. My favourite, Tale of Warding, is available at level 44. The armour buff is great for your poor Minstrel, and the Radiance buff is great for people who get rezzed during a fight and have dread effects.
At level 58 you get Tale of Frost and Flame, which is great if you are fighting things that like to burn or freeze you. Depending on your Trait setup and level, some of the Tales become improved or even combine the benefits from two Tales into one.
We’ll cover the Damage based and Other Skills in the next article.