Is healing mid fight really all that bad?

Is it truely bad form to heal in the middle of a fight? I'm just wondering, because if someone (You or Him) can create enough space between the two of you to be able to pop a humanity/estus flask, doesn't he deserve the heal?

Yes, it prolongs the fight, but I don't see how that's necessarily a bad thing. Can someone explain this to me?



Edit: Thanks to all the answers everyone

Quick question for anyone new to the thread; is Replenishment, cast at the beginning of the battle, considered "Healing" in the traditional "Don't do it" sense for PVP?

What way are you going about this? Intended PvP or involuntary?
What I recommend for Intended is only heal if your opponent does first, for honors sake and for involuntary I.E. You don't want to be fighting this person and you just want to survive, pull out all the stops to prolong your life and end theirs.

That's just me though, not going by an official guide for this one.

Also, you mean healing at an appropriate time right? Not just popping down est while being stabbed?

Its prolongs the fight to absurdity when both players have 99 humanity, not really fun anymore, just irritating.

Oddly enough, I have the opposite opinion about healing in demons souls.

The way i was told it is dishonorable to heal at any point in pvp. I use to do it a lot but people started complaining about it. I dont see a problem with it but if you and an invader bow before the fight than you should fight with honor and take the loss if he is better, but if he heals first than you do the same.

If you are talking about fighting a boss in the game than it is 100% ok to heal while fighting. Some bosses are really hard to beat if you dont heal.

Garl_Vinland wrote:What way are you going about this? Intended PvP or involuntary?
What I recommend for Intended is only heal if your opponent does first, for honors sake and for involuntary I.E. You don't want to be fighting this person and you just want to survive, pull out all the stops to prolong your life and end theirs.

That's just me though, not going by an official guide for this one.

Also, you mean healing at an appropriate time right? Not just popping down est while being stabbed?

Both, honestly. And Yes, I mean an appropriate time, for instance, if your opponent is running back, you back up and pop a flask. Also, I'm not advocating, nore planning, nore anything, of doing this at any sort of Kiln Fight.



@ Forum Pirate: Couldn't that just be seen as an attempt to get a psychological edge?



I don't know. I've beaten this game twice and am trying to get into the PVP scene.

It could, but its not fun anymore so I just chain stab or bc because I'm not dealing with it. In random invasions, do whatever it takes, but because there isn't a good way to interrupt healing, except back stabs, like there was in demons I refuse to heal with items unless they heal first, and I switch from playing "dirty" while generally not mean spirited, to down right vicious. There are several inescapable garunteed kill combos I use again people who heal in duels.

It really is bad to heal in duels. It seems like a natural part of the game from PvE, but you wouldn't see it in any other 1 on 1 combat game. Why exactly would being able to back away from the opponent make you somehow deserving of a heal anyway? Last time I checked, being super aggressive and keeping close to your opponent gets you bs'd and parried in PvP, it's not a great strategy. Just because the opponent doesn't spend every second of the fight attacking you doesn't give you the right to heal.

Since you've beaten the game twice, you know that it is about learning with experience. Keep at your current fighting style and if it doesn't work out, change it up. This is really all about you as a player, healing, not healing, CBSing or not, etc. You are allowed to do your own thing, make your own decisions, we're just here to help. We don't dictate your actions.

Ok if we both bow and we are having a fun duel then you shouldn't heal with humanity nor estus. I would accept the healing miracles because they are hard to pull off in a fight.

If I'm invading you and we don't bow nor nothing then you are free to heal you and your phantoms, as well as I'm free to use humanity and viceversa.

Ghadis_God wrote:It really is bad to heal in duels. It seems like a natural part of the game from PvE, but you wouldn't see it in any other 1 on 1 combat game. Why exactly would being able to back away from the opponent make you somehow deserving of a heal anyway? Last time I checked, being super aggressive and keeping close to your opponent gets you bs'd and parried in PvP, it's not a great strategy. Just because the opponent doesn't spend every second of the fight attacking you doesn't give you the right to heal.

But, and I'm not strawmaning or trolling or anything like that, do I really need a right to heal? If I can pull it off, is that not something I should be able to do?

Garl_Vinland wrote:
Since you've beaten the game twice, you know that it is about learning with experience. Keep at your current fighting style and if it doesn't work out, change it up. This is really all about you as a player, healing, not healing, CBSing or not, etc. You are allowed to do your own thing, make your own decisions, we're just here to help. We don't dictate your actions.

Oooh, thanks for that

It's a game, if you want to heal then heal. If attaining a victory through constantly healing when your opponent does not, and then gesturing "well?, what is it?!" over their rotting corpse brings you a sense of achievement, and makes you feel good about yourself, then do it (and I'm not being sarcastic by the way).

Take it to the utter depths; After a while, you'll soon come to realize, how fighting with a sense honor (even dieing), in the end brings the far sweeter victory; This is especially so, if someone is playing like a complete a**hole towards you, using every "cheap" tactic in YOUR book, and you still manage to beat them. Just have the honor to bow to them afterwards.

Those are wise words almost cried. +1

Oooh, thanks for that [/quote]

Hey, I'm a Sunbro, I'm supposed to help people right? Just don't stray too deep in the dark, as a former Darkmoon I may just hunt you down. Anyway, best of luck brother.

Slarg232 wrote:

Ghadis_God wrote:It really is bad to heal in duels. It seems like a natural part of the game from PvE, but you wouldn't see it in any other 1 on 1 combat game. Why exactly would being able to back away from the opponent make you somehow deserving of a heal anyway? Last time I checked, being super aggressive and keeping close to your opponent gets you bs'd and parried in PvP, it's not a great strategy. Just because the opponent doesn't spend every second of the fight attacking you doesn't give you the right to heal.

But, and I'm not strawmaning or trolling or anything like that, do I really need a right to heal? If I can pull it off, is that not something I should be able to do?

You could make the same argument for chain bsing or using TWoP or anything else the community deems cheap. There really is no set of definitive guidelines on what "cheap" is, it's not a quantitative assessment, it has to be reached through general consensus, and even then there's a lot of debate. What's cheap for one person may not be cheap for another, so just don't be surprised when you heal mid fight and earn yourself a chain bs. Just live by the golden rule in PvP: If you don't want it done to you, don't do it to the opponent. That's really what honor is, an agreement between you and your opponent on the rules of combat.

Ghadis_God wrote:

Slarg232 wrote:

Ghadis_God wrote:It really is bad to heal in duels. It seems like a natural part of the game from PvE, but you wouldn't see it in any other 1 on 1 combat game. Why exactly would being able to back away from the opponent make you somehow deserving of a heal anyway? Last time I checked, being super aggressive and keeping close to your opponent gets you bs'd and parried in PvP, it's not a great strategy. Just because the opponent doesn't spend every second of the fight attacking you doesn't give you the right to heal.

But, and I'm not strawmaning or trolling or anything like that, do I really need a right to heal? If I can pull it off, is that not something I should be able to do?

You could make the same argument for chain bsing or using TWoP or anything else the community deems cheap. There really is no set of definitive guidelines on what "cheap" is, it's not a quantitative assessment, it has to be reached through general consensus, and even then there's a lot of debate. What's cheap for one person may not be cheap for another, so just don't be surprised when you heal mid fight and earn yourself a chain bs. Just live by the golden rule in PvP: If you don't want it done to you, don't do it to the opponent. That's really what honor is, an agreement between you and your opponent on the rules of combat.

Point taken. No healing for me then.





I do have to sidetrack this thread instead of just making another though, has anyone tried Hidden Weapon in PVP?

Heal mid-fight = get no-one's respect.

Healing in an invasion is fair or under set rules in a duel.

imo healing at the kiln 1v1 even is fair IF it wasn't via red soapstone. If it is under invasion rules do what you like.

invasions are the most fun form of pvp in my opinion.

If yi u bow and heal midnight prepare to get chain bsd or the worse tricks in the book from people. If it's an invasion you can do whatever you want.

The proliferation of 99 Divine Blessing popping DWs/DMs really gets to me, so I'd say "No" to the OP.

Killed a guy in the Kiln three times over (those blessings are QUICK) before I caught him with my estoc on the fourth. Didn't use estus once... I don't do the often, but this DW deserved it.

So here is one final question; Replenishment before the fight. Technically it's a buff, but I'm not sure.

Here's a simple way to put it, there are some common ethics held in dueling. Now, you might feel they are stupid and sometimes they can be. Also realize, if you throw those out the window so will your enemy. If an invader, they'll feel free to use ever mob, buff them, possibly glitch, use glitched Divine Blessings to heal to max health faster than your Estus, Chain Backstab you, do anything in the book they see fit. Would you like to fight every fight like this? If so, go to the forest. Leave the duelers to duel if you don't wish to duel.

I don't know if I'd say there are ethics in dueling anymore. Too often I get smushed by some spawn stun locker after im summoned into what I think is going to be a 'fair' duel.

But yeah people tend to get pissed when you do it. Some guy in Giants, MoM, using a Greatshield and a Lightning spear at SL 4 sent to me via message when I heal after he invaded then bowed to me.

Fortunately I take a hard line with DW when they invaddie during my Gravelording and smushed him several times before he gave up and decided to PM me heaps about how I was the one who was a disgrace to Dark Souls and Demon's Souls.

Anywho if they bow to you i suggest you dont do it because they probably wont. But if they invaded and just come at you then do whatever you want to do.

Unless you are talking directly with the person/s you are pvping with, and they state rules.. just play how you want to play.

Most people will respond negatively to healing, but its your game too.