A little late to the discussion but the reason I think people are reacting the way they are to your theory is that you're presenting it with a build that's fully spec'd and is expected to focus on healing when it's been proven in practice that boon application and utilities are actually the main purpose of a support class.
I'm still unsure if I actually understand what you are trying to get across but the way I take it is so that people can measure how they perform as a healer and use the information to get better(raise their healing efficacy). But I think you're going about it the wrong way by using a build's healing potential as the ceiling. In order to efficiently heal, you'd want to overheal as less as possible. Overheal is an action wasted that could have been used to (in order of priority) generate boon, use utility, res or attack. Comparing HPS to healing potential would then be an exercise in futility. It doesn't serve the purpose of evaluating one's performance, it's also a trap to overheal as you try to push for higher efficacy.
> Healing Efficacy is relative based on a number of things. The main information to take away from efficacy, is to determine how to get higher and higher percentages. There are a number of ways to do this, but to list them off...
>
> 1) Having a higher healing potential.
> 2) Healing a group solo
> 3) Fighting more healing intensive bosses
> 4) Improving your rotation or instating a Priority Rotation
Only #4 actually makes sense in terms of improving. #1 is a trap, getting higher healing potential also means raising the bars you're trying to reach in the first place hence also raising your chances to overheal. #2 while it actually makes sense in some encounters, it's not practical to solo heal since most heals only have 5 targets. #3 is unrealistic, people will be fighting different bosses.
Like many have already said before, healing in Guild Wars 2 is reactionary and as counter-intuitive as it maybe as a healer, healing less to dedicate casting times for boon generation and utilities will make one a better support player.
As to how to measure performance and analyze when to dial down on healing, a better metric would be to compare HPS to the healing skills/traits actually used in the fight and they're healing potential, not the build's healing potential. This actually promotes better behavior as one strives to push their % up because the higher the % means less overheal. Which means they're actually being useful as a healer and can get back to generating boons and using utilities, even attacking. This information can also be used to evaluate whether to drop some healing gear in favor of dps.
A little late to the discussion but the reason I think people are reacting the way they are to your theory is that you're presenting it with a build that's fully spec'd and is expected to focus on healing when it's been proven in practice that boon application and utilities are actually the main purpose of a support class. I'm still unsure if I actually understand what you are trying to get across but the way I take it is so that people can measure how they perform as a healer and use the information to get better(raise their healing efficacy). But I think you're going about it the wrong way by using a build's healing potential as the ceiling. In order to efficiently heal, you'd want to overheal as less as possible. Overheal is an action wasted that could have been used to (in order of priority) generate boon, use utility, res or attack. Comparing HPS to healing potential would then be an exercise in futility. It doesn't serve the purpose of evaluating one's performance, it's also a trap to overheal as you try to push for higher efficacy. > Healing Efficacy is relative based on a number of things. The main information to take away from efficacy, is to determine how to get higher and higher percentages. There are a number of ways to do this, but to list them off... > > 1) Having a higher healing potential. > 2) Healing a group solo > 3) Fighting more healing intensive bosses > 4) Improving your rotation or instating a Priority Rotation Only #4 actually makes sense in terms of improving. #1 is a trap, getting higher healing potential also means raising the bars you're trying to reach in the first place hence also raising your chances to overheal. #2 while it actually makes sense in some encounters, it's not practical to solo heal since most heals only have 5 targets. #3 is unrealistic, people will be fighting different bosses. Like many have already said before, healing in Guild Wars 2 is reactionary and as counter-intuitive as it maybe as a healer, healing less to dedicate casting times for boon generation and utilities will make one a better support player. As to how to measure performance and analyze when to dial down on healing, a better metric would be to compare HPS to the healing skills/traits actually used in the fight and they're healing potential, not the build's healing potential. This actually promotes better behavior as one strives to push their % up because the higher the % means less overheal. Which means they're actually being useful as a healer and can get back to generating boons and using utilities, even attacking. This information can also be used to evaluate whether to drop some healing gear in favor of dps.