Unlike other classes, Healers often need mana at a very specific time, usually immediately after the party takes a bunch of damage. Healers also do less damage to quest bosses. Emergency Mana/ Delayed Damage Spikes are a good way to save mana for an emergency use of Blessing or Healing Light, and save up damage from a few weeks to help speed up a Boss Quest. We will shorten the name “Emergency Mana/ Delayed Damage Spike” to simply “mana spike”.
Creating Mana Spikes
When possible, I create my To-Dos with checklists (Note 1). Once I complete a 10+ checklist on a To-Do, I do not redeem it (click complete on the To-Do itself). Instead I save it. This creates a mana spike. When I need a burst of mana for Blessing, or Healing Light, I can redeem one, or more, Mana Spikes by clicking complete on the To-Do itself. You can even edit the name of the To-Do to “Mana Spike”.
Ex: “Mana Spike- Electrician fix front light preparation” has a checklist of 30 items. Redeeming it will generate mana equal to 31% of my mana bar.
Using Extra Mana Spikes To Damage A Quest Boss
If the party is planning a big quest, like the Iron Knight, you can ask them to wait a week, or two weeks. During this time you can save your mana spikes. After the quest starts, you can immediately redeem some of your extra mana spikes for damage. For the most damage per mana spike you can wait for a “Perfect Day” Buff (Note 2), which boosts your INT, CON, STR & PER, and also equip some Strength gear before redeeming your Mana Spikes for damage.
Ex: I decide I need enough mana spikes for 4 Blessings. After a “Perfect Day” Buff I decide to redeem all my extra mana spikes. If I redeem “Mana Spike- Electrician fix front light preparation” it will damage the Iron Knight the same as 31 tasks. Both “Perfect Day” Buff & Rancher Lasso (+5 INT +5 PER +5 STR) will increase my strength. Increased strength will increase damage, chance of critical hit, and critical hit bonus. After redeeming my mana spikes for damage, I can change back to my Healer equipment.
Mana Spikes, Normal Drops and Collection Drops
Mana Spikes are limited to one Food/ Hatching Potion/ Egg drop per mana spike and one collection quest drop. Longer check lists increase the chance of a drop per task, but not the number of drops per task. However you can use the gold from a mana spike to get Food from a max gear Armoire (Note 3).
During collection quests, you may decide to create single item To-Dos, with no check list, and immediately check off the task as complete, instead of To-Dos with checklists and waiting for a “Perfect Day” buff. Creating single item To-Dos gives you a better chance at getting quest item drops during a collection quest.
see also
INT Healer Guide (good in general, but not for all Healers)
http://habitica.wikia.com/wiki/The_Keep:Healer_Guide
Webmuskie’s Quest Healer Guide (covers some excellent points, some solutions not perfect)
http://habitica.wikia.com/wiki/The_Keep:Webmuskie's_Guide_to_Being_an_Effective_Quest_Healer
Multi-Class Guide by Gryphonknight
http://habitica.wikia.com/wiki/The_Keep:Multi-Class_Guide_by_Gryphonknight
Notes
Note 1)
http://habitica.wikia.com/wiki/Checklist#To-Dos
Note 2)
http://habitica.wikia.com/wiki/Buff#Perfect_Day_Buffs
Note 3)
Max Gear Armoire
Once you have received all equipment currently in the Enchanted Armoire, continuing to click will give you a 50% chance of receiving XP or food. Each food type has an equal chance of being given.
This is a great way to spend extra gold from a mana spike since any food from the Enchanted Armoire does not count against your daily drop cap. Max Gear Armoire is especially helpful if you have a low daily drop cap.