[PF] Greater Path of Glory: New best healing spell in the game?

[Arbane]

It's from the Advanced Class Guide, and I haven't heard anyone talking about it.

Here's the spell description (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/p/path-of-glory):



Path of Glory
School conjuration (healing); Level bard 2, cleric 2
CASTING

Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
EFFECT

Range touch (see text)
Area four 5-ft. squares/level (see text)
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no


DESCRIPTION

You cause four 5-foot squares (one of which must be your space) to glow with dim illumination. Starting on your next turn, as a swift action you can extend the glowing area by an additional four 5-foot squares; each new square must be adjacent to a square that was previously glowing. Allies that end their turns on a glowing square (including one who falls unconscious in the square) are healed of 1 point of damage.

Path of Glory, Greater

School conjuration (healing); Level bard 4, cleric 4

This spell functions as path of glory, except as noted above, and a square provides 5 points of healing instead of 1.

The regular version doesn't strike me as worth it - it'll provide a maximum of (level) HP per ally. But the greater version gives 5 x (level) per ally, and can heal up to (level) * 4 people! This seems rather ridiculously good out-of-combat healing, and possibly even useful in-combat healing, since it only needs a swift action to expand the area once cast and effectively gives allies Fast Healing 5 (If they don't move around too much). And it's allies only.

Comments?

[Psyren]

"If they don't move around too much" is the key that keeps this not too special in combat, especially since the caster has to drop part of it under themselves.

Out of combat - at level 7 when you get this, it's 35 HP for each of 4 people out of one of your max slots... the aggregate healing is good, but per person? I'd probably stick with CLW.

[deuxhero]

You can fit more than person per square out of combat

A wand runs 420 GP a charge for 35 points of healing to "enough" people.
A CLW wand runs 15 GP a charge for ~5.5 points of healing to one person

As the wand is 28 times more expensive, multiply 5.5 by 28 for 154 points needed to be equal. Divide that by 35 and we can see we need 4.4 people, all with at least 35 points of damage, to break even.

If you have a Vitalist and can control who is healed and have a large party (either through PCs or class features) it MIGHT be worth it

[Erik Vale]

You can also fit more people per square in combat. [Though it's normally ill advisable, due to AOEs]

So in a 5+ person party, it's more cost effective, and if you ever need to help a city, not only is it flashy [bonus points there], it becomes even more cost effective due to the larger number of people.

Now, people need to end their turn in the square. People could move into the square, ready an action to move, and then end their turn. The readied action will then free up the space they took up, allowing you to heal even more people than the maximum that could fit in each square.