Handle With Care

Cosette was orphaned as a child during an Imperial invasion of her hometown. After watching her parents die before her eyes, she developed color-blindness and a fear of blood. Despite the trauma she had been through, she devoted her time to healing the injured. Ultimately, her time at the refugee camp gave her life purpose and inspired her to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor herself. With no means to pay for medical school, she enrolled in the Lanseal Military Academy to continue her studies. Cosette struggles with loneliness, but she always stays positive and is driven by an instinctive desire to protect her friends. She’s not necessarily the most effective healer in the Valkyria Chronicles universe and she’s a bit of a klutz, but her desire to help others informs every facet of her being.

Yukiko Amagi is an elegant and respectful young woman who cares about her friends and vows to protect them. In the Persona series, characters are linked with “Personas” who act as masks that allow them to face hardships. These Personas are essentially physical manifestations of a character’s true personality. In Yukiko’s case, her Persona is a demon named Konohana Sakuya who represents her repressed, hidden feelings. Konohana specializes in both fire and healing magic, but she’s the groups first primary healer and learns many useful healing techniques early on. With the help of her Persona, Yukiko is able to heal a single target or the entire party. Her Salvation technique is especially useful since it fully restores the health of all of her party members and cures their ailments at the same time.

As a celestial being with the magic of the stars, Soraka lived for centuries in an enchanted grove where she healed the wounded and helped all those who sought her. After she was tricked into using her powers in battle, Soraka was stripped of her immortality. Although she still had the power of the stars inside, they no longer offered guidance. As Soraka began life anew in the mortal world, she was driven by the single purpose of protecting the helpless. There were a few League champions considered for this list, but Soraka was the clear choice. She has several healing spells, she can heal multiple allies at once, and her magic can even reach untargetable allies. Judged solely on their healing abilities, no League of Legends champion comes close to Soraka. You might even say that she’s in a league of her own.

Sharla devotes her life to scrapping a mechanical race who destroyed her colony. Instead of foolishly rushing into battle, she focuses her efforts on healing and stays out of harm’s way. In contrast to most of the characters on this list who rely solely on magic, Sharla heals her friends by shooting them with her rifle! By firing different rounds, Sharla can restore health, remove ailments, or even grant temporary immunity against certain attacks. She’s not a dedicated fighter, but her ability to equip heavy armor separates her from her female companions and makes her one of the most durable characters in Xenoblade Chronicles. Sharla initially became a medic as a means of protecting her younger brother, and she intends on becoming a full-fledged doctor after things settle down. Helping others is in her blood.

As a White Mage, Rosa can master dozens of spells and is by no means limited to healing magic. She can dish out a fair amount of physical damage as well, and her skills with a bow make her especially useful against flying enemies. Even though Rosa isn’t exclusively defined by her healing abilities, they still play a big role in who she is. Rosa harbors romantic feelings for a Dark Knight named Cecil and insists on following him into danger despite his many objections. Rosa bluntly points out to Cecil that nobody would be there to heal him unless she tagged along. Rosa also takes care of other party members throughout her adventure and acts as a voice of encouragement, forgiveness, and reason. Not only does she heal wounds in battle, but she also makes an effort to heal broken hearts and mend severed friendships.

Rena Lanford is an idealistic girl with a good heart. Having watched the world fall into despair, she waits patiently for a legendary savior to emerge. Ironically, Rena ends up being a hero herself. As the last survivor of an advanced alien race, Rena has powerful magic abilities at her disposal. Her skillset is downright invaluable, and there’s rarely a scenario where you wouldn’t want her in your party. Rena isn’t afraid to get physical when the situation calls for it, but her primary role is healing the wounded. Rena is the only character in the game to have a resurrection spell in her arsenal, so she’s especially useful for tough battles or long side quests. In a game where healing items are inadequate, it’s paramount to have someone like her along for the ride. She’s the only mage in The Second Story that’s useful throughout the entire game.

Several support characters in Overwatch have the ability to heal their allies, but none are more suited for the task than Mercy. Before joining the ranks of Overwatch, Mercy was a renowned doctor and a pioneer in the field of applied nano-biology. Although she was opposed to war, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to save lives on the front lines. Her Valkyrie suit gives her the appearance of a guardian angel, and her actions on the battlefield only serve to strengthen this allusion. Mercy can tether to an ally in order to continually restore their health, and she can even bring fallen allies back to the fight with her incredible resurrect ability! Her attacks don’t deliver much damage and she can barely defend herself, but her incomparable healing abilities can turn the tide of any battle. Heroes never die!

The Medic is an unhinged German doctor with questionable medical ethics. You can’t question his effectiveness in battle, however. Most of the characters on this list are blessed with innate magical abilities, but the Medic uses the latest in medical technology. He can keep enemies at bay with his bone saw and syringe gun, but his primary purpose is to help his wounded teammates. With his medigun in hand, the Medic can replenish the health of his allies. He can even increase their health beyond its original capacity! Although the Medic devotes his efforts to helping others, he cannot heal himself in most circumstances. Fortunately, his health automatically regenerates over time. His health increases at a faster rate when he withdraws from the front lines, so he’s most effective when he stays out of trouble.

The Tales franchise has many healers who are worthy of a mention, but Mint Adenade is the best fit for the list. Through the use of her divine power, most of Mint’s spells are used to support her allies rather than inflicting damage on enemies. She’s physically weak and has low defense, but she’s the only character in Tales of Phantasia who can use artes to heal others. Many of the most iconic healing spells in the Tales series were initially used by Mint, and she can either target single allies or the entire party. Mint is a quintessential healer and the purest example of the “White Magician Girl” trope. While her friends are slashing swords on the battlefield, Mint takes care of their wounds with gentleness and compassion. Like many other healers, she’s a source of feminine wisdom and is defined by her nurturing personality.

Aeris is one of the most virtuous video game characters ever. She’s upbeat, optimistic, and goes out of her way to help others. She is a fiercely independent woman, but she still has empathy for others and a profound understanding of the world around her. As the last member of the ancient Cetra race, Aeris is tuned in to the planet’s spiritual energy and bestowed with magical abilities. Most of her trademark techniques involve restoring health or curing status ailments. Her ultimate “Great Gospel” technique completely heals every party member and makes them temporarily invincible! It’s just unfortunate that nobody was there to heal her. Her friends didn’t even try to revive her after she was unceremoniously murdered! They just dumped her body in the river and ran away before the cops showed up. Sad!