Well I wouldn't go as far to saying its better. But played correctly you can heal as good as a monk and do 3/4ths the dmg of a caster. It's very defensive to say the least. If someone wants to attack you they are gonna get hurt. Alot more than if you attacked someone. I would say its 2x stronger then a trapper that can heal. In guildwars .. thats the whole point is to attack someone so you are all set as far as game dynamics. Activate an account if you gotta train a skill in eve for 28 days like ive been doin; its a nice alternative to mess around with.