TL;DR short version:
Let's have a (friendly) discussion about how you feel your class' healing situation looks for AoE & Spread Healing in WoD.
Basically I made this thread because, as a Monk, I'm still frustrated by the lack of control inherent to the ReM+Uplift system (pretty happy with the spec in most other ways!). I would like to explore whether other healers have different, but ultimately equivalent, frustrations and concerns during AoE / spread.
I am not doing this to fish for sympathy, I am doing this because I am actually curious to understand my situation relative to everyone else's and gain a better understanding of what other healing specs have to deal with, both in 5.4 and looking at their situation going into WoD.
BASIC OVERVIEW
How each class feels so far, for quick context. Yes, I know it's Alpha! But many of these issues continue from MoP, and we can still compare mechanics. A lot of this may be inaccurate because I'm not familiar with every heal spec, so if you play one of these classes speak up and correct me!
Druid
Mostly unchanged so far. 5.4 = 6.0. Druids seem to be fairly happy. If so, yay Druids.
Paladin
Paladins seem messy, but I haven't kept up with Holy enough to be sure about anything going into WoD. If any Pallies would like to reply and explain your current issues, I will update this section.
Priest (Holy)
Despite early suggestions by @Ghostcrawler before he left Blizzard, Prayer of Healing seems to be remaining party-targeted in WoD. Unfortunately I know nothing about Holy Priests because the spec does not interest me. If any HPriests would like to reply and explain your current issues, I will update this section.
Priest (Disc)
Disc seems to be in awkward place going into WoD — absorbs are being scaled back, and fight mechanics are becoming less absorb-friendly (due to longer periods below full health and more actual dedicated healing required). Atonement has been crushed as a healing tool, and converted to a downtime DPS tool. I'm honestly not sure what Disc is supposed to be or do in WoD. If any Disc Priests would like to reply and explain your current issues, I will update this section.
Shaman
Many nerfs! Handle it! Shammies received brute-force buffs in 5.4 / SoO to compensate their flagging performance, as well as extreme improvements to their 'smart' or 'uncapped' heals to become even smarter and more uncapped. Those buffs are being reverted in WoD, and then more nerfs added on top of that.
Additionally, the Shammy reliance on 'smart' heals being their key tool means the WoD 'dumb healing' changes will possibly impact Shammy more severely than others. Overall, Shaman's brief brute-force improvements to spread healing are crumbling, and they may be looking at a return to ToT conditions of "Tidal Waves GHW and pray".
Monk
Monks have been cut apart and reconstructed in WoD, losing their ability to Fistweave without an expensive stance swap. Thus, Monks will be stuck at range casting Soothing if they want to do 'real' healing. Chi gen has also been severely slowed down, meaning Uplift spam is not happening like it did in MoP.
Nothing has been changed about the ReM + Uplift mechanic, but nerfs to Thunder Focus Tea mean that even fewer targets can be blanketed with ReM. Overall, this means that Monk AoE is frustrated more than ever by the issue that the targets you're AoEing now (via Uplift) were almost-uncontrollably decided 10-15 seconds ago.
Anyway, trying to be objective here, we have the following tools/solutions for each spec (? marks if I'm unsure it should count for that category):
STEADY DISTRIBUTABLE HEALS (potentially bolster spread or stack AoE if applied/ticking already)
STACK HEALS (only effective when people are clumped up)
- Druid: Efflo Shroom
- Paladin: Holy Radiance, Light's Hammer/Holy Prism (pick one), Selfless Healer nerfed in WoD
- Priest (Holy): Divine Star, HW: Sanctuary, Chakra: Sanctuary?
- Priest (Disc): Divine Star, Holy Nova?
- Shaman: Healing Rain (can no longer be boosted 30% by Unleash in WoD), CHeal (diminishes 15% per jump in WoD, +50% bonus to initial target), High Tide (T100 talent!)
- Monk: SCK/RJW, Chi Explosion/Path of Mists (pick one), Healing Spheres? + Detonate Chi?, Chi Torpedo?
SPREAD HEALS (effective even if everyone is spread out beyond stack radius)
- Druid: Wild Growth (1.5s cast in WoD), Genesis?
- Paladin: Light of Dawn (1.5s cast in WoD), Selfless Healer nerfed in WoD
- Priest (Holy): Prayer of Healing, Circle of Healing, Cascade/Halo (pick one), Chakra: Sanctuary? Chakra: Serenity?
- Priest (Disc): Cascade/Halo (pick one), Prayer of Healing (no longer causes Divine Aegis in WoD?)
- Shaman: CHeal (diminishes 15% per jump in WoD, +50% bonus to initial target), Glyph of Chaining (12.5yd jumps → 25yd jumps), High Tide (T100 talent!), Healing Stream Totem (nerfed in WoD)
- Monk: Uplift (1.5s cast in WoD), lucky Detonate Chi? people accidentally running over Spheres?
AoE / SPREAD HEALING COOLDOWNS
(I am almost certainly forgetting or missing things because I only keep track of Monk stuff these days.
I need your help to make sure no changes/nerfs/abilities/glyphs/etc. that are important to this discussion, are being missed.
TY!)
What I would like to do is get a more holistic understanding of what the healing situation looks like for WoD, and try to understand how each spec is currently looking. I just don't have the time atm to research each spec individually so I'd like to exit my Monk cocoon and get feedback from every healer about how they feel.
SOME OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER
- Smartheals no longer target most injured, instead they simply target anyone injured. They won't hit people at 100% health, but they will hit people at 90% health or 75% health, meaning RNG may cause those two people at 25% and 40% health to be 'missed' / 'ignored' during AoE.
- As a result, you are expected to AoE some, then spotheal the people who get missed.
- AoE damage is supposed to be reduced in WoD.
- AoE damage is supposed to be slower in WoD.
- People are supposed to be able to safely sit at 50-90% Health (rough arbitrary numbers) in WoD fight designs without those targets being in imminent risk of exploding next time the boss or adds cough/sneeze/etc.
(Uplift section deleted because people were interpreting it as "QQ I'M A SAD MONK" instead of a contextual reference )