Spirit Link? (new end talent for resto WOTLK)

[FuriusGeorge]

I've looked at Spirit link several times and I'm still not sure what situations it would be optimal for. It seems that while you keep one target from taking spike damage (i'm assuming you would put this on a tank), you still cause others to take what for them would be moderate damage(dps or heals)....and then have to focus healing 2 or 3 people instead of concentrating on one.


Maybe i got it all wrong or missed something tho, please advise

Thanks

[froman]

Allows for better use of Tidal Waves talent as well as splitting up spikey damage. Only complaint I have with it is that sometimes it links your tank with a caster or someone that is temporarily in range and then when they move back out, they are no longer in range of chain heal. This wouldnt be a problem if you could set it up before combat but its duration is too short for that.

[Gomexus]

I've looked at Spirit link several times and I'm still not sure what situations it would be optimal for. It seems that while you keep one target from taking spike damage (i'm assuming you would put this on a tank), you still cause others to take what for them would be moderate damage(dps or heals)....and then have to focus healing 2 or 3 people instead of concentrating on one.


Maybe i got it all wrong or missed something tho, please advise

Thanks

It will be the new premier resto ability. Up until WotLK our guaranteed raid spot was due to Chain Heal. With the other healers getting smart/raid heals our new guaranteed raid spot(s) will be due to Spirit Link. While at first it may seem like spreading spike damage around will be a bad thing, you also have to account for the increase to raid healing via other classes. Also with the new mechanics in resto to spread small heals when you get a crit with LHW or HW for 60% of the crit.

Basically in the end Spirit Link will amount to more people taking damage...but due to all the changes more people will be receiving healing anyway...so the effective change due to this spell will be that your tank is taking less spike damage...which is awesome

[Gomexus]

Allows for better use of Tidal Waves talent as well as splitting up spikey damage. Only complaint I have with it is that sometimes it links your tank with a caster or someone that is temporarily in range and then when they move back out, they are no longer in range of chain heal. This wouldnt be a problem if you could set it up before combat but its duration is too short for that.

I apologize for my noobishness on this subject but I wasn't aware that Spirit Link had a duration...it's not listed in the tooltip or anywhere else that I can find.

If it has a short duration (i.e. 20-30secs) then it shouldn't be a problem to keep it off of casters since mid combat the main tank should only be close to OT's and the occasional dps...assuming dps will be behind the target or not as close in general as OT's will be.

[Hokuto]

I'll guess Spirit Link will be used most likely at every fight that lasts more than 30s (bosses, basically). More mitigation for the tank without messing with their rage generation is always welcome, and with so much AoE healing the "indirect off tanks" will be topped off almost instantly. Also, they're not going to die, as the chain breaks whenever they get close to 20% health or the incoming dmg is too high.

[froman]

It doesnt say that it has a duration, but currently on beta it only lasts 30sec.

Edit:

In theory it shouldnt be a problem with who gets the buff, but i can tell you in practice it happened a lot. The few instances I ran had a lot of mobs with no real aggro logic or some sort of charge ability and if your not careful when you apply it, you might end up with 2 low hp squishies and the tank which wouldnt normally be a problem but because players have a habit of backing away from the tank when they are taking damage you now have to cast direct heals. Not as big of an issue in raids I would think.

For clarification, I am not saying this isnt an awsome spell, just that it is going to require you to pay attention to more than health bars. BTW, animation is badass...just like Warcraft 3 xpac.

[FuriusGeorge]

Oh ok thats another thing I wasn't sure of, so I'm guessing then that the two players closest to the target are automatically linked? Also, does this mean for AoE damage, those linked players will essentially be taking +25% damage? (NOrmal AoE damage + the 25% from linked target)

Thanks again

[Kduruh]

Well i'm going to repeat a bit of people have said... you're going to have sort of a healing rotation, you'll be doing 1 chain heal and then 3 lesser healing wave/healing wave so the spirit link will mitigate the damage done to tank yeah, and will make your chain heal make some sense instead of just doing it for the reduced casting time buff and overhealing 2 targets by 100% i think the thinking here is that you are going to have to chain heal, might as well heal someone that needs, and that way you're also mittigating damage on the MT (repeated myself a bit..)

Also you have to remind yourself that in raids you're not the only one healing... paladins for example will be able to place a buff on someone that will heal people arround them so even if it weren't for that chain heal part... it would still make sense and focousing on other targets instead of just one, is good just by the damage mitigated, i'll give you an example.

On Gurtogg blodboil in Black temple, he casts an ability called bloodboil that deals 1.5k if i'm not mistaken per tick for the 5 further players, he does that ability 5 times in a row so... 1.5 x 5 people = 7.5k damage per tick x 5 stacks = 37.5k damage per tick (if it would be focoused on 1 person only) well... it might be easier to heal 1 person only... but it's really hard if that person is dead.

So the main objective isn't really to make healing more organized or anything... the main objective is to keep for example a MT alive even if at a small cost.

[froman]

Too bad that spirit link doesnt force incoming chain heals on the main target to hit the other two players under effect of the chain heal. I am not looking for easy mode or anything, but it is obvious that blizzard is looking at some synergy between the two spells as imp chain heal is a prereq.

[Milkychick]

Well i'm going to repeat a bit of people have said... you're going to have sort of a healing rotation, you'll be doing 1 chain heal and then 3 lesser healing wave/healing wave so the spirit link will mitigate the damage done to tank yeah, and will make your chain heal make some sense instead of just doing it for the reduced casting time buff and overhealing 2 targets by 100% i think the thinking here is that you are going to have to chain heal, might as well heal someone that needs, and that way you're also mittigating damage on the MT (repeated myself a bit..)

Also you have to remind yourself that in raids you're not the only one healing... paladins for example will be able to place a buff on someone that will heal people arround them so even if it weren't for that chain heal part... it would still make sense and focousing on other targets instead of just one, is good just by the damage mitigated, i'll give you an example.

On Gurtogg blodboil in Black temple, he casts an ability called bloodboil that deals 1.5k if i'm not mistaken per tick for the 5 further players, he does that ability 4 times in a row so... 1.5 x 5 people = 7.5k damage per tick x 4 stacks = 30k damage per tick (if it would be focoused on 1 person only) well... it might be easier to heal 1 person only... but it's really hard if that person is dead.

So the main objective isn't really to make healing more organized or anything... the main objective is to keep for example a MT alive even if at a small cost.

FIXED

thats whats you get by removing attunement

[Morlow]

Wow I can't believe it has a 30 sec duration. It doesn't say anything about that in the tooltip. How much mana does it cost to cast it at level 80? I was really looking forward to running around with my two RL friends everywhere with Spirit Link on. /supersadface