Healing isnt fun OR hard

[Rogrend]

I'm reposting this from the official forums to see what the mmo champ community has to comment on.

After reading a large chuck of the posts on these forums, it's pretty clear, that healing is not fun. Nor is it hard. Most posts are either QQers, who try heroics, get in a bad group, are in bad gear themselves, and fail horribly. The rest are posts of people claiming how AMAZING the new healing system is, how HARD, yet so fun, and complex it is. DECISION MAKING they say. All you need to do, according to them is ADAPT.



So I ask you oh so amazing players. What spells are you using? As for a shaman, we have 5 general spells we *can* use during the course of an instance.



1) Healing wave

2)Healing Surge

3)Greater Healing wave

4) Riptide

5) Healing Rain

(I'm not even gonna mention chain heal, its useless, as it costs more than healing wave, and heals for less if you don't get all 4 jumps)



Out of those, which ones are you having to *decide* to use? It can't be healing surge, its near useless, costs nearly 3x as much as healing wave, for less than a 50% more of a heal. Greater healing wave then maybe? Sure, it can be used, but not much before you completely oom yourself.



So we're left with 1,4, and 5. Healing rain is situational at best, and requires all 5 party members to be inside it to be worth the mana cost. So now we're left with healing wave and riptide.



Riptide has a cool down, and at best you can have it on 3 targets at once. From my exp in instance this is actually pretty good, IF YOU HAVE A GOOD GROUP. The unavoidable dmg is easily healed by riptide (when i say healed, i mean they're hp doesn't move, not up or down.)



So we're left with healing wave, a 2.5 second cast 8k heal that we have to SPAM to actually heal the tank through dmg. In alot of posts, I read, "Wotlk was so boring, all we did was spam one heal and go afk".



So, what exactly are we doing now? OHHHH thats right, we're using TWO spells, an instant with a cooldown, and spamming SLOW cast spell that gives us no satisfaction that we actually did anything.



Which brings me to my next point. To all the people posting about how fun and exciting it is, and how people just need to l2p. You are not good at healing, your GROUP was good at CC/avoiding things.



As it is right now, healer skill plays a backseat to everyone elses. I know most of you want to flex your epeen about how amazing you are at the new healing system, and everyone else is just bad, but sorry, you're not good. Well, I'll put it another way, you may be a good healer, but it doesn't matter. Your skill, as long as its average or even slightly below average, doesn't matter in the slightest.



I've healed a pretty good number of heroics, more than most fail, but the ones that do finally clear the instance, I never once felt like it was because I was a good healer and we cleared it BECAUSE I was the healer, not some other healer that's just average.



So hears my question i really want answered.



What exactly makes healing hard for you? If you're in a good group, its a cakewalk. I've been in group where i never dropped below 75%,was able kept everyone TOPPED off, which according to most people in the "this is so hard and fun" camp, should be a big no no. And when you're in a bad group, you aren't clearing it, you're either replacing everyone or leaving. So how is this hard? How is this fun ?

[wrathblade]

allot of QQ but you make a point.

wotlk we spammed our most expensive heals seeing mana was never a issue.

cata we cast only 2 spells seeing the others are to ineffective for the mana cost or to slow... wait thats not right the efficient heals are already slow....

[superstargoddess]

What makes healing hard is that Healing Wave heals for such a small amount compared to the damage being taken and the health pools that people have. Healing Surge costs too much and heals for more, but still not super much compared to damage that is sometimes taken. I know that some damage can be avoided, but it seems that with the unavoidable damage, the heals still aren't scaled properly.

[Rogrend]

What makes healing hard is that Healing Wave heals for such a small amount compared to the damage being taken and the health pools that people have.

What makes this *hard* tho? To me, what hard means, is I can over come this with skill. What you just mentioned has nothing to do with skill, but the tools given to us not being enough. Heroics are easily done, with a good group. In that sense, we've been given more than enough to do the job at end. The problem comes into play when it isnt a good group. No matter how good you are, a bad group will wipe. I understand a bad group shouldnt be rewarded for being bad, but if you have a good healer, it should at the very least be doable, even if it takes longer.

[superstargoddess]

What makes this *hard* tho? To me, what hard means, is I can over come this with skill. What you just mentioned has nothing to do with skill, but the tools given to us not being enough. Heroics are easily done, with a good group. In that sense, we've been given more than enough to do the job at end. The problem comes into play when it isnt a good group. No matter how good you are, a bad group will wipe. I understand a bad group shouldnt be rewarded for being bad, but if you have a good healer, it should at the very least be doable, even if it takes longer.

I haven't got to heroics yet, but from what I saw with my spells before I changed from Resto to Ele/Enh was that it did indeed seem like spells were way under tuned. Perhaps it's just the gear so far or something, but even though I was a good healer up until these new dungeons (even before we over geared everything in Wotlk), I just couldn't believe the damage being taken and the small heals that we have.

I think that I am going to wait and see what happens, since it seems that a lot of healing classes are struggling, except for Pallies. I have a feeling that Blizz will look at the small numbers that the heals are giving and that they may adjust Healing Wave, at the least. I can see the other spells staying the same, but I really am mostly complaining about Healing Wave.

I'm glad that you are doing well with healing though, seems that there are a few special people out there who are still able to deal with it, but I am just not one of them at this point! :P

[Tamato]

I don't have any complaints.

As it is right now, healer skill plays a backseat to everyone elses. I know most of you want to flex your epeen about how amazing you are at the new healing system, and everyone else is just bad, but sorry, you're not good. Well, I'll put it another way, you may be a good healer, but it doesn't matter. Your skill, as long as its average or even slightly below average, doesn't matter in the slightest.

that was a quote, i didn't use the reply with quote thing. But that made me feel a little better about healing now. I was having such a hard time with healing groups because of the area damage nearly insta-killing most of the groups i've been in. But because i'm not a god at using the new healing system yet. This actually made me feel somewhat better about having my first 85 as a healer. I may bench the warlock again even though I think the warlock is my main for this expansion.
Thank you for brightening my day.
By the way, I've healed for 5 years. This is the most difficulty i've experienced. It is most likely not hard, but after the EZ-mode nerf of BC and all of wrath. I've gotten soft. Gotta relearn what i'm doing.

[Deleted]

another QQ threat. its true its hard but me ( a holy pala) found that healing has alot to do with the dps and the tank and les with the healer now a day. what i mean is : a tank must use its dmg reducing ability's alot. if the don't the are wasting your mana and its a isseu. second dmg that van be avoided must be avoided. right now if you fail on this as dps or tank its a problem. the healer is no longer the answer to everything. it requirers all ppl to do there job and not fuck about. so if you oom ask yourself did i needed to heal dps because the stood in AoE or because the coulden't move from the exploding add. btw a tip use the ebst heal on the tank and use aoe heals to heal the dps. 80% of the time a dps has alot of dmg its because he stood in AoE

[Mello]

I am not sure why you think Healing Wave is so good, according to the Resto thread on EJ even Healing Scurge is more mana effective than Healing Wave. Greater Healing Wave gives much more healing per mana used. So clearly the healing is too hard for you to understand what is good and bad.

http://elitistjerks.com/f79/t110263-...n/#post1812292

[Rogrend]

Maybe because you can't actually finish a heroic using those spells? Go ahead, be one of the ppl who thinks they're pro, and only THEY can manage this super duper hard cata healing. Finish a heroic using only healing surge/ghw, in a lfd group, not in vent.

Go.
Do it.

[Kevin2107]

I am not sure why you think Healing Wave is so good, according to the Resto thread on EJ even Healing Scurge is more mana effective than Healing Wave. Greater Healing Wave gives much more healing per mana used. So clearly the healing is too hard for you to understand what is good and bad.

Do you even play a healer? Let alone a shaman? If so you'd know spamming healing surge in any situation will oom you in 7-8 casts. Using healing surge over healing wave is idiotic.

He has a very valid point. From playing a resto shaman mostly through out wotlk my style of healing hasn't change. It not any more difficult its just more frustrating knowing that you don't have an outcome on your groups ability to live. You jut stand their healing unavoidable damage and that's it.

[Mavecryst]

I'm reposting this from the official forums to see what the mmo champ community has to comment on.
So hears my question i really want answered.

What exactly makes healing hard for you? If you're in a good group, its a cakewalk. I've been in group where i never dropped below 75%,was able kept everyone TOPPED off, which according to most people in the "this is so hard and fun" camp, should be a big no no. And when you're in a bad group, you aren't clearing it, you're either replacing everyone or leaving. So how is this hard? How is this fun ?

I don't really get what you're complaining about..other ppl who are having fun? other ppl who find it hard? ppl who find it both? healing being too easy or hard?

why are u narrowing ur options down so much? you say in a good group, we pretty much have one main heal we use, and will pretty much spam that heal. well hell, why bother playing any class other than a tank then? every class could just "get by" using one skill alone. does it allow you to play optimally though? that's what you should be asking.

Even in a good group, shit happens. We have the tools to recover the group from that shit, and how we do so; the choice of tools is what i would wager makes a healer "skillful". At the moment even for "good tanks", damage gets spiky at times, with tanks for the moment having much reduced avoidance/mitigation. I don't ever get complimented for healing through a known difficult fight, because everyone was prepared for it; the times when i do earn the compliments for being "skillful" was when unexpected situations arose and yet i still manage to keep people alive. I don't feel like i'm a good healer all the time, actually most of the time nothing special happens and i was just "doing my job". Every so often though, something really bad happens that was still recoverable, and i recovered it! that's when i find out im a decent enough healer.

on to your questions you want answered. you pretty much answered your first question partly. healing is made hard when you're not in a good group. additionally, healing is hard during certain pulls and certain boss fights, no matter how good your group is, simply because of the nature of the pull/boss. this is "fun" to some people, including me, because it breaks from the monotony of just watching your earthshield being able to keep the tank up. No, im no sado-masochist who enjoys stupid groups and constant wipes, but i do enjoy feeling like my heals are actually needed now, even with a group that knows what it's doing.

i love shaman healing too. was ok with priest healing, and kinda enjoy druid healing at times, but i love shaman healing. i like the idea of the spells, i like the mixture of HoTs and direct heals, and it's fun that way for me. perhaps if it isn't fun for you, you'd be better off using another class to heal instead of complaining at people who are having fun...just a thought.

well, im not sure if i answered what u wanted to know, but then, i did say i wasn't too sure what exactly you were complaining about. perhaps you should just try a different role, or if you really want to stick to healing, a different healing class.

[Wolfhonors]

Killed the third boss in heroic stonecore along with a group of mobs that were pulled.... I would say, some part of that, had to do with my healing. If my group was so pro at avoiding/CC'ing things, then i guess they dont need a healer?

[Rogrend]

What I'm trying to say is their new system is flawed. More people had fun healing in wotlk than in cata atm. And I'll agree, wotlk healing was easy, I could run a heroic, and never use anything outside of ES and possibly a riptide. But I still had fun in raids seeing my big numbers pop up.

And while you may say you're having fun because *something* randomly happened, and you were able to save the day, the fact is, chances are, it wasnt actually your healing that saved the day. And if you think it did, tell me, what spells did you use? Was it near the end of the fight where it was going smoothly, and you had 50%+ mana left to even be able to spam something other than healing wave?

[Mavecryst]

and also.. why aren't any of you talking about unleash weapon? you guys do realise that's yet another tool that we get to use for healing, and a pretty decent one at that, which overall saves some mana?

it heals when you unleash, and adds a decent amount to your next direct heal. overall, it's a great mana saver, and can help real quick with spike damage: riptide, unleash, greater healing wave: direct heal+HoT, small heal, 1.5s largeheal all just went off in the space of 3 GCDs i.e. in real time about 4 seconds.

many of you seem fixated on healing wave alone, why? even riptide > UE > healing wave works great during non spiky pulls. healing wave alone heals for shit as many of you have stated, so why use it alone? you've been given a pretty good assist for it in UE.

[Deleted]

Fine, i'll take up your challenge. As a holy paladin, i faced some major changed to the whole concept of healing. I now have two resources to manage, mana and holy power. I've got several healing spells at my disposal now.

Holy Radiance (AoE heal, 10 sec, major costs, mana)
Flash of Light (Relatively large heal, short casttime, really expensive, mana)
Holy Light (Cheap, slowcast and minor heal, mana)
Light of Dawn (Coneshaped healing, heals for more, when you got more Holy power, costs Holy Power)
Divine Light (Really big heal, relatively slow, major costs, mana)
Word of Glory (Instant heal, heals for more, when you got more Holy power, costs Holy Power)
Holy Shock (Instant average heal, uses mana)

In addition to this, i have several cooldowns at my disposal.

Illumination (Increases haste and crit-chance)
Guardian of Ancient Kings (Funny guy, who heals the target i heal. Basicly makes you heal more for 5 heals)
Avenging Wrath (Increases healing and damage done)
Divine Plea (Reduces healing, but returns mana)

As you can see from the list, i have a variety of heals and cooldowns now, and they all fit certain situations. In the beginning of a fight, i mostly just spam Holy Light, in order to keep the tank up, and heal people who's going low. When things get hot i have to decided to do Holy Light or Flash of Light, knowing that i'll get out of mana sooner, but be able to heal the raid more, with Flash of Light. Sometimes trying to make a combination is the best choice to make. If the entire raid takes damage i have to either get them in line to use Dawn of Light, or run into the middle of the group to use Holy Radiance, or simply spam Flash of Light to get people up fast.

Furthermore, to heal people that just take some damage i got Word of Glory and Holy Shock, which are cute little instant spells that heal for an average amount. Oh, and if the tank starts taking loads of damage, i have to start using Divine Light to keep him up.

To make things a little more fun, i have to try and generate as much Holy Power as i can, in order to use these heals instead, and save mana. This is generated by healing the target with Beacon of Light on them, or using Holy Shock. So, when healing i have to take this into consideration, because not using Holy Power, will surely make you go out of mana very, very fast.

So yeah, i feel that healing as a holy paladin now is both fun and challening, and i certain can find a use for all my healing spells. You ever considered that all the groups you join that fail, might actually have something to do with you?

To sum up - I feel like i have a lot do do now, and i have the means to do it, i just have to be fast enough to figure out when to use what, and don't use up all my mana at once.

[Rogrend]

I'll admit, I don't know much about other healers rotations, so Zinu, you may be right, and pally healing is far more complex than shaman. But thats the problem, shaman healing atm isn't complex. 9 times outta of 10, all you're gonna do is spam riptide and healing wave.

And to anwser your question about the group that fail. I can't think of a single one, that i've wiped, that i instantly knew what happened and why. CCin being broke, or not even used, interrupts not going off, or even being used, standing in fire, not switching to adds. Dmg doesnt go out quickly in cata, i have time to think to my self "Why is this person taking dmg? Is it avoidable?"

[Mavecryst]

What I'm trying to say is their new system is flawed. More people had fun healing in wotlk than in cata atm. And I'll agree, wotlk healing was easy, I could run a heroic, and never use anything outside of ES and possibly a riptide. But I still had fun in raids seeing my big numbers pop up.

And while you may say you're having fun because *something* randomly happened, and you were able to save the day, the fact is, chances are, it wasnt actually your healing that saved the day. And if you think it did, tell me, what spells did you use? Was it near the end of the fight where it was going smoothly, and you had 50%+ mana left to even be able to spam something other than healing wave?

ah ok, i see your point now. we'll have to agree to disagree on the context and point of "fun" since while i respect your view of it, i have my own ideas..fair enough right?

you do sound alittle dispirited when it comes to healing in general. you say it was likely my healing didn't save the day? yes, true it's entirely possible that the group re-clicked and avoided stuff long enough for me to get heals on them. but hey, that also means that i avoided the shit that was happening, picked out the lowest hp member while ensuring the tank had enough to last for a few seconds of inattention, hit riptide > unleash weapon > GHW, and then proceeded to make the decision of chain heal vs individual GHW/HW decisions on the two remaining dps plus myself, depending on how spread out the situation caused us to be and whether the tank has remained ok in the last few seconds.

sometimes you can't save stupid. but sometimes you can, and it's not always just because the rest of the group was good, your healing plays a major part. if you don't believe this, i think you really might want to reconsider a different role, because it sounds like healing isn't fulfilling for you. nothing wrong with that, play what you like!

[Just]

Mr. Negative over here...

[Dundebuns]

I'm getting used to the new healing system, probably even getting a little bit good at it. To do well, you have to weave in all the spells at your disposal.

The only thing that really gets to me is that in 6 years our healing style has not changed like the other classes have. In TBC Druids became hot based, in WotLK priests got a bit of every healing style, while we continue to be 'Spam skill A, B or C' and we have zero healing cooldowns available to us. Unleashed Elements goes part way into changing our healing style though.

[Rogrend]

I'm fine with other people having fun, and tbh I'm still playing, so somewhere deep down I'm having abit too. Atm i believe my fun is coming from doing the heroic achievements, and actually HAVING to CC/interrupt as a healer. And while I cant really disagree or bash the people who ARE having fun with the new system, i just don't think its much of a change. Except the fact i dread running heroics outside my guild, and just not feeling like i'm healing for what a level 85 shaman should be healing for.