Healbot: Is it "required"?

[Thaela]

I have always played pure DPS classes (hunter and mage), but I've been really enjoying my resto shaman. I've leveled as resto through mostly dungeons without any sort of healing addon such as Healbot, and am currently at level 75.

I thought since I plan on making this toon an alt for raiding, I should probably download Healbot. But so far I'm having a hard time with it. Maybe its just because I'm not used to it, but I seem to do better by my "old-fashioned" way of healing.

Also, I'm not one for customizing addons... I'm just not that tech savvy... But it takes up a big portion of my screen, but if I try to make it smaller, then I can't see the buffs. Also the healbot health bars don't seem to match the actual ones - it appears like they are losing more health than they really are so I find myself wasting heals - something that will probably be a problem in Cata content when mana conservation is a bigger issue.

Is there anyone out there who plays a healer and doesn't use an add on? Is it even realistic to think about raiding without one?

[Zues]

My hpally is 1/7 HM and 11/13 HM, never used a healing addon in my life. What's the point? I use a razer naga mouse and that's all I need, the basic raidframes are more than enough. Used to use Gladius in arena, but not anymore.

[vizzle]

No. It is not required at all. I raided at a high level on 2 different healers and I never touched this addon, and nor did any of my fellow guildie healers. Just get good raid frames that catch your eye, (Grid for me personally) and figure out your playstyle. Either Clique or mouse-over macros, or just healing normally.

[Coar]

Get grid, go to either layout or status -- Can't remember

Change the width and height to something more visible, that should be enough to start out, you can configure more when you get more used to it.

Also use mouseover macros:

#showtooltip
/cast [target=mouseover] Greater Healing Wave

^ makes to so you don't actually have to click everyones name and instead can just mouseover then use your greater healing keybind.

(if you want I can PM you the video of my grid settings, should help a little in setting it up and making to look more usable)

[JSStryker]

There are no addons that are "required" for the game. There are some that are very useful for the game. If you do better healing your old way then I'd say stay with it.

[Leorina]

I wouldn't disregard anyone not using healing addons to heal if they were good at it.

[Buu]

There was a time it was REALLY, REALLY needed. Today I'll go with not a adamant requirement, but hey, it turns life easier. So why not to use? Brag reasons? Nah, does not suits me.

[Howard Moon]

With the improved standard WoW raidframes, I'd say you can be a perfectly good healer without any addons. Stil, I like healbot for the extra utility and convenience.

[Sidonis]

What you're seeing on healbot is it's predicting incoming damgage, something practiced healers do without much thought and it's trying to replicate so that a mediocre or inexperienced healer looks better in performance than they actually are.

As far as screen real estate, there's several things that factor into this. UI Scale setting (Advanced tab on Options) vs. Screen Resolution (i.e. 1600x900), and the size and shape of your monitor (29" Widescreen Plasma HD vs. 19" square LCD). Try setting your game resolution to a higher pixel count, and adjusting your UI scale downward, and go from there. Many frame/bar based addons can be further scaled in size as well on their individual settings.

Honestly, as far as healing AddOns go, if you haven't really healed before then I would use Blizzard's default raid frames, and download AddOns that former Grid authors have developed for it, such as CornerIndicatorText (great way to make a timer for each hot show in a different corner as a resto druid), or if you really feel the need for a non-default healing AddOn, Grid or Vuhdo. Something else I would recommend, is that you either make mouseover macros for all your healing spells, or use the AddOn Clique to do it without making the macros yourself.

[ganush]

To those saying it's not needed but still using a raidframes and clique or mouseovers, you are basically using healbot, but in a different form. Of course healbot is not necesssary, but I do believe that some sort of raidframe mouse click healing set up is as click target key bind healing is just going to be slower because you have to click two buttons for every heal rather than one. It doesn't matter how you set yourself up but a healing system like healbot is a great help.

[Vook]

I topped healing in naxx25 at 5fps with default raid frames and no healing addons or mouseover macros, nope, healbot is not required :P

Besides, mouseover macros are easier to set up, you don't need to remember all these wacky alt+click and shift+click combos, you can just use your regular keybindings.

[deviancee]

You won't be as good without mouseover macros as with them, so yeah they are basically required. It does not matter in which form - it can be either grid + clique, or healbot, or just standard raidframes and macros. Healbot is easiest to setup and as good as grid is, so there is no point in spending hours to figure out grids settings

[ManOfMalice]

No, and the only addons I ever use is MikScrollingBattleText, DBM, and Decursive.

[Brosemon]

3/13 hm in T11 and now 4/7, haven't, and will not, use healbot.

[xindykawai]

it's not ''Require'' but it does help your healing a LOT, especially if you never healed before On my resto shamy, i can't deal without it (alt ok xD)

[Vantheus]

I am by no means an expert on healing, hell i aspire to reach noob status at it but i recently started resto shammy pvp and tried healium, i love it, took all my healing hesitation away and im super comfy doing it now. This may be worst addon ever for healing i have no clue but i can say i like it, but i only 2v2 and sporadic bg's with it not raid

[helusay]

All I have ever used for healing was Grid. I have no idea how Healbot works, but I don't think it is required. Others get along without it just fine.

[Daetur]

The current WoW raidframes are "good enough for government work," as a guildie always says.

I combine them with Clique, and I do just fine. Works great.

[Spl4sh3r]

On my Healers in Wrath of the Lich King I tend to use normal Raid UI + Clique. That is more than enough for me. I won't download Grid or Healbot for my Healers when I level them up to 85.

[Failhance]

I prefer using Vuhdo raid frames to any other. It has so many customizable features it puts the default to shame.