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  1. #1

    Discussion: The Current State of Healing (PVE)

    I would like to hear the perspectives of other healers about the current state of healing in raids (all difficulties) in MOP. Just to see what others are experiencing/feeling.

    From my viewpoint as a long time healer (mainspec since T4) I feel like the light-overhaul of the healing system in MOP is very refreshing, but I do feel like something is lacking. Maybe I just need to switch my role up, but thus far raiding as a healer has felt rather dry. Maybe even less rewarding. I can't figure out why however. Healing feels more like a less-glorified form of DPS now. It could be my class (shaman) but I feel like the room for 'options' in healing and gearing are gone. More of an X rotation with a spell or two used here and there on CD. While gearing feels like stack spirit, more spirit, and then some spirit. Almost trapped in a box, while healing used to be more open ended.

    What's your view point?

  2. #2
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    Healing is the easiest role by far now. Has been since they removed downranking, really.

  3. #3
    Free Food!?!?! Tziva's Avatar
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    I'm content. I think the homogenisation of healers was necessary but it did remove a little bit of the flare from healing. I'm still having fun, but it isn't quite the same as some eras of the past. That said, those eras had their own issues. There wasn't exactly anything fun about spamming nothing but chain heal, for example, except for topping the meters on certain fights.

    I think part of your complaint with just stacking spirit is just due to it being early in the expansion. First tier, spirit will be king until you're likely in full heroic gear (or later), but later in the expansion when our spirit reaches a comfortable level from innate spirit, we will be able to concern ourselves more with intellect and other secondaries.

    Quote Originally Posted by bajskorv View Post
    Healing is the easiest role by far now. Has been since they removed downranking, really.
    Downranking was never hard. It was just a matter of looking up the best mathematical option to use for its HPS:mana ratio, and sticking it on your bars like any other heal.


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  4. #4
    I am Murloc! Kevyne-Shandris's Avatar
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    Not playing MoP so have nothing to say about the current healing itself.

    Preferred healing in WotLK over Cata that's for sure. Not for the ideas people have of WotLK but because it was very active. Didn't like what healing became where it was stand there and do nothing while a HoT ticks away to heal others, or spamming HR when necessary. It became boring quick. Prefer fast and furious single-target healing, as it was in WotLK...one mistake and it was a wipe. Makes better healers not more that can watch TV while raiding.
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  5. #5
    I am Murloc! Conscious's Avatar
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    Entirely too easy.

    Bar challenge modes and Heroic modes, most of, if not every facet of healing is just stupid simple compared to just about every other expansion.

    I'm not sure if they're tuning down the bar so more people will play healers, but for some reason it's just almost too boring. Especially at low levels.

  6. #6
    Bloodsail Admiral Speedy92286's Avatar
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    I think Blizz should just make spirit a main stat and be done with it.

    OT:

    I have really been enjoying healing a lot more since Cata. WoTLK healing was a bit boring to me (I played since Vanilla, but was never max level until Wrath though I did level my holy pally to 67 as a healer) because it was just spam 1 heal. I used to use holy shock when I was bored of spamming holy light even though it would look bad on recount. I also did not like the gearing aspect where I my BiS gear was cloth in some slots. I am playing a paladin. I like plate and a shield. I am sorry, but I will gladly lose 200 hps and look the way I want.

    Healing in Cata beta right before they buffed healing was probably the most fun I've ever had healing a 5-man. I was ALWAYS OOM at the end of a fight. I had to manage my cd's and mana down to the last point. It felt more like what a healer should be; once my mana is out, you die. The groups I was in learned really fast that I could not heal through avoidable damage, so they had to learn to dodge or self heal if need be. Very intense and very entertaining. I also had to learn to not heal with a mouse add-on anymore (still don't to this day) since beta did not support the add-on I was using. It felt odd at first but soon became second nature. It got to a point where I would stop playing Live so I can heal instead on beta. Even though I was pugging ICC or Ruby Sanctum, I was just so very bored with the current state of healing compared to the playground beta had given me.

    Sadly, this model soon died once we got enough gear. We still had to manage our mana, but not to the same extent. While it was still better than wrath healing, 4.3 was probably the most boring healing experience I've ever had. Only my priest was fun since I was just dpsing to heal. Luckily, once again beta saved me by giving me the chance to play as a Monk. Once I learned how to melee heal properly, the Monk soon became my preferred style of healing. I even thought of replacing my holy pally (my main since BC) for him. That is how much fun I was having doing 5-mans and leveling.

    The model currently is my favorite model since Cata beta. I love the fact that mana management is still such a threat. Yes, stacking spirit helps this, and better gear makes the dungeons, and soon raids I imagine, trivial, but so far it seems to not be as extreme as it was in Cata and Wrath. If I want to heal a 5 man heroic, even at 474 ilvl, I still have to conserve my mana somewhat and can't just spam divine light.

    Do I tab out during 5-mans? Yes. I did it even when I was still in all blues and some greens. There are lapses in damage that makes me want to listen to music and distract myself a little (especially since at this point I was grinding for gear). Even so, this is still preferable to previous healing models I have experienced.

    Since the OP has mentioned raiding, I have done a few fights on normal mode and LFR so far this expansion. The fights I have done on normal, healing is VERY intense. I thoroughly enjoy it. LFR is a blast too, especially after the travesty that was Dragon Soul. The new raids really show the usefulness of such a tool, especially since they are a lot more challenging and the mechanics cannot really be ignored.

    TLDR: I love healing, though my favorite was Cata beta. The MoP model is very good, especially while raiding normals and LFR. Stacking spirit is fine for now, since mana management is still the name of the game, and that is something that I enjoy about healing.

    Edit: @Conscious-

    Healing at low level has been this way since Cata. Before level cap, it is stupid easy. It is terrible to level a healer nowadays as a healer and should no way be compared to how the experience is at max level.
    Last edited by Speedy92286; 2012-11-12 at 02:36 AM.
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  7. #7
    You know what? That could be it. I think healing is too easy now, but the reason as to why is beyond me. Maybe the damage is too predictable in current raids? Frankly I just get bored now, even though I loved healing in the past even when it was just CH spam. It could also be because every class has a significant amount of mitigation CD's and when it gets hot they use it and the healers are sparred the trauma.

    EDIT: Well too easy isn't what I meant, it still requires tact and a sprinkle of skill. I think mechanics are too predictable.

    @#$% it, I dunno.
    Last edited by Debased; 2012-11-12 at 03:51 AM.

  8. #8
    Legendary! Airwaves's Avatar
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    I have been pushing myself to start healing again on my 85 pally. But the new set level of mana is what is scaring me away from doing it again. I really wish they had never done that. For years Healing has always freaked me out. Main tank a 25 heroic raid stress free. Start healing a normal 5man and i even start to sweat. I am not even a bad healing nobody rarely dies unless its there fault and still freak out.
    Aye mate

  9. #9
    I feel the healing overhaul from Wrath/BC to the newer expansions has made classes the same. Back in the day the class you played defined a role and purpose, such as the druid compared to a paladin healer, each having their own strengths and weaknesses. That being said I was a in a 25 man raid guild so all four healing classes were not missing. At the moment I feel only monk healers are REALLY different to the other healers, the original four seem to mashed together for me.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Zulathar View Post
    You know what? That could be it. I think healing is too easy now, but the reason as to why is beyond me. Maybe the damage is too predictable in current raids? Frankly I just get bored now, even though I loved healing in the past even when it was just CH spam. It could also be because every class has a significant amount of mitigation CD's and when it gets hot they use it and the healers are sparred the trauma.

    EDIT: Well too easy isn't what I meant, it still requires tact and a sprinkle of skill. I think mechanics are too predictable.

    @#$% it, I dunno.
    Probably because bosses nowadays aren't two-shotting tanks (usually). Proactive healing/spamming (~LK) vs reactive healing (Cata~).

  11. #11
    Healing is the only role you're playing against bosses AND players. As you have to pay for bad play of your raiders...
    So healing can never be too easy!

  12. #12
    Bloodsail Admiral Speedy92286's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Airwaves View Post
    I have been pushing myself to start healing again on my 85 pally. But the new set level of mana is what is scaring me away from doing it again. I really wish they had never done that. For years Healing has always freaked me out. Main tank a 25 heroic raid stress free. Start healing a normal 5man and i even start to sweat. I am not even a bad healing nobody rarely dies unless its there fault and still freak out.
    That will pass in time. I get the same way sometimes when I tank (which is why I am pushing myself to raise my prot warrior via tanking) so I understand completely. Believe me, once you get to 87, healing normals is a LOT easier. You have more mana and depending on your class, you get another cool ability (looking at you priests and shamans). Since you are raising a paladin, your 87 ability, an AoE blind/interrupt is still a very powerful tool against adds and trash. When they can't attack, they can't do damage.

    Just keep up with it, and you will be just as confident and comfortable healing as you are tanking.
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  13. #13
    For me healing has become to much about stacking up and standing on the glowing floor or frontal cone instead of calculating who needs a heal and which heal to use. Way to much passive AoE and way to many smart heals have, in my opinion, taken a lot of the fun out of healing.

  14. #14
    OP is spot on imo, healing is more or less a dps rotation. It plays out almost exactly the same way, CD instant>proc>filler. Even worse, the healing class which i absolutely loved (druid) has been homogenised to the point where everything unique about it has basically gone, lifebloom is just a fire and forget now.

  15. #15
    Bloodsail Admiral Speedy92286's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by panterarules View Post
    OP is spot on imo, healing is more or less a dps rotation. It plays out almost exactly the same way, CD instant>proc>filler. Even worse, the healing class which i absolutely loved (druid) has been homogenised to the point where everything unique about it has basically gone, lifebloom is just a fire and forget now.
    While some healing classes do have "rotation" (using this term very loosely), there are moments where you have to break it due to the situation. Druids are the worst in this regard, but have gotten a lot better than it was in Cata. Literally in Cata all I had to do was cast nourish (the cheap heal) every 7 seconds to keep up the mastery and LB, hotting the tank and using WG when on CD. That was it. At least now the mastery's duration got doubled so we have a little more room to maneuver. Nowadays you still have to keep hots up and LB on the tank, but there is less restriction on what else you can do.

    Melee mistweavers have to keep up a buff, Druids keep up LB and mastery, Shamans have riptide to watch, Paladins have HS to use on CD (we lost our HR>HS>HR>LoD rotation finally) and priests, depending on your spec have different things to watch, but there is no set in stone rotation.

    As for CD's, that depends on the situation and the fight. If you have a heavy healing phase, you need to have a CD ready, so you can't just always rotate them. Healing is very dependent on the fight, your group and your mana management. I fail to see how that is anything like a dps rotation.
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  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zulathar View Post
    I would like to hear the perspectives of other healers about the current state of healing in raids (all difficulties) in MOP.
    Quote Originally Posted by Kevyne-Shandris View Post
    Not playing MoP so have nothing to say about the current healing itself.

    < Snip text about healing in Wrath/Cata >
    I'm genuinely confused. Why did you post in this thread?

  17. #17
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    After all these years, with the launch of MoP I personally decided to reroll healer. I was fed up with the mindless role of dps after playing mage and rogue through wrath and cata (was tank in vanilla and tbc), learning to play dps is all about perfect rotation and once you can do it in your sleep you pretty much can watch tv meanwhile... which I most of the hours we spent raiding did.

    Healing for me personally is very interesting, it keeps me on my toes and the competition in my guild between healers to steal as much healing as we can is pretty fun, a bit akward at times when we overdo it, but we have fun and on progress raids it's really cewl. Perhaps not challenging, Idk, feels like as long as no one fucks up badly and stands in purple shit, healing is pretty much copable. The guild I'm in now ain't a hardcore guild, we're on garalon atm and the healing is very much doable without major fuzz, it keeps you on your toes compared to how I see dps.

    I play a disc priest, I don't know about homogenization, I'm the only one bringing shields so I'm having a blast with it. I have to say though, sometimes on easier fights or where we stack up a lot (like the second boss in Heart of Fear) it does get pretty freaking boring sometimes when all you do basically is spam PoH for the 3 hours we raid. It's fun with spirit shell at times keeping track of incoming damage but I guess that is it in terms of thinking you have to do...

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by spambanjo View Post
    I'm genuinely confused. Why did you post in this thread?
    The same could be said about you considering you offered nothing.

    OT: I really dislike the standardized mana pool. Think that's my biggest gripe. I do like how spirit is now a primary stat (almost) instead of just being useless because of int. My raid is only 4/6 and so things are still hectic for us on fights (druid healer).

    For me personally I miss being able to rejuv everything and just running around casting HoTs. I feel like that was taken away from us and now there's a lot more standing still and casting which I don't like as a druid healer.

    In general I feel weak as a druid healer as well compared to other classes. We only have a few HoTs now and other classes have gotten a bunch and our direct heals still feel weak compared to others. I match other healers in my group but still feel weak when everything is on CD and the raid's health is dropping fast.

  19. #19
    Legendary! Rivellana's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Speedy92286 View Post
    While some healing classes do have "rotation" (using this term very loosely), there are moments where you have to break it due to the situation. Druids are the worst in this regard, but have gotten a lot better than it was in Cata. Literally in Cata all I had to do was cast nourish (the cheap heal) every 7 seconds to keep up the mastery and LB, hotting the tank and using WG when on CD. That was it. At least now the mastery's duration got doubled so we have a little more room to maneuver. Nowadays you still have to keep hots up and LB on the tank, but there is less restriction on what else you can do.

    Melee mistweavers have to keep up a buff, Druids keep up LB and mastery, Shamans have riptide to watch, Paladins have HS to use on CD (we lost our HR>HS>HR>LoD rotation finally) and priests, depending on your spec have different things to watch, but there is no set in stone rotation.

    As for CD's, that depends on the situation and the fight. If you have a heavy healing phase, you need to have a CD ready, so you can't just always rotate them. Healing is very dependent on the fight, your group and your mana management. I fail to see how that is anything like a dps rotation.
    I actually have to agree with the person you quoted...I have healed on every single healing class at end game in the past and while I've only had the chance in MoP thus far to heal on my monk (with the small exception of one normal MoP instance on my paladin) it does feel like there is a bit more of a "rotation" than I'm used to as far as healing goes.

    The majority of the healing is just basically renewing mists on CD, uplift, spinning crane kick over and over.

    I'm looking forward to leveling my other healing classes from 85 to 90 to try them out but it is feeling very homogenized right now.

  20. #20
    I don't necessarily mind the mana-cap, but I do feel like it has stripped us of the usefulness of intellect. I think intellect should be changed to be more useful. As any healer would know a bigger heal isn't necessarily a better heal (for a plethora of reasons).

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