After making a healer-alt, I now have a new appreciation for healers

[Zantera]

Been playing this game since 2006, but never had a healing-char. I've tried it briefly a few times, but I thought it was time to make a healing-alt, because it would be really nice with some variety, since I have mostly DPS-chars.

I've reached level 52 through healing dungeons, and I must say that I love it. I play as a Resto Shaman, and healing is really fun. However, this is the first time since I started playing WoW where I truly feel the pain of being a healer. There are smooth runs, but then there are THOSE runs when all the darkness in the world manifests itself into that one bad player, or that bad group.

In some instances I find myself both healing, tanking and kiting mobs. It's not just tanks who can't hold aggro, but DPS:ers who figure "lets pull more because why not, i'm bored", and suddenly you see a hunter rushing out of a room with 3 more packs. It's really baffling.

But anyway, to make a long story short. Healers, I feel you. I love what you do, and oh god my brain hurts sometimes.

[Seosaimhin]

If you're already feeling us at level 52...you've got a rough road ahead of you, mate. Wait till those mobs that your hunter pulls start actually posing a threat.

Word of advice: level with a friend. Preferably a tank friend. It will make your life that much better.

[Zantera]

Yeah, I assume it will only get tougher at higher levels. At least there's usually more AoE going on 90 than lowlevel-dungeons, so someone else will get the aggro and not me.

[Areto]

If you're already feeling us at level 52...you've got a rough road ahead of you, mate. Wait till those mobs that your hunter pulls start actually posing a threat.

Word of advice: level with a friend. Preferably a tank friend. It will make your life that much better.

You have no idea how much I agree with this. ._.

Played resto shaman, resto druid, holy priest and at one point, mist weaver monky. All I can say is there were lots of hatred when the tank ran off and pulled half of the freakin' dungeon, there were stupid DPS chaos where people tried to run over each other on the DPS meter and it was overall the most unpleasant experiences ever.

Tank friend is a good option. x_x

[Seosaimhin]

To be fair, I actually find the lower level dungeons far more obnoxious than the higher level ones and I will usually refuse to queue up for them without some buddies along for the ride. Between Disc priests queuing as DPS and trying to do your job for you, warrior "tanks" in Arms spec, and DPS in full heirloom gear that think they're all that and a bag of chips...well, that becomes less of a problem at higher levels. Bad experiences tend to be REALLY bad, but they don't happen as often.

[Clockwork Pinkie]

Eh, it's been a long long time since I've felt pain like that, especially leveling. If I see a group with full BoAs, as a healer (I have a level 80 disc priest twink, just because it's the most OP thing ever) and it's pointless to stop in-between pulls. Leveling up with no BoAs, yea I could see the pain. 15-20 is usually the biggest pain as the healer only has 1-2 healing spells and the tank doesn't even have an AoE aggro spell yet so aggro is just going everywhere and it's just a mess, after that though, pull big, if you wipe, just have fun with it, make the runs interesting.

- - - Updated - - -

To be fair, I actually find the lower level dungeons far more obnoxious than the higher level ones and I will usually refuse to queue up for them without some buddies along for the ride. Between Disc priests queuing as DPS and trying to do your job for you, warrior "tanks" in Arms spec, and DPS in full heirloom gear that think they're all that and a bag of chips...well, that becomes less of a problem at higher levels. Bad experiences tend to be REALLY bad, but they don't happen as often.

Bahaha, I did that once, the disc priest queueing as dps, Atonement heals made the actual healer switch to dps ><

[Seosaimhin]

Bahaha, I did that once, the disc priest queueing as dps, Atonement heals made the actual healer switch to dps ><

I've also seen shadow priests queue up as healers in low-level instances, but that's neither here nor there.

[Rucati]

I've also seen shadow priests queue up as healers in low-level instances, but that's neither here nor there.

Honestly before the BC instances I'd rather have a group have 4 DPS and a tank. Maybe even 3 DPS and 2 tanks, because tanks do absurd damage in low level instances (On my Monk I topped 100% of meters all the way to Wrath dungeons, DPS just can't keep up regardless of skill) plus healing is completely unnecessary because tanks have so much self healing now.

2 tanks could pull like a third of the instance at a time and can AoE it all down. To be honest though, healing is never really that hard. 5 mans are so faceroll easy the entire time it makes no difference if a bunch of mobs get pulled, and in raids people are actually competent. There are of course hard to heal fights, but overall healing is kind of boring I feel outside of PvP.

Coming from someone who has played a Disc Priest from BC to Cata and a RDruid since.

[moomin1987]

I have 6 level 90s and the rest are 85. The one class I've never gotten into past level 20 however was the Priest so being a completionist and knowing my goal before the expansion is over is to have all classes at 90 I dove into it with a levelling method I hadn't done in a long time, spamming dungeons.

The first 15 levels were a breeze and went by within an hour from me literally running around the UD starting zone spamming a DOT on every single mob in range, I literally didn't quest after level 6 and it flew by. I then joined as a healer and there have definitely been more rough than smooth runs. I am currently level 42 with this Priest which I am actually loving but some of the things I have come across so far are

- Hunters who can't turn off growl (saw this one coming)
- Hunters who don't even use a pet
- Balance Druid "Tanks"
- Balance Druids in Cat Form
- Feral Cat "Tanks"
- Ret Pala "Tanks"
- Prot Pala in cloth heirlooms, agi mail and int leather
- The noobs who need everything (saw this coming too)
- Windwalker Tank bots

There are probably many more that I've sent to the dark corners of my mind but I can certainly imagine how fun it's going to be grouping with those freshly made DKs in Outland instances..

[Salted Beef]

Honestly before the BC instances I'd rather have a group have 4 DPS and a tank. Maybe even 3 DPS and 2 tanks, because tanks do absurd damage in low level instances (On my Monk I topped 100% of meters all the way to Wrath dungeons, DPS just can't keep up regardless of skill) plus healing is completely unnecessary because tanks have so much self healing now.

Honestly, you can roll 15-60 instances with three DPS. /shrug

Healers are mostly necessary for BC instances, but you're bound to feel underutilized seeing as the other four players are Blood DKs arguing over who gets to tank what.

[Seosaimhin]

...I am currently level 42 with this Priest which I am actually loving but some of the things I have come across so far are

- Hunters who can't turn off growl (saw this one coming)
- Hunters who don't even use a pet
...

I actually just went through my old screenshots to prune some of them out and found one of me healing a low-level instance (BFD maybe) where I'd just asked "Hunter, why aren't you wearing a ranged weapon?"

[Rucati]

Honestly, you can roll 15-60 instances with three DPS. /shrug

Healers are mostly necessary for BC instances, but you're bound to feel underutilized seeing as the other four players are Blood DKs arguing over who gets to tank what.

Oh without a doubt, but instances are all about speed, so I'd rather 4 DPS and a tank over 3 DPS haha. To be honest a healer/tank can 2 man every vanilla instance with ease. Not sure it's worthwhile, the xp will be high but you'd have to run to the instance and it would take a while to clear. Might not be too bad though, I'm honestly not sure, never tried actually grinding them for xp.

Anyway, yeah I'd say in BC you probably need a healer, depends on the group/class though. As a Monk I can safely say I could tank all of the BC instances without a healer because Monk self healing is so insane.

[Al Gorefiend]

Last night I had the mispleasure of running a dungeon with a ret paladin tank. So I switched to shadow to heal him with renew and vampiric embrace. When he died I suggested he switch to prot so he doesn't die so easily.

[Terahertz]

After I made a healer alt/ started playing healer myself I lost all respect for healers lol. I find it so easy, and if you play well you can carry the living shit out of a lot of groups.

[Fluttershy]

They really made healing stupid from wotlk onwards. Wotlk was literally a 1-shotfest where HC bosses could melee for 40k(every 1.8secs) on 55khp pools plus instant skills.

Cata/mop is just an aoe-smartheal fest where mods are 100% mandatory. I can't imagine having to play something like a paladin at the top25 guild level.

[Al Gorefiend]

After I made a healer alt/ started playing healer myself I lost all respect for healers lol. I find it so easy, and if you play well you can carry the living shit out of a lot of groups.

Felt the same way when I switched to DPS. Tanking raids was nigh impossible for me though, so respect for raid tanks.

[Thelxi]

In dungeons healers have by far the most relaxed job. Enough mana to keep the worst of teams alive. Especially while leveling a simple hot like renew or rejuvenation is enough for almost everything.

Progression raiding it's a different story, IMO it goes healers>ranged dps>melee dps>tanks in terms of stress and effort required.

[Al Gorefiend]

In dungeons healers have by far the most relaxed job. Enough mana to keep the worst of teams alive. Especially while leveling a simple hot like renew or rejuvenation is enough for almost everything.

Progression raiding it's a different story, IMO it goes healers>ranged dps>melee dps>tanks in terms of stress and effort required.

Ugh, how is tanking NOT stressful? I had to read up on Stone Guards, STONE GUARDS for like 15 minutes after we kept wiping.

[Rorke]

I hate these type of threads. Its just an attraction for these kinds of people who think that whatever pve hero role they play has oh so much responsibility. It's basically one huge circle jerk of healers or tanks speaking up on their high horse about how pathetic and terrible the average dps "bad" is and how they have to carry them all day.

I don't care how hard some of you here think healing is. Most pve healers I've seen click their frames and use crutch add ons like heal bot. The only time healing actually takes skill is pvp arena. Other than pvp, its literally just whack a mole, believe me I've seen it. I have no idea how anybody in their right mind finds clicking bars fun.

but DPS:ers who figure "lets pull more because why not, i'm bored",

That's because 5 man dungeons at ANY LEVEL are so easy that basically any class can tank mobs with any normal healer who can push three buttons. Try playing a so called DPS with a slow ass tank that waits between every pull like its H Hall of Reflection or some shit. And on top of that the tank still clicks his buttons and keyboard turns while having a hard time keeping aggro even though the game has been out for 8 years. You're going to get bored and even most healers get bored that they start healing the DPS encouraging them to pull.

[Zantera]

It's not really about something being hard or easy, but as a DPS you have a certain room for fucking up that a healer doesn't have.