Healing as Shadow?

[Deleted]

I'm leveling a Priest right now, currently level 73. It's WSG holiday so I'm doing my leveling there.
Now, the latest WSG I got blamed on by a warlock that I should help healing, instead of letting people die(This was the first BG I ever got that told). He talked like a shadow priest really should help, but I can't remember that I've ever seen any shadow priest video where he goes out of the form and heals himself.
I asked why I should go out of shadowform in action to spend a gcd just to heal myself when someone is on me, which I would never be able to heal up, then get into shadowform and start to deal damage to the enemy again, it would be waste of mana, waste of time. Let's say I went out of shadowform, healed myself to 100% hp, then goes in shadowform again while the enemy is on me, that would cost a gcd, and I would probably be low on HP again.
He told me I was the worst player ever, and that he was laughing so hard at my answers that he "had" to screenshoot it.

I don't know that much about spriests, but I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to heal while in Shadowform. I mean, look at other classes, warriors, hunters, mages. They deal damage and can't heal, but only because I'm a Priest that CAN heal, doesn't mean that I SHOULD heal?

(All this text is about healing allys in battlegrounds aswell, not myself)

Advice about spriests in pvp is appreciated, regarding myself and what to do on my allys.

[Leidus]

It's just like playing any other class capable of healing, even if you're not healing spec, you'll get into situations where the better course of action is to heal than to try to kill.

In the case of people who whine and bitch and moan about not getting heals like you're a full time healer just because you could have a healing spec, I like to let them die. It's more satisfying to me to watch them have a hard time than it is to win the BG.

[Töasty]

Tell him you have points in vampiric embrace, and that's all the heals he is getting. A warlock complaining about not getting healed? Tell him to use haunt and corruption and drain life, or he's a baddie.

[Frmercury]

Tell him you have points in vampiric embrace, and that's all the heals he is getting. A warlock complaining about not getting healed? Tell him to use haunt and corruption and drain life, or he's a baddie.

^ A lot of this.

Though, yes, there definitely are some times where you'll want to have an easy way to drop out and heal available to you and your comrades. Generally I'm pretty selfish in BGs, only tossing a Renew / PoM on myself. Maybe a Gheal if I'm really low. It's the same with other hybrid DPS really. You'll see Enchance toss out a MWx5 CH or HW, Cats pop out and toss a HoT on themselves and Rets toss an AoW FoL on themselves.

[Deleted]

The ONLY time where a shadowpriest in WSG really SHOULD help healing (and this is coming from someone with a SP as main character) is when you are the only healing class even remotely near the flagcarrier and you are on your way back with it. Shield and renew goes a long way there. If the FC stops (or gets stopped) for a few seconds, you can throw in a Flash or Greater to keep him/her topped off. It's the same thing for Moonkins and Elemental Shamans, as they, like us, do have lots of spellpower to boost heals, even if not specced for healing. But if someone actually healspecced is near, stay in shadowform. Vampiric Embrace helps if the FC is in your group, Imp VE even more so, but your Psychis Scream and Psychic Horror should be your main supporting abilites for the FC, not your VE heals or even your change to caster-form and using offspec heals.

In any other BG, changing out of shadowform to help healing, is a serious waste. AB, AV, SotA and IoC, you might as well do damage and die, than try to heal yourself and die. EotS, the FC SHOULD be at a tower fast enough for you not to have to worry about healing.

[Calsong]

If we're out of combat, or running toward a new target, I'll throw up a few renews of top off my fellows. If a flag carrier is trying to make an escape, I'll swap to heals and keep her up.

Other than that, we're a damage specialization. That is what we do. Any warlock who believes otherwise should examine his role in the BG.

[Deleted]

Thanks alot guys, you made alot of good points. Too bad that he added me to his ignorelist though.