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  1. #1

    How to Gain the Undying Love of Your Healer - WIP

    Healing isn't faceroll anymore. Those of us who heal for the love of healing have generally adapted to the recent changes. However, healing is no longer a one-person role. It's everyone's responsibility to contribute to the well being of the group. Here are a few ways you can make our lives a little easier so we can make your life a little easier.

    Don't Stand in Bad Things

    This may seem like a no-brainer, but in Wrath of the Lich King, it became rather common for avoidable damage to just be healed through rather than actually avoided. This was possible because mana was infinite and heals were big. That is no longer the case. As the old saying goes, a dead DPS does zero DPS.

    Do Stand in Good Things

    Cataclysm brought with it some new AoE healing spells that are placed on the ground and heal everyone standing in them. These include Holy Word: Sanctuary from priests, Healing Rain from shamans, and Efflorescence from druids. So, if it's on the ground, and it's good, and you can stand in it and still damage the boss, please do. Also, for our paladin friends, please stand in front of them so you can bask in their cone of golden goodness.

    To review:


    Click the #$%!ing Lightwell

    Lightwell, the former red-headed stepchild of healing spells, has been majorly revamped and is now an amazing healing tool. Some facts:

    • It is the highest heal-per-mana (hpm) spell for priests.
    • You can click it from up to 20 yards away.
    • Clicking it will not change your target and does not trigger the global cooldown.
    • It heals for more per tick than Renew.
    • It can be used while stunned, disoriented, sapped, blinded or casting.

    Lightwell loves you, and only wants you to love it back.


    Interrupts, How Do They Work?



    Even if an ability won't one-shot the tank, it's a pretty good idea to interrupt everything you can.This reduces the amount of healing needed, which reduces the amount of mana used, which reduces downtime. Most interrupts are off the global cooldown. In the same vein, stunning a whirlwinding mob is also a great idea. Here's a list of interrupts by race, class and spec.

    Racials
    • Warstomp (Tauren)
    • Arcane Torrent (Blood Elf)

    Death Knight

    • Mind Freeze
    • Death Grip (to be used carefully, as it is a taunt)
    • Gnaw (Unholy Ghoul)
    • Strangulate
    Frost
    • Hungering Cold

    Druid

    • Cyclone
    • Hibernate
    Feral (Bear)
    • Bash
    • Skull Bash
    Feral (Cat)
    • Skull Bash
    • Pounce
    • Maim
    Balance
    • Typhoon
    • Solar Beam

    Hunter

    • Freezing Trap
    • Scatter Shot
    Marksmanship
    • Silencing Shot
    Beast Mastery
    • Intimidation
    Survival
    • Wyrven Sting

    Mage

    • Counterspell
    • Polymorph
    • Ring of Frost
    Frost
    • Deep Freeze
    Fire
    • Dragon's Breath
    • Impact

    Paladin

    • Hammer of Justice
    • Rebuke
    • Turn Evil
    Retribution
    • Repentance
    Protection
    • Avenger's Shield

    Priest

    • Shackle Undead
    • Psychic Scream
    Shadow
    • Silence
    • Psychic Horror
    Holy
    • Holy Word: Chastise

    Rogue

    • Kick
    • Blind
    • Kidney Shot
    • Cheap Shot
    • Gouge

    Shaman

    • Bind Elemental
    • Hex
    • Wind Shear
    Elemental
    • Thunderstorm
    Enhancement
    • Bash (Spirit Wolf)

    Warlock

    • Death Coil
    • Fear
    • Howl of Terror
    • Spell Lock (Felhunter)
    • Seduction (Succubus)
    • Inferno
    Destruction
    • Shadowfury
    Demonology
    • Axe Toss (Felguard)
    • Demon Leap (Metamorphosis)

    Warrior

    • Charge
    • Shield Bash
    • Pummel
    • Intimidating Shout
    • Intercept
    • Heroic Leap
    Arms
    • Throw Down
    Protection
    • Concussion Blow
    • Shockwave
    • Heroic Throw (2/2 Gag Order)

    Note: Applying crowd control, even if it's immediately broken, will still interrupt casting. Fears should be used carefully or glyphed to prevent pulling additional mobs. AoE damaging spells should be used only if there are no crowd controlled targets in range.

    Crowd Control and You


    For the benefit of those who are new, or started playing during WotLK, crowd control (CC) basically refers to taking a mob out of the fight by incapacitating it in some way. Ideally, this should be done on the pull, so the CC'd mobs stay back while the free ones run forward. Crowd control, like interrupts, reduces incoming damage, resulting in an overall faster run. Here is a list of effective crowd control by creature type:

    Any


    • Freezing Trap
    • Cyclone
    • Entangling Roots (melee only)
    • Ring of Frost
    • Blind
    Humanoid

    • Polymorph
    • Sap
    • Mind Control
    • Seduction
    • Repentance
    • Hex
    • Wyrven Sting
    • Fear (glyphed)
    Beast

    • Polymorph
    • Sap
    • Hibernate
    • Hex
    • Wyrven Sting
    • Scare Beast (be careful with this one, as there's no glyph that will make the mob stand still)
    • Fear (glyphed)
    Elemental

    • Banish
    • Bind Elemental
    • Wyrven Sting
    • Fear (glyphed)
    Demon

    • Sap
    • Repentance
    • Banish
    • Enslave Demon
    • Wyrven Sting
    • Turn Evil (be careful with this one, as there's no glyph that will make the mob stand still)
    • Fear (glyphed)
    Undead

    • Shackle Undead
    • Repentance
    • Turn Evil (be careful with this one, as there's no glyph that will make the mob stand still)
    Dragonkin

    • Sap
    • Hibernate
    • Repentance
    • Wyrven Sting
    • Fear (glyphed)
    Giant

    • Repentance
    • Wyrven Sting
    • Fear (glyphed)

    Here, Have Some Cake


    There is absolutely no reason why a healer should have to heal you up after a wipe. If you're down 50k hp, it would take, in my experience, roughly 6 Heals to top you off. Your healer is going to be eating and drinking as well, so you might as well sit down and nom on some delicious cake. If you don't have a mage then use your own food. It doesn't have to be buff food, though that would be ideal. Mobs drop food like Roasted Beef which restores 67,500 hp over 30 seconds, in addition to your out of combat regen.



    Dispelling: It's Not Just for Healers Anymore

    With the release of Cataclysm, Blizzard mixed up the dispel system. Now, all healers can dispel magic defensively, provided they take the talent. However, each has at least one type of debuff they cannot dispel and that's where you come in. Yes you, the fat one with the feathers. The one hurling lightning bolts. The one raining golden death upon the enemy. And yes, even mages. So if you have a priest healing in your group, please be aware that priests cannot dispel curses or poisons. Druids don't do so well with diseases, shamans need some help with poison and disease, and paladins just can't get rid of those pesky curses. So if you have a button to remove a debuff that your healer can't, consider using it.

    While Your At It, Why Not Press Your Heal Buttons Too?

    We're not asking you to heal for us, but if , for example, the group is reasonably clumped up and taking a ton of damage, go ahead and hit that Holy Radiance button, Mr. Ret Pally. One global isn't going to kill you, but an overburdened healer might. Rebirth is also not just for resto druids. DPS shamans, be aware that Healing Stream does stack.

    And in that vein, whether a DPS dies in Cataclysm is almost entirely up to that player. So if you're gonna stand in something bad, try to save yourself with self-healing or damage absorbing/immunity abilities and talents. These include, but are not limited to: Recuperate, Ice Block, Ice Barrier, Deterrence, Death Strike, Dispersion, Shamanistic Rage, Cloak of Shadows, etc. I guarantee, unless the tank isn't taking much damage, you probably will not get much in the way of direct healing.

    Conclusion: Being a Good DPS Isn't Just About Meters

    Success in Cataclysm is once again a group effort. It's everyone's job to ensure the run goes as smoothly as possible. The sad truth is, if groups continue to expect their healers to heal through avoidable damage, sit and drink alone between pulls and have an extremely stressful experience in every heroic run, soon there won't be any healers. Meters aren't everything, and I think I speak for all healers when I say players who are situationally aware and considerate far, far outweigh ones that can blow up the meters while standing in fire. No one's going to remember your DPS numbers, but they will remember that clutch interrupt or quick CC on an accidental pull. Those are the kinds of things that gain you a spot on a healer's friends list and, quite possibly, their undying love.
    Last edited by exquisite; 2011-04-12 at 08:01 PM. Reason: Added and fixed some things <3

  2. #2
    The Lightbringer eternalwhitemoon's Avatar
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    As a healer, I appreciate this guide greatly, especially the part about the lightwell and the various CC each mob is susceptible to. (Yes, I don't care that the priest will have higher meters than me, I still click the Lightwell because it's delicious and that means I don't have to worry about myself. )

    Lightwell loves you, and so will we if you follow this guide <3

  3. #3
    another thing ive noticed people are never doing, is throwing an off-heal. I was doing GB HC, and we were on 3rd boss (the one that is very hard on the healer). Me being the warrior tank, i ofc couldnt heal. Our elemental shaman (for some odd reason) gets hit by the fire elemental, and dies, naturally. He chooses to ankh, and starts dpsing instantly. Our healer is clearly strugling to keep up people, and because i was taking some huge hits, he had to keep me and himself alive. The shaman staying on those 10% for a long time keeps dpsing, until the dragon turn, and kill him with her breath. What could have avoided this? 1 big heal from himself! It may cost a lot of mana, but youre better off near-oom than dead imo. Else, a very nice guide thanks!

  4. #4
    The Patient Marraphy's Avatar
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    Nice guide! Personally I would add helping out with heals when neccessary (and always using self-heals if you have any) and taking survival talents : D
    85 Priest/72 Druid/85 Mage/24 Shaman/56 Paladin

  5. #5
    Mechagnome
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    Doomguards don't warstomp any more and Demonic Charge has been chaged to Demonic Leap

  6. #6
    Brewmaster Brittany's Avatar
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    I like the guide.

    In regards to offhealing though, I'm a holy priest usually with a shadow offspec. As I'm mainspec healer it's very much instinct to check the healthbars.

    I've started dropping out of shadow to throw heals, but honestly this does 3 things.

    a) Lowers my dps, which is the role I have in the group
    b) Lowers my mana HUGELY, which is no good for anyone
    c) Shows I have no faith in the healer.

    Yes, i think if people can help out in critical moments they could, but honestly as a healer, is my job to keep the party alive, I don't expect people to feel they have to go oom just to help me out. Mainspec healers are struggling for mana regen for healing, so offspecs have little chance right now.

  7. #7
    Field Marshal Jakebert's Avatar
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    A little section on battle ressurections (lookin' at you, boomkins) might be nice. When I got laser beamed and essentially one-shotted by Temple Guardian Anhuur's blue laser of death, the druid DPS battle rezzed me and it turned what would have been a wipe into a kill. I am a priest, and I support Clicks for Lightwell.
    Quote Originally Posted by Kelesti
    "RAWRIMABEAR" only goes so far.

  8. #8
    @ the DK's interrupts you seem to have forgotten Strangulate. Its a silence but also interrupts the current cast, so even if the mob is immune to silence, it is atleast interrupted
    Originally Posted by Bashiok (Blue Tracker)
    Psshhh. Like I would actually bother reading a thread.

  9. #9
    This is an awesome guide

  10. #10
    Deleted
    really nice guide you made there :thumbs up:

    Must say that i have 1 healer and 2 dps with a healing offspec, when needed i do throw out an offheal but 90% of the time i get told to dps and not heal cause i am not a healer...

  11. #11
    Deleted
    How About asking the Tank not to Tank the mob on top of the Lightwell. So many times they seem to think it's some sort of 'Fight Here' beacon, and once the mob's hit box covers the Lightwell, no can clicky

  12. #12
    Pandaren Monk
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    Nice guide, though gnaw isn't for every DK, and death grip is by no means an interrupt:P

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Pieterman View Post
    Nice guide, though gnaw isn't for every DK, and death grip is by no means an interrupt:P
    I think they mostly mean it can work like an interrupt to pull a casting mob to you (thus they can't keep casting their spell).

    Also Strangulate does need to be on there, but otherwise it's a great looking WIP guide (and funny ) I liked your section about "Do stand in the good stuff" because I have seen people move out of my healing rain a lot

    ---------- Post added 2011-01-18 at 06:20 AM ----------

    Might also want to add Holy Wrath to stun Demons and Undead, and when Glyphed will also stun Dragonkin and Elementals, but of course since it's an AoE effect the person would want to be careful to make sure there are no CC'd mobs close by.

  14. #14
    Deleted
    Excellent Guide.
    One thing that might be worth adding in is a note about disengaging.
    If you are taking a lot of damage, stop attacking, and use any threat reducing and damage reducing abilities you have.
    Melee: Move out of melee range (15 yds) as aggro is reduced beyond this range, this also helps the tank identify any mob which are focusing on you.
    Ranged: Run towards tank, so that he notices you and can taunt.
    However stay in range of your healers, don't get in front of the mob, and don't stand in bad stuff as you move.
    Re-engage once you health is out of the danager zone (~+30%).
    Keep up the good work

  15. #15
    Deleted
    I find myself dropping out of shadow form a lot these days to throw heals if its looking a bit wipey, and both the tank and healer are low on health. I'll chuck a prayer of mending out (have it keybound on the end of my dps bar) and then use a couple of flash heals on tank to give the healer a sec to sort themselves (I have a full healing bar identical to my holy spec bar that pops up out of shadow form just in case the healer dies and i need to take over).

    Most healers I've dpsed with have been pretty grateful for the help, I dont actually recall getting bawled at by a healer for doing so. My druid friend said to me the other day when he was healing, and I'd done that and apologised for it, that he had no problem with it, hed rather a little off heal help than end up wiping.

    As for the lovely little lightwell, I have mine macroed.

    #showtooltip Lightwell
    /Cast Lightwell
    /s Click that lightwell, make a healer happy today!

  16. #16
    This is great! Sometimes I find that dps run OUT of my effloresence! It's not such a big deal I suppose...but every little bit helps, right? Stay IN the pretty glowy green circle, stay OUT of ugly bubbly bad circles x_x

    Thanks for taking the time to write this up

  17. #17
    Nicely done, Exquisite. Even though my guild mates are competent bunch, I don't know how many times I remind them to click the Lightwell...I even go over the combat log at the end of the raid night and call out those who never clicked once. 'Make a healer ( the Priest, in this case) happy, click the Lightwell!'
    Don't blink, blink and you are dead.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by ladycazzeh View Post
    I find myself dropping out of shadow form a lot these days to throw heals if its looking a bit wipey, and both the tank and healer are low on health. I'll chuck a prayer of mending out (have it keybound on the end of my dps bar) and then use a couple of flash heals on tank to give the healer a sec to sort themselves (I have a full healing bar identical to my holy spec bar that pops up out of shadow form just in case the healer dies and i need to take over).

    Most healers I've dpsed with have been pretty grateful for the help, I dont actually recall getting bawled at by a healer for doing so. My druid friend said to me the other day when he was healing, and I'd done that and apologised for it, that he had no problem with it, hed rather a little off heal help than end up wiping.

    As for the lovely little lightwell, I have mine macroed.

    #showtooltip Lightwell
    /Cast Lightwell
    /s Click that lightwell, make a healer happy today!
    I was healing Grim Batol normal yesterday and the Shadow priest in the group would drop Shadowform and help with the occasional heal. Whilst I was grateful for it we both knew that it didn't really improve the situation. The tank wasn't going to be mindful of CC'd mobs and the other DPS were reluctant to CC as is. Ultimately it placed a lot more strain on my healing capabilities.

  19. #19

  20. #20
    I'm only a healer and this guide should be read by everybody who plays the game. It's true this isn't Wrath no more, it's a group effort game called Cataclysm. Not zerging, one-shotting everything game. Plus some people need to learn how to CC and click on Lightwell. Lightwell is your friend. Thanks for writing this!

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