Comments on: Leveling healing: Guest post by Verdantazia of Silverhand

By: Lissanna

Lissanna — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:43:36 +0000

I think glyphed Healing Touch is a really great tool for leveling healing. We did it all okay back before the glyph was put in the game, and we should still be using HOTs, but it’s probably the best glyph for low level healing.

Also, everyone is going to have slightly different leveling healing experiences, so things are going to be different for various people. I don’t think there’s one “right” way to do something. That’s what is so great about this game.

By: Verdantazia

Verdantazia — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:46:46 +0000

Well. I’ve played a Priest since the day the game began, and to be honest, it’s always good to be proactive as a healer, no matter what your particular class.
Before they developed a flash heal for Priests, everything was Lesser, Healing, and Greater Healing, and you had to know which to use (and what level) when. As it was, Greater Healing was the most used spell for tanks in boss fights, but it had a ginourmous casting time. So, you had to start the casting long before the damage came, which is pro-active because I had to actually anticipate the damage by watching/knowing the fight.
For me, the shift in playing a druid has been to have lots of HoTs up and casting them all the time, in a rotation, rather than just spamming one big heal on the tank.
As for your question about glyphed HT – I came to the realization I *had to have a flash heal of some sort, precisly because my HoTs weren’t cutting it (given the particulars of the gear, skills, character levels involved) and HT is too long to cast on its own, Regrowth’s lump sum amount is too low (because half its power is a HoT), and Swiftmend is too small a heal (esp on a good tank with tons of HP’s) and also has a long cooldown. We kept dying. I needed something I could use very quickly that would heal for a lot (at one time), and use as much or as often as I needed/wanted.
The problem is, HoT’s just take too long to mitigate extreme spike damage. And once you lose yourself or the tank, that’s often a wipe.
Like you, I read everything I could about how to heal as a druid, but all the guides and info were either for, or by, 80 raiders, meaning their advice was either theorycraft or appropriate for their place in the game, but inappropriate for mine.
I was further confused, becase for the traditional instances in Azeroth, just usuing HoTs really was enough, and I was sort of lulled into an artifical sense of security.
So, I had to find a way to heal in 5 mans that actually worked every single time, for any group I may be healing for. Once I let go of the idea that I should be mana and healing effecient, ie only using HoTs, and being as spare as I could with my heals as possible, everything changed. For the better.
Now i’m extremely pro-active, overheal wantonly, use all my HoTs in their rotation, flash heal as needed and in short, work just as hard as I did/do on my Priest. And the result, as I mentioned, is success. Since the changes, I have yet to wipe in a group where I’m the healer.
*shrug. Don’t know what else I can say.

By: Amellais

Amellais — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:12:35 +0000

I wasn’t going to comment but this post got me to thinking. I am leveling a druid because I like the idea of its flexiblity. Resto is where I’m headed cause I love healing. I have a main holy paladin I have given up for my leveling druid I love this class so much even at this point. On top of it all I’m and information-aholic, I read everything I can find.

Which leads me to my problem with what your article is saying. Everywhere I look and read it says druids are THE pro-active healing class. All others are pretty much reactive, though priest and shammies do have a hot. Which means that you should be preparing for the damage coming not trying to make up for that which has happened. If it really is a nasty spike you have Swiftmend.

You say that without the glyph you see your tank get dangerously low before your Healing Touch can go off. But what if you didnt do anything? Would all of your HOTs ticking have brought him back up anyway?

I guess what I’m getting at is that druids arent like anyother healing class. We dont depend on reacting to damage after its happened with a ‘flash heal’. We see it coming and prepare for it so it doesnt look like it ever happened. It can be hard to come from a reactive class and be able to trust that our HOTs will do there job.

Now all that said I dont have a lot of experience yet with actually healing and a lot of what I have said is from theory. But I believe that this is the basis of how we should look at the druid class and may be the underlying problem the OP see with there groups taking so much damage and the need for the glyphed Healing Touch.

Just my two cents

By: Siobhann

Siobhann — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:34:00 +0000

I don’t agree with a lot of this post. I played resto through BC and feel like I know the class pretty well. I didn’t get run-throughs with 80s, as I leveled my druid first. I healed a lot of the normal instances for XP and quests.

Spirit is not just for raiding. Part of the rough time you had in UK was low spellpower, and spirit converts to spellpower from Improved ToL. With Intensity and Living Spirit, it is our main regen stat. One thing to keep in mind is that around level 77-80, the spirit regen formula changes, and at that point you may want to look for some gear with MP5 to boost your regen.

Stacking stamina for when the tank fails is not going to make you a better healer. All you do is gimp your HoTs that could have ticked for a little more had you worn more spirit or spellpower. Be sure you’re specced for 3/3 subtlety and put Shadowmeld within easy reach. As for avoiding aggro, it is the tank’s job to keep mobs off you. Druids are aggro magnets because of ticking HoTs but that just means you have to be sure to find a good tank.

WG is not a HoT to roll. The ticks are only 1-second and diminish with time, making it fantastic to cast immediately AFTER damage. What you should be rolling on the party is longer-lasting Rejuvs and single Lifeblooms for the little burst. Don’t forget Regrowth either, since it lasts so long.

I also don’t agree that GHT is an absolute necessity. Regrowth is only 0.5 seconds longer, has more crit, and the glyph makes it a very nice tank heal. I didn’t glyph HT when I leveled and I didn’t particularly feel like I needed a flash heal other than Regrowth. Of course, I knew my Regrowth button well after using it so liberally in BT.

Hope some of this helps, and I’ll wave to you if I ever see you in Dalaran since I’m on Silver Hand too.

By: Verdantazia

Verdantazia — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:07:25 +0000

Thanx for the info Maaya about Grid. Should I ever get to do raids with my druid, i’ll undoubtedly have to get it, along with a lot of other mods.

I don’t know if my experience is typical or atypical – I’m sure most people who are leveling characters are in guilds, and can get run-throughs with 80’s. I don’t usually have that option, so my experience reflects random assortments of people in random gear doing instances as they were designed to be done – groups of five, use of tactics, having to know boss fights, etc.

Last night, I did arcane prison instance in Dalaran for the first time. A very good PUG, everyone knew what they were doing, good gear, and I applied my rotations as normal, no one even got close to being even wounded, and I got compliments for my healing, as did the tank for her aggro control.

The one skill I didn’t have to use was Tranquility (first time for that), and I think that’s a reflection of the quailty of the group. BUT I still stand by it being a vital skill. Why? Because it’s irreplaceable at this level. I can heal all five of us, completely, with no aggro, and it invariable “saves the day”.

I don’t have an ego about having to use an “oh noes” skill. I don’t think any less of myself as a healer for having to use it, nor is it my place to dictate the skill/equipment of randome people I play with. I want whatever I can get to keep people alive.

By: Kieran

Kieran — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:48:35 +0000

*Warrior left at 1st boss of Crypts, sorry. xD

By: Kieran

Kieran — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:47:20 +0000

Hi all,
I currently have a Resto Druid, level 67, and I found this post quite weird to read. I’ve so far done Ramparts, Blood Furnace, Underbogs, Mana Tombs & Crypts. I NEVER used Healing Touch. Instead, for Ramps & BF, I rolled Rejuv & Regrowth on the MT, then popped a Swiftmend when needed. If I saw someone take Aggro, I would pop a Rejuv on them. This was enough, even with my gear which was sub-standard due to Refer a Friend. I only used Wild Growth on occasions when I saw everyone dropping and it covered it, this was only once or twice through the whole instance. I never touched Tranquillity.
When I got Lifebloom, my life became a lot easier. During trash, just Rejuv, Regrowth and the odd Swiftmend was enough. During bosses, Slow Rolling LB, and keeping Rejuv and Regrowth on the target was enough. Again, Wild Growth was used a minor number of times, and a Rejuv was enough to heal the over-aggroers. During the Crypts, our warrior tank quit at he 2nd boss after getting a drop. We managed to complete the instance with a Dinosaur pet from a level 66 Hunter. Yet again, during the last fight, 3x LB, Regrowth and Rejuv did the job. I use the Rejuvenation glyph and Swiftmend glyph. Although, I am finding that the Rejuv glyph is pretty useless, since you are always over healing. I think it might be better at 80, but could be classed as a PvP glyph.

I have to agree with the overhealing though. Just keep them topped up, otherwise, 1 or 2 crits could see them dead.