Rethink Your Game - Simple Steps to Success

When I first started playing World of Warcraft I heard several “Vanilla” players wistfully recall their days in classic raids. I heard stories about hunters putting on kiting lessons in Blackwing Lair, of days when whether or not you had a rogue to sap or a hunter to kite could make or break an encounter. Days when everyone knew their jobs and did them, and when it would mean 40 dead players if one person didn’t do their job.

This is what I thought I had signed up for when I started raiding. Unfortunately as any Wrath raider knows this was not the case for the last expansion. Mana didn’t matter for healers, mindless spamming to hit the top of the healing charts became more important. No one used crowd controls – why would you waste the time when everything could be AoE’d down?

With the advent of Cataclysm and The Shattering, many of those who have patiently waited through the last four years of ‘dumbed down content’ are rewarded for their patience. No longer can things simply be gathered up and AoE’d down.

Gear and ability now matter, and no matter how harsh it may be the statement of “you can’t handle this yet” is viable again when a 70k tank tries to take on Vortex Pinnacle or Halls of Origination. Healers will have to make choices on who gets healed, even dps will run out of mana (and not just those oomkins out there).

This is the way the game is designed now.

However, to the players dismissing a healer or dps offhand due to preconcieved notions their class, perhaps you too should rethink their approach to the game. Most dungeons now take intellegence and teamwork to complete. As a priest and really as any healer, there are things you can do to ensure success of your character and class.

Know your Class

Your healing leader isn’t your baby sitter. They shouldn’t have to tell you when to use your mana cool downs and when to spam heavy heals. You are responsible for your character and your mechanics.

Gear may seem secondary to what you do with it in Wrath, but in Cataclysm this will no longer be the case. I experimented with my gear and watched a fight I would always run oom on become…well not simple, but noticeably easier with the addition of a measly 200 spirit from reforging and one enchant.

Pay attention to your spec and gear. Are you correctly using gems and enchants available to you? Are you stacking haste when you should stack spirit? No one can gear your character for you, no one can push the buttons on your screen for you. Show that you have confidence and knowhow in your character, and others will see it in how you handle yourself in parties and raids.

Understand Triage Healing

The concept of Triage healing is new and different to many who didn’t play during Classic Warcraft. Look at it like you are on the battle field. The person with a splinter in their hand isn’t as important as the person who stepped on a land mine. Protect your party members. The more people alive, the faster the mobs die.

Your responsibility is no longer to top off every member of your party, but merely to ensure they survive the fight until it is over.

If you try to keep everyone fully topped off in a boss fight you will likely go oom before the first 30 seconds of the fight.

Become a Dungeon Leader

The Dev Team has specifically stated they want to make a return to Classic style of crowd control. If your group is approaching the game from a Wrath perspective, communicate to them. Our mana isn’t what it used to be, but if your team is smart it will do exactly what you need it to do.

Just because you don’t have the pretty check mark next to your character picture, or have the fancy [Dungeon Guide] text next to your name does not mean you can’t speak up.  All of wrath healers who needed mana had to scream at the tank to get their attention. You should be accustomed to speaking up in parties to communicate what you need from the tanks. Extend that outwards.

Know the spell toolboxes you have available - not only on your own character but on those around you. What kind of mob is in front of you? Banish, sap, bind, shackle, frost trap, stun, repentance…these should all be words in your vocabulary. The more mobs you can take out of the equation the less damage your party takes and therefore the easier the entire experience becomes on your mana (and did I mention your stress?).

Be a Team Player

It takes a whole group to crowd control. It takes the whole group to know that you need to jump when that ugly giant is casting Quake, or not to stand outside of Asaad’s Crystal Triangle. The amount of healing it takes to overcome these mechanics will cause any healer to oom before they are due.

Listen to strategies and learn them for future runs. Know when the tank will get hit extra hard so your cooldowns and mana will be ready to handle the situation.

Gone are the days when the brute force of heal spam can keep a group up. DPS can’t stand in AoE and expect the healers to cover for them. Crowd controls must be used and not broken. Tanks will be as responsible for their health as their healers. When this is realized, hopefully the uninitiated stop blaming the healing class for their stupidity and start playing smarter themselves.
 
I know I personally took a temporary knock to my confidence when I saw my ability to keep a group up dwindle, but my advice to both myself and my fellow healers is this: be stubborn and keep pushing yourself. Learn your character, and as your gear improves things will smooth out. Know your mechanics, keep your head up. Don't let one bad run or player dash your opinion of your class or abilities.

My advice to anyone discouraged with your current ability or throughput is to keep your confidence and keep your head up. Take charge of groups if things are overwhelming. Ignore the unwarranted stereotypes.