So, I'm almost level 15, which is when my dungeon binge starts. Yeah, I know the queues may have long waits, but I plan on doing the healing thing. I have a 85 warrior that has mostly been dps, but for a few months, our guild needed another tank and they chose me. Something strange happened. I was actually nervous about having these people count on me and royally screwing up. Now our guild was very laid back and we always had a blast doing things together, so I wasn't concerned about being berated or anything like that, I was just genuinely nervous. My legs would shake, I heart rate was up, I was extra alert, and after the fact I loved it. I would feel an impending doom though, something heavy on my shoulders in the hours before our runs.
I have this feeling about healing too. Even though I'm close to 15, far far away from 85, I have concerns about my abilities healing. I'll just have a few buttons to push, it can't be that hard right?
PuGs are going to be crazy though. I expect I'll get some very constructive criticism, which will be welcomed. I want to get better, I want people in trade to say, "Krinkin is the best healer on the server!" (Yeah, I know it's lofty but I can dream, right??) But a majority will probably be about how I need to "L2P" lol.
Any suggestions on how to shake the butterflies? I know the more I get in there and heal, the less anxiety I'll have. But to get over that hump, I'd love some positive feed back.
Hello Jacob,
ReplyDeleteI got pointed to this post by a friend of mine. I believe I may have some insight for you, as unhelpful as you'll likely find it. My main character in WoW is a druid. I leveled him feral kitty, I raided with him feral kitty. I've even healed with him. I know there's a lot of humbug out there right now about how hard it is to heal. I can't attest to the difficult of druid healing right now, since I'm still rebuilding my Cata resto set. But you're level 15 and you definitely don't need to worry about that. The difficulty of healing always depends on the group, anyway.
If you think it will help you, research some healing specs, try to find some resto druid blogs. I suggest www.restokin.com, as it contains a leveling and healing guide for 4.0.3a (http://www.restokin.com/2010/11/leveling-healing-guide-updates-for-4-0-3a/) The fact is, ALL healers are having to adjust. but you're in something of a unique position. If you plan to level SOLELY through healing dungeons, you can learn the ins and outs of druid healing from the very beginning. I leveled a priest alt that way and it has made me a very confident, competent healer.
Honsetly, you can't really shake the butterflies until you have done it few times. (Not exactly what you're looking to hear, I know.) I was the same way with my warrior when I started to tank. I worried and fretted about how bad I would be and how I'd get kicked from groups. But eventually, I told myself to stop worrying and just spec prot and hop into a dungeon. And you know what? I did and while Wrath was still king (see what I did there?), that warrior tanked the LK fight. If you really want to make it a lot easier on yourself, try some healing rotations to see what works best for you. Look at what spells you have, figure out what will give you the most throughput. Rejuv spam is a thing of the past. Rolling hot spam is a thing of the past.
At level 15, the spells you're likely to have are Regrowth, Rejuvenation, Healing Touch, and Swiftmend. Regrowth used to be a no-brainer, massive healing PLUS a heal-over-time? For a while, it even replaced Nourish as one of our key spells. Even at level 15, you'll really only want to use Rejuv, Healing Touch, and Swiftmend. Try to keep Rejuv on your tank and Healing Touch is slow (but powerful) and inexpensive. Swiftmend is your "TANK IS DYING MUST HEAL" spell. When you get to about 30, you'll have access to Nature's Swiftness, which makes any spell with a cast time less than 10 seconds instant. At some point, you'll want to make a macro that combines Nature's Swiftness with Healing Touch. When you get the spell Lifebloom, you'll want to keep that on your tank, since, unless you're in Tree of Life form, it can only be on one target. Practice on yourself. See what gets you the most healing. Run yourself OOM a couple times to see how fast it happens. If you think you lose mana too quickly, try a different strategy. I do this with my healers all the time, to see what sorts of numbers I get as well as to see how much mana I'm losing.
Healing is a matter of prioritization. If you have to let a dps die to keep the tank up, NEVER be afraid to let them die. If they complain, explain that it was a case of "let them die or wipe." If they still complain, well, that's their problem. And you will definitely find people who complain about your healing. DO NOT let it get to you.
Anyway, I know it's a bit long-winded and rambling, but I hope that helped somewhat.
~Astl
US Boulderfist