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Monday, June 20, 2011

Building a Solid Healing Core

Most guilds are trying to build a healer core based around the current healing situation.  We know that Paladins and Holy Priest are pulling the top numbers on most fights, but is it really best to fill your entire healing core with these classes?  The biggest problem with doing this is you lose some of your key abilities that make a healer core so flexible.  Today, we I will discuss how I build my healer core and what 3 big things I think about before making these decisions.

Capabilities

The Capabilities of certain classes varies depending on the fight and situation.  If you are fortunate enough to have multiple healers over the required minimum for your raid group and pushing game ending content, you can flexibly switch healers in and out of raids.  But if you are like the majority of us out there, you find it hard to build a solid group of healers that will be able to go through all the content.
Shaman
Shamans are some of your most flexible healers in a raid group.  But, they have limitations based on the current situation at hand.  For example, when groups have to spread out, it is very hard for Shaman to heal a group back up where as in the Chimaeron stack phase, Shaman excel at this role with Chain Heal and Healing Rain.  For this very reason, you need to make sure, depending on the fight at hand, what you assign a Shaman to heal.  Shaman also are pretty solid at being capable tank healers, not the best, but completely able of focus healing a single tank.
Druid
Druids are very good at keeping a single tank alive.  They also bring some decent AoE hots and if it is needed, spamming rejuvenation a little bit.  The biggest thing about having a druid as your tank healer at this point is that keeping your tank from taking constant dips.  But, they really don’t have a lot of burst healing in dire situations.  After these recent changes, Druids are becoming closer to their former Wrath selves with their great raid healing.
Disc Priest
Currently Discs are no longer bubble machines. The new mechanic of healing by smiting is quite different from any other class.  This can heal melee, not fantastically, but to an extent.  Also, PoH putting small bubbles with Divine Aegis on a group is quite nice and can save a couple of players from death.  Penance is still a fantastic ability to save a raid member.  And even though PW: S is not spamable, it is still an amazing ability with the recent changes.
Holy Priest
Currently Holy Priests excels at one thing, AoE.  With all of their new abilities within the 2 Chakra states, allows them to save people quickly or to keep up their massive AoE healing.  With PoH, PoM, CoH, and Renew still at their side, they are able to keep the majority of players healed when massive AoE is going off.
Holy Paladin
Pallys have received a major overhaul since the end of Wrath.  Their new Holy Power heals basically allow them to never go OOM.  That combined with the new Divine Plea, they will be ready to heal the duration of a fight.  Even though Beacon is not its awesome self anymore, it is still an amazing ability that a pally should utilize to its fullest.  Also, in stacking situations, the use of LoD and HR are very clutch.  They are the same power as maybe some of the other AoE heals out there, but it does allow for a pally to have some AoE healing capabilities.

Cool Downs

Now Cool Downs are clutch for most fights.  You don’t want to rely on CDs to the point where if a certain person goes down, then your raid falls apart, but they can really be life savers.
Shaman
Mana Tide – Even after the patch, still the single best mana restorer for a raid.  Since it is now raid wide, allows boomkins to possibly send their innervates other healers way.
Druid
Tranquility – This is absolutely amazing in dire situations.  The massive amount of healing that it does is incredible.  A well timed one of these can save a raid.  Fortunately all druids have this.
Tree of Life – Even though Tree can’t be sustained any longer, the amounts of heals that are able to be done with it is outstanding.  Throwing Lifebloom on multiple targets, Wild Growth hits 2 additional targets, and instant Regrowths makes this an awesome 3 min CD.
Priest
Divine Hymn – Not as good as Tranquility as a raid saver, but none the less a very good Raid Heal.
Hymn of Hope – Not quite as good as Mana Tide, but still a good mana restore.
Leap of Faith – A pretty good ability if used correctly.  Can save a raid members life if used in the right place.
Disc
Pain Suppression – A very good CD that can keep your tank alive when he takes big hits (Magmaw’s nomnom)
Power Word: Barrier – Another very good preventative damage spell.  Make sure to use when you stack up.
Power Infusion – Can be use in a couple of clutch situations.  Help your top caster dps throw extra dps out, throw it on a healer to keep the raid up.  Either way, a very nice CD.
Holy
Guardian Spirit – An absolutely amazing CD.  Increasing the healing on a target and preventing them from dying?!?!?  AMAZING!!!
Spirit of Redemption – Allows you to continue healing for 15 sec after you die.  Not a bad CD but don’t die.
Holy Paladin
Lay on Hands – Basically a heal that will take the player to full health.  Use only if necessary.  Has a long CD.
Hand of Protection – Protects the target for 10 sec but they can’t use physical abilities.
Hand of Salvation – Use this on your threat whores who aren’t tanks.

Skill

This is absolutely the biggest consideration that any healing lead should look at.  Make sure that the player knows their class.  For example, if I had the choice between a Holy Paladin who had the gear but just started playing it or a Resto Shaman who had been playing the class for years and didn’t have quite the gear, I would be more inclined to pick the Shaman.  9 times out of 10 a player’s skill will outweigh the capabilities of a class. Not to mention you really want people you can trust to do their job and not have to watch over their shoulder.
Thanks guys for checking this out.  If you have any questions, shoot them my way at mylindara88@gmail.com or follow me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mylindara.

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