Thanks to healers, raiding parties inWorld of Warcraftremain alive and kicking long enough to go head-to-head againstWarcraft’s fiercest foes. As with other MMOs, Healers inWoWremain responsible for both healing their allies against their foe’s attacks and buffing them to sustain their damage numbers.
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Essentially, it’sBlizzard’s hit MMO that continues to evolve and “change the game” when it comes to MMO dungeons. However, one thing remains the same: Healers remain in-demand, and a ton of Healers miss things that end up wiping the party. In turn, what exactly should Healers inWoWalways avoid?
10Don’t Forget Spec Interactions
Remember, healing specializations diversify the way a Healer can approach their healing and buffing potential. Healers shouldn’t treat themselves as “general Healers,” as some healing specs perform poorly in general healing than others. Instead, players must maximize their specialization’s strengths to benefit the party.
For instance, the Holy Paladin specializes in quick healing to complement their tanking potential. Meanwhile, the Holy Priest specializes in massive heals with high CD. Lastly, the Restoration Shaman has slow but long-lasting healing and protection abilities. Healers who know their Specialization’s strengths can find the best rotations to maximize their healings, buffs, and even damage.
9Don’t Forget Targets
Just because a spell can heal doesn’t mean a Healer can use it in any situation. Reckless healing can leave Healers with insufficient Mana or CD to cast a crucial heal for their Tank or a group heal for everyone else. In turn,Healers need to analyze their abilitieswell enough to understand which heals to use on a target based on multiple variables.
For instance, Holy Priests in Raids can alternate between Holy Word: Serenity to heal an injured ally, Holy Word: Sanctify to heal a cluster of the party, or Holy Word: Salvation to heal the majority of the team. Likewise, they can proc Circle of Healing to heals-over-time injured allies and Prayer of Mending to buff the active Tank.
8Don’t Miss The Research
Good healers know which spells to use to heal certain targets. However, great healers can anticipate when they need to use their abilities before emergencies even happen. Interestingly, players don’t need to be fortune tellers to do this. Rather, a lot of healers often forget that they’re allowed to review raids and dungeons ahead of time.
Healers who want to maximize their rotations and mana usage should capitalize on external resources to research the raid and its many elements. For instance, the extensive and grueling fight againstLich King Arthas and Frostmournein Icecrown Citadel requires healers to be on their toes as the boss often procs multiple abilities at the same time.
7Don’t Neglect Proximity
Given how most healers tend to have fragile defenses and ranged heals, it’s likely for them to stay in the rear. In principle, this is correct; however, remember, healers too far into the rear might not reach party members who need their healing. Essentially, healers should study the maximum range and efficacy of their spells.
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With this information, healers can maintain their distance but keep their heals within the proximity of frontline Tanks andrear-end DPS like Magesand Hunters.
6Don’t Forget Mobility, Timing
Mobility matters inWoW’s high-intensity raids. Remember, a lot of bosses and mobs have gimmicky spells that can slow or stun party members - potentially ruining their formation. In turn, healers need to stay alert whether they’re in proximity of a monster’s spell or ability. If possible, healers should choose to avoid an attack instead of risking to cast an interruptible spell. That way, healers conserve their mana and avoid unnecessary damage.
Moreover, healers need to time their spells properly against multiple enemies. Remember, abilities that need casting time can get interrupted. In turn, healers need to ensure their spells proc fast enough before an enemy ability has any chance of interrupting them.
5Don’t Get Reckless With Aggro
Just because healers don’t deal damage doesn’t mean enemies can spot them. In battle, taking out the support can cripple the frontlines, andWoWincorporates this into their aggro mechanic. Essentially, healers who dish out extremely powerful healing can steal aggro from Tanks and the DPS. Sadly, healers are almost always defenseless whena boss like Illidan Stormragein the Black Temple gets their attention.
To avoid unnecessary aggro, healers need to be familiar with their tanks' rotation. That way, Healers can time powerful heals just before a tank dishes out their threat generation abilities. With this, healers can steal aggro for a split-second, only for the tank to steal it back.
4Don’t Forget To Fight Back
Healers don’t necessarily need to focus solely on their healing spells in a raid. Remember, it’snot just Warlocksand Mages that deal damage via ranged spells. A lot of healers forget that they have offensive abilities specifically because they can contribute in damage as well. Whenever healers make a rotation, they need to incorporate some offensive spells to ensure that they’re using their mana even when their other healing spells are in cooldown. Thankfully, almost all Healing Specializations have some form of offensive ability.
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For instance, the Restoration Druid can proc a lot of buffs to the tank with Lifebloom and Rejuvenation. However, the Druid can also insert offensive spells such as Innervate, Moonfire, or even Sunfire in between rotations to maximize their mana usage.
3Don’t Ignore Self Healing
Thanks to tanksand other specialist DPS, it’s likely that a healer always remains at a safe distance from enemy attacks. However, healers should always have self-healing measures ready on the off-chance of a massive hit or attack. For instance, great single-target spells such as Flash Heal (Priest) or Nourish (Druid) can save a healer in a pinch.
Likewise, healers should also have plenty of consumable healing items to avoid wasting mana on emergency heals. For instance, Spiritual Healing and Spiritual Mana Potions always work great as raid consumables.
2Don’t Neglect Numbers
Granted, some might think that observing healing numbers too much can get overkill in raids. However, healers need to pay close attention to their mana and their party’s overall HP to balance their healing rotations. Essentially, healers need to set a “warning HP” that signals they need to start their healing rotation. This is important, as DPS andtanks usually have emergency healsthey could use for survival, anyway.
In most situations, it’s always a safe rule for healers to begin proccing their spells when a party member hits 60-percent HP. Theoretically, this number serves as a safe number for healers to work with before their teammate suffers a lethal hit. Likewise, this number also maximizes a healing spell’s output to avoid wasting mana.
1Don’t Forget Priorities
At its core, healers should do their best to give all party members the best in restorative care as possible. However, in clutch moments where healers need to choose who to heal first, they need to have priorities. Essentially, healers should heal tanks first, since tanks have the best means of securing defenses quickly and taking on damage even at low HP.
Afterward, healers should heal downed healers next to boost the number of healing specialists to help the rest of the team. Only then could healers start healing the other DPS party members.
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