There is much debate over how to measure a healer’s performance. Some utilize healing meters, some go by the old adage that “if no one dies the healer must be good,” some actually attempt to run prospective healers through trials and see how they fare, and some don’t even bother to think twice about it. Obviously there is not a clear, concise test that can objectively be applied to any healer and gauge their ability. How, then, can a healer be measured?

Step One: Forget About Healing Meters

Typically a druid or holy priest, and occasionally a shaman, will top the healing meters. This is due mostly to the nature of their abilities, and being able to quickly put out a lot of healing energy. While meters can be useful, and often encourage friendly competition among healers, they cannot provide an adequate idea of how a healer will perform.

As an example let’s examine a basic raid (25-man) with five or six healers. A druid could do nothing more than toss Lifebloom as much as possible in between Wild Growth cooldowns and easily be at or near the top of the healing meter. In fact, if their sole responsibility is raid healing this might even be the method used. Does this necessarily mean they are a good healer, or even that they adequately performed their duty? Not necessarily. Certainly they contributed a significant amount of healing to the raid, but at what expense? Were the other healers feeling pressure to heal as a result? The meter alone does not provide us with any answers.

Take the same scenario to a ten-man raid with two healers and the results may vary significantly. There is much less room for error, and a single lifebloom or wild growth may prove to not be anywhere near enough to heal the members of the raid.

Step Two: Don’t Forget the Value of Mitigation

Discipline Priests often get snubbed by those lesser-versed players who think meters matter most, or by most anyone who does not understand what the spec brings and then looks at healing meters. Fairly simplistic, but think about it in terms of damage absorbed equals healing done. Although it is not really a direct correlation, it gets the point across. On fights where large amounts of damage are being absorbed and healed through (think fights like Patchwerk) or fights where mana conservation is of the utmost importance (think fights like General Vezax), a discipline priest can make a significant impact on whether a group is able to complete the encounter smoothly by lessening the strain on the other healer(s).

Step Three: Situational Awareness. Situational Awareness. Situational Awareness. Situational Awareness.

I cannot emphasize this point strongly enough. It is the same value that contributes to making good tanks and good damage-dealers. If a healer does not pay attention to their surroundings and stays in the “big circles of hurt” that are prominent in so many encounters then they are not a good healer.

I do want to mention an exception to this particular one, however. There is one trait that relatively few healers, or at least those I have been exposed to, possess: self-sacrifice for the survival of the group. If a healer dies to an environmental ability due to a decision to get that extra healing out to a party member in order to finish an encounter, knowing that they will not be able to escape the damaging ability in time and will subsequently die, I can support that decision. Sometimes it happens. However, if the healer constantly dies doing such an act they need to reevaluate their healing style and adjust to not be constantly in such a situation.

Step Four: Observe Reaction Time.

Any healer should be able to swap assignments on the fly in a raid situation. They may not be best suited for the change in assignment compared to someone else, but they should still be able to adjust quickly to the situation as it unfolds.

In <devnull> there have been numerous times where our healers have had to adjust, and even times when our tanks have had to pull off some pretty miraculous saves working in conjunction with our healers. That type of synergy will obviously not be present in random groups, but in groups that run content together often it is a wonderful thing to see, and it is directly a result of adaptation and reaction time.

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While there may not be a clear-cut method for measuring a healer’s performance, it is easy to see where simply the knowledge and application of some basic concepts will produce good healers. Over time those that apply that knowledge and adjust to find what works best for them will be the healers people remember.

Great healers are an entirely different story, and one that I’ll address soon… ish… probably… *grin*

No Words Necessary

There are numerous places for people to find mountains of semi-useful and useless information with regards to class mechanics, how-to guides on end-game playing, quick ways to level, and breakdowns of talents and spells. While the end-game is certainly an important aspect of play, especially given how quickly a determined player can reach the level cap, acquiring the skills to be effective at the end-game level is not always as simple a concept as reading the aforementioned material. I’m going to focus on developing a healer for this particular post, primarily because of the numerous times I’ve encountered people with questions or misunderstandings about the role as of late.

Step One: Deciding to Heal.

It sounds simple enough. The thought process may even be along the lines of “well, I’ve gathered this gear set and have this other spec I never use, I’m going to give it a whirl and see what happens” to the far more determined who research everything before they even create the character. The primary point is, quite simply, that you have to want to heal in order to be a good healer. Certainly being effective is important, but the mindset of a good healer will translate into the development of the skills to become a good healer.

Step Two: Heal an Encounter.

Whether successful or not, the man thing to remember is that nothing can prepare you for actually healing in-game. Stress will manifest itself in numerous ways, sometimes even on the part of other group members hurling insults toward you (or even potentially being replaced). This is where many people give up or develop a fear of healing again (it is worthwhile to note that new tanks are often subjected to the same experience).

While certainly it does not feel good to be ridiculed or replaced, everyone had to start somewhere. Some people show a natural propensity for certain roles (or bring comfort with similar roles in other games) to the table and seem to have no issue adapting. Others need assistance or guidance in figuring out the best way to progress. Regardless of where you fall, if you want to heal don’t stop at this step because of the idiotic tendencies of the general player (and if you’re that concerned feel free to look me up in-game).

Step Three: Objectively View Your Performance and Learn.

This is a never-ending process. You have to be able to step back and look at a situation that went wrong and know whether it truly was something that could have been avoided with some changes on your part or not, and yet at the same time you have to be able to assess a successful encounter and know whether you contributed to the success or just tagged along. There is a fine line within the scope of this debate that I want to address as an entirely different subject all-together (next post), so I won’t elaborate much on it here. Suffice to say, it is possible to be a healer in a 25-man raid with significant healing numbers without actually being anything other than a heal “spammer.”

Step Four: Understand Exterior Sources of Information and How to Use Them.

This one gets a lot of people in trouble. Certainly the WoW Community is very good at providing places to go for very detailed levels of understanding all things in the game. However, just because something is mathematically more efficient or effective does not mean it is the superior way to do things. The same concept applies to everything you read: authors of any type of material provide guidelines and thoughts that are applicable to their experiences in the game and/or are rooted in scientific/mathematic theory. Use them as places to get ideas and experiment with new processes, but never think of them as the only way to achieve something in-game.

Druids and Priests are known for their sheer healing power in a multitude of settings, but they achieve results with quite different healing styles. Even among themselves there are many different ways to approach healing, such as the Druid who emphasizes HoTs versus the Druid who emphasizes powerful direct heals, or the Holy Priest versus the Discipline Priest, or even the Priest who decides to heal Shadow and the Druid who decides to heal Balance.

What makes these two classes such strong healers, and yet have so little in common from the way they approach healing? Part of it is simply the tools available, but the primary reason healers who excel with one or the other of the two classes, or those who find healing enjoyable on one and not the other, is absolutely related to the style of healing and the challenges each style poses to the player. Neither class is easier or more difficult to play than the other, although going from one to the other will definitely seem as such. Neither class is drastically better or worse than the other, or even marginally better or worse.

There are some very distinct areas where each class excels and some abilities that each class possesses that are easy to fall in love with and prefer to have than not. This is where most healers develop a preference for one class or the other and become markably better with either Priest healing or Druid healing (or Shaman or Paladin, but this is aimed at differences in the other two classes).

Ability Differences:

Druids are king when it comes to fights where stuns, fears, silence effects, or any other form of crowd control is a dominant component of the encounter. The ability to have continuous healing on a player, even if the Druid is unable to cast at that moment, plays heavily into the Druid’s ability to survive such an encounter with relative ease. In addition, tools such as Nature’s Swiftness and Swiftmend allow a Druid to easily catch up on healing when the CC effect has passed.

Priests, on the other hand, have two abilities that make it really tough to discount them as strong contenders in heavy crowd control encounters: Guardian Spirit and Prayer of Mending (and a slight nod to Fear Ward). Although Prayer of Mending relies on damage being done to players during this time, and is somewhat reliant on luck, it is a very strong spell in any encounter where damage is being taken across the party.

Priests are much stronger AoE healers than Druids. As powerful as Tranquility is, especially when talented, Druids simply do not possess as strong an ability to heal strong AoE damage across the entire party. Druids compensate by way of instant-cast HoTs and a subpar equivalent to the Priests’ Circle of Healing in Wild Growth. Yes, Wild Growth heals for more (using base values), but in an encounter where there is more than one healer the trailing ticks of Wild Growth will almost inevitably be overwritten with another heal.

Style Differences:

This is perhaps the most difficult difference between the two classes to attempt to explain. Both classes lend themselves to adaptive healing strategies, and yet both can be somewhat successful skating by with a heavy reliance on “spamming” direct heals. Both classes have a multitude of tools at their disposal, and both classes are generally looked to as the go-to healers for difficult encounters.

What, then, makes these two classes so different?

Without firsthand experience “behind the keys” it is difficult to relate the feelings and thoughts that go on in a healer’s head to others. In many ways it is comparable to the nervousness and anxiousness associated with the first few, or many, times someone has sex. Everyone has some type of idea of what to expect, but no idea how things will actually go. With some practice things start to feel far more comfortable, and then one can focus on improving instead of simply surviving. The parallels do not end there, however. Experimentation and spontaneity in both can prove to be immensely rewarding, but can also go horribly wrong.

Generally speaking, the best way to describe the difference in styles of healing between these two classes comes down to a very basic idea: Druids have to be proactive in their healing because they do not have the healing power to “catch up” if they fall behind, whereas Priests blend a combination of proactive and reactive healing.

Concluding Thoughts:

Both classes are very strong healers. Both classes can easily heal the same encounters in the hands of a capable player and when combined with a competent group. Both classes can be extremely fun to play. The primary reason players choose one class over the other generally comes down to which class feels more comfortable to play.

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This is an interesting time for me, because as of late my roles have changes somewhat on my characters: Byaghro has become a dedicated tank/off-tank and damage dealer, and I have migrated healing to Deamhan (my priest). There will definitely be more information coming for both, and for now Byaghro will maintain a dual-spec feral/restoration combination (until Deamhan’s gear is at an equivalent level). Talk about a huge departure from my norm!

There are two major skills that good healers and good tanks share: situational awareness and adaptive response. When combining these traits with a thorough understanding of game and class mechanics a player is easily spotted and remembered among those with whom they have grouped. Druids have always been quite a versatile class to play, but with the implementation of dual-specializations druids (and Paladins) now have the opportunity to truly shine. This guide is designed as a starting point for those interested in merging their beloved feral or restoration role with its counterpart.

Contents:

1. Feral Talent Spec, Tanking Emphasis
2. Resto Talent Spec, HoT Emphasis
3. Important Skills and Talents, Feral
4. Important Skills and Talents, Resto
5. Tanking a Basic Encounter
6. Healing a Basic Encounter
7. Situational Awareness
8. Adaptive Response
9. Learning and Improving

Feral Talent Spec, Tanking Emphasis – Wowhead Link

Druids have some versatility in specs used as long as the core tanking talents are taken. Plenty of sites delve into the specifics of choosing talents and do an excellent job. For detailed analysis of feral talents and abilities I’d recommend taking a look at Karthis’ excellent posts over at Of Teeth and Claws. For the sake of this guide (and primarily to keep this from becoming many, many pages long) the assumption will be that the above spec is used as a starting point and adjusted according to personal preferences.

Resto Talent Spec, HoT Emphasis – Wowhead Link

The same versatility in tanking specs applies to restoration specs. This guide reflects my preferences in playstyle in emphasizing the strength and power of our healing over time spells. Again, the spec linked above can easily be modified to suit individual preferences, though I’ll highlight the talents that are strongly recommended for restoration druids in the Important Skills and Talents section.

Important Skills and Talents, Feral

• Thick Hide
  For tanking ferals this talent is a necessity. The armor contribution from armor is increased by ten percent when three points are spent, and this makes a very noticeable difference in survivability.
• Natural Reaction
  Another necessity, increasing dodge is very important as a bear tank. The only options feral tanks have to avoid damage are by dodging the attack or by way of the new Savage Defense ability.
• Heart of the Wild, Survival of the Fittest, and Improved Mark of the Wild all provide bonuses to attributes that increase survivability. When looking at maximizing the ability to live through an encounter these talents are absolute necessities.
• Protector of the Pack is also an absolute must. Reducing damage taken by twelve percent is a huge boost to survivability, and with some bosses hitting for huge amounts of damage this one cannot be ignored.

Important Skills and Talents, Resto

• Nature’s Swiftness provides a restoration druid one “guaranteed” emergency heal. While not necessarily a must-have talent, this is definitely one that is strongly recommended.
• Swiftmend should be a part of any restoration druid’s arsenal. I’ve written one guide to swiftmend already so please look at it for more information on why the spell is so important.
• A number of talents in the restoration tree increase spellpower, and all of these talents should be included regardless of a preference for healing using HoTs or direct heals. With the bonuses provided by the Improved Tree of Life talents it is quite clear that resto druids should feel the form to be required. While it is possible to be successful without using the “wilted broccoli” look, it is not recommended. With that thought, Living Spirit becomes a very highly recommended talent as well.

Tanking a Basic Encounter

How a pull is conducted will be determined by a number of variables. Are the mobs close enough together to gain and maintain threat without repositioning them? Will crowd control be involved? Is there concern of pulling additional mobs beyond those which are intentionally being pulled? Should a “line of sight” pull be used?

Without practice deciding how to engage the intended mobs can be a difficult decision, and one that will not become comfortable without time and practice. As a general rule of thumb, the simpler the pull the better the chances nothing will go wrong. This is one area of tanking that is quite open to experimentation and learning what works best for the group composition, as well as being a skill that can only be developed and not simply read and understood.

One the mob is engaged, however, things become much more simple. As a druid there are not many skills that will be used to maintain threat, though where each skill is most effective depends largely upon the number of mobs present and the power of the damage-dealers involved. For the most part, pulling with Faerie Fire and following up with a combination of Swipe and Maul will be more than sufficient to hold threat on practically any mob in the game currently, with the exception of raid encounters. Practice in some heroics and get a feel for the skills available and the amount of threat generated from those skills. Just like healing, tanking can only be truly understood and appreciated when done.

Healing a Basic Encounter

There are two major schools of thought when it comes to healing strategies: adaptive/responsive healing and assigned healing. In general, assigned healing simply means the healer has one or two targets they are responsible to keep alive, and they do not worry about anyone else in the group. For five-man encounters this same approach applies, although it is not ideal. Typically a person accustomed to assigned healing will ensure the tank stays alive, and hopefully be able to toss the occasional heal on other group members as needed.

Adaptive/Responsive healers distinguish themselves from others by being able to read a situation and respond quickly and efficiently. Typically these are the types of players who actually enjoy healing and yearn to excel in an area that is, much like tanking, easy to distinguish between those who truly are good healers (or tanks) and those who are simply able to do what is necessary.

For Druids (and Priests) healing any situation is not just a simple matter of using (x) or (y) skill, although many approach it in such a fashion. For the sake of providing a reference point, most encounters can be healed simply by using a single, strong, direct healing spell (such as Nourish or Healing Touch).

Any restoration druid who understands the class and uses the adaptive healing approach can attest to one statement being absolute fact: no two healers heal exactly the same way. For a basic encounter one may choose to use any combination of heals available to them, and will choose the next spell based on an almost instantaneous decision that factors in a number of variables about the encounter at hand.

Situational Awareness

This is the most important skill to develop as a tank or healer. Understanding what goes on, and being able to read an encounter as it plays out, has the ability to save the group from certain failure. This is also the toughest skill to master given the sheer amount of information available in-game thanks to the proliferation of addons. Watching threat, cooldowns, timers, health and energy bars, abilities, pets, potential harmful effects, buffs, debuffs… the list goes on practically as far as one wants to take it.

Situational awareness does not simply mean know what happens in the encounter and what role one is supposed to fulfill, but to also know what happens in each individual encounter with the group. Tanks need to be aware of who may pull enough threat to require the tank to intervene in some fashion, or if a threat table resets, or if adds spawn and need to be intercepted. Healers need to understand the same concepts in order to predict where healing will be needed on the fly, all the while monitoring the health of all other group members.

It is extremely easy to get trapped in a state of “tunnel-vision.” Many healers become so focused on health they fail to notice a mob that is a little too close, or a void zone they happen to be standing in. Tanks sometimes become so engrossed in maintaining threat on a mob and keeping the DPS from pulling the mob off they fail to notice the same things. Damage-dealers become so obsessed with squeezing out that extra little bit of damage and hitting number one on the meters that they don’t see the bomb at their feet.

In short, maintaining an awareness of what happens and being able to react accordingly is, by far, the most recognizable trait that distinguishes good players from the rest.

Adaptive Response

WoW has seen article after article regarding set “rotations” that should be used to maximize damage or efficiency. While understanding the concepts involved is extremely important, becoming locked into the mentality that a rotation must be followed is detrimental. This allows no room for innovation, for reacting to a change in an encounter on the fly, for seeing something that should be taken care of and adapting to fill that role, or for being able to analyze an encounter and suggest changes due to group composition (or for learning a new encounter and reacting in a manner that benefits the group).

If situational awareness is the most important skill, adaptive response is literally right on its heels. In order to effectively respond to a change in an encounter a decent understanding of game and class mechanics is required (imagine a rogue using Eviscerate instead of Feint or Vanish when they are about to pull threat from the tank. Knowing not to do so does not require extensive knowledge of game and class mechanics, merely competency with how they work).

It is easier to see examples of adaptive response when familiarity with an encounter is already present and on a specific run things go horribly wrong. In these situations tanks and healers who rely on a given set of rules and who are not accustomed to responding to changes “on-the-fly” typically freeze, unsure what to do now that their comfort zone is gone. In many cases this is still a situation that can be recovered from, especially if the group members involved are capable of quick thought and reaction.

Learning and Improving

So how does one practice such techniques? PUGs are excellent sources of such instruction, as are organized guild/friend runs. Both have their advantages, and both should be used liberally. Make it challenging by instructing group members to help hone your skills by doing random things (though I highly encourage this not to be done outside a group of friends/guildmates). One of our most interesting examples is a particular warlock who, thanks to a comfort level and understanding with the tanks/healers, does everything possible to pull aggro. This keeps our tanks in practice intercepting mobs (or simply letting the warlock die on occasion) and responding to changes in the situation on the fly, and keeps our healers from just watching health bars and actually watching the fight unfold in order to predict when to shift focus for a moment and how much effort to put into saving him.

Practice, as the cliche goes, makes perfect. Do not be afraid to give something a shot just because you are not the best player to fill a role. I’m definitely not even close to being the best tank, healer, or damage-dealer around, but through hard work and practice I am recognized and remembered as a good tank and a good healer. What more could I possibly want?