The strong bond between healer and tank
by Mike Schramm 
May 22nd 2008 at 9:00PM
We often post about the bonds created with this game -- there are some terrific bonds between guildies, and Arena teams and battleground groups have some strong bonds as well. But Omen of Clarity and Resto4Life, two great Druid blogs, recently took a look at an even more intimate bond ingame: that between tanks and healers.Omen started it off -- after stepping into a tanking role, he noticed that a certain Paladin healer had really bonded with him in terms of keeping each other up and running, and it really made them both better players -- the tank was more willing to step up when aggro got lost, and the healer had more reason to keep up buffs and rely on the tank, even at his own expense. Resto, from the other side of the spells, agrees -- even out of raids, the healer there will send the tank potions and go out of their way to keep both together. And from my time raiding as a Resto Shaman, I was always thrilled when I got to be in the same group as the tank I was healing, and got to Earth Shield them and spend my trinkets just to keep them up.
It's not the only major relationship in the game (there's also a nice relationship between the tank and the rest of the melee and DPS, as well as the buffers and the buffed in a raid group), but it is an interesting, minute one, and it's something pretty specific to these MMOs that we play. Playing together isn't just fun and games -- by building bonds with other players in other roles, we both become better at the roles we play.
Update: Just in case, like Ratshag, our little hint on the picture wasn't enough for you, the two characters in the pic above are another fairly well-known tank and healer combo, Tree of Life and Pretty in Plate. You try to hide a subtle little easter egg in there for those of us who read all these WoW blogs, and Ratshag won't let you get away with it. Thanks for keeping us honest.
Filed under: Druid, Paladin, Priest, Shaman, Warrior, Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Raiding, Classes
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
agnoster May 22nd 2008 9:44PM
I couldn't agree more that there's a strong bond in a regular tank/healing pair - but that could have something to do with the fact that my tank is also my girlfriend. She's my big strong warrior and I'm her "big wussy priest". We make a damn good team :-)
Kiki May 22nd 2008 9:48PM
Ohhhh very definitely true. I've levelled my holymage all the way up to 70 in a duo with "my" tankadin, and we work together with a synergy I just don't have with any other tank. In fact I *hate* healing any tank other than "mine", as the health bar just doesn't move in the way I'm used to! Twice as hard. :S
As a healer, I certainly feel very protective of "my" tank - It's absolutely gutting to see him go down (which happens a bit when he's main tanking in a progression raid), I feel *personally* responsible despite there actually being an entire team of healers on the case!
"My" tank is also the only person in the entire guild who is not going to get his head bitten off if he says "um, heal please?" :P
Melenor May 22nd 2008 9:53PM
Yeah, they're bonded in that I can never find either for pugs.
Oscar May 22nd 2008 9:55PM
I'm very much in love with my healer. We definitely have a bond between us!
gaz May 22nd 2008 10:08PM
I think tanks/healers do tend to see each other a lot and as a result of hundreds of runs with the same crew, have a mutual respect and appreciation for the job the other performs. This is especially if you also have an alt specced for the other role (try to do it once at least, for an eye opener).
As a guild tank, I try to frequently have a "care package" that I pass to the healing leader to distribute, with a stack or two of healing buff foods, super mana potions, etc.
Blind May 22nd 2008 10:30PM
I agree with this entirely, when I initially found my "tank" I was leveling shadow (and intended to stay as such for endgame as well) and was asked to heal sethekk halls. The run went so well that at 70 I respeced holy and have never looked back.
I'd have to agree about feeling protective about your tank. We've become great friends and group with each other every time possible. Sometimes, if I'm unavailable, he'll end up grabbing another healer because its needed for the run, I always find the next time I heal with him to be harder than normal as if the other healer had made him lose faith that he will be healed, but after we've done a few heroics he's back to normal. I get mad if I see him with other healers too, Not sure if I'm just worried that he'll find someone "better" or if its just me worried they won't do a good job. Its always very welcome when he kicks a healer and invites me to the group because of problems.
I also tend to have a harder time healing other tanks, it just isn't the same, I'm sure I should get over that, I'd definitely have better gear but its just so natural when I'm grouped with my guy we really don't like being separated.
I originally rolled a priest because I'd met one on my mage that left a lasting impression of "that cool guy" and I became self determined to be that person. Its also fun to laugh at the horrible dps we get sometimes, and even though we have a group we typically run things with, there just isn't a bond thats as strong with them.
Either way, if you're a healing capable class, find yourself a good tank friend if you haven't already, the bond between you really does make the game that much better.
jlpknights82 May 22nd 2008 11:23PM
I totally agree with what you said about it feeling more difficult to heal other tanks. There is a certain warrior in my guild that I work really well with when playing my holy paladin. I sometimes struggle healing other tanks in progression content or stuff where I'm a bit undergeared, but whenever the leader pairs me with this one guy, it just ends up working out. Haha.
I think, for us, it's a matter of our natural timing working well together. I always seem to know when he's going to use certain abilities or how he reacts when he's taking a few too many crushing blows, etc.
Surt May 22nd 2008 10:35PM
I agree. Speaking as a tank, there's also just a level of comfort you develop - I know that I can trust them to land heals on me if I'm getting low and the rest of the raid is high, and they know they can trust me to pop cooldowns to give them time to land a big heal rather than having to spam unless I've already burned them. The efficiency level on both sides when I'm running with "my" healer is much higher than when I'm with one I don't know, no matter their gear or skill level.
Oh, and nobody but me picks on them.
John Potter May 22nd 2008 10:51PM
My healer is my bride. The added benefit is that I have learned to take a pot, stone, or Lay on Hands based on the tone of her voice from across the room when we are in a raid.
Doomzy May 22nd 2008 11:10PM
I couldn't agree more. I currently have a healer that I seem to sink really well with. We will trade buff food and stuff. I feel very responsible when ever he is being hit, even if it is the fault of a pesky dps pulling off of me and tossing threat. I find it more difficult to run with other healers. Runs do not seem to go as smooth, they take longer, more people die, the response time is not there.
Thank you healers for doing your thing!
rtidyman May 22nd 2008 11:15PM
Yeah, I know how it is. When I was a raid tank I always wanted two particular holy paladins on my heals. The raid leader could put any on me he wanted, but I always insisted on those two pallys.
jlpknights82 May 22nd 2008 11:18PM
I have definitely seen this bond. One of my guild's main tanks and main healers actually ended up dating after a few months of raids where they focused on and bonded with each other! haha
In my own experience, I actually am seeing this happen in a sort of reverse way. My best online friend and questing partner for the last 5 years (first in SWG and then in WoW) just rolled a druid along with me on a PvE server (we both already have 5 70 Horde characters on a PvP server.) Our druids are approaching the level when they will head to Outland, so we recently decided to figure out our future rolls. We'll be leveling feral, however we decided that he would remain feral and I would go resto once we reached max level. We've been a team for so long that we're actually leveling bonded tank/healer sets now! hahaha
Procris May 22nd 2008 11:22PM
I guess sometimes this can be true. I specced my paladin pre-tbc for healing and was most wanted by a few of the tanks but i can't say i was ever that close with the tanks in my guild/raid. That could just be because most of them were very arrogant. I had really close bonds with the rest of my fellow paladins though.
TasteTheRadness May 23rd 2008 12:04AM
100% correct, i just dont have the same relationship with anyone else in my guild as i do with my healer.
it is stuid the amount of trust i feel with her as no matter what kind of scrape we get into i know she will come through and even if i go down. i'll di her without hesitation. If my blessing of protection is on cool down then 99% of the time is because its been on her.
we have been running together for about 5 months now and i just dont trust anyone else healing me.
same with those people who are right up in the mobs face with me. its not that i dont like our ranged dps. i just dont have the same connection with them then i do with those who are right up there about to eat a 12k hit if i go down during a boss fight.
Ravenblight May 23rd 2008 12:29AM
I played both sides of the fence and i can say ideveloped relationships with my healers/Tanks (depending on my role) that transcend this game that i speak with frequently outside of the game. ( no longer play on the same server as most of them)
I guess it can be expected you spend a lot of time with teh same people hopefully you will like each other otherwise very unlikely either party will be enjoying themselves
Kestrel May 23rd 2008 12:31AM
As a fairly new raiding healer, I'm learning this synergy. Our current off-tank (soon to be main tank, I'm certain) and I have been playing together for over 3 years. Before we started raiding, we raised 5 characters (each) to level 70 together. We know how the other thinks, moves, reacts.
Currently I'm healing our MT, and we are doing quite well. But I know our OT would prefer me (especially since I have about 400 more +Heal than the other Priest). The comment above about "the health bar moves differently" is so very, very true!
JK May 23rd 2008 1:50AM
Back when I played my holy paladin, and raided, I found that there was a less a healer-tank bond than just a healer-healed one. If I was assigned to a certain tank, it didn't matter who it was, I did everything possible to keep that toon not only healthy but topped off. I had my tank "friends" but regardless who it was, I worked my butt off, even when assigned to a couple players I really hated as human beings.
Personally I preferred working with offtanks, say those who rotate when the tank gets too many debuffs or have to pull off adds, since they get less attention but are no less important, or general melee dps raid members. In both cases there are usually less healers assigned, thus the importance and intensity are amplified and there's more pressure to make each heal count. (It also helped on the meters.)
That said though, when I did raid, there were a couple of tanks I worked extra hard to keep alive, usually the ones I ran 5-mans with and who knew what I could do as a solo healer. I'd send pots to them and, generally, I'd be the lone designated healer for them in raids. By the we'd have expectations of each other and need to live up to them.
At least until guild drama always forced one of us to leave... but there would be a replacement soon after. People who knew what they're doing don't take long to adapt to each other.
Sydera May 23rd 2008 1:54AM
I'm the healer half of a probably cliché healer-tank pair. My boyfriend and I have a great advantage in that I can yell at him across the room to pot and last stand :)
sannhollis May 23rd 2008 4:31AM
This is a godly advantage. People have said how focused and well-synced my husband and I are... but honestly...? It's cause I'm shouting at him, and god forbid he tells me that skill X is on cooldown. >:)
I'm THAT wife. Trust me, guys, you don't necessarily want a girl that plays the game with you. :)
Grymnar May 23rd 2008 3:10AM
I have to add to the mass that has IRL bonds with their healers. My dear priestess and I have played thru the game since launch and raided since MC together. Lets just say we are seldom the ones that die first ;) When the raids get into a hot spot I can use my "Oh Shit!!!" abilities very effective so that another healer or DPS can live!! Apart from my fiancé there is also a resto druidess that makes my life easier! Who said that dwarven tanks can have one partner only ;) On top of that one of my warrior collegues is moving from Italy to England to get the tank healer thing to another lvl!!