Ghostcrawler: Healing is next for an update
by Mike Schramm 
Oct 23rd 2008 at 2:30PM
Ghostcrawler just popped up on the beta forums with some good news for healers: while tanking has gotten the focus lately in terms of mechanics and tweaking, healing is apparently next on the docket.It's nothing to hold your breath over (you'll pass out way before we see any changes on the realms), but Ghostcrawler says that healing is due for a revamp in terms of "fun," and while he says it'll be "a more challenging fix because what people think is fun about healing varies and some people are pretty happy with it already," he also hints that it'll be a pretty big change. Right now, healing is basically whack-a-mole -- when someone gets hurt, you cast a heal on them -- but Blizzard may be rethinking that mechanic completely. We'll have to wait (probably quite a while) and see.
It's also interesting to note that Death Knights are a tanking class, and tanking got the revamp in Wrath of the Lich King. While some healers probably won't want to wait all the way until the next expansion, could this be a hint that we're looking at an Emerald Dream expansion, with an Arch Druid healing Hero Class, and an accompanying revamp of healing mechanics? Obviously, that's a stretch, but it makes sense, doesn't it?
Filed under: Druid, Buffs, Classes, Expansions, Blizzard, Analysis / Opinion, Patches, Shaman, Priest, Paladin, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Vaulkner Oct 23rd 2008 2:39PM
Healing? Fun?
Blasphemy!
Hope this goes live one of the earlier wrath content patches ideally (whatever it is). But, since I hear they already have several content patches ready to go, who knows.
Dightkuz Oct 23rd 2008 2:36PM
Wouldnt mind seeing healers being more involved in the fight other than just looking at the raidmembers' healthbar.
Ryan Oct 23rd 2008 3:46PM
Yes, this. IMO they should move a lot of the debuffing duties to the healing classes, then add procs to those abilities which makes you more efficient at healing when you're watching those debuffs and making sure they're used/refreshed what have you.
Playing a goblin shaman in WAR really made me realize how much fun healing can be when you can be more involved in the offensive portion of the fight as well as the defensive part (one of the few bright spots in that game).
Jane Gray Oct 23rd 2008 4:38PM
Yeah I'm afraid I'm part of the group that thinks complexity is fun. The change to circle of healing (now its a smart heal that affects your closest lowest health raid members to the target) certainly makes my healing more efficient but it also makes it less challenging. (spamming coh on the tank is a valid strategy now) Before you had to decide which group needed healing the most and yet was probably not being targetted already.
Also they took prayer of mending, which was nice because you could use it to avoid threat, and made it threat on the priest (most priests i've come across still dont know this)
Hurode Oct 23rd 2008 4:57PM
@Jane: The PoM change is what's causing me to lose interest in my priest. A huge amount of my healing was PoM because I didn't get any aggro from it - many fights I could get by with just PoM and Renew and nothing else, and I'd always toss a PoM about 10 seconds before. It was such a great fun spell with so many creative uses, I'm sad it got nerfed :(
Andrew Welch Oct 23rd 2008 5:35PM
I like how if it crits once and surge of light procs, it will KEEP CRITTING so long as SoL is up!
Granddad Oct 23rd 2008 8:03PM
@ Hurod
Regarding the Prayer of Mending changes... they seriously aren't a nerf. Yes, you're technically correct that the threat from ProM heals is now assigned to the priest whereas before it went to the target, the amount of threat is so minimal compared to the buff to tanking mechanics and overall DPS it's just not a problem. I've done all I could to pull aggro off my tank -- a fresh 70 who has quest greens and relatively low TPS -- and precasting ProM just isn't a problem.
Saelorn Oct 23rd 2008 2:37PM
Arch Druid is unlikely just because it would thematically replace the druid entirely. Heroic classes are not "better" in a thematic sense.
If they can come up with a better, less elite-sounding word for it, then it's entirely likely.
zappo Oct 23rd 2008 2:45PM
Yeah, I find arch-druid unlikely, but I'm willing to bet the next hero class will most certainly be capable of healing. With death knights boosting the tanking population and tanking feeling less like a job now, healers will probably be more in short supply then they already are.
Izbay Oct 23rd 2008 2:44PM
Healing's already fun if you're not a pally. :P
Alkaios Oct 23rd 2008 4:01PM
I fixed it for you
"Healing's already fun if you're a pally. :P"
Tumleren Oct 23rd 2008 4:41PM
Alkaios
You cannot possibly be serious.
Hurode Oct 23rd 2008 4:59PM
I play a priest, but isn't pally healing in it's current iteration basically "Big Heal or Small Heal"?
Qpally Oct 23rd 2008 5:29PM
Yes, pally healing is still "big heal or small heal" with Shock becoming more viable as a "fast heal" thats somewhat in the middle, closer to the small end, and expensive for the amount healed. If they are looking for a major overhaul in healing, pallys would be a good place to start. We have half the effective healing spells of every other heal class, are the most limited in raid assignments (spam tank), and no active mana regeneration.
If they want to make it more fun, send us plate wearers to the frontlines where we belong. I 3-manned a heroic SP run with a drood tank and arms warrior, Ret specced in healing gear. It was 10x more fun and active than the 1000s of heroics I healed Holy before 3.0.
Here's how:
Spec Ret, equip Holy plate with as much +crit as possible (I have T4+badge gear). Blessing of Might yourself for a little extra Sheath of Light spell power. Go melee auto-attack. Judgement of Light on the current kill target. Seal of Wisdom + JotWise for mana regen. Do a Judge/CruStrike/DivStorm attack rotation (you won't go OOM) for Art of War insta-Flashes and a little AE healing from DS (VERY little in healing gear). Throw Holy Lights with Glyph of Holy Light AE healing whenever the tank needs it, and if you're attacking you'll go right back to auto-attacking after the cast.
I used a macro to direct AoW insta-Flash procs to the tank as soon as they came up, and Healbot for dispelling and Holy Lights. It was definitely a challenge and took some getting used to, but I've never had more fun healing in all the years I've played WoW.
Alkaios Oct 23rd 2008 8:16PM
Well...in raids I can text with one hand, click my Healbot with my other. Paladin healing is simple, helps down bosses, and lets me keep a social life while I raid. Basically, in my words "fun". =)
I love the trolling I'm getting already. Keep it up, IT AMUSES ME :D
vine Oct 26th 2008 9:46PM
Pally healing, for me anyway, is damn good fun. Especially with the patch changes making us a viable raid/group healer. Dropping judgement of light on all the mobs, beacon the mt, soak up the AoE damage and watch the green numbers fly across the screen. Love it :) Also, I come top of the meters against shamans, priests and druids. Pallies are a lot of fun.
akw Oct 23rd 2008 2:57PM
"Right now, healing is basically whack-a-mole -- when someone gets hurt, you cast a heal on them -- but Blizzard may be rethinking that mechanic completely."
Would anyone care to speculate what a different healing mechanic might look like?
Saelorn Oct 23rd 2008 3:00PM
Discipline priests are a good start; shields always seemed like they should be a better defense than healing, what with an ounce of prevention being worth an entire pound of cure.
akw Oct 23rd 2008 3:11PM
Good point.
In game right now, we have:
1) traditional heals - turn my mana into your health
1a) heals over time
1b) damage-triggered heals - earth shield and prayer of mending
2) damage avoidance - priest/mage/pally bubbles
3) the spreist mechanic - turn my damage done into your health
4) health transference - turn my health into your health (warlocks can do this for their pets, I think)
5) damage transference - turn your damage taken into my damage taken (roar of sacrifice, for example)
did I miss any?
matt Oct 23rd 2008 3:15PM
@11: What about 6) your damage into my damage? You could either literally jump in front of the tank, or there could be trolly voodoo options... your damage to my specially crafted tank doll? Your damage back to this trash mob with my other voodoo doll?