Transmog yourself into an Avenger!
6 blue posts to read before Diablo 3's launch
Cross-realm zones coming soon
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsGC's happy with healing in Ulduar
by Mike Schramm 
May 8th 2009 at 2:00PM
Ghostcrawler has appeared in two different threads talking about healing today, and the gist of it is that he's happy. He's happy with healing and the way it works in Ulduar: there's a good variety between boss fights and phases, there are intense moments and pauses in the action, and he says they've got things to a point where they like them. Later, he says that while in Naxx, you don't really have to warn the healer too much (you can basically tell them to heal the MT and leave it at that), Ulduar requires healers to get into the rhythm -- sometimes go all out, and sometimes hold back. He does say that too much mana is still an issue for them, and if anything gets nerfed in that department, Replenishment will. But he doesn't expect too many nerfs for a while.That doesn't mean, of course, that the big healing update is out the window -- GC still hints that there are more changes in store for healing, and we'd bet coppers to gold that there are both mechanic changes and possibly even a hero class due for healers soon. But for now, healing is where they want it in the current content, and it sounds like most players agree.
Now, there's just PvP...
Filed under: Druid, Paladin, Priest, Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Instances, Raiding, Bosses
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
Eisengel May 9th 2009 6:40AM
@Avan
That is so full of win it even makes the OP's statement look better because it's standing next to it.
ToyChristopher May 8th 2009 5:08PM
Well it's good someone is happy with it.
Actually I'm not really unhappy but I do think that "healer" needs to be expanded into more of a support role, so that healers aren't just necessary until the guild learns content and then they can be replaced with dps.
jfofla May 8th 2009 6:16PM
Healing boring?
Do you play a healer?
In Ulduar I have to keep up judgement, keep up beacon, keep up shield, heal, manage mana, watch tanks health, dodge things, heal myself, and pop all the cooldowns.
Personally I am on edge every moment.
verenov May 8th 2009 7:11PM
The *only* problem I have with GC's comments is that it has ignored 79 levels of game play, and other mana-using classes. Soloing a boomkin or a mage is a sheer headache now. Also, in a raid without a ret pally, shadow priest, or shaman mana regen becomes a real problem. I agree with an earlier statement made that suggests that the *replenishment* be nerfed, not the passive spirit-based regen. At least decrease the nerf from the *whopping* 40% to 20% and try it there. I think in focusing on *heals only*, they've hurt the caster classes that oom constantly. I think GC and his team need to revisit this mana-regen decision and create a solution that doesn't hurt multiple classes when addressing one (type of) class (i.e. healers vs mages).
I, for one, *hate* the mana regen nerf and wish that it had never happened. I think that something definitely needs to be done, and that right soon. Only my opinion, but this is how I feel.
Thanks.
Aerows May 8th 2009 7:16PM
**************
crsh said...
I find it funny how GC is tapping himself on the shoulder like that, I can't exactly forget how he's done a terrible job at 1) acknowledging players' feedback and 2) improving the perception that Blizzard has zero vision for most healing classes (there's rather large gap between paladins and the other healing classes).
***************
I agree with you, and only the most enthusiastic of butt-kissers would say anything different.
GC is so incredibly arrogant and out of touch with the game that I do agree with the poster after you, though not in the way he intended it: It is stupid for GC to say anything because he has no credibility and a LOT of self-congratulatory hot air.
syco May 8th 2009 11:19PM
I can't just pull the raid along by just healing more anymore, if I"m healing "more", i'll go OOM. And then we wipe... and it looks like my fault.
I'm not happy with the spirit nerf, but there's not much I can do about it except use Flasks of Pure Mojo instead of Frost Wyrm, and try to get some gear outside of our normal 10man naxx runs (which I'm essentially completely done with, gear wise). And wait for our DPS to learn to stay out of the fire (or just kill the boss faster).
Brian May 9th 2009 12:11PM
What I'm wondering is, why do we only hear this kind of discussion about healers? Tanking and (especially) DPS certainly isn't harder than healing, so I'm not sure the focus on tweaking healing difficulty makes a lot of sense.
Myria May 9th 2009 12:13PM
At this point it's not even clear GC has seen someone play WoW, let alone played it himself, so I can't imagine why anyone would give a rat's behind what he driveled out.
He's happy with his changes? Gee, I'm shocked.
Keep nerfing healers, genius, that'll fix the excess of healers on nearly every server.
Brian May 9th 2009 2:14PM
I care, because I think GC (and the other developers) have a much better view of the game than anyone else. Judging healing by the people who complain is silly, since those are the people you are far more likely to hear from. GC is in a position to look at stats involving healing in ALL encounters from all players, and do the math on it. And I trust what he's saying because I don't think he's pushing an agenda like most random players who comment here and elsewhere. His interest is in making the game as good as it can be, just because you personally don't like how healing works doesn't mean it's not worth listening to the man who is behind the mechanics of the game.
And for what it's worth, while I have a few small gripes about healing, overall I'm pretty happy with it too. The difficulty compared to gear level feels about right in Ulduar, mana is something I have to watch but not be overly worried about, and I never feel like I don't have the tools necessary to fill my role.
But on the other hand, I try to spend more time reading theorycrafting sites like elitist jerks, figuring out how to get the most out of my class, and less time complaining about GC and the changes he's made.