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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsRaid Rx: Patch 4.0.6 healing thoughts
by Matt Low 
Jan 14th 2011 at 9:00AM
Even though I wasn't responsible for it, its nice to believe that my little story in last weeks column might have influenced the Mana Tide change. What is the change, you ask?
It won't be an overpowered mana reset ability anymore. I have to admit, I do miss having that synchronizing aspect that all the healers share. Having a shaman give a 3-second warning that he is going to drop a Mana Tide cued the rest of the healers to activate their spirit trinkets. I thought that was a neat little interaction. I wouldn't mind seeing more of it somehow later on -- little ways that help promote (but not so much require) healing coordination would be a cool addition. I'm just not sure what other ways methods can be explored.Mana Tide Totem has been redesigned. The totem no longer multiplies the Spirit of those affected by it. It instead gives a flat amount of Spirit equal to 400% of the casting shaman's Spirit, exclusive of short-term Spirit buffs affecting the shaman when the totem is dropped. In addition, its effects are now raid-wide.
On the bright side, I don't need to figure out which players have the lowest mana regeneration in order to stack them into the healing group.
But hey, enough about resto shaman already! Some additional healing changes (both nerfs and buffs) will be coming soon. No idea if any of this stuff is going to stick. Tell me what you think.
Now keep in mind there is no way I'm going to be able to comment on every change. Some of these are good, some are bad, and some just won't warrant any reaction at all whatsoever.
When should healing spells be learned?
By contrast?Healing Touch now trained at level 78, up from level 3.
Okay, I can understand that change. Fresh healers should have access to their normal, medium heal fairly early on in the game. But have you noticed that the slow, hard-hitting heal varies in terms of trainable levels?Nourish is now trained at level 8, down from level 78.
- Healing Touch now at 78
- Divine Light at level 62
- Greater Healing Wave at 68
- Greater Heal at 38
What about AoE healing? Other nerfs?
Another contrast?Wild Growth healing has been increased by 30% and the cooldown has been reduced to 8 seconds, down from 10.
A sad face has appeared as my expression. Although as much as I would honestly like to see a slight reduction in Circle of Healing, I'm not too worried about the timing. I went from working with a no-cooldown Circle of Healing to a 6-second and now a 10-second cooldown. I would love to see a lowering of the internal cooldown for it, but I don't think I can come up with a suitable case. That 30% increase alone is enough for me to keep ensuring it is used on cooldown (at least, if the players need it).Circle of Healing effectiveness increased by 30%.
Several healing spells have been nerfed . Prayer of Healing is 15% weaker. Protector of the Innocent is also 30% weaker. Restoration shaman have had their Greater Healing Wave nerfed both in cost and
I don't want to pin any kind of blame here, and I don't think that is necessary. Usually, it is the progression-oriented guilds that come across these situations, and there is a period of time that will pass before the difficulties they face will be the difficulties we experience.
However, I would advise not looking at those healing nerfs exclusively. They need to be looked at in relation to everything else that affects healing. For instance, I know there are a few healers out there who are struggling on healing heroics. (Obviously, they don't read my work, right?) So while some healing spells received nerfs, those same heroic heroic dungeons were also adjusted in some fashion to be a little more forgiving (at least, in some cases).
But there were buffs!
For priests, I applaud the Divine Aegis buff:
Divine Aegis: Critical effects from Prayer of Healing now award a bonus amount in addition to the default, always-proc Divine Aegis effect.
I hope this change gets pushed through. Having an additional Divine Aegis proc will be handy to have around.
That looks to me like a definite PvP addition. I guess Blizzard is trying to give priests additional survivability. It makes me wonder how long that Divine Aegis can keep going off like that.Strength of Soul now also causes the priest to become immune to silence, interrupt and dispel effects for 2/4 seconds.
Changing Desperate Prayer from a flat amount to a percentage? Love it. Namely because it was getting to the point where it looked really weak to use in comparison to other self-healing alternatives. Aside from that, the only other notable holy change is the fact that Holy Concentration is being dialed back down again. I personally thought our mana regeneration was in a fat car.
Nice call on increasing Chain Heal by 10%. I think that number will still warrant additional testing on the PTR. Now that we won't be bringing shaman in purely for Mana Tide totem, we can bring them in for other reasons (like additional healing).
Glyph of Spirit of Redemption has been converted into Glyph of Prayer of Mending, increasing the healing done by the first charge of Prayer of Mending by 60%.
I love that addition. That glyph is certainly going to be appealing for both discipline and holy!
I'm going to try to hit up the public test realms sometime soon so I can give some of these changes a shot. I'll be on Matticus, my priest, on either the PvE or PvP realms (whichever happens to actually be up). Somehow, I don't think this list of changes is going to be final just yet.
Need advice on working with the healers in your guild? Raid Rx has you covered. Send your questions about raid healing to mattl@wowinsider.com. For less healer-centric raiding advice, visit Ready Check for advanced tactics and advice for the endgame raider.Filed under: Druid, Paladin, Priest, Shaman, Raiding, Raid Rx (Raid Healing)
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 3)
Tribunal Jan 14th 2011 9:49AM
Oh heyyy one Paladin change.
Neat?
I'm glad they're still tweaking but honestly the buffs to WG and CoH worry me just a tad. Of course, I'm in a very good guild with very good priests working on the right fights for them to perform on so I see them performing really well, and to me it just seems like more of a push in the late TBC direction (obviously nowhere near as dramatically, but still).
Kuro Jan 14th 2011 12:50PM
Nah..
We had nerfs too:
*Lay on Hands now causes Forbearance on the target. It used to only cause it when cast on the paladin. This was an old design from when Divine Protection caused Forbearance and the paladin didn't want to prevent a tank from using their defensive cooldown.
*Lay on Hands cannot be a critical effect and will not be affected by most abilities which modify healing (such as Beacon of Light).
LoH + holypally mastery was a good tanking cooldown to use -- and combined with beacon -- filling up two tank health bars at a critical moment in a fight to help the heal team focus on healing up raid members for a gcd or two -- that will be missed.
Tribunal Jan 14th 2011 1:01PM
I was meaning more in the article with that comment (should have been specific), but even still, we had two changes and they were both nerfs (very niche nerfs, but still nerfs)
Tyashki Jan 14th 2011 10:02AM
Wait... why are the Wild Growth and Circle of Healing buffs lumped in with nerfs?
Vogie Jan 14th 2011 12:57PM
Because those buffs were due to the CD nerfs. Both got longer cooldowns.
matt Jan 14th 2011 2:00PM
the CD on WG has been REDUCED to 8s
Aan the effectiveness has been buffed. Its like a big buff sandwich covered in buff sauce
Meatwadz Jan 14th 2011 10:20AM
More specifically...
-- Empowered Touch now also affects Regrowth. In addition, after Tree of Life is no longer active, this talent will only refresh the most recently cast or refreshed Lifebloom, and will not refresh other copies of Lifebloom.
HUGE change that removes our ability to roll multiple LB as well as making our Flash Heal contain slightly less suck.
--Nature's Bounty no longer affects Swiftmend, but now has a new effect. When the druid has Rejuvenation on 3 or more targets, the cast time of Nourish is reduced by 10/20/30%.
Not sure if this one is up on PTR but it sounds like a HUGE change. Also rejuv costing 30% less mana = possible viability for resto druids to raid heal?
--Not trying to complain.. just feels like druids have very little representation on wowinsider and I was looking for a little more info in the "catch-all" healing blog.
shepherd57 Jan 14th 2011 11:20AM
On Tuesdays Allison Roberts covers both Resto Druids and Bears. If you want exclusively Resto posts then I would suggest you check out Lissanna's blog at restokin.com. She also covers moonkin topics as well, but you will be hard pressed to find as well written or in-depth tree blogs on a weekly basis. I would also mention the Lissanna has an impressive list of druid bloggers as well if she can't fill your thirst for tree info.
@Allison Roberts your resto blogs are just as well written and in depth, but are not always weekly with your feral demands as well. With that said, I would read your articles even if they were about gnomes or warlocks.
@Lissanna keep up the good work you do at restokin.
Saeadame Jan 14th 2011 12:37PM
The last three Resto/Feral articles have all been about resto on this site. We're really quite well represented.
Lissanna Jan 14th 2011 1:52PM
Yeah, as Shepherd said, you may want to check out resto-druid specific blogs if you are looking for more resto druid info than what wow insider provides. :)
Lissanna Jan 14th 2011 1:52PM
And also... thanks for your kind words Shepherd!
Matticus Jan 14th 2011 1:56PM
Think theres a resto blog by a druid named Lissanna. From what I hear, that player knows their stuff ^^. Restokin.com was it?
Parknet Jan 14th 2011 10:44AM
After lots of rep grinding and farming normals for the right gear and stacking spirit and haste, my holy priest is finally feeling fully capable to run heroic. I don't have mana trouble on a good fight anymore unless it goes over 5 minutes and if the group isn't messing up, I feel completely ready. My heals are strong enough to keep everyone up without constantly blowing my cool downs.
All that said, I still haven't finished a single heroic. Came close last night after 2.5 hours in deadmines. Just not enough group coordination, everyone still learning the fights and making mistakes. Oh well. I feel good because I know at least I'm finally capable of healing in there.
One complaint is the cost of mana pots and flasks. I fish my own sagefish but don't don't do alchemy. At 300g each for the spirit flask and 20g for mythical mana, I blew 700g to not finish a heroic. That's a lot to me because I am still leveling my profs and not profiting yet.
Dawts Jan 14th 2011 11:45AM
*flamesuit*
This is why I don't use flasks or eat in pugs, I just can't trust them to not waste my gold.
jasonkidd1234 Jan 14th 2011 12:00PM
I'm well past the "minimum" required to heal heroics, but every time I find myself casting constantly on every pull, usually resorting to flash heal because heal isn't hitting for enough, and greater heal isn't hitting fast enough. It's annoying, honestly, I know healing is supposed to be tougher, but it's not the healers fault that the dps don't CC, or that the tank doesn't force them to CC. Healers basically have to sit back and deal with a bad tank (Just like the tank would have to do so for the healer if they were bad) if they don't CC. Not to mention whenever you get in a group with a warrior or two/DKs, or a few of the other classes with no real CC, there's nothing you can really do unless the tank is overgeared. I've never managed to even get to a boss on a heroic because either I wasnt healing well enough, the tank wasn't geared enough, or the dps didn't CC, or (usually) a combination of the 3.
skydivingcows Jan 14th 2011 12:35PM
You probably shouldn't be using the Cata food for Heroics, that stuff is better suited for raiding. If you are spending that much gold then simply buy a BoE that will provide the same improvement of stats without a food proc. What you should be doing, if you feel it is necessary to eat for a buff, is make Northrend quality food. It is easier to farm since not as many people are looking for it. Also, as guilds clean out their Bank tabs you will see clumps of it on the cheap side at the AH. If you don't want to buy food at all and prefer making it yourself; go find some rhino herds. It would not take very long to go AoE some rhino herds to make Rhino dogs (2 rhino meat and northrend spice) for 40 spirit and 40 stamina. This would be beneficial if you are a leatherworker as well.
Parknet Jan 14th 2011 12:57PM
Good point on not needing the flasks. I guess I was so focused on maxing out spirit that the +300 seemed required but yeah, probably can do with less now that my gear is better. I can get the fish no problem for the +90 spirit buff. I'll give that a shot tonight.
Xayíde Jan 14th 2011 12:57PM
Dude, plz don't spend your gold on PUGs, specially on heroic PUGs! Gee, I don't even use my food/flask/potion in pug raids, let alone heroics...
If you do wanna use something, use Northrend quality stuff like the above poster said.
2.5h in Deadmines? Seriously, you are a healer, you got fast queues. If you get Stonecore, Deadmines or SFK, just bail and go play some alt or do something else while the CD wears off, or at least after the first clue that the group is fail. I can't have that luxury cause I'm a Warlock...
Lifestock Jan 14th 2011 11:58AM
First - the bad part:
Strength of Soul now also causes the priest to become immune to silence, interrupt and dispel effects for 2/4 seconds. - Unless they've changed this again this is only the case following the use of Inner Focus.
It's a brilliant idea but the wrong proc requirement!
the first idea was to be granted immunity when we shield ourselves. Which we were going to do anyway so doesn't interupt our normal actions (with the odd exemption). but tying this to Inner Focus makes it mediochre at best.
How many priests will favour saving their inner focus for a possible incoming silence (most of which are instant cast and not pre-emptable anyway) over using Inner focus regularly to save mana for tight spots?????
can anyone confirm if this is still the case???
If so IMO it doesn't make strength of soul any more attractive even as a PVP talent!
that being said: Overall I'd like to thank Blizzard as the other changes I've seen are (on the whole) awesome well balanced.
NickH Jan 14th 2011 12:05PM
"Protector of the Innocent is also 30% weaker"
Meh. That sucks. Be interesting what kind of an impact this is going to have on us Holy Pallys, with Blizz supposedly encouraging us to front line heal with melee swings returning mana, Judging returning mana and Light of Dawn requiring us to be up close and personal. PotL has been nice to keep ourselves healthy whilst concentrating on everyone else.