07-25-2007, 11:47 PM
Okay, I rarely even read, let alone reply to forums, but I was asked by a guildmate to make a post here, given that s/he was wondering how I heal as a tree druid. So here goes my Wall of Text ala GG, and please excuse me if I ramble. I'm not used to composing these things.:P
First off, I really enjoy being a tree. I run 13/0/48 on my druid, and while I chose tree knowing that it's a specific niche of healing with strengths and weaknesses, I've found out it's pretty flexible for healing the instances and raids that I attend. I have no trouble healing heroic 5-mans solo, or Kara, loved MT healing on Maulgar (where I feel my HoTs were extremely useful btw), and I'm looking forward to going further into Gruul's lair and beyond.
As far as getting my heals squashed by other healers with their big heals, I'd say it almost never happens. I know what to expect from all the other Lurkers I heal with, and I'm fairly certain they know what to expect from me. We rarely step on each others' toes. It's one of the aspects of the Terenas Lurkers that I really enjoy.
I'm also not very good with numbers, and so I don't do any theorycrafting. I heal kind of instinctively, no set strategy, but there is logic behind it. I guess in order to explain how I heal (which is what I was asked to do), I'll go through my favorite heals. :blush:
Lifebloom: I use lifebloom a lot. I only ever stack it for tank healing, so I couldn't tell you anything about mana efficiency of lifebloom stacks on multiple people. I've also never, to memory, had to keep up more than a couple tanks at once because there are usually enough healers to go around.
So if a party member is taking a little bit of damage, I toss a lifebloom on them. If it's a long debuff or they're likely to take dmg a bit longer, they get a rejuv instead. Simple as that. This is most of my healing in 5-mans: single lifeblooms and tank healing (which is lifebloom + rejuv when needed).
Rejuv: This is my best friend in Kara. While I still do mostly single lifeblooms or the lifebloom/rejuv on a tank, I change my tactics slightly on squishy monkey-casters (love ya Vinnie). If a caster is likely to die when I see them taking damage, instead of a lifebloom, they get a rejuv. Then I can quickly assess their situation and swiftmend if necessary. It's saved a lot of casters, especially on aoe pulls.
As far as how I prioritize whom to heal and whom not to heal (another question I was asked), I'm not quite sure how to answer that one. It's mostly situational. I guess the question I ask in my mind is: what does the party or raid need to get through this encounter? If a tank and a healer is enough, I keep the tank stable and try to stay out of trouble (whether that means keeping myself healed or keeping my agro down or avoiding dmg by moving). If some solid dps would see us through, I'll add more HoTs or a regrowth to some of the best dps in the group (lifebloom if they don't need much, rejuv if they need a quick save or if they're taking dmg longer, regrowth if they're likely to get low despite the ticks of a HoT).
As far as healing with other healers, all of our healers know not to step on my HoTs and I know that even when things are really crazy, I can count on them to take care of the large heals that are needed. I don't even try to do anything about a player who needs a fast, large heal because I know that the other have it covered. And they haven't let me down yet. My only exception is (as I mentioned above) saving Vinnie and the monkey-casters from the consequences of their own dps. We usually don't even have to discuss or set up healing for Kara, everyone just fills in as their skills are best utilized. I like that, makes the raids more fun and relaxing.
Personally, I'm not quite sure how I rarely run out of mana. My spirit, mp5 and +heal aren't spectacular compared to some of the other healers in our guild, and like I said, I'm not much one for math or theorycraft. I just do what I do and usually folks stay alive and right around the 90-some percent range for health.
Cheers all, and I hope this helps!
*hugs
-Tori
P.S. I'll also add that I rarely remember to trigger my trinkets and therefore lean towards the equip-function ones. Bad of me, I know, but I'm still learning. :lol:
(Vinnie and the Monkey-Casters, sounds like a band doesn't it?)
First off, I really enjoy being a tree. I run 13/0/48 on my druid, and while I chose tree knowing that it's a specific niche of healing with strengths and weaknesses, I've found out it's pretty flexible for healing the instances and raids that I attend. I have no trouble healing heroic 5-mans solo, or Kara, loved MT healing on Maulgar (where I feel my HoTs were extremely useful btw), and I'm looking forward to going further into Gruul's lair and beyond.
As far as getting my heals squashed by other healers with their big heals, I'd say it almost never happens. I know what to expect from all the other Lurkers I heal with, and I'm fairly certain they know what to expect from me. We rarely step on each others' toes. It's one of the aspects of the Terenas Lurkers that I really enjoy.
I'm also not very good with numbers, and so I don't do any theorycrafting. I heal kind of instinctively, no set strategy, but there is logic behind it. I guess in order to explain how I heal (which is what I was asked to do), I'll go through my favorite heals. :blush:
Lifebloom: I use lifebloom a lot. I only ever stack it for tank healing, so I couldn't tell you anything about mana efficiency of lifebloom stacks on multiple people. I've also never, to memory, had to keep up more than a couple tanks at once because there are usually enough healers to go around.
So if a party member is taking a little bit of damage, I toss a lifebloom on them. If it's a long debuff or they're likely to take dmg a bit longer, they get a rejuv instead. Simple as that. This is most of my healing in 5-mans: single lifeblooms and tank healing (which is lifebloom + rejuv when needed).
Rejuv: This is my best friend in Kara. While I still do mostly single lifeblooms or the lifebloom/rejuv on a tank, I change my tactics slightly on squishy monkey-casters (love ya Vinnie). If a caster is likely to die when I see them taking damage, instead of a lifebloom, they get a rejuv. Then I can quickly assess their situation and swiftmend if necessary. It's saved a lot of casters, especially on aoe pulls.
As far as how I prioritize whom to heal and whom not to heal (another question I was asked), I'm not quite sure how to answer that one. It's mostly situational. I guess the question I ask in my mind is: what does the party or raid need to get through this encounter? If a tank and a healer is enough, I keep the tank stable and try to stay out of trouble (whether that means keeping myself healed or keeping my agro down or avoiding dmg by moving). If some solid dps would see us through, I'll add more HoTs or a regrowth to some of the best dps in the group (lifebloom if they don't need much, rejuv if they need a quick save or if they're taking dmg longer, regrowth if they're likely to get low despite the ticks of a HoT).
As far as healing with other healers, all of our healers know not to step on my HoTs and I know that even when things are really crazy, I can count on them to take care of the large heals that are needed. I don't even try to do anything about a player who needs a fast, large heal because I know that the other have it covered. And they haven't let me down yet. My only exception is (as I mentioned above) saving Vinnie and the monkey-casters from the consequences of their own dps. We usually don't even have to discuss or set up healing for Kara, everyone just fills in as their skills are best utilized. I like that, makes the raids more fun and relaxing.
Personally, I'm not quite sure how I rarely run out of mana. My spirit, mp5 and +heal aren't spectacular compared to some of the other healers in our guild, and like I said, I'm not much one for math or theorycraft. I just do what I do and usually folks stay alive and right around the 90-some percent range for health.
Cheers all, and I hope this helps!
*hugs
-Tori
P.S. I'll also add that I rarely remember to trigger my trinkets and therefore lean towards the equip-function ones. Bad of me, I know, but I'm still learning. :lol:
(Vinnie and the Monkey-Casters, sounds like a band doesn't it?)