My healing sucks... and trying to fix it
For the last 2 weeks I have been feeling very blah about my healing.
I really liked the T19 resto druid bonus with certain legendaries, and I had been quite lucky in Tomb of Sargeras with the T20 and already have 6 set with 5 heroic and 1 normal. So I played around with 4T20 and 2T19 and was doing OK with that, trying my best to maximise the T20 bonuses and fiddle around with new legendaries.
Initially it was ok. Using Swiftmend decreases it's cooldown by a certain amount of time depending on the health of the person I used it on (2PT20). You get the best bonus of course if you use it on someone who is almost dead (like sub 10%) but varying degrees of bonus as you get better health. The 4PT20 makes efflo heal for 200% more for 10 seconds. Sounds amazing in certain situations where we stack up and stay still (like Harjatan or Maiden) and it was at first. However, throw in holy priests and shamans and if we are standing still and people are clumped up, their healing is bloody outstanding and outstrips mine. Especially when they have their 4PT20 and the right legendaries.
So now, I am not doing the same amount of healing yet feel like I am expending the same amount of mana and I don't feel right. And I just can't seem to find the right niche to fill in healing with. I don't mind being the bottom healer, I just don't like that I'm using mana and it's not going anywhere.
I had been playing around with Prosperity and Spring Blossoms, thinking that with 2 swiftmends on shorter cooldowns as well as extra efflorescence healing, that perhaps I could get better use out of my 4PT20. However, the only time I have found it useful is during Maiden when we are split on each side and taking hammers. At those times my healing is decent and the T20 seems to be helping.
Also, I have been using the legendary ring, Soul of the Archdruid. I quite liked it thinking since I now have extra Soul of the Forest, that would make my AOE healing from Wild growth better. Especially since I am using more swiftmends.
But in fights where we are spread out and I'm trying to make use of my T20, it's bloody terrible. And that is probably where my mana drain is coming in, trying to move efflo to get good use out of it, and using lots of Wild growths for SotF.
So after an ABYSSMAL healing effort on Avatar, I thought I would go pug it and try some different things. However, I was still not doing well, and when I compared myself to the other druids in the group, they were still rocking T19 stuff (whereas I was trying to do full T20, as I picked up a super titanforged 950 Tier shoulder from our Avatar kill).
The paladin was saying my healing was terrible, because the DK tank was doing more healing than me. And he was right, I felt terrible. I switched back to Cenarion Ward, Germination and tried again, and it was better for a bit, but then I died because I was pugging with Americans and the latency is a little bit more and so I took more damage than normal from the Unbound Chaos. Obviously tank healing is going to be amazing if you're on tank heals, and since it's a paladin of course he will look awesome compared to me. I wasn't worried about that. I was worried more about my crappy output even with trying to rejuv everyone. I think I just need to work my timings better.
Sev was making fun of me by pointing out to everyone (via MotD) that the Frostwolves GM is pugging heroic ToS, what's going on! I abruptly changed it since I was in a sour mood, because I was pugging heroic TOS so I could practice my healing (which is usually the best time to practice healing as pugs are usually full of baddies who take lots of damage) and I was still doing lousily and I was feeling even more despondent about my healing in raids.
I know I am lazy at using my trinkets and artifact weapon ability, but I tend to only use them when we are in need, not on CD. I remember the paladin saying to me that I should be using my abilities on CD and I thought geez, if I did that I'd be oom so quick. Perhaps I need to work on that more.
I will pug more and practice more and see if I can get better. There's only one way to improve! Oh, and I could go ask Yeti. But she will just say, "Uhh.. I dunno, just heal more?" LOL!
I really liked the T19 resto druid bonus with certain legendaries, and I had been quite lucky in Tomb of Sargeras with the T20 and already have 6 set with 5 heroic and 1 normal. So I played around with 4T20 and 2T19 and was doing OK with that, trying my best to maximise the T20 bonuses and fiddle around with new legendaries.
Initially it was ok. Using Swiftmend decreases it's cooldown by a certain amount of time depending on the health of the person I used it on (2PT20). You get the best bonus of course if you use it on someone who is almost dead (like sub 10%) but varying degrees of bonus as you get better health. The 4PT20 makes efflo heal for 200% more for 10 seconds. Sounds amazing in certain situations where we stack up and stay still (like Harjatan or Maiden) and it was at first. However, throw in holy priests and shamans and if we are standing still and people are clumped up, their healing is bloody outstanding and outstrips mine. Especially when they have their 4PT20 and the right legendaries.
So now, I am not doing the same amount of healing yet feel like I am expending the same amount of mana and I don't feel right. And I just can't seem to find the right niche to fill in healing with. I don't mind being the bottom healer, I just don't like that I'm using mana and it's not going anywhere.
I had been playing around with Prosperity and Spring Blossoms, thinking that with 2 swiftmends on shorter cooldowns as well as extra efflorescence healing, that perhaps I could get better use out of my 4PT20. However, the only time I have found it useful is during Maiden when we are split on each side and taking hammers. At those times my healing is decent and the T20 seems to be helping.
Also, I have been using the legendary ring, Soul of the Archdruid. I quite liked it thinking since I now have extra Soul of the Forest, that would make my AOE healing from Wild growth better. Especially since I am using more swiftmends.
But in fights where we are spread out and I'm trying to make use of my T20, it's bloody terrible. And that is probably where my mana drain is coming in, trying to move efflo to get good use out of it, and using lots of Wild growths for SotF.
So after an ABYSSMAL healing effort on Avatar, I thought I would go pug it and try some different things. However, I was still not doing well, and when I compared myself to the other druids in the group, they were still rocking T19 stuff (whereas I was trying to do full T20, as I picked up a super titanforged 950 Tier shoulder from our Avatar kill).
The paladin was saying my healing was terrible, because the DK tank was doing more healing than me. And he was right, I felt terrible. I switched back to Cenarion Ward, Germination and tried again, and it was better for a bit, but then I died because I was pugging with Americans and the latency is a little bit more and so I took more damage than normal from the Unbound Chaos. Obviously tank healing is going to be amazing if you're on tank heals, and since it's a paladin of course he will look awesome compared to me. I wasn't worried about that. I was worried more about my crappy output even with trying to rejuv everyone. I think I just need to work my timings better.
Sev was making fun of me by pointing out to everyone (via MotD) that the Frostwolves GM is pugging heroic ToS, what's going on! I abruptly changed it since I was in a sour mood, because I was pugging heroic TOS so I could practice my healing (which is usually the best time to practice healing as pugs are usually full of baddies who take lots of damage) and I was still doing lousily and I was feeling even more despondent about my healing in raids.
I know I am lazy at using my trinkets and artifact weapon ability, but I tend to only use them when we are in need, not on CD. I remember the paladin saying to me that I should be using my abilities on CD and I thought geez, if I did that I'd be oom so quick. Perhaps I need to work on that more.
I will pug more and practice more and see if I can get better. There's only one way to improve! Oh, and I could go ask Yeti. But she will just say, "Uhh.. I dunno, just heal more?" LOL!
If I may toss in my three cents.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, your Paladin friend who is watching numbers; he measures his own ***** while he is mastur******. Clearly coming up short in many ways.
If it has to be about numbers and not about healing right and well, then I'd say that the T19 4pc is the only way to go; skip any attempt at T20 2pc unless it is a high ilevel. Use the L shoulders and V's trinket (which promote healing players at full health - but, hey, we are talking about numbers on a chart) and get the Promises trinket and have a ball throwing spells right and left. Cen Ward, Cult, Germ and Flourish; spread those HoTs far and wide and hope they stack for your mastery: harmony.
I figure that if I'm OOM using the Promises trinket that the DPS is too slow to kill the boss and it's their fault that I'm OOM.
That Tearstone of Elune might be pretty tasty if you want to squeeze in the trinket from the Mistress Sassy.
Pop Tranq early and often to pad the meters.
The numbers game really sucks and, frankly, I'd rather be a raid healer.
Oh yeah, tell your Pally friend that his class sucks so bad that Method didn't even have his class in their world first kill: they had a druid, shammy, holy P and .... and freaking Disc Priest -- THAT is how bad he is! (only if you wanna talk smack, lol).
Good luck and keep posting, I love reading blogs on healing!
Thanks for the tips, I shall def give it a try!
DeleteSaying your healing is terrible hardly is considered good support...But no matter; I understand why you feel discouraged. Im not "up there raiding" anymore, so no insight, but resto druids are not in the finest shape right now, are they? That's the general idea I have gotten at least.
ReplyDeleteBut good luck ahead :) Meters are not really the best tool to value performance, but I understand why people have to use them.
Meters give some ideas, but I use them to see how many casts I'm getting out compared to the others and how much I'm doing with each spell in comparison at times of "raid stress". I really don't mind being low on meters, I just hate feeling like I am no use in the raid! But I'm just fiddling trying to find my niche and I hope I'll find that "useful" spot sometime soon...
Delete