| Jheusse | #318941 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 08:49 | |
Member |
Greetings. Debated posting here or druid forum. I've been feral forever and then some, but am very much contemplating going resto for a while as a change of pace and also to improve my slottability. Once I'm comfortable both roles I likely will pull a Mewdied and change specs every other day depending on raid. As many ferals do, I've gathered a solid chunk of healing gear in the meantime. It being a slow morning at work, I have been tinkering with Rawr.Tree to see where my gear falls in real numbers. The tree module for Rawr is very new and appears to rock muchly, though there are bugs. Using gear I currently own, once I enchant it and gem it,and using only very basic raid buffs (PW:F, divine spirit, Imp MotW, AI and BoW) I'm looking at 7914 health 9435 mana with 1503 +heal and 238 mp5. with food, oil and elixir I can be at 1639 and 244. What level can I heal to? I still have some upgrades in kara to get, I'm assuming I'm at least T4. (Then there's the matter of getting the practice) |
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| Shadowphaze | #318944 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 09:00 | |
Haz big pocketz |
<3 you J! At that level of bonus healing I think you would do great in Gruul/Mag. And even the beginnings of SSC. But that's just my thoughts. --
Proud Officer and Priest Class Captain The Knights of Justice |
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| mewdied | #318948 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 09:16 | |
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I rolled a 4 on the Bear Mount >< |
You may even be able to sneak into a group that is just starting SSC. | |
| Roberth | #319001 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 11:56 | |
Holy "Diver!" Priest |
While you may be able to perform adequately or better in SSC, if you have zero experience in raid healing I would suggest starting out in Kara and/or Gruul/Mags. The fights in those instances help build up your experience level in healing for the T5 fights which in turn help you out in the T6 fights. Of course, if you already have healed before in T4 content, jump in SSC!
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Its time to put down the pipe and pick up the PWN!  |
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| Tribal | #319004 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 12:06 | |
Demonwright Tribalsun Tribalmoon |
I will disagree with the two previous posters, but only to a certain degree! ~~My Experience~~ Druid healing is unlike any other healing. It takes a little bit to really learn and get into a groove that you're comfortable with. It's also VERY important to learn your limitations and how to overcome those limitations. With your current stats I think you'll find that SSC will be frustrating for you -- especially if you're a meter-reader! My first venture into SSC on Moon was .... surprising. It was humbling, too. As a druid in t4 content and below (including most heroics) I rarely drop below 90% mana and *never* drink/eat. Mags boss/Gruul boss I'll drop below 50% *sometimes* depending on the tank (I'm typically a tank healer). Kara... well, Kara is a joke :P When I went into SSC, fully buffed, my mana regen was just over 400mp5 and I found I was using innervate, pots, and drinking after most pulls. Now... this could be me :P I'm a meter-reader and have two things on my mind while healing: Don't Let The Target Die and then Crawl To Top Of Meter :P Any good raid leader will tell you meters don't matter and doing your job to the best of your ability is all that counts. Keep your target alive! Because of this, you might find your first experiences in SSC/TK frustrating -- especially if you just jump head first without playing with your spec -- but you'll find good people trying to help you along. :) No matter your gear, the experience you glean from t4 healing will do nothing but better your abilities as a healer and help you become more comfortable with your new abilities. :) ~~My Suggestion~~ With your stats, I would indeed start pushing into the t4 content! Experience in raid healing is key to getting better. Get comfortable with your new abilities and then start signing up for early t5. :D Remember there are two forms of healing for us... there's the Heal Bomb spec and the Hot Spec. (there are variations within those two). Find which one compliments your playing style :) I would suggest looking at http://elitistjerks.com/f31/t17783-druid_raiding_tree/ -- while it says "raiding tree" it has other variations listed :) Remember, if you ever have any questions just ask! :D --
Tribal~ -- "So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words ... but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it." � Jiddu Krishnamurti |
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| Roberth | #319008 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 12:14 | |
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Holy "Diver!" Priest |
quote: Originally posted by Tribal: I will disagree with the two previous posters, but only to a certain degree! *snip eloquent post* Methinks you're disagreeing with the 2 posts above mine. :P --
Its time to put down the pipe and pick up the PWN! |
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| Tribal | #319015 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 12:29 | |
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Demonwright Tribalsun Tribalmoon |
quote: Originally posted by Roberth: quote: Originally posted by Tribal: I will disagree with the two previous posters, but only to a certain degree! *snip eloquent post* Methinks you're disagreeing with the 2 posts above mine. :P Indeed! You posted whilst I was posting! Dirty pool, old man, dirty pool. :P --
Tribal~ -- "So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words ... but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it." � Jiddu Krishnamurti |
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| Maegrette | #319051 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 15:19 | |
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Makes the rockin' world go round |
To add to what Roberth and Tribal said, I'd recommend you start just with Kara, if you don't have raid healing experience. I had healed all through Kara and some ZA, and considered myself a pretty good healer... then I got invited to my first 25-man. And ZOMG CHAOS. It took weeks for me to get comfortable with the amount of stuff going on, from a healer's perspective (and I still make a lot of mistakes). Get good at staring at 5 health bars... then move up to 10... then once you're a solid Kara healer, you're ready to step into the nuttiness of 25 people all getting hurt at the same time. Just my 2c :) --
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| Roberth | #319056 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 15:36 | |
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Holy "Diver!" Priest |
Dirty pool? You young whipper-snappers with your new Age lingo! :D I'd recommend a healing mod like Grid or Healbot or something similar. They're all modifiable and very helpful...moreso than the Blizz standard UI. Unless you're a masochist and want to heal 25 people using that method. Get your Honor Hold rep up for the healing head enchant...Aldor for the healing shoulder enchant...and if you've got the gold, epic gems rule. --
Its time to put down the pipe and pick up the PWN! |
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| Tribal | #319073 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 16:46 | |
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Demonwright Tribalsun Tribalmoon |
Just to add to what Rob said: ~~Gems~~ The epic gems are nice, but they are pricey. My suggestion is that you don't use epics until you've gotten gear you know won't be replaced in your next run. The rare gems are just fine until you hit upper T5 and start venturing into T6. As a matter of fact, Sun ran into some AWFUL luck I literally replaced the same piece of armour ever run for two weeks during the transition from t5-t6. Including the purchase of badge loot since I didn't think I'd win anything better :P MY GOD healing chants/gems are EXPENSIVE. Your best bet, I learned later, is to put all your best gear on, then log out. Hit the armoury and then click "Find an Upgrade." If your next upgrade is from Vashj and you're still wiping on Hydross, then it's pretty safe to spend on what you have. Etc and so on. :) ~~Druid Gear -- Gems and Chants~~ I'm not quiet sure what the deal is lately with some druids, but I'm seeing a lot of healing + mp5. This is not advisable if you're a druid *after* the Spirit/Int changes. You should be working on getting as much spirit as you can. Not only does it help with general healing and tree-healing, but it *really* boosts up your regen better than mp5 gems. That doesn't mean you should avoid mp5 trinkets or jewelery :P The new Spirit/Int changes, alas, make those less desirable than they use to be. Anyway! I'm not saying anything you can't read on EJ or WOWDF. :) quote: Originally posted by Roberth: Dirty pool? You young whipper-snappers with your new Age lingo! :D Actually, it's a fairly old saying of English derivation. :P http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=dirty+pool&x=0&y=0 quote: Originally posted by Maegrette: I had healed all through Kara and some ZA, and considered myself a pretty good healer... then I got invited to my first 25-man. And ZOMG CHAOS. It took weeks for me to get comfortable with the amount of stuff going on, from a healer's perspective (and I still make a lot of mistakes). I am SO glad I wasn't the only one with this experience :P You preach it sister! :P --
Tribal~ -- "So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words ... but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it." � Jiddu Krishnamurti |
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| Jheusse | #319103 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 19:10 | |
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Member |
Thanks for the input, it makes a lot of sense, and I've been digging in that EJ thread quite a bit. The new Rawr gear sim does seem to focus heavily on mp5 but there are ways to counter it. On one hand, the last time I "healed" was being assigned abolish duty on romeo and juliet back when people were wiping constantly on curator (KZ is serious business you know). The time before that it was to attempt to heal the double bog giants/lords pull partway into I think the Underbog while I was leveling. So it's been a while. I currently have X-Perl and am likely to switch to Grid (what features do I lose or gain swapping in either direction?). One day I will configure my speedpad (it's a bugger to configure a druid on the speedpad with thumbstick movement btw). My gear is pretty good to build on, it's a matter of gaining the skill. I'm likely to play the HoT Monkey style, and most of my gems will be teardrop rubies by the look of it. I still have a few kara upgrades available (still on a 227 +heal blue for example). It's a weird mix, I have the Lifestep belt from ZA but a green bracer of healing and a mediocre weapon. Onward and upward. Once I get it all enchanted I'll do some 5 mans, then sign up for a kara and fumble around a bit. |
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| Tribal | #319119 Thursday August 7, 2008 at 21:06 | |
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Demonwright Tribalsun Tribalmoon |
quote: Originally posted by Jheusse: I currently have X-Perl and am likely to switch to Grid (what features do I lose or gain swapping in either direction?). My current set up is X-Perl + Clique. I really hated my time with Grid. YMMV. The only problem I have with X-Perl is that it tells me the total number of hots on a patient and nothing more. That means if a priest uses Renew on any of the patients, X-Perl will show a hot. If you throw a lifebloom on that someone it'll show 2 hots. The *biggest* problem is that there are times you need to keep (for instance) rejuv up on multiple people and the X-Perl hot system gets confusing :P You will find that there's not a hot more powerful than a rolling bloom and its hard to maintain that roll in X-Perl without SOME experience in rolling. Now... grid takes care of all that :P I don't like it because it uses too many components and it was tiny and I couldn't just use it as a simple raid UI. In X-Perl I have parties and raids set up differently and I like the Insta-flip from one to the other. I know druid and shaman that swear by both. My suggestion is that you use both while you getting use to healing and see which you like best :) --
Tribal~ -- "So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words ... but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it." � Jiddu Krishnamurti |
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| Amarta | #319193 Friday August 8, 2008 at 08:57 | |
They broke my epic [Riding Crop] |
quote: Originally posted by Tribal: quote: Originally posted by Jheusse: I currently have X-Perl and am likely to switch to Grid (what features do I lose or gain swapping in either direction?). My current set up is X-Perl + Clique. I really hated my time with Grid. YMMV. I use Grid + Clique + Hotcandy. I LOVE Grid and am seriously gimped without it. I dumped every other raid display since it covers all bases. It is adjustable in size (the little boxes) but everyone in the raid- including pets are on a nice tidy grid (duh) layout for click targeting without moving the mouse more than a fraction. It is also very compact on real estate. Once you get used to the boxes filling IN with damage it is purely the most efficient tool I have ever used. I have all the addons for it so I see my heals and everyone else's coming in. I get a simple display for poison/curses and with Clique (which can use mouseover with Grid display) I can dispell without losing my heal target. Hotcandy is a set of bars that display the Hots I have cast on whom and it adds a number to Lifebloom so I already know when I have 3 stacked and I don't overcast that one. It also runs a timer for the hots ticking off. My only gripe about Hotcandy is it doesn't wipe the spell on a Swiftmend, but that is not so bad to overcome. It keeps me efficient though- no more overwriting constantly and wasting mana. To note though: Numbers confuse me. I want to see the box fill in and if you slap a number on it, my head hurts :P Grid can display numbers if you like that sort of thing. Grid seems to be a love/hate mod with little in between. In case you haven't guessed by now - I am a Hot Healer ;) I love the adrenaline of speed casting. I am hooked on druid healing. The one priest I have feels like I am moving in slow motion compared to the rest of the group. (Though I love love love having priests with me *grins*) Oh- and make sure you have a Riding Crop in your inventory to equip during boss fights :P --
 The voodoo priest and all his powers were nothing compared to espresso, cappuccino and mocha. |
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| Prysm | #319216 Friday August 8, 2008 at 10:01 | |
Healz 4 Sparklz |
I think your original question on "What level can I heal" was totally covered with helpful answers.....so nothing to add there. I just didn't see anyone mention Perfect Raid, so I feel compelled to respond ^.^ My holy priest is my main, and although I can't speak for drood healies (i did heal on a drood pre-bc, but didn't use mods so that's irrelevant). I can say that i <3 L O V E <3 the perfectraid/clique combo. PRaid lets you show as many or few buffs/current hots/etc on the bars as you like. As far as the incoming heals, I prefer to NOT see those because I see it as a non-issue. I dun care if X healer is casting something on my tank/target. They may cancel it, they may die before it gets cast......too many variables to count on anything. PRaid allows for a very tidy UI. If I healed with a screen that had huge bars or flashing boxes taking up half my screen, I don't think I'd like healing. Saying that, some of my favorite/amazing healers I know use the screen hogging devices :p I guess it comes down to how much information you want on your screen, and does all that stuff actually help your healing. For me, no. Another thing that has been extremely helpful lately, was setting certain debuffs to display on my bars. Like when we're doing Bloodboil, i see FELRAGE on the health bar before BB even targets them. By the time he targets them, if a heal isn't being cast, it is often too late. Looks like many people in this thread use clique, yay! No having to have your target targeted to heal them. You can keep the mob targeted or someone's pet targeted the whole time and still heal the raid :p Also, this is useful for any class that can depoison/decurse, etc. Just shift+right click (or whatever you set it to) Lots of combinations of keybinds to use, so you can get most all heal spells bound. Painless. Once upon a time, my partner told me to try heal mods, as she used to be a healer back in the day. I was resistant at first, but I am SO glad I tried them....been using PRaid and Clique the whole time, so don't think i'll ever switch. Good luck, let us know what you decide on and how it works out :) --
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| Prysm edited this message on Friday August 8, 2008 at 10:59 | ||
| Maegrette | #319228 Friday August 8, 2008 at 10:38 | |
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Makes the rockin' world go round |
I'm another Grid hater. I've tried really really hard to like it, but it's just not my style. I want to see as much information as possible, all the red numbers on the hits and green numbers on the heals and how much health the tank has and which healers are out of mana and who has whom targeted and what buffs and hots are up. Grid distilled all that information into pretty colors and dots, which drove me completely batty. I use PitBull for my frames, which is similar to XPerl. It's highly customizable and has a lot of neat plugins like showing aggro color and estimated incoming heals and the ability to filter buffs to show other people's HoTs. When I watch the frames, I'm adding up numbers in my head so I know when to pull out the heal and which one to use. Plus I run with high latency, always dangerous for a healer, and the numbers show up a split second before the bar actually moves, so they help me react faster. But YMMV... I'm a total numbers geek and control freak. Amarta's more of a Zen healer. ;-) The mod you feel most comfortable with is going to depend on your own personal healing style, so I'll second the recommendation to try some out and see how they work for you. I'm not a Clique user; I'm a priest, and we have way more heals than I have mouse buttons. But click-casting does simplify and streamline healing by removing the targeting step, so it's worth trying. It's definitely more viable for a druid. If you decide not to click-cast, Decursive is a good mod to run with. It can't auto-target and cleanse like it did back in the key-spamming days, but it does give you an array of boxes representing raid members that you can click on to decurse. Very handy. --
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