Comments on: Play a level in their class!

By: Sah

Sah — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 09:25:23 +0000

It’s nice to see I’m not the only one thinking in this way. I started off as a NE rouge being a total n00b and doing most of those bad things you can do during a fight, because I didn’t know better. Then my friends changed server, and side, and because I felt I had spent enough time looking for healers I decided to play one. That certanly was an eye opener for me, seeing the healers perspective. That’s when I decided everyone should try all roles to get an idea for how it works (but I still didn’t know ANYTHING about threat until I started doing research on tanking).
Partly for that reason and partly for wanting to get another challenge I started to lvl a prot warrior. He’s still only lvl 37 but I’ve got some tanking done and now with dual spec I’m healing, tanking and dpsing with my druid.
After healing heroics and raids for 3 months you could think I shold know the fights but going there as a feral is a totally different game.

Thanks for a nice blog

Sincerely
Sah

By: Sidtreefish

Sidtreefish — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 07:53:21 +0000

I love healing on my Resto Druid. Someone said above that “Healers just take the blame for wipes, though it isn’t their fault.”, that is totally true, I used to be that person. Now, that I know I am a great healer and I enjoy healing and I know the mechanics better, I never take the blame until it is actually my fault.

I am also right now gearing up for tanking (Using your blog which is awesome BTW) and it is going to help me in the long run dealing with healers. I have healed every heroic you can think of, so I will know if it is the healers fault, or DPS’s (Which it usually is in my experience). Playing a different role sure does make you see the game differently, and you appreciate the work that each role does. Healing is hard, but dealing with people blaming you for wipes that you couldn’t prevent is harder.

Healers stand up for yourselves!

By: Eberron of Boulderfist

Eberron of Boulderfist — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:55:30 +0000

I’ve been fortunate that through all of WotLK I’ve been a powerhouse of a tank that I never really suffer when healers get messed with but leveling my shaman and DK through instances I’ve already done has been a great learning experience.

I can’t count how many cases, such as when my DK tank gets polymorphed by the mage boss in Nexus or my Shaman gets spat on by the second boss of AN, I say “Wait, they DO that!?”

Good times. :)

By: Stupid Mage

Stupid Mage — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:58:19 +0000

I’ve always been an advocate of playing one of every character type – Tank, Healer, DPS.
Nothing puts everything into perspective as seeing it from the other side(s). I didn’t level every class to 70 but did get at least one of every category to 70 in BC (Bear, Resto, BM, Ret, Prot, Fire, Frost). Often catch myself going, “Wow, that was cool, I don’t know if I could have Healed/Tanked that.”

By: lemortede

lemortede — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:29:19 +0000

I play a healadin as my main currently.
I have a mage and a warrior.
I totally agree BBB that until you have walked a mile in another roles boots you can’t know how your actions or inactions are affecting them.
Having played a tank I understand threat and mitigation.
Having played a mage I understand threat on a whole different level and love to ride that life and death line of pulling aggro.
By far the biggest challange I have played is healing.
You have to watch everyone in the raid. You have to watch the MOBs.
You have to watch what the MOBS are casting.
You have to constantly weigh if now is the time to use your Oh crap ability’s.
And everyone hates you when they die because they didn’t step out of the damn fire.
Just because we can heal doesn’t mean you don’t have to move.
We are trying to conserve mana too you know.

By: Mooriah

Mooriah — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:23:14 +0000

I love that when I run as a druid healer, some of the tanks didn’t understand why I keep 2 or 3 hots on them all of the time. One tank in particular runs with his wife priest who just spams flash heal and greater every now and again if he gets hit too hard. It sucks having to explain a pre-cautionary druid healer versus a reactionary priest healer to some people. When we grouped and I played moonkin and the priest would get silenced, she’d scream over teamspeak for me to QUICK QUICK heal her hubby. Okie, great. I have to drop form and oh wait he’s down to 5% health? I need healing touch but since I’m specced balance so that’ll take a full 3 seconds to cast. Oh the tank is dead and it’s my fault as a very off-healer that he died? Oh, okay I can see that :-( Now that I tend to run as a healer for everything, things are better in that department :P

I 100% agree people need to play other classes and builds and run at least one instance on that toon. I think tanks especially need to be aware of what each class and build can and cannot do so he/she isn’t surprised or can plan accordingly.

By: Dorgol

Dorgol — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:12:39 +0000

Ah… the BF Felguards. I have a love hate relationship with those guys… my Holy Paladin really didn’t get bothered by them (uninterruptible heals + plate + shield + immunity)… my Resto Druid hated them with a passion (difficult to heal spike damage, weak as hell armor).

And now you might have a smidge of an idea why Paladins complained SO MUCH about Heroic Magister’s Terrace back in the day. It doesn’t matter how good your tank or DPS is… when 5 people take a good chunk of spike damage, you’re just screwed.

By: Bavmolo

Bavmolo — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:41:47 +0000

I totally can empathize with this post after re-speccing my own druid alt over to Resto for leveling through BC content in an Outland full of Death Knights. I’ve gained a great appreciation for the effort that healers go through, and I’ve found that being able to heal a group through level appropriate content without having any deaths is just as gratifying for me as tanking such content and never losing aggro.

In case you ever heal or ranged DPS Blood Furnace again – in my experience, the Felguard Annihilator’s charge has a minimum range. They seem to behave according to their threat meters toward all targets within that range. Now I’ve never run with just two people, but I have with 4 and 5, and when we all stay close they all stay on the tank.

By: FoxOfWar

FoxOfWar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:30:32 +0000

Now, if something gives insight to playing a tank, it’s playing a healer alt. Seriously.

My main is lvl 80 prot warrior. My alt is atm 72 Resto shaman, played resto since lvl 47. Leveled about 3/4 in instances after that. All those instances, all those dungeons… gives a lot of insight to what is good tanking, from healer’s perspective. As a side-effect it also makes one build a friendlist of good dps and tanks because you don’t want to group with bad players *g*

I love healing almost as much as I love tanking.(Never found dps that interesting.)

By: Jack

Jack — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:38:48 +0000

I’m real lucky to have a group of IRL buddies I game with and we all just sorta’ trust that we’re giving our best effort, so what’s to complain about? I levelled up a prot tank for grins (and to get my son a death knight) and you are so right. You understand so much better why your party members do what they do if you try to do it yourself.

So I never complain when the tank loses aggro or the mage pulls the boss . . . they never complain about my healing. Even when I screw up.

But you know, if you ever want to feel appreciated as healer, hit the bgs. Everybody loves you. When I’ve taken my kitty druid into a battleground, I’ve actually been told I should l2heal. More than once. No one ever throws an l2dps at my tree.