Not exactly new, but I have never healed before and some friends have asked me to learn for the new expansion because several are coming back to the game. I myself haven’t played much of BFA after getting 2 characters to 465ish ilvl 6 months ago.
So I went to make a healer. Done.
Then I go to look at healer guides on YouTube, and then I’m just face palming.
Every single guide, literally watched 5, had me downloading at least 4-6 addons JUST to play a healer “properly”. I’ve never used most of the addons mentioned aside from DBM (I use like 3-4 max) and just became extremely overwhelmed with the amount of game overhaul and time I am gonna have to spend just to set my healer class up…
Is it not possible to just heal in this game? Although I am not a fresh WOW player, this just seems super overwhelming to get into. I can only imagine how real new players must feel who have played a traditional healer in other MMOs…
What do you guys think?
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did you try doing it before following what someone said? If you can get to 465 ilvl you can figure out what you do or do not need to heal. I know several people who raid and use stock ui as healers. Its less efficient but totally possible, but that can be said for any role.
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You really don’t need a ton of addons to heal. Maybe one for mouse-over healing to make it more streamline, but no it’s not necessary. I use default UI without any mouse-over addons and I live fine on my Resto druid, not this alt.
Try it out yourself before just listening to what other people say, man.
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None of that is necessary IF you don’t want it to be… It’s your game, play how you want. Addons are just there to try and make your life easier, but there are plenty of players who excel at the game who do not use any.
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Same stock up and mouse over macros. Couple weakauras that’s all you need. I have tried healbot/clique and such, all trash. They cause problems and debuffs bug out all the time so you never know what debuff needs dispelling and stuff.
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There is no need for addons to heal. Just have your hotkeys set and be ready to go.
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I mean, having healed for several expansions, yes you can just heal, like, I used to download Grid to have the health bars available to me in the middle of the screen, but the new Blizzard UI allows you to see them way better than Grid did (imo) just click on them and heal
also some people use mousover macros but 
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Ever since WoW came out people have been telling me how mandatory UI mods are and I’ve honestly never used them. Not even in WotLK when I both healed and tanked heroic ICC.
It’s even less mandatory if you’re making an alt and doing low level dungeons to get the feel of things.
That said once you get up to raiding, mouseover macros are really useful.
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I only use details. One single addon for years. 
i still use default wow ui.
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The only addon I ever found useful for healing was decursive. It has been a few expansions since I last seriously healed anything so I don’t know if a lot has changed.
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Let me stop you right there. First piece of advice: don’t be their healbot if that’s not actually the kind of gameplay that you enjoy. If you don’t actually want to heal, the game isn’t going to be fun.
As for addons, install ElvUI, deadly boss mods, and your damage meter of choice—you’ll be fine.
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I mean…I’ve been healing for 13 years and have never used an addon for it (outside of DBM, which doesn’t do anything for actually helping heal outside of timers).
Healing is perfectly fine and doable without addons, I would recommend just…trying without them. I’m not cutting edge, but all +15s timed and a Heroic Raider, so I can at least attest to this point you don’t need a single healing addon unless you feel you need the help. Past my level, I’m not sure, but give it a go without first.
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well, ask them back to do that. Healing is stressful and not fun unless you’re born support. DPS all the way
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The only addon you need for healing is a raid timer like DBM but its important you setup your UI so you can see everything around you and heal/support the players as needed.
In addition, mouseover macros can go a long way. Yes you can get an addon like Grid or Vuhdo to do that but I just like making the mouseovers I need to get the job done. The best mouse over abilites are your heals/shields/dispelling skills so all you have to do is mouseover the unitframe to get the spell off.
Furthermore, the best way to practice mouseovers (if you are new to them) is make a new allied race healer of the same class and run low level dungeons because it will be a less stressful environment to learn it, then go back to the main healer and use what you learn from the alt.
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I only used DBM and Decursive for raiding on my priest. I do have some mouseover and @cursor macro’s setup but that’s just personal preference.
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Healbot is your friend.
Not healing with it is incredibly tedious.
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I got ragged on for this, but I used healium when I was healing. It’s super basic and worked just fine for me. Never had any complaints. But have not healed BfA, though.
Healing doesn’t use summing in the same way. Do some basic dungeons healing and get a feel for which spell to use for different needs and then you can look at traits and decide what you want help with.
Healing isn’t one size fits all. So you basically just learn from practice. But yes do follow the guides, but don’t get too caught up on them.
Also do the Proving Grounds quest at your garrison table. The Pandaria scenario.
Yeah, I just set up raid profiles, plus have them show buffs and curses I can cleanse. I use DBM and a meter and that’s it. What class and spec is your healer?
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Don’t like addons? Don’t use them. What’s the problem?
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