Oh. You must of attended West Point! You seem like such a knowledgeable professional military strategist.
This.
The problem is when people join group content and are contributing little to nothing, instead leaching off of the others.
Did you have any actual commentary to what I wrote or just feeling snide today?
Oh you mean like the players that pay for Carries?
Nah, they’re contributing payment.
The problem with that comparison is that the expectations are upfront and known prior to the dungeon and agreed upon by both parties.
I would argue that when healers queue up they have an understood obligation to help the group as that is the role they chose. If that means sometimes CCing or pressing smite, then so be it. Same with DPS and tank, do you not expect the other roles to not heal or press their defensive CDs?
Yes. Of course. Healers have an obligation to help the group by performing the duty of their chosen class role. Which with Healers, that role is to HEAL the group. That is why the class is called HEALER.
So by that logic, DPS should not use self mitigation spells, healing spells, or CC because they didn’t sign up for that role.
No one is saying the healer needs to parse, but it would be really sweet if you threw in some chain lightenings here or there, especially since Blizzard has made talent trees accommodate hybrid roles.
Oh I never tell other players what they should or shouldn’t do. I’m just saying that people shouldn’t be trying to tell Healers what to do.
Where is this written? Show me the contract I signed that outlines the duties and responsibilities of each player.
The reality is that the responsibilities of each player in the group are exactly the same and they are conveniently listed in your quest helper whenever you start a dungeon.
- Kill all bosses.
- Kill X amount of trash.
- Do it before the timer hits zero.
That’s it. That’s the responsibility of each player. The methodology by which players accomplish that goal isn’t prescribed anywhere. The game won’t withhold loot because the healer accidently pressed Chain Lightning at some point. It just turns out that having a player dedicated to healing is a pretty effective way to accomplish that goal as death tends to be a significant impediment to finishing a dungeon. But to say that’s ALL the healer can contribute is placing an arbitrary restriction on the players that the game itself did not put there. The only limitations on the group is what abilities are or are not in their spellbook.
I understand the sentiment, but it’s hard to argue that players shouldn’t be using their spells to make a GROUP event easier. If that means the healer has to weave in a few DPS spells I don’t see how that is an unreasonable request. Likewise, DPS and Tank roles should be doing the same.
It’s a very uncompelling argument that a healer should stand still and not dps when everyone is topped off. Especially, considering Shamans have so many talents that bolster both healing/dps in the restoration spec.
Don’t deal damage then. No one is making you play in any particular way. If you feel forced, unsub and give away all your gold.
Here it is:
A healer is a character whose primary purpose or class role is to heal and protect their allies. Priests, druids, paladins, shamans and monks can all serve as healers. Healers are perhaps the most wanted for a dungeon or a raid.
While all party members must work together to succeed, healers have the direct responsibility of keeping every other member of the party alive. Healers must anticipate incoming damage, prioritise the healing of multiple targets, and make split-second decisions using an array of healing options.
Further description:
Being a healer means keeping a close eye on the health of multiple targets. Often, losing focus for even a moment can lead to the death of a player. In PvE, the healer’s attentions are mostly focused on the tank, who should be taking the majority of all incoming damage. However, careless DPS and numerous fight mechanics can cause the tables to quickly turn, requiring the healer to keep focused at all times, ready to switch targets at a moment’s notice.
Unlike other roles, the prime challenge of a healer is usually not that of simple capability, but one of efficiency and longevity. Most well-geared healers are capable of healing targets through the heaviest of onslaughts, but doing so without rapidly depleting their limited mana reserves requires forethought, anticipation and a thorough knowledge of their skills and cooldowns. Healers who simply use their fastest and most powerful heals will quickly find themselves out of mana, powerless to aid themselves or their allies. Healers must therefore strike a fine balance between speed and efficiency, often risking the lives of their charges in order to ensure their mana will last the fight.
In the heat of battle, healers also have the unenviable responsibility of triage, making split-second decisions as to who will live, and who must die. It is often not possible to save every target, and there are times when even the best healer must allow one of their charges to perish, in order to save the others. In this sense, healers are those that stand between each player and their imminent death; and while they can bend the forces of fate a little to their favor, when there is nothing more that can be done, it is they who must decide who is to live, and who is to die.
For this reason and many others, the role of healer can be the most stressful, unpopular and unappreciated of all. If the healer is doing their job right, no-one will even notice they are doing it. This means that healers are rarely thanked for their efforts, with the only visible proof of their labours the fact that their allies are still standing. Because the healer serves as the last line of defence between players and their untimely deaths, healers can also be the subject of anger and abuse from players, even when those players are entirely to blame for their own demise. When everything goes wrong, the healer may be held responsible for not miraculously saving the group. However, experienced players know the difference between their own mistakes and those of the healer, and anyone who has served in the role knows the challenges of healing a tough encounter.
Healing is perhaps the most critical and responsible role of all. In the course of a tough fight, it is possible for several DPS to perish, and the party still to triumph; it is possible even for the tank to die, and for others to step up to take the brunt of the enemy’s attacks. But without a healer to keep them alive, any group is likely to meet a swift and ignominious demise.
Being a healer takes guts, quick wits and nerves of steel. It means taking responsibility for the survival of the entire group, and knowing that if things go wrong, you may be blamed. Being a healer requires maintaining a constant awareness of multiple targets, numerous cooldowns and a plethora of debuffs. It means anticipating incoming damage and predicting the behaviour of your teammates, playing a constant game of chicken between urgency and efficiency, gambling the lives of your teammates against the speed of your reactions. It means living on the fine line between life and death, constantly weighing the value of speed over longevity, the value of one life over that of another.
Being a healer is quite possibly the most stressful and most under-appreciated role of all. Nonetheless, it offers a unique challenge, and the opportunity to earn the praise and respect of your teammates. A good healer is capable of turning around any encounter, creating an indomitable team of adventurers who can take on anything. As the person most directly responsible for their team’s survival, a skilled healer can single-handedly save their party, their quick-thinking and mastery of their abilities sweeping their group from humiliating defeat to jubilant triumph. A good healer may stand in the shadows, but they alone are capable of raising their team into the glorious light of victory.
Notice that Nowhere does it say Healers must do dps.
What the heck is that wall of text and why should I care about it?
Try reading it. It might help you understand the Healers role in a group.
That’s not the question I asked. Where did you get it from?
That is from Wowpedia.
Wowpedia is an officially-recognized wiki dedicated to cataloging Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft universe (with a focus on World of Warcraft), covering the entire Warcraft series of games, strategy guides, novels, comics, reference books, and other sources.
Um… those are fan resources.
Good healers are more like supports. They deal healing and damage as needed.
…
Okay I’m sorry I actually bust a gut laughing at that and that was rude of me. I apologize.
No, Wowpedia does not hold any power to assign responsibilities to players. It’s a fan project offering little more than a high-level description of the role put together by a collection of random strangers on the Internet.
Glad you got a good laugh out of it.
Oh. Like the Wow General Discussion Forum. Right.