For mythic+, I often find that healing lower keys is actually harder than higher keys. Take this week for example with explosive. I was healing a +7 Temple of Seth for a buddy of mine and my god was it stressful. Why? Because dps weren’t focusing the orbs! I actually had more orbs killed by the end of the run than any of the dps. We finished but with a depleted key.
I healed a +12 Temple later in the week and it was honestly easier than the 7 because dps were on point with the orbs. We finished in time with a few minutes to spare.
I think grievous has this effect as well. People in lower keys tend to have less experience and therefore are more likely to fail mechanics, which results in grievous stacks galore and the healer spamming to keep people alive in panic mode.
Once you start running with people who don’t fail mechanics often, damage becomes more and more predictable and you learn to adjust CD’s/spells accordingly. As many have said, practice makes perfect.
I think the most important thing to learn is just what to expect in a dungeon. For the most part, if you have a competent group all healing is relatively predictable, you’ll be less stressed once you know what you’re getting into.
Contrary to a lot of the advice in this thread, I think doing m+ is the best way to learn healing. Normal/heroic dungeon runs are too easy, and you can afk lfr. You need an environment where you can fail, and build upon that.
Another thing to add, in many cases even in higher keys if people play properly you’ll just be doing damage cause many pulls don’t do damage unless people make mistakes. Of course the tank will, but if it’s a blood dk they can most likely heal themselves enough.
I agree with all of this except the purely reactive part. Specifically with disc and resto Druid. They require set up, which requires fight knowledge or a nifty add on.
Start a fresh toon and heal until about level 50 or 60. That’s when you should have most of your abilities in some form or another.
The reason is: you will want your keybinds and clicks to form and evolve from a fresh place.
Since healers don’t have rotations you need to know which button call for which positioning and time commitments. As in, not to stand in a certain place when you have to cast a long channel strong spell that will be wasted if bad forms under you.
While I agree with this theoretically, the problem is that when damage does start landing you NEED to know your spellbook, positioning, priority and gcd/haste.
Sure dps dodges everything but when something does happen you need to know how to get that bubble on the right person fast.
Yeah raids too. I was healing normal BoD and the PUG leader started berating me and another Holy Priest for over-healing. I was like it is obvious this person has absolutely zero clue how Holy Priest raid healing operates.
Also in PUG Raids you have leaders ans sometimes other healers who will either remove you or the other healers will say you are not pulling your weight. Because of this many healers will pad their healing numbers. Then it becomes less about the effectiveness of your healing and more about piling up the numbers to keep your place in the raid.
I heal for my guild now and just progress as they progress. No more PUG healing for me for now anyway.
This is not what I said at all. The thread, if you had bothered to read it, is about a player with experience wanting to heal. My suggestion that leveling as a healer is not efficient holds true. If you wish to be a good healer you need experience with group content where you heal other players, not just killing boars and throwing a flash on yourself.
I suggested the OP do as his healer wife did and throw him in at the deep end, others have likewise recommended dungeons etc.
If the OP had suggested he was fragile, new, slow to pick things up etc I’d have probably given different advice.
I have sort of been trying to get better at healing here is what i have been doing.
Grab a friend, and just run about doing out in the world stuff, or older raids maybe. Focus on keeping that person up, then maybe add a few more friends…so on and so on. Eventually you can all try some dungeons or something:)
She took you into a +4??? on your first time trying and you didn’t make her sleep on the couch??!!
All fun aside, yeah not the optimal way to learn how to heal… I personally feel the best way is leveling as another has said… If you don’t want to do that, boost a toon and go through some normals first. I also wouldn’t recommend PUG’s as a starting point. I’d find a group of friends that are willing to experience a repair bill and chuckle if you mess up.
I would add to this point that Resto Druids are best in BGs, too. Since they can stealth and avoid the CCs that are frequently deployed against healers.
I have played heals on and off since vanilla, I am with the level one to learn cowd. You will run into tanks who feel like they are god mode and pull more than they can handle. Groups who go 4 different directions I guess they didn’t see the blue mass holy rain but will stand in the fire over thee crowd .
Another point as well we may not need as thick skin as tanks but there may be times where you get blamed for everything even beyond you control, that said I love healing especially seeing as I get lost all the time when I tank.
Questing isn’t the only way to level. Every healer that I ever leveled did so almost exclusively by running dungeons. And I did bother to read the thread, so please spare me your condescension.
I apologize for my tone if it upset you, I honestly didn’t intend to offend you, certainly not my way of doing things. Was actually trying to help the OP, looks like keeping quiet is the best way to be here lately.
![:eyes:](https://d38bqls1q93fod.cloudfront.net/en/wow/images/emoji/twitter/eyes.png?v=6" ":eyes:")
on your first time trying