Managing healer threat in Heroics

So this is a problem I’ve been running into on Heroics and it’s pretty much a coin flip if it happens or not.

Pull starts -> Tank instantly chopped down to 5% hp by mobs -> burst heal -> all threat is now on me, as heals -> Pull becomes a disaster.

I’m not sure if this is a problem with the Tanks gear, the way the Tank is pulling or if the pulls are just too big because CC isn’t being used but it’s getting pretty frustrating, if I wait too long to start healing so the tank can establish threat then they just die (sometimes) I notice this tends to happen most often with Warriors.

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Manage your threat. Give the tank a sec (literally 0.5 seconds of a sec). If the healer is pre-healing and that’s ripping threat, and then DPS is pulling threat, then that’s so ON YOU it isn’t even funny.

Pay attention.

Allow your tank to establish threat. Have at least a little awareness.

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this shouldn’t happen except in very unique pulls - Blood Furnace, Arcatraz…

I mean, it probably shouldn’t happen then either, but that isn’t the issue here…

Oh, I probably should have mentioned this is mainly HFC dungeons I’m talking about.

I’m not trying to play blame game with tanks here or be hostile, I’m just trying to figure out what is going wrong

What are you healing on, what class

I mean, based on what you’ve said, it’s 100% not the tank’s fault. You have Heals and/or DPS who aren’t paying attention. I don’t mean this in a “blame game” sort of way, either.

First, if your tank is actually getting stomped to 5% HP, then it’s possibly that either the tank isn’t gear well enough, or is pulling a little too much. But in either case, this can easily be mitigated by having some CC. That’s 100% a DPS responsibility, imo.

So then we no longer have the 5% chop issue… so what are the remaining issues?

the 5% hp issue is the issue, I’m not pulling threat when this doesn’t happen.

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Then get a different tank.

(Or learn to CC).


What class and role are you in these heroics?

Unless you’re healing before tank gets a hold of the mobs then it isn’t your fault

It’s 100% your fault if you’re pulling threat.

(Ok, ok… 98%)

Not entirely if the tank will be dead if he dosent heal which is what the tank being at 5 percent means that to be the case as he most def should time his heal to land once that happens even if it means pre casting. As such him pulling threat as a result of that heal is not his fault.

The issue and fault lies on the reason the tank is falling to 5 percent that fast in this example instantly. If the tank is unable to hold the agro needed to heal that damage level. If the tank can’t produce that level of threat it is the tanks fault and he needs to address it either via calling for cc to reduce needed healing or produce more threat.

As was mentioned this is a issue of lack of CC’s or a undergeared tank that doubles as not only less mit so takes more damage and needs more healing so more healing threat but also tabk produces less threat so pulls easier.

A healer pulling threat when the tank is sub 50 percent is never the healers fault. A healer pulling threat with the tank above 50 percent thou may be based on the situation as you could of waited a second via cancel casting to let the tank get threat but the moment that tank is sub 50 you should be healing to prevent a combo kill.

This issue is thou is entirely the lack of CC being used as the op even mentioned Cc was not being used. This is entirely the tanks fault if he’s not calling for cc and the dps fault if it’s not being used when called. It is the tanks job to not only see when cc is required but mark and pull in a way that allows cc to be used this often means pulling back or los pulling so the cc mobs are moved away from the kill location and not broken.

3 Likes

No it isn’t.

It’s 100% the DPS’s fault if they are pulling threat. If you are playing with an inexperienced tank, and expecting them to play at the level that you are, that’s on you. Don’t make that assumption. See how they play, and play accordingly.

Be as good as you are and make the run go smoother, don’t make it worse, because you expect everyone else to be “as good as you” — and frankly if you are playing that way, you aren’t good (again, that’s on you! Improve. Feel free to ask for help and advice).

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You just have to put some points in threat reduction. I know it’s not what you want to do with those precious talent points but they’re needed when the group takes too much damage. I just respeced to put some points there and I’ll put more as I get more points. /shrug it’s better than getting ganked by the mobs when I pull aggro

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This is not the dps pulling threat massive diff this is the healer pulling threat. Yes a dps pulling threat is 100 percent there fault but that is not what is being talked about here.

Please read the thread before talking there is a massive diff between a dps pulling and a healer pulling when the tank is near dead.

The tank not producing enough threat for the healer to be able to heal when the tank is at 5 percent is on the tank.

5 Likes

can we not advise healers to put points in threat reduction, please???
that’s borderline violation of TOS.

2 Likes

I get this on normals. Ripping threat of tanks happens more often than should be normal. That said, it’s probably a cc problem if its aoe threat, bad tanks if it’s single target.

Exactly! Play to experience the game with who you are experiencing it with. Do your best and have fun, don’t expect others to have your back if they are just learning.

Sounds like Feywaif knows what’s up, and is playing according to experience.

One tclap is usually enough to cover healer aggro, or a swipe or a few ticks of consec. If tank can’t do that then it’s a tank problem

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This isn’t as obvious, and yeah you may be right with what you’re saying. I’m not trying to argue with you personally.

However if a healer is consistently pulling threat, it could also be somewhat do to DPS.

Now, if you believe that the tank should lead the group, and call people out, and remove or add people accordingly, then sure, it’s the tank’s fault. I believe that, and won’t join anyone’s group as a tank, but will form my own, for precisely this reason.