Introduction
Before beginning, I suppose I really ought to introduce myself a little. I’m a long-time PVP Healer, having started out PVP healing way back in Cata. I played through part of MOP, skipped WOD, and returned during Legion. I mained a gDruid in Legion and BFA, but I always had a Healer alt on hand - typically a Priest; I also dabbled in rDruid. Unlike many of the people on these forums, I just started playing MW fairly recently. By, “Fairly recently” I mean to say since patch 8.3. Admittedly, I avoided the Monk class like it was the plague all these years; however, when Blizzard introduced the XP boost near the end of patch 8.3, I decided to give the Monk class a shot. A buddy of mine rolled a WW, and I rolled a MW. Long story short, I fell in love with MW. My MW became my main, and - to this day - my MW still is.
What did I love about MW? First and foremost, I loved the mobility. After all those years of playing a slow-moving Priest, MW felt so nice. Relying on mobility, and avoiding as much damage as possible, just felt natural to me - more natural than having to literally face-tank things on a cloth-wearing Priest by cycling CDs. Secondly, I loved their powerful ST healing - even if it made them go OOM relatively quickly. I mean, it kinda made sense that they go OOM relatively quickly if you spammed a ton of powerful ST healing. It was a trade-off: spammable powerful ST healing, but it comes with a hefty mana cost. I didn’t mind the trade-off bc it was fair. It was nice to have powerful ST healing for once, and to actually be able to keep a target alive when pumping heals into it.
I jumped into Arenas as an undergeared MW near the end of 8.3 when the ladder was full of ppl rocking 9x gushing corruptions, etc., and - despite this - easily climbed to 1800. When I say, “Easily” I mean to say it wasn’t even remotely challenging. It didn’t start getting more difficult until around 1750. Seeing as it was the end of the expansion, and pre-patch was just on the horizon, I decided that 1800 was a good place to stop for the time being - even if I probably could have pushed further. I never really did a lot of Arenas before, and so, this was my first 1800. I just wanted to enjoy it for the moment. I told myself, “I can push 2000+ in SL.” I begin to think that was a mistake.
SL: The Downward Spiral
When pre-patch dropped, our first round of nerfs came in IIRC: Fort Brew and Cocoon were gutted. We also lost corruptions - but that didn’t affect me much, seeing as my MW was undergeared anyways. During pre-patch, MWs still felt relatively fine; however, I think the reason they still felt relatively fine, despite the nerfs, was because we still had essences and whatnot boosting our lack-luster survivability. We still had access to oodles of versa, oodles of mastery, etc. It looked so good in fact that I recall a PVP buddy of mine saying, “Maybe 3x MWs will be meta in RBGs.”
When SL dropped, all hell broke loose: MWs were effectively nerfed again when they lost access to essences and whatnot, and lost access to all of their versa and mastery. Now, our lack of survivability became painfully obvious, where before - during pre-patch - we hardly felt it. Fort Brew does practically nothing to stop incoming damage - on a longer CD, and Cocoon has become little more than a DPS speed-bump - on a longer CD. Besides this, our mana/heal ratio is out of whack: our powerful ST healing is not nearly so powerful anymore - and, yet, costs remain high. During the “Great unpruning” we got a bunch of questionable additions like ToD and EH - both of which rarely get used, or significantly alter our play. ToD - another melee range ability, is dangerous to use as a MW, and has an awkward delay tied to it; also, it may or may not kill your target. We could rename it, “Maybe Touch of Death.” EH is just not very useful; typically, it’s used as a self-heal, a sort of budget healing elixir, when we’re running away from DPS. It’s pretty disappointing as an addition to our toolkit. Kinda sad when Druids are getting things like Cyclone baseline, more CC baseline - and we’re getting like ToD and EH. Our mobility no longer makes up for our lack of defensive CDs, seeing as nearly every class now has ways to control mobility and/or close the gap. Invoke Yu’lon was buggy in PVP since BETA. We had Statue bug out for a week or so. Basically, SL has been a complete disaster for MWs. MWs were nerfed, perhaps inadvertently, like 3x over going into SL.
And what has this led to? It has led to the stigmatization of MWs: nobody wants a MW for Arenas, for RBGs, for Mythic+, and even for raids. More and more MW mains are disappearing as ppl are forced to reroll, or just outright quit the game bc, well, you just aren’t allowed to participate in any end-game content as a MW. Honestly? It hurts. It hurts that the devs would let something like this happen, and it hurts that the community would promote this kind of toxicity. I mean, really, what’s the excuse for disbarring MWs from low CR YOLO RBGs? What’s the excuse for disbarring MWs from low Mythic+ keys? What’s the excuse for disbarring MWs who link high XP? What’s the excuse for essentially robbing someone else of their fun? It’d be nice if people stopped and remembered that they weren’t just refusing a MW - a bunch of numbers and pixels in a video game, but a fellow human being. Let’s be real here: most of the ppl in the community aren’t pushing hard content; these aren’t R1 RBG groups, these aren’t R1 Mythic+ teams, etc. These random nobodies, who clearly think they’re somebodies, are refusing a spec due to stigmatization, looking for that piddly little “Edge.” The sad reality is that if you manage to botch a low Mythic+ key, or fail in your low CR YOLO RBGs, it most likely isn’t bc you brought a MW.
Arenas, Specifically
Arenas are a whole other matter. MWs are definitely struggling in Arenas - that can’t really be denied; as such, it isn’t surprising to see the Arenas community effectively avoiding MWs like the plague. Why are they struggling in Arenas? Well, simply put, all of their issues tend to become more exacerbated in a 2v2 and 3v3 scenario - esp. during a high burst meta, like we have here in season 1 of SL. Their lack of survivability becomes sorely apparent, their poor mana/heal ratio becomes sorely apparent, the pointlessness of a lot of their abilities becomes sorely apparent, etc. Playing w a MW rn is like playing Arenas on hard-mode. Playing w a MW rn is making your rating push - which is necessary for PVP gearing, I might add - just that much more difficult. To play with a MW rn in Arenas requires both players to play exceptionally well; it is not enough for the MW to play well alone, bc good MWs really aren’t in a position to carry anyone atm. MWs can’t really make up for poor playing on the part of their partners, like some of the other Healers can atm. For instance, an hPally and their partners can afford to derp around and misplay a whole lot more than a MW and their partners. For example, to stop an hPally from instantly topping their team mate, I have to pull off a perfectly timed CC chain. If I slip up, and give them even 1 sec. - 1 moment to cast, it’s all for nothing; I’ve used multiple CCs, and got nothing out of the exchange. MWs don’t have that luxury. We can’t top anyone with a single cast of anything; infact, we’re the only Healer whose “Instant cast” spells (outside of ReM) can’t be cast while moving, and can be effectively kicked, due to the fact that we have to channel SooM to use those “Instant cast” spells.
The stigmatization of MWs in Arenas has also become self-perpetuating: everybody knows “MWs are bad in Arenas”, so nobody plays w them; the only people willing to play w MWs in Arenas rn have little to no CR, and/or little to no XP - some are even complete beginners. What happens? Well, the team doesn’t get anywhere. The DPS check around, see that ppl are saying, “MWs are bad in Arenas” and they never think twice. They nod their heads, and pat their backs, and think: “That makes sense, bc - obviously - I did everything I could.” Or as ppl on the forums like to claim, “I played perfectly.” The team disbands, and the MW is left sitting in LFG to get picked up by the next no/low CR, no/low XP DPS - and the cycle continues. This just leads to further stigmatization of MWs. The DPS get in with a stronger Healer, like an hPally, find they can derp around more, and have their biases confirmed. The thing is, playing w a MW means that everyone has to play better on the team to make it work - and it can work. There are a couple of MWs on the board. The problem is that most ppl are just lazy. I mean, let’s call a spade a spade here. They’d rather not work harder, and/or they’d rather point the finger at someone/something else, as opposed to improving as a player.
Carrying on, Rerolling, or Quitting
As such, MWs are left w a hard decision to make: what are we to do in the mean-time? What are we to do when we’re getting disbarred from nearly all the end-game content in the game? What are we to do when we are getting disbarred from Arenas, RBGs, Mythic+, and raids? We have 3 options:
- Carry on
- Reroll
- Quit
In the first case, we have carrying on. Unfortunately, most ppl will not choose this option; after all, we play a video game to have fun - and it’s not fun being effectively disbarred from nearly all the end-game content in the game. This explains why we are seeing less and less MWs. MWs were never super popular before - but, now, they’re practically extinct. I’ve played over 300 Arenas this season and I’ve seen <10 MWs in all that time.
In the second case, we have rerolling. The simplest “Reroll” for a MW is to go WW; in fact, I’m confident that this partly explains why there are so many WWs in PVP rn. A good chunk of those WWs are MW “Rerolls.” For some players, that’s a viable, albeit temporary, solution to the MW problem; for other players, it’s not an option at all. For example, I, personally, prefer playing Healers over playing DPS; as such, swapping to WW isn’t very appealing. Other MWs are dropping the class altogether, and are rerolling dPriests, hPally’s, and/or rShamans. For some ppl, rerolling to another class is easy; for others, it’s a bit harder. For example, as an RP-PVPer, I have a lot invested into my “Character.” My “Character” isn’t just a bunch of numbers that are more or less favorable in PVP. My “Character” is very much a part of me. Dropping my “Character”, dropping a piece of me, because MWs are struggling numerically, just doesn’t jive w me.
In the third case, we have quitting. Sadly, more and more MW mains are just outright quitting the game. I mean, nobody likes being practically forced to reroll, or be disbarred from everything. I am considering this option as well, seeing as I have no interest in rerolling, and I am actively being disbarred from everything just bc I happen to play a MW. I can’t progress anymore. The game is effectively over for me, thanks to the stigmatization of MWs, and thanks to the fact that the devs haven’t addressed any of our issues before this stigma grew and took hold of the community. The game isn’t fun for me. It’s disappointing. It’s upsetting. As for the people saying, “Blizzard doesn’t care” - well, they should care. Whales still have to be subbed to be whales. I spend money in their shops - but I’m not gunna spend a thin dime on anything they offer if I’ve gotta put up with this kind of stigmatization. There’s a reason I never buy their 6-month promos. I never fall for it. Ever. It’s problems like this, where a whole class/spec, or even multiple classes/specs, just get completely ignored and utterly dumpstered for way too long. They need to fix MWs - like yesterday. Their negligence is gunna cost them in the long-run. They’re losing more than just a couple of subs. They’re losing whales. I mean, I’ve no need to buy WoW tokens if I don’t play, right? Why would I waste money on store mounts, etc., for a game I don’t play - or rather more precisely, I don’t get to play? If the game isn’t fun, people leave and take their money elsewhere. Facts are facts.
Going Forward
I don’t want to have to quit the game - I really don’t; however, if this state of affairs continues for much longer, if this toxic stigma continues, then I probably will. It’s not fun being disbarred from everything bc you happen to play x class/spec. It’s like the very antithesis of fun. I’d really like to see the devs make some changes to MWs pronto to address this problem. As many ppl had been saying throughout these forums, “MWs have had issues since BETA.” It’s time these issues were addressed, at least to some degree or another. Now, I’m a fair person. I fully understand that we can’t expect a sweeping overhaul anytime soon - nor do I expect that; however, I do expect some minor hotfixes ASAP. I, personally, don’t think it’d take very much to hotfix MWs. A few suggestions are as follows:
- Revert Fort Brew - at the very least, it needs to be stronger (higher %s HP and DR), and on a shorter CD
- Revert Cocoon - again, at the very least, it needs to be stronger (greater absorb), and on a shorter CD
- Cut our mana costs a smidge (10%?) - esp. on our bread-and-butter heals
- Either a.) significantly increase the DPS of our melee attacks and/or b.) bake in some passive group healing from the DPS of our melee attacks - we really need a reason to even bother using our melee attacks, esp. when it’s so incredibly dangerous for MWs to bother getting into melee range. Give us a reason to want to roll in to kick and punch! Please! Damage, some baked in passive group healing - or both, idc. But I really want to have a reason to use my full toolkit.
- Possibly some sorta stat buff?
- Possibly allow SooM channel and our “Instant cast” spells while moving so we can actually be “The” mobile Healer - I mean, you’ve given every other class/spec control of mobility/gap closers… gotta give us something to counter that if we’re supposed to be “The” mobile Healer. If not, then make SooM channel unkickable bc it’s too easy to shut down all of our “Instant cast” healing - which hPallys and the like get for free, mind you - when we’ve gotta stand there, channelling a spell like a moron.
EDIT: 7. Bring back /cancelroll, or at least allow us to break roll somehow.
EDIT: 8. What about the possibility of allowing MWs to roll outta roots and snares, so our mobility is more of a defensive?
I’d like to think that this small list of minor hotfix-level changes wouldn’t be that hard to implement, nor would it be game-breaking in the least. It’s really just a matter of altering things we already have. I’m not looking for MWs to go from dumpster fire to god-tier. I’m just looking for them to go from dumspter fire to playable. I’m looking for MWs to go from being disbarred from all end-game content to being a welcome addition to the team. I wanna see ppl saying, “Sure - we’ll take a MW” as opposed to how it is now, w ppl literally posting, “NO MWs ALLOWED!” I wanna look at the PVP leaderboards and see more MWs than pPallys. I don’t wanna see other classes/specs get nerfed to make MWs seem more appealing. Buff MWs, leave the others alone. Make every class/spec strong and fun to play; it’s a video game, after all. It’s supposed to be fun. I wanna have fun again playing a spec that I just fell in love with. Please do something to address this.
Thanks for your time,
Sincerely,
Chän
P.S. - A heartfelt thanks to all of the ppl out there who have been supporting the MWs.
P.S.S. - Apologies if this isn’t the best piece of writing.
