I am thinking about starting a healer from scratch and was wondering which one to pick. Any advice would be helpful. Most of my leveling would be via quests and whatever stray groups I could find on the way up. I have higher level toons so gold is not an issue. But I have only played a non-tanking warrior and a DK so know little about other classes. I hear more calls for a healer than any other class.
Thanks
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What Healer to Choose?Follow
Priests and shaman are the best overall for 5-man groups. They can heal single targets very well and can also heal multiple targets well.
Paladins are excellent single target healers, and when you get higher level you can get a spell to heal 2 at once. They struggle if the whole group is needing healed.
Druids are pretty good overall, but they do better in 10-man and 25-man content as healers, because most of their stuff is Heals over time.
I love my druid healer, but I sometimes have issues healing heroics with him.
Paladins are excellent single target healers, and when you get higher level you can get a spell to heal 2 at once. They struggle if the whole group is needing healed.
Druids are pretty good overall, but they do better in 10-man and 25-man content as healers, because most of their stuff is Heals over time.
I love my druid healer, but I sometimes have issues healing heroics with him.
[wowsig]2262328[/wowsig]
Getaggronoob----lvl 80 Bloodelf Paladin-------Deathhunter--lvl 72 Orc Hunter
Deathgaze-------lvl 66 Undead Warlock-----Deathzsword--lvl 72 Undead Warrior
Sneakypeat---lvl 66 Undead Rogue------Bigginbeefy-----lvl 66 Tauren Shaman
Healmenoob---lvl 72 Undead Priest------Diispet--------lvl 71 BE Mage
Cowmageddon---lvl 80 Death Knight
Getaggronoob----lvl 80 Bloodelf Paladin-------Deathhunter--lvl 72 Orc Hunter
Deathgaze-------lvl 66 Undead Warlock-----Deathzsword--lvl 72 Undead Warrior
Sneakypeat---lvl 66 Undead Rogue------Bigginbeefy-----lvl 66 Tauren Shaman
Healmenoob---lvl 72 Undead Priest------Diispet--------lvl 71 BE Mage
Cowmageddon---lvl 80 Death Knight
Somebody recently asked this question in the forums of all 4 healing classes. Let me quote a couple of responses I found useful there.
~Teacake
~Me
Not quite. Once you get your HoTs rolling, you should never see such variances in the tank's health, to the point that you can heal massive damage on at least 2 targets without ever breaking a sweat - in addition to keeping everybody else alive.
I also very much prefer the mobility of a druid. If I get frozen or silenced as a priest, I am entirely useless and have to watch health bars dropping. It's just not happening like that with a druid.
I have tools like Swiftmend or Nature's Swiftness to catch damage spikes if they ever occur, in addition to 2 amazing group heals. While Tranquility is both channeled and has a rather long CD, it's a huge amount of healing coming out of it - entirely threatless if talented. Then again, the same talent makes it available on just about every 2nd pull.
What if you decide that the whole healing thing doesn't work out for you, or if you'd just like to temporarily do something different? 2 of a priests 3 talent trees are for healing, with the third one (still) being mostly a single-target dps one.
I'm leaving out the paladin here, since you mentioned playing a warrior too. You can tank or melee-dps with your warrior, and leveling up a hybrid only because of one talent tree that you might actually be interested in playing doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.
As much as I love playing my priest, I'd recommend a druid... That's not only because the whole class is a hybrid, the healing-style is too. You even have hybrid heals, and you just don't get that with any other healer.
~Kanngarnix
~Gaudion
Quote:
I personally settled on the priest for several reasons, and your mileage will vary on all of them:
1. I like the flexibility and the variety. While the other healing classes tend to be known for a particular thing (druids for awesome HOT's, shaman for powerful group healing, paladins for strong single target heals), priests have a little of everything: single heals, HOT's, group heals, and panic buttons a-plenty. We've got a spec for multi-target/raid healing and a spec for tank healing. There's really no healing role we can't fill.
2. I enjoy this class's DPS spec for solo activities, so that allows me mix things up sometimes.
3. I couldn't be an undead druid.
1. I like the flexibility and the variety. While the other healing classes tend to be known for a particular thing (druids for awesome HOT's, shaman for powerful group healing, paladins for strong single target heals), priests have a little of everything: single heals, HOT's, group heals, and panic buttons a-plenty. We've got a spec for multi-target/raid healing and a spec for tank healing. There's really no healing role we can't fill.
2. I enjoy this class's DPS spec for solo activities, so that allows me mix things up sometimes.
3. I couldn't be an undead druid.
~Teacake
Quote:
Yet another bullseye from Teacake, that's exactly how I feel about it.
I've healed as a druid up to 68 and a paladin up to 38. While the way other classes heal can be fun, it's just really not my thing. Paladin healing feels way to 'reactive' to me. It's like playing a priest who can only cast greater heal. Playing a druid is exactly the opposite, to me it feels more like I have *only* weak HOT spells and lack heal'bombs'. Priests simply seem to have it all.
The thing is, as a priest, I react to every bit of damage differently. If the tank loses ~18% hp I will use penance. If the tank loses 25% hp and there is no real other burst in play I will use penance and renew. If the tank loses 30% hp and there is no burst in play I will use greater heal. If the tank loses 5% hp I will use renew and possibly cancelcast greater heal. If the tank loses between 30% and 50% hp I will use shield, penance and renew.
As a druid, if the tank loses 18% hp I will use regrowth and rejuvenation. If the tank loses 25% hp I will use regrowth and rejuvenation. If the tank loses 30% hp I will use regrowth and rejuvenation. If the tank loses 5% hp I will use rejuvenation. If the tank loses between 30% and 50% hp I will use regrowth and rejuvenation. Occasionally I'll mix in Lifebloom, but that's it.
As a paladin, if the tank loses between 10% and 20% hp I will use flash of light. If the tank loses more than 20% hp I will use holy light.
I realize it might not be that blunt, but that´s how it feels to me. Priest healing requires a little more thinking about what heal to use. Is the tank going to get hit again? Will the borrowed time bonus from Power Word: Shield help me here? Since the tank is blocking so much, might simply casting renew be a good idea? And after an AOE, should I use Power Word: Shield on low hp target A or low hp target B?
Simply said, I think priest healing feels more 'secure' to me. When healing on my druid or paladin I have a lot of those moments where I go "Right, what heal to use here? X will probably overheal and Y might not be enough to counter the upcoming burst". As a priest I've got so many abilities at my disposal that work in so many situations that very plainly said, there's more thinking involved to do it right.
In the end however, I think it's all personal preferrence. I can see very well how somebody could find druids more 'secure'; if an unexpected burst comes up, you will have 3 HOTs running on the tank and he should be able to hang in for a bit anyway.
I've healed as a druid up to 68 and a paladin up to 38. While the way other classes heal can be fun, it's just really not my thing. Paladin healing feels way to 'reactive' to me. It's like playing a priest who can only cast greater heal. Playing a druid is exactly the opposite, to me it feels more like I have *only* weak HOT spells and lack heal'bombs'. Priests simply seem to have it all.
The thing is, as a priest, I react to every bit of damage differently. If the tank loses ~18% hp I will use penance. If the tank loses 25% hp and there is no real other burst in play I will use penance and renew. If the tank loses 30% hp and there is no burst in play I will use greater heal. If the tank loses 5% hp I will use renew and possibly cancelcast greater heal. If the tank loses between 30% and 50% hp I will use shield, penance and renew.
As a druid, if the tank loses 18% hp I will use regrowth and rejuvenation. If the tank loses 25% hp I will use regrowth and rejuvenation. If the tank loses 30% hp I will use regrowth and rejuvenation. If the tank loses 5% hp I will use rejuvenation. If the tank loses between 30% and 50% hp I will use regrowth and rejuvenation. Occasionally I'll mix in Lifebloom, but that's it.
As a paladin, if the tank loses between 10% and 20% hp I will use flash of light. If the tank loses more than 20% hp I will use holy light.
I realize it might not be that blunt, but that´s how it feels to me. Priest healing requires a little more thinking about what heal to use. Is the tank going to get hit again? Will the borrowed time bonus from Power Word: Shield help me here? Since the tank is blocking so much, might simply casting renew be a good idea? And after an AOE, should I use Power Word: Shield on low hp target A or low hp target B?
Simply said, I think priest healing feels more 'secure' to me. When healing on my druid or paladin I have a lot of those moments where I go "Right, what heal to use here? X will probably overheal and Y might not be enough to counter the upcoming burst". As a priest I've got so many abilities at my disposal that work in so many situations that very plainly said, there's more thinking involved to do it right.
In the end however, I think it's all personal preferrence. I can see very well how somebody could find druids more 'secure'; if an unexpected burst comes up, you will have 3 HOTs running on the tank and he should be able to hang in for a bit anyway.
~Me
Quote:
Not quite. Once you get your HoTs rolling, you should never see such variances in the tank's health, to the point that you can heal massive damage on at least 2 targets without ever breaking a sweat - in addition to keeping everybody else alive.
I also very much prefer the mobility of a druid. If I get frozen or silenced as a priest, I am entirely useless and have to watch health bars dropping. It's just not happening like that with a druid.
I have tools like Swiftmend or Nature's Swiftness to catch damage spikes if they ever occur, in addition to 2 amazing group heals. While Tranquility is both channeled and has a rather long CD, it's a huge amount of healing coming out of it - entirely threatless if talented. Then again, the same talent makes it available on just about every 2nd pull.
What if you decide that the whole healing thing doesn't work out for you, or if you'd just like to temporarily do something different? 2 of a priests 3 talent trees are for healing, with the third one (still) being mostly a single-target dps one.
I'm leaving out the paladin here, since you mentioned playing a warrior too. You can tank or melee-dps with your warrior, and leveling up a hybrid only because of one talent tree that you might actually be interested in playing doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.
As much as I love playing my priest, I'd recommend a druid... That's not only because the whole class is a hybrid, the healing-style is too. You even have hybrid heals, and you just don't get that with any other healer.
~Kanngarnix
Quote:
If you really have zero experience healing and you don't know which class to choose, I strongly recommend a Priest. Paladins and Shaman are both highly specialized healing classes whereas Priests, while not the best at any one particular facet of healing, can do everything well. They have the widest range of healing spells and buffs, tools, etc. They really do have something for every occasion, and depending on how you spec you can specialize in either single-target tank healing (Disc) or cross-raid healing (Holy).
If Priest isn't your particular cup of tea, a Druid would be my second suggestion. They're also fairly well-rounded healers but they rely very heavily on HoTs compared to Priests' spells which are much more straightforward, direct heals for the most part. They're a little more complicated to play because of this, though no less effective. They bring a couple unique benefits to a party/raid in Innervate and an in-battle res as well in addition to their buffs.
Paladins are the best single-target healers in the game, which makes them phenominal raid healers at the end-game, but they're also the poorest multi-target healers which can make certain five-man instances, perticularly heriocs, a royal headache for them. They can provide passive auras to benefit their parties and a solid line of buffs.
Finally, you have the Resto Shaman, which I guess is me finally getting around to answering your original question. Shaman heal five-man instances slightly better than Paladins, but still not as well as Priests or Druids. In raids, they used to be considered the best cross-raid healers, but Holy Priests with Circle of Healing and Resto Druids with Wild Growth have taken that away from us for the most part. Shaman bring perhaps the widest range of buffs from a single source along with them; however, most of them can be provided by another class, so the wider the range of classes you stack around the Shaman, the more their value depreciates. Right now a Resto Shaman's main purpose, aside from providing their totem buffs and bringing Heroism, is to heal the melee stack around the tank. I dunno. It's kind of an awkward position anymore, to be honest...
If Priest isn't your particular cup of tea, a Druid would be my second suggestion. They're also fairly well-rounded healers but they rely very heavily on HoTs compared to Priests' spells which are much more straightforward, direct heals for the most part. They're a little more complicated to play because of this, though no less effective. They bring a couple unique benefits to a party/raid in Innervate and an in-battle res as well in addition to their buffs.
Paladins are the best single-target healers in the game, which makes them phenominal raid healers at the end-game, but they're also the poorest multi-target healers which can make certain five-man instances, perticularly heriocs, a royal headache for them. They can provide passive auras to benefit their parties and a solid line of buffs.
Finally, you have the Resto Shaman, which I guess is me finally getting around to answering your original question. Shaman heal five-man instances slightly better than Paladins, but still not as well as Priests or Druids. In raids, they used to be considered the best cross-raid healers, but Holy Priests with Circle of Healing and Resto Druids with Wild Growth have taken that away from us for the most part. Shaman bring perhaps the widest range of buffs from a single source along with them; however, most of them can be provided by another class, so the wider the range of classes you stack around the Shaman, the more their value depreciates. Right now a Resto Shaman's main purpose, aside from providing their totem buffs and bringing Heroism, is to heal the melee stack around the tank. I dunno. It's kind of an awkward position anymore, to be honest...
~Gaudion
"My guildy Kasdaye" wrote:
Gearscore for raiders is like Goldshire for roleplayers.
I tank. That is all I really enjoy doing in instance/raid content. Personally I don't care who heals me as long as I don't die.
That being said right now I personally prefer Discipline and Resto druids. Just the mechanics of how they heal lend them to healing bears very well. The reactive healing of disc works great with the giant mana sponge that is me. Same thing with druids and HoTs.
Not sure what other tanks prefer. I am sure other tank have favorite healer specs as well but at the same time don't care as long as the healer keeps most everyone alive.
That being said right now I personally prefer Discipline and Resto druids. Just the mechanics of how they heal lend them to healing bears very well. The reactive healing of disc works great with the giant mana sponge that is me. Same thing with druids and HoTs.
Not sure what other tanks prefer. I am sure other tank have favorite healer specs as well but at the same time don't care as long as the healer keeps most everyone alive.
Hellbanned
idiggory wrote:
Drinking at home. But I could probably stand to get laid.
Situational,
On my server you have a true lack of Resto Shammies, even terrible ones get raid invites at this point because at lvl 80 there are honestly just not around or so terribly incompetent that even need can't justify bringing them. Druids are a dime a dozen, finding a healing slot as a druid is like trying to find a raid slot as a hunter in Vanilla WoW, good luck. Other servers finding a holy pally is hard as hell.
/shrug
On my server you have a true lack of Resto Shammies, even terrible ones get raid invites at this point because at lvl 80 there are honestly just not around or so terribly incompetent that even need can't justify bringing them. Druids are a dime a dozen, finding a healing slot as a druid is like trying to find a raid slot as a hunter in Vanilla WoW, good luck. Other servers finding a holy pally is hard as hell.
/shrug
Bode - 100 Holy Paladin - Lightbringer
To some of the things Mozared said:
I like how you posted quite a bit of what others have responded with. I just wanted to add a few things with shaman healing since that's what I know.
For the part about Druids with their Swiftmend and/or Nature's Swiftness for damage spikes, Shammies do have Nature's Swiftness as well, which tends to help a lot of a damage spike occurs and I get silenced. Just hit that, then HW, and everything's good.
Shammies also now have a HoT. Although not as great as druids, they still help a bit if needed. With us having the Earthliving Weapon and Riptide now, if we have to continue moving, throwing a riptide to cap off members helps (I tend to use it when I can in fights like the one in the Nexus).
Just a bit of two cents.
OP, just try out all healing classes and pick what you enjoy. Some people like healing a certain way than others. For example, I enjoy healing on my shaman. Healing on my pally is another story. I'm not too fond of it, but that may just be me.
I like how you posted quite a bit of what others have responded with. I just wanted to add a few things with shaman healing since that's what I know.
For the part about Druids with their Swiftmend and/or Nature's Swiftness for damage spikes, Shammies do have Nature's Swiftness as well, which tends to help a lot of a damage spike occurs and I get silenced. Just hit that, then HW, and everything's good.
Shammies also now have a HoT. Although not as great as druids, they still help a bit if needed. With us having the Earthliving Weapon and Riptide now, if we have to continue moving, throwing a riptide to cap off members helps (I tend to use it when I can in fights like the one in the Nexus).
Just a bit of two cents.
OP, just try out all healing classes and pick what you enjoy. Some people like healing a certain way than others. For example, I enjoy healing on my shaman. Healing on my pally is another story. I'm not too fond of it, but that may just be me.
Alliance
90 Rogue - Aresella
90 Shaman - Aislynn
90 Warrior - Alazara
88 Mage - Gízmo
85 Druid - Araxi
85 Hunter - Xeliara
85 Priest - Alaxandra
85 Paladin - Kallísto
30 Monk - Faewyn
90 Rogue - Aresella
90 Shaman - Aislynn
90 Warrior - Alazara
88 Mage - Gízmo
85 Druid - Araxi
85 Hunter - Xeliara
85 Priest - Alaxandra
85 Paladin - Kallísto
30 Monk - Faewyn
All healers are equally good. All healers have certain strengths and certain weaknesses. Just pick whichever one appeals to you the most. There is no best healer.
fromanthebarbarian wrote:
i would recommend that you do it just once, to see what it's like, and then never do it again...
I have healed as a Paladin at 70 and felt it was very limiting to me. I have since rolled a priest and I love the variety of heals I have. At the end of the day find the class you like best. The best advice I was given if you are unsure is level all classes you are considering to 20/25. This usually gives you enough time to figure out how they tick. I have also levelled a druid to 35 but took the priest further as I prefer her to play.
I'm going to give a different opinion from everyone else. Trying every healer up to lvl 20 or 30 will not give you a good feel for how that class heals. Many of the key healing skills are not obtained until later on.
My recommendation would be to just pick one and go for it. Level your healer to 80, and have fun.
As for which to choose:
1) Take a priest if: You want a crapload of differnet healing spells that account for every situation. The uber-jack of all trades.
2) Take a druid if: You want to look like a tree, and stack HoTs.
3) Take a Shammy if: You want to throw down totems and watch your heals look like a laser beam between people.
4) Take a Paladin if: You want to wear plate armor & live forever.
My recommendation would be to just pick one and go for it. Level your healer to 80, and have fun.
As for which to choose:
1) Take a priest if: You want a crapload of differnet healing spells that account for every situation. The uber-jack of all trades.
2) Take a druid if: You want to look like a tree, and stack HoTs.
3) Take a Shammy if: You want to throw down totems and watch your heals look like a laser beam between people.
4) Take a Paladin if: You want to wear plate armor & live forever.
fromanthebarbarian wrote:
i would recommend that you do it just once, to see what it's like, and then never do it again...
Of course I am semi-biased for the most part, I have rolled 3 of these classes (Paladin/Priest/Shaman), in BC raid content I have healed on all 3.
---------
Paladin: Overall best single target healer, very good main tank healer in raids. Buffs are always nice too.
Shaman: I still think the best overall for raid healing. Sure a priest is excellent too, but a shaman has a little more survivability, a lot more raid/group utility than a priest. Can anyone say totems/chain heal? I mean fort is good and all, but seriously totems are much more raid/group useful if you have to pick between the two.
Priest: Best overall healer, can take on just about any situation and walk away. The only downside I see to rolling a priest is the fact that they are UBER squishy and their heals generate a ****-TON of threat. If you have a solid tank who is good at keeping aggro, then you have no problems. I sometimes feel that if you ever intend on PuG'ing a group a priest is not always a good idea. A tank who isnt paying attention will get their healer one shotted in a hurry.
Druid: Best HoT healer, now that they have a solid rez button they have strongly moved up the healing ladder in PvE healing. They used to be the absolute best for PvP and not so hot for PvE content, but now they have overall proven to be solid healer.
---------
I personally cant stand healing on my paladin, I feel useless with the minimal choices given to me to heal with. There are positives and negatives to this. Simplistic heals are good on mana conservation, BUT when it comes down to keeping a group alive (not just a tank) it can become very difficult and tedious.
My priest is a solid well rounded healer, she can take on any group if the tank is skilled. I do on occasion have mana issues with her when I heal. Also she gets tossed around much more than my shaman. I like the fact that I have a full bar of healing options, but to be fair who uses more than 2-3 buttons at any given situation? And personally I feel the bubble is rather worthless, chances are it wont keep you alive long enough for the tank to pull aggro off of you in a heroic/raid situation. Her heals generate a ton of threat, you gotta be quick on that fade button! I get one shotted quite often.
My shaman is the love of my life, after riptide I can easily say that she is by far the best overall healer for all grouping situations (Of course that is my opinion, but I think I have a better understanding of most of the healing classes more than most people). Her threat generation is much lower than my priest, her heals are all mana efficient, and she can gain extra mana at a whim with mana-tide. Which does not intrude into casting other than the physical drop of the totem. Chain heal is downright amazing, which in my opinion boosts her well over paladin healers for grouping.
Druids Im just not sold on as a healing class ATM, spamming HoTs is just not my idea of fun. Although I do plan on rolling a druid healer after I get my other toons squared away at 80. I would love to have one of each class, so I can pick who I feel like healing with any given day. Sounds sick and twisted, I know I am. :)
But the way my toons currently sit are how they will stay for now. My paladin in my eyes is the bottom of the totem pole for heals, so she will stay a tank until I see something that makes her a better healer and possibly I will go back that route. My priest will stay shadow (because I swear to god, playing shadow is so much more fun than healing on a priest, once you go shadow you will not want to go back to heals). My shaman will stay resto, as I just dont find elemental/enhancement fun. I need survivability on my shaman and resto is pure survivability at this point.
I hope that helped in your decision. :) Good luck in your healing adventure. For the most part its a difficult/long road in leveling but after it all you will be a stronger person, and time/experience will make you a good healer.
Edited, Dec 22nd 2008 10:43am by lauisifer
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Paladin: Overall best single target healer, very good main tank healer in raids. Buffs are always nice too.
Shaman: I still think the best overall for raid healing. Sure a priest is excellent too, but a shaman has a little more survivability, a lot more raid/group utility than a priest. Can anyone say totems/chain heal? I mean fort is good and all, but seriously totems are much more raid/group useful if you have to pick between the two.
Priest: Best overall healer, can take on just about any situation and walk away. The only downside I see to rolling a priest is the fact that they are UBER squishy and their heals generate a ****-TON of threat. If you have a solid tank who is good at keeping aggro, then you have no problems. I sometimes feel that if you ever intend on PuG'ing a group a priest is not always a good idea. A tank who isnt paying attention will get their healer one shotted in a hurry.
Druid: Best HoT healer, now that they have a solid rez button they have strongly moved up the healing ladder in PvE healing. They used to be the absolute best for PvP and not so hot for PvE content, but now they have overall proven to be solid healer.
---------
I personally cant stand healing on my paladin, I feel useless with the minimal choices given to me to heal with. There are positives and negatives to this. Simplistic heals are good on mana conservation, BUT when it comes down to keeping a group alive (not just a tank) it can become very difficult and tedious.
My priest is a solid well rounded healer, she can take on any group if the tank is skilled. I do on occasion have mana issues with her when I heal. Also she gets tossed around much more than my shaman. I like the fact that I have a full bar of healing options, but to be fair who uses more than 2-3 buttons at any given situation? And personally I feel the bubble is rather worthless, chances are it wont keep you alive long enough for the tank to pull aggro off of you in a heroic/raid situation. Her heals generate a ton of threat, you gotta be quick on that fade button! I get one shotted quite often.
My shaman is the love of my life, after riptide I can easily say that she is by far the best overall healer for all grouping situations (Of course that is my opinion, but I think I have a better understanding of most of the healing classes more than most people). Her threat generation is much lower than my priest, her heals are all mana efficient, and she can gain extra mana at a whim with mana-tide. Which does not intrude into casting other than the physical drop of the totem. Chain heal is downright amazing, which in my opinion boosts her well over paladin healers for grouping.
Druids Im just not sold on as a healing class ATM, spamming HoTs is just not my idea of fun. Although I do plan on rolling a druid healer after I get my other toons squared away at 80. I would love to have one of each class, so I can pick who I feel like healing with any given day. Sounds sick and twisted, I know I am. :)
But the way my toons currently sit are how they will stay for now. My paladin in my eyes is the bottom of the totem pole for heals, so she will stay a tank until I see something that makes her a better healer and possibly I will go back that route. My priest will stay shadow (because I swear to god, playing shadow is so much more fun than healing on a priest, once you go shadow you will not want to go back to heals). My shaman will stay resto, as I just dont find elemental/enhancement fun. I need survivability on my shaman and resto is pure survivability at this point.
I hope that helped in your decision. :) Good luck in your healing adventure. For the most part its a difficult/long road in leveling but after it all you will be a stronger person, and time/experience will make you a good healer.
Edited, Dec 22nd 2008 10:43am by lauisifer
Windystorm - 80 Disc Priest
Nebraska - 80 Frost DK
Rain - 80 Resto Shaman
Tropico - 80 Holy Paladin
Lauisifer - 80 Surv Hunter
Nebraska - 80 Frost DK
Rain - 80 Resto Shaman
Tropico - 80 Holy Paladin
Lauisifer - 80 Surv Hunter
Your paladin in not even lvl 80 yet. I wouldn't bash paladin healing based on TBC. Pally healing has changed dramatically. You are no longer spamming FoL and an occassional HL.
Try it before you knock it. It's actually really fun now.
Try it before you knock it. It's actually really fun now.
fromanthebarbarian wrote:
i would recommend that you do it just once, to see what it's like, and then never do it again...
Perhaps I should have mentioned; my (lets call him) soulmate in WoW plays a healadin right now, so I'm basically overflowed with stories and comments about paladin healing from his side. While it's true Paladins gain some abilities, I've got the idea most of it remains the same: reactive bulk healing.
On a sidenote, if your guild has no other healers around and you plan on raiding/healing for/with your guild, do nót pick a paladin. My healadin mate is in a guild with only paladin healers and as a result it was impossible for them to kill Sartharion. They replaced 2 naxx-geared healadins with 2 greenie-geared druids and they actually got him to 33% (but failed to kill him due to the lack of proper DPS).
Edited, Dec 22nd 2008 6:07pm by Mozared
On a sidenote, if your guild has no other healers around and you plan on raiding/healing for/with your guild, do nót pick a paladin. My healadin mate is in a guild with only paladin healers and as a result it was impossible for them to kill Sartharion. They replaced 2 naxx-geared healadins with 2 greenie-geared druids and they actually got him to 33% (but failed to kill him due to the lack of proper DPS).
Edited, Dec 22nd 2008 6:07pm by Mozared
"My guildy Kasdaye" wrote:
Gearscore for raiders is like Goldshire for roleplayers.
Quote:
On a sidenote, if your guild has no other healers around and you plan on raiding/healing for/with your guild, do nót pick a paladin. My healadin mate is in a guild with only paladin healers and as a result it was impossible for them to kill Sartharion. They replaced 2 naxx-geared healadins with 2 greenie-geared druids and they actually got him to 33% (but failed to kill him due to the lack of proper DPS).
So with Paladin healers, the failure to kill Satharion is the healers fault. But, when they fail to kill Satharion with druid healers, then it's the DPS's fault? That is a failed analogy. :) jk
In reality, you do NOT ever want to raid with only Pally healers. That is irresponsible since you won't be able to handle massive AoE damage as easily as you would if you brought along other healers. On the flip side, Paladin healers make tank healing much easier than other healers. That is why there are multiple healing classes. Just like you generally won't want to run a raid with 25 druids....although it'd be cool to see :)
fromanthebarbarian wrote:
i would recommend that you do it just once, to see what it's like, and then never do it again...
That's what I'm trying to say, basically =P. The thing is, I've been hearing him rant about the fact that 3 healers of the same class can heal ANY 10-man unless those 3 healers are paladins. And I guess I'm influenced enough to say that's somewhat unfair.
"My guildy Kasdaye" wrote:
Gearscore for raiders is like Goldshire for roleplayers.
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The thing is, I've been hearing him rant about the fact that 3 healers of the same class can heal ANY 10-man unless those 3 healers are paladins. And I guess I'm influenced enough to say that's somewhat unfair.
Good point. However, in light of the OP, I wouldn't say that means "avoid rolling a Pally healer".
Edited, Dec 22nd 2008 1:15pm by YJMark
fromanthebarbarian wrote:
i would recommend that you do it just once, to see what it's like, and then never do it again...
Class won't make you a better player. Playing a class you like and strive to be good at will.
Just as an aside, think about leveling solo to 80, because you will for the most part. Don't plan on going holy priest at lvl 10 and having groups fall on your lap. Many people are playing end-game already, and many are playing with their DKs in OLs, so you probably WILL have to solo to 60ish at least. Just keep it in mind.
Just as an aside, think about leveling solo to 80, because you will for the most part. Don't plan on going holy priest at lvl 10 and having groups fall on your lap. Many people are playing end-game already, and many are playing with their DKs in OLs, so you probably WILL have to solo to 60ish at least. Just keep it in mind.
FOR PONY!
I think it's a little much to try to min/max a healer you're rolling to level from scratch. Who knows whether by the time s/he dings 80 your guild (or server) will need uber mt heals (pally), uber raid heals (shaman), uber HOTs/anticipatory heals (druid) or just uber flexibility (priest).
Therefore, I'd say roll the one that's the most fun to heal with. I've healed with three of the four (still havent gotten a priest past 10, shame on me) and although my druid's feral I will say he was the most fun to heal with back when a feral could heal 5-mans. The combination of HOTs and HT meant I always had different ways to deal with damage. It wasn't just, say, FOL or CH spam (my pally and my shammy respectively). So I'd recommend a druid (or a priest -- they seem to have a similarly enjoyable range of spells) over the more durable healing classes of shaman or pally. It's nice to push lots of different buttons and mobility while healing is also a plus.
Therefore, I'd say roll the one that's the most fun to heal with. I've healed with three of the four (still havent gotten a priest past 10, shame on me) and although my druid's feral I will say he was the most fun to heal with back when a feral could heal 5-mans. The combination of HOTs and HT meant I always had different ways to deal with damage. It wasn't just, say, FOL or CH spam (my pally and my shammy respectively). So I'd recommend a druid (or a priest -- they seem to have a similarly enjoyable range of spells) over the more durable healing classes of shaman or pally. It's nice to push lots of different buttons and mobility while healing is also a plus.
What great responces! There is nothing better than getting advice from people who have been there. One thing caught my attention that raises a question. Given the advanced state of wow now it was pointed out that I will have to level mainly solo, questing no doubt. I like the idea of a priest but worry about squishiness. Druids seem better suited to survive solo. If I am wrong about this please correct me.
You're not quite wrong, but misguided :) Any class can level just fine. Just because your priest is squishy doesn't mean that he/she won't kick butt & melt faces.
Seriously, just pick a class that seems the most fun to you. EVERY class can easily level solo.
Seriously, just pick a class that seems the most fun to you. EVERY class can easily level solo.
fromanthebarbarian wrote:
i would recommend that you do it just once, to see what it's like, and then never do it again...
Respec to your healing spec roughly 10 levels before the cap, at the cap or somewhere in between. There will be enough people at that point running dungeons to start to make it worth it to be healer spec'd.
That is my experience form the LFG system both in chocolate and strawberry. I expect what ever comes next to be the same but it is way pre-mature to figure out what that flavor will be called.
That is my experience form the LFG system both in chocolate and strawberry. I expect what ever comes next to be the same but it is way pre-mature to figure out what that flavor will be called.
Hellbanned
idiggory wrote:
Drinking at home. But I could probably stand to get laid.
Athu wrote:
What great responces! There is nothing better than getting advice from people who have been there. One thing caught my attention that raises a question. Given the advanced state of wow now it was pointed out that I will have to level mainly solo, questing no doubt. I like the idea of a priest but worry about squishiness. Druids seem better suited to survive solo. If I am wrong about this please correct me.
Druids and Paladins have great survivability solo. But you shouldn't base your decision off of that. Priests and Shamans are both respectable in the soloing department. If you solo as a non-healing spec, they all are just fine for leveling.
They all play totally different, the ultimate decision is going to be yours to make. The best advice any one of us could give is to read up on how each healer is played and decide which healer you want to play as. Do you prefer hitting people up with a boat load of HoTs and running around as a tree, go druid. You prefer fast casts and lots of crit heals, go paladin. You prefer AoE healing madness, go holy priest. You prefer to bubble and renew, go Disc priest. You prefer to drop totems that everyone loves, go shaman. You can't go wrong with any healing class honestly.
I love my Holy Pally. At first in Heroics in WoTLK I felt like we had the short end of the stick. I was jealous of other healers HoT's and AoEs. Then as I got geared I realized Holy pallies have some amazing things going for them. When other healers get one shotted by random charge mechanics a Holy pally just sucks it up and keep on healing. In long gauntlets we can heal for miles and still have mana. Good use of Bacon of light takes care of most spash damage these days. We also have tailor made buffs for every class.
Last night we were running Heroic UP. During the last boss he stun/cowers the party and moves to a boat to load up more nastyness for the party. I started to fall a bit behind so I bubbled on the 3rd boat. While everyone else was still stunned I healed everyone back to full so we were ready to finish him off.
Sure sometimes as a Pally you have to work a bit harder than a preist to heal spash damage. But when that druid is OOM and that priest is dead from a loose melee or caster, your freind the pally will still be alive and healing you.
Last night we were running Heroic UP. During the last boss he stun/cowers the party and moves to a boat to load up more nastyness for the party. I started to fall a bit behind so I bubbled on the 3rd boat. While everyone else was still stunned I healed everyone back to full so we were ready to finish him off.
Sure sometimes as a Pally you have to work a bit harder than a preist to heal spash damage. But when that druid is OOM and that priest is dead from a loose melee or caster, your freind the pally will still be alive and healing you.
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.
~ Matsuo Basho
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.
~ Matsuo Basho
34 posts
as a total side note druids are known to be an easier class to level.We just don't die very often with all the built in forms we have. so as an added plus it was very easy for me i went 1-70 feral 70-80 balance and 80 resto.
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What great responces! There is nothing better than getting advice from people who have been there. One thing caught my attention that raises a question. Given the advanced state of wow now it was pointed out that I will have to level mainly solo, questing no doubt. I like the idea of a priest but worry about squishiness. Druids seem better suited to survive solo. If I am wrong about this please correct me.
Priests are semi-hard to level before you get shadowform at 40. I dont know why for sure, I assume its because of a lack of damage casting spells. The ones you have either have really long cast times OR they have a rather long cooldown.
If you go priest, your wand will be your best friend. Invest in the best wand you can every 5-6 levels below 40. You will get through it just fine.
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Sure sometimes as a Pally you have to work a bit harder than a preist to heal spash damage. But when that druid is OOM and that priest is dead from a loose melee or caster, your freind the pally will still be alive and healing you.
Now this is true, thats why I dont completely put paly's down as healers. You will be alive as you can keep yourself there and most likely your tank, but chances are you dps will have fallen due to damage in the mean time.
Thats why I put resto shaman at the top of my list currently, as they can put a riptide on the tank, stand by him, and chain heal on myself so he get the extra heal push from the riptide and my dps if they are close enough get small heals from the jumps. I can easily keep a group alive without much effort. Litterally casting 3 heals my group if in range will be healed to full without an issue. For paladins, it would easily take 5-8 heals to possibly get your group back in order.
And If I wear a mace/shield I have a substantial amount of protection as a paladin considering I wear mail. When I wear my shield/mace I can take 2-3 hits before Im toast. Plenty of time for a tank to rip them off.
If you would have asked me who is the strongest healer before the new set of talents, hands down I would have said my priest. Now that things have changed so much its certainly my shaman. When nerfs/buffs come along, things change.
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Your paladin in not even lvl 80 yet. I wouldn't bash paladin healing based on TBC. Pally healing has changed dramatically. You are no longer spamming FoL and an occassional HL.
Try it before you knock it. It's actually really fun now.
Try it before you knock it. It's actually really fun now.
Oh come on, what are you really trying to say here? You think I didnt research which toon to take to 80 first? I took the most capable healing class, which would have been my paladin if anything at all seemed to have gone their way with healing.
You act like I took a shot at you personally by saying that I personally feel paladins have short end of the stick when it comes to solo-healing. THEY DO. Wether you want to admit it or not, its still the same 2 buttons with a little flare here and there.
YOU need to keep in mind, Its all about the person who plays the toon not the spells. If you are amazing at healing with a paladin then more power too you, I personally just cant recommend it in comparision to the other classes.
Athu asked for opinions, so I gave mine. Geesh.
Oh BTW, if you ask me who I want as my 2nd healer in a raid. It takes no thought for me, a paladin healer as they compliment my healing style. I know they arent a completely gimped healer, but I personally feel that shamans have it best all around ATM.
Edited, Dec 22nd 2008 3:56pm by lauisifer
Windystorm - 80 Disc Priest
Nebraska - 80 Frost DK
Rain - 80 Resto Shaman
Tropico - 80 Holy Paladin
Lauisifer - 80 Surv Hunter
Nebraska - 80 Frost DK
Rain - 80 Resto Shaman
Tropico - 80 Holy Paladin
Lauisifer - 80 Surv Hunter
34 posts
as a total side note druids are known to be an easier class to level.We just don't die very often with all the built in forms we have. so as an added plus it was very easy for me i went 1-70 feral 70-80 balance and 80 resto.
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OH come on, what are you really trying to say here? You think I didnt research which toon to take to 80 first? I took the most capable healing class, which would have been my paladin if anything at all seemed to have gone their way with healing.
You act like I took a shot at you personally by saying that I personally feel paladins have short end of the stick when it comes to healing. THEY DO. Wether you want to admit it or not, its still the same 2 buttons with a little flare here and there.
YOU need to keep in mind, Its all about the person who plays the toon not the spells. If you are amazing at healing with a paladin then more power too you, I personally just cant recommend it in comparision to the other classes.
You act like I took a shot at you personally by saying that I personally feel paladins have short end of the stick when it comes to healing. THEY DO. Wether you want to admit it or not, its still the same 2 buttons with a little flare here and there.
YOU need to keep in mind, Its all about the person who plays the toon not the spells. If you are amazing at healing with a paladin then more power too you, I personally just cant recommend it in comparision to the other classes.
Reading QQ's on the O-Boards about classes != understanding and experience. Paladins did not get the short end of any stick. They are still, by far, the best single and dual target healer in the game. No other healer can even come close. Yes, they have to work a bit harder on AoE damage (because they don't just spam one button on a single target), but that does not make it difficult by any means.
I didn't take what you said personally. I just took it for face value. You haven't really played the class with all the new skills (regardless if you call them "little flares"), and I don't think you realize just how powerful Paladin healers are right now.
I'm not saying they are more powerful or less powerful than other healers. However, they are not gimped in any way (unless you ONLY want to raid heal). It's funny, but the only people that seem to complain about Paladin healing are people who are not Paladin healers, or don't want to stray from the TBC form of healing.
As a side note - I do love Shammy healers too :) I just don't believe there is any one single uber-healing class. All are good. It really depends on the player (like you said)
EDIT - P.S. lauisifer - I do respect your opinion, and apologize if my earlier post seemed a bit rough. It was not intended to be that way.
Edited, Dec 22nd 2008 4:52pm by YJMark
fromanthebarbarian wrote:
i would recommend that you do it just once, to see what it's like, and then never do it again...
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