Category Archives: Healing

Evaluating Holy Paladins with World of Logs

Posted on February 6, 2013 | 2 Comments

The second part of my updated Guide to Evaluating Healers with World of Logs focuses on Holy Paladins. Thank you to Jacii, one of Apotheosis’s amazing Pally healers for reviewing and contributing to the post.

(This post may be easier to read, with less squishy pictures, over on the guide page).

Here are specific things to look for when analyzing holy paladin logs. It’s best to look at specific kills or attempts in order to get meaningful numbers.

Healing Done

Paladins are great tank healers and are also very strong at healing the raid when they are grouped close together. They have a number of utility spells and cooldowns to juggle. Holy Paladins should be evaluating not just on their output but also how well they make use of their abilities.

Healing by Spell

There are a number of things to look for on this screen, including:

Spell selection – Is the paladin using all their available spells?

Paladins have: Divine Light, Holy Light, Beacon of Light, Holy Shock, Holy Radiance, Word of Glory, Light of Dawn, Lay on Hands, and passive healing from their Mastery – Illuminated Healing. They also have either Eternal Flame or Sacred Shield (level 45 talents) and one of Holy Prism, Light’s Hammer or Execution Sentence (level 90 talents). Healing from all of these spells should be seen on most fights. The only spell that is not typically used much is Flash of Light due to it’s poor mana efficiency (though it can be excellent on fights where mana doesn’t matter so much).

Top spells – A paladin’s top spells will vary based on the fight and their assignment, though Illuminated Healing will generally be at or near the top on any fight, along with Eternal Flame if the Pally has taken it. For fights that are heaviest on tank damage Beacon should be doing a lot of the healing. When the raid is grouped up, Holy Radiance will often be one of the top heals even if the paladin is assigned to tank heal.

Overhealing – Overhealing is dependent on spell. Spells like Beacon of Light and Holy Radiance will generally have high overheal, which cannot be avoided so it is not a useful metric to look at. However targeted, single target spells such as Divine Light and Holy Shock should be low on overheal.

Notes on specific spells:

Divine Light vs. Holy Light
Two slow, direct healing spells. Divine Light costs 3x the mana and heals for 3x as much and gives Holy Power if cast on the Beacon target. The amount these spells are used will depend on the fight and damage taken. Check the amount of overheal on these two spells. If the overhealing on Divine Light is too high (nearing or over 40%), the paladin may be wasting mana and should be relying more on Holy Light. Paladin have so many other spells to use, and group heals that transfer through Beacon that you may not see a lot of use of either of these spells.

Holy Shock

Holy Shock should be used on cooldown to maximize Holy Power gains. Though it won’t be on top in terms of healing done, it should be near the top in terms of number of times it is cast. It has a 6 second cooldown, or 4 seconds with 4T14. Compare the number of direct heals to the maximum number of times it can be cast.

Holy Radiance and Daybreak
Daybreak is a buff that you get every time you cast Holy Radiance. The buff will make your next Holy Shock cast within 6 seconds duplicate into a second heal that will heal all targets within 10 yards of the initial Holy Shock target. If Holy Radiance healing is high, but Daybreak doesn’t make up at least a few % of total healing, the Paladin is likely not using Holy shock appropriately.

Word of Glory (or Eternal Flame) and Light of Dawn

These are the spells that use up Holy Power. Word of Glory/Eternal Flame should be used more often when tank healing or people are spread out, while Light of Dawn becomes more useful as people are grouped up, or damage is more bursty. One of these spells (or a combination of them) should make up a significant portion (20%+) of total healing. If they don’t, the Paladin may not be using their Holy Power optimally.

Lay on Hands
The first thing to look for is whether Lay on Hands was used at all. In addition to providing a huge amount of healing, with Glyph of Divinity LoH also returns mana. Though it may not get used on every fight, it should be used on most fights. A lack of LoH over a raid night should set off warning bells.

Tier 3 Talents
Tier 3 gives Paladins a choice of 2 new healing spells (yes there are 3 options, but Selfless Healer is the wrong one).
Eternal Flame – This spell replaces Word of Glory, turning it into a 30 second heal over time. If the Pally has this talent, it should account for a lot of their healing, especially if they apply the HoT to as many raiders as possible. The HoTportion of Eternal Flame transfers to the Beacon at 50%.
Sacred Shield – This provides a shield (can only be on one person at a time) which absorbs damage every 6 seconds. If the Pally takes this talent, SS should be up on their primary target all the time.
You’ll also want to check the uptimes on these spells. (See next section)

Tier 6 Talents
Paladins get a choice of 3 new heals for their Tier 6 talent. These talents have very short cooldowns, and should be used often. Use can be delayed for predictable damage, or in combination with an output cooldown.

You should see healing from one of the following:
Stay of Execution (from the talent Execution Sentence) – Single target heal over time. 1 minute cooldown. This is a good choice on fights with very heavy tank damage. You can see the number of times this was cast on the Buffs Cast screen.
Holy Prism – Can be used as a single-target heal or a small area of effect heal. 20 second cooldown. This is the only option with a mana cost.
Arcing Light (from the talent Light’s Hammer) – An AoE ground heal that lasts 17.5 seconds. 1 minute cooldown. Light’s Hammer is a good choice on fights where the raid is grouped up and more AoE healing is needed. Light’s Hammer’s heals transfer to the Beacon target at a rate of 15%.

Buffs Cast

This screen will tell you how often a paladin is using their cooldowns, along with the uptime on key abilities.

Beacon of Light – Paladins’ signature ability. Should be up all the time. If it’s cast pre-pull and never put on a new target, Beacon will not show up here. Make sure Beacon healing is present in the Healing by Spell tab.

Eternal Flame – If specced into this, it should always be up. Look for 95%+ uptime.

Sacred Shield – If specced into this, it should always be up. There are two buffs that will show up for Sacred Shield. You want to look for spell ID 20925. Uptime should be 90%+.

Guardian of Ancient Kings – When activated, it will heal the target of your next 5 heals and everyone within 10 yards of them. 5 minute cooldown. Will generally only be used once per fight, but can be used more on long fights. This should be present on every boss fight. GoaK will show up as a pet on the Healing Done screen.

Avenging Wrath – Increases healing and damage by 20% for 20 seconds, 3 minute cooldown. This should be used often, generally 2-3 times per boss depending on the length of the fight.

Divine Favor – Increases haste and crit chance by 20% for 20 seconds, 3 minute cooldown. This should be used often, generally 2-3 times per boss depending on the length of the fight. Can be paired with AW for a super cooldown. Click the # next to each of these spells to see if they’re being used together or separately.

Holy Avenger (optional talent) – Makes Holy Power abilities do 30% more healing and generate more Holy Power for 18 seconds. 2 minute cooldown.

Devotion Aura – Reduces magic damage by 20% and prevents silences and interrupts for 6 seconds. 3 minute cooldown. This should be seen on any fight with raid-wide magic damage. The chart will tell how many people were affected by it (which will include pets and things). Click the # next to the spell to see a when and how many times it was used.

Divine Protection – Reduces magic damage taken by 40%, 40 second cooldown. With the Glyph of Divine Protection, it will also reduce physical damage taken by 20%, and will reduce the magic reduction to 20% as well. This should be used often, whenever the Paladin is taking significant damage.

Divine Shield – Used in emergencies, it makes the Paladin invulnerable to damage. It won’t be used often, but if you find the paladin is often dying without ever using it, there is a problem. DS can be used with Hand of Sacrifice to prevent unfortunate deaths..

Hand of Sacrifice – This is great for times of heavy tank damage. Paladins should be making regular use of this. It has a 2-minute cooldown, but if specced into Clemency, the spell can be cast twice before incurring a cooldown.

Hand of Salvation/Protection/Freedom – These are situational spells. They probably won’t be used too often, but I see their proactive use as a sign of excellent raid awareness.

Hand of Purity (optional talent) - If the Pally is specced into it, you should see it used on fights with hard hitting DoTs (like bleeds or magic effects). It has a 30 second cooldown.

Trinkets – If the paladin has an on-use trinket equipped, check the cooldown on it and the amount of times used. They should be used the maximum amount possible.

Seal of Insight – Has a chance to give mana back on melee swings. Should have 100% uptime. This does not always show up under buffs. If it doesn’t, check the Power Gains table on the Buffs Cast screen. Since the paladin will not always have the opportunity to melee the boss, this may not be a big source of mana.

Divine Plea – Restores mana over 9 seconds at the cost of reduced healing, 2 minute cooldown. If glyphed, the spell has no healing penalty, but a 5 second cast time. This should be used often. If a paladin complains about running oom, but doesn’t use this close to on cooldown, there is a problem.

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Posted in Guides, Healing, Paladin, Raiding, Talents & Spells, World of Logs

Tagged cooldowns, eternal flame, Healing, holy shock, lay on hands, light of dawn, paladin, world of logs

Evaluating Resto Shaman with World of Logs

Posted on January 7, 2013 | 3 Comments

The second part of my updated Guide to Evaluating Healers with World of Logs focuses on Resto Shaman. Thank you to the amazing Vixsin of Life in Group 5, who reviewed the post and shared her wealth of Shaman knowledge with me.

(This post may be easier to read, with less squishy pictures, over on the guide page).

Here are specific things to look for when analyzing resto shaman logs. It’s best to look at specific kills or attempts in order to get meaningful numbers.

Shaman are versatile healers who can do well at either tank or raid healing. They really excel on fights where people are grouped up and they can make the most of spells like Healing Rain and Chain Heal. Though Shaman do not have a huge assortment of healing spells to choose from, they a lot of buffs and cooldowns they need to manage throughout fights.

Healing by Spell

Spell selection – Is the shaman using the appropriate spells?

Resto shaman heals include: Healing Rain, Chain Heal, Greater Healing Wave, Healing Wave, Healing Surge, Riptide, Unleash Life, Earth Shield, Healing Stream Totem, Healing Tide Totem, Restorative Mists (from the cooldown Ascendance) and passive healing from Earthliving and Ancestral Awakening.

Top Spells

A shaman’s top spells will vary by fight, assignment and raid size.

In a 25-man raid, a Shaman’s top heals will generally be Healing Rain, Healing Stream Totem and Healing Tide Totem. On fights where the raid is tightly grouped Chain Heal will be up there, while Riptide will be higher on fights where people are more spread out. Earthliving and Restorative Mists can also provide a sizable amount of healing.

If the Shaman is assigned to tank heal, you should see more direct heals, like Greater Healing Wave, used.

In 10s, where tank vs. raid healing assignments are less stringent, Shaman will likely cast a variety of both single-target and group healing spells. Because there are fewer people to stack up in 10s, Healing Rain and Chain Heal will not account for as much healing as they do on 25, and you will likely see Riptide and Greater Healing Wave accounting for a lot of healing.

For any assignment you should also see healing from Earth Shield and Unleash Life, though they are unlikely to provide more than a few percent of overall healing.

Overhealing

Spells like Healing Rain and Earthliving will cause Shaman to be fairly high on overhealing, this isn’t something to be concerned about.

Notes on specific spells:

Unfortunately, the Healing Done and Buffs Cast tabs don’t give much useful information on many important Shaman spells and cooldowns, so use of the Log Browser is often needed. I’ve provided query strings that you can paste into the Log Browser to find the spells you’re looking for. Just remember in each one you need to replace the name “ShamanX” with the name of the Shaman you’re evaluating.

Earth Shield
Earth Shield should be up on a target all the time (more information in Buffs Cast section). The shaman’s direct heals are more effective on their Earth Shield target.

Healing Surge
Due to the high mana cost, Healing Surge should not be used as a staple heal. When it is used, it should have low overhealing compared to HW or GHW, otherwise the Shaman is wasting mana.

Unleash Life

Unleash Life provides a small, mana-free heal and buffs the Shaman’s next direct heal by 30%. Healing Rain is included in this, so you should see Shaman casting Unleash Life before each Healing Rain. If Unleash Life use is low (or absent) there is a problem. Check the number of direct heals for Unleash Life – though use will vary per fight, you should be seeing at least 2 direct heals per minute of fight.

If you want to dive a little deeper, you can also check to see if the shaman is casting Unleash Life before Healing Rain in the Log Browser. Paste the following query (be sure to replace the Shaman’s name):

[{"spellNames": ["Healing Rain"], "eventTypes": [6], "sourceNames": ["ShamanX"]}, {"spellNames": ["Unleash Elements"], "eventTypes": [6], "sourceNames": ["ShamanX"]}]

Then you can check the timestamps to see if Healing Rains immediately follow Unleash Elements casts.

Healing Tide Totem

Healing Tide Totem is an optional talent but because it is a very powerful cooldown, it’s what most Shaman will use on most fights. You should see a significant amount of healing from it on each fight. The number of heals the totem will do is dependant on haste levels when it is dropped (and is a little buggy, I believe), so there’s not an exact number of ticks you can look for. It will generally heal between 25-35 times per use.

HTT has a 3-minute cooldown and Shaman should be trying to get maximum use out of it.

Healing Stream Totem

WoL displays the healing from this very strangely. The Crits and Direct Heals columns are showing the same heals. The Ticks column is showing the number of non-crit heals. To get the total number of ticks from this, you need to add the numbers from the Ticks and Direct Heals columns. Like Healing Tide Totem, the number of times Healing Stream ticks is dependant on haste. You should generally see about 9 ticks per cast.

This is a powerful smart heal with only a 30 second cooldown, so you should see it cast often. If a Shaman’s healing is low, not using this spell enough is often the problem.

To see how many times the spell was cast, use the Log Browser, paste the following query:

[{"spellNames": ["Healing Stream Totem"], "eventTypes": [6], "sourceNames": ["ShamanX"]}]

Spirit Link Totem

This is another powerful cooldown that should be used on any fight. It has a 3-minute cooldown. To tell at a glance if it was used, check the general Healing Done tab. It will appear as a pet under the Shaman’s name. To see how many times it was used, you’re going to have to use the log browser:

[{"spellNames": ["Spirit Link Totem"], "eventTypes": [6], "sourceNames": ["ShamanX"]}]

Stone Bulwark Totem
Stone Bulwark is an optional talent. It has a 1-minute cooldown and should be used often if the Shaman is taking damage. To tell at a glance if it was used, check the general Healing Done tab. It will appear as a pet under the Shaman’s name. To see how many times it was used, you’re going to have to use the log browser:

[{"spellNames": ["Stone Bulwark Totem"], "eventTypes": [6], "sourceNames": ["ShamanX"]}]

Mana Tide Totem
Mana Tide is another important cooldown, not just for the Shaman, but for the rest of the healers in the raid. The only way to see how many times it was dropped is with the Log Browser. Mana Tide has a 3 minute cooldown and should be used as much as possible.

[{"spellNames": ["Mana Tide Totem"], "eventTypes": [6], "sourceNames": ["ShamanX"]}]

Call of the Elements
Call of the Elements is a talented 3-minute cooldown that resets the cooldowns on all totems will a cooldown of 3-minutes or less. It should be used as much as possible so the Shaman can get in extra uses of Healing Stream and Stone Bulwark, as well as utility totems like Grounding or Tremor on certain fights.

The only way to see how many times it was used is with the Log Browser:

[{"spellNames": ["Call of the Elements"], "eventTypes": [6], "sourceNames": ["ShamanX"]}]

Buffs Cast

This screen will tell you how often a shaman is using their cooldowns, along with the uptime on key abilities.

Earth Shield – Earth Shield should be re-cast whenever it runs out. However, on fights with heavier raid damage, the Shaman may prioritize other spells over refreshing this. Look for uptime of around 80% or higher for raid healers. For tank healers, uptime should be close to 100%.

Ancestral Vigor – Whenever a Shaman heals a target, the target’s maximum health is increased. Since the Shaman should always be healing, uptime should be close to 100%.

Riptide – If the shaman is tank healing, Riptide should have an uptime close to 100% overall. You can look at the tank’s Buffs Gained screen to see the uptime of Riptide on them specifically. When raid healing, uptime will be lower but should still be around 70% or higher.

Tidal Waves – Tidal Waves triggers when Riptide or Chain Heal is cast. Since Riptide and Chain Heal are two of a Shaman’s main spells, you want to see high Tidal Waves uptime. If focused on the tank, uptime should be over 90%. If focused on the raid it will be a bit lower, but should still be over 70-80%.

Earthliving – Every heal has a chance to trigger Earthliving. The only thing to look out for is that there is healing from Earthliving present. If it is absent, or extremely low, the shaman has likely forgotten their weapon enchant or it has run out in the middle of the fight.

Ascendance – This is a major cooldown that copies and distributes all healing done by the Shaman for 15 seconds. It has a 3 minute cooldown, and should be used often.

Spiritwalker’s Grace – This spell allows the shaman to cast while moving for 15 seconds. It has a 2 minute cooldown, it should be used on movement-heavy fights.

Astral Shift – If the Shaman didn’t spec into Stone Bulwark Totem, they will probably have this. It has a 2-minute cooldown and reduces damage taken by 40% for 6 seconds. It should be used when they’re taking a lot of damage.

Ancestral Swiftness – This spell makes your next healing spell an instant cast and has a 1-minute cooldown. If the shaman has this in their spec it should be used frequently.

Elemental Mastery – Another talent on the same tier as Ancestral Swiftness, this increases haste by 30% for 20 seconds and has a 2 minute cooldown. It should be used often.

Ghostwolf – This allows Shaman to move faster and how often/if it’s used will depend on the fight. You should see it used on a fight like Blade Lord, but not so much on more stationary fights like Wind Lord. If a Shaman is not using this, they are missing some opportunities to get around/out of bad faster. However, they also shouldn’t be using it too often as you can’t heal while in Ghostwolf.
Fire/Earth Elemental – If the Shaman is using the talent Prime Elementalist, an Elemental should be dropped once per 5 minutes of fighting (Fire Elemental can be dropped once every 3 minutes if glyphed). *See end of section for for more on this*

Water Shield – Water Shield provides passive mana regen along with mana return when the shaman is hit by an attack or critically hits with a healing spell. If it’s up all fight, you won’t see it in the Buffs Cast table, but the active mana returns will show up under Power Gains.

Telluric Currents – This is an optional glyph which causes Lightning Bolt casts to restore mana. If the shaman has this glyph you should see mana gained from Telluric Currents under power gains.

Other things to look for:

If the Shaman has specced into Primal Elementalist their Elemental can channel a healing buff onto them. If you check the Buffs Gained tab, you should see the buff Reinforce (if an Earth Elemental is dropped) or Empower (if a Fire Elemental is dropped). This has a maximum uptime of 60 seconds per Elemental cast, the aim is to have it up as long as possible.

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Posted in Guides, Healing, Raiding, Shaman, Talents & Spells, World of Logs

Tagged cooldowns, Healing, resto, shaman, totems, unleash life, wol, world of logs

Evaluating Resto Druids with World of Logs

Posted on January 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

Last year I wrote a series of posts on how to evaluate raiders, specifically healers, using World of Logs. I’ve finally started updating the guide for Mists of Pandaria, starting with – what else? – resto druids!

Here are specific things to look for when analyzing resto druid logs. It’s best to look at specific kills or attempts in order to get meaningful numbers.

Druids are primarily Heal Over Time (HoT) healers with great mobility and a decent amount of utility. Though Druids have generally been considered raid healers, they can also be strong tank healers.

Healing by Spell

There are a number of things to look for on this screen, including:

Spell selection – Is the druid using all their available spells?

Druids have: Lifebloom, Rejuvenation, Wild Growth, Regrowth, Swiftmend, Healing Touch, Nourish, Tranquility, Wild Mushrooms and passive healing from Living Seed. Depending on spec they may also have: Cenarion Ward and/or Force of Nature, though these are weaker than the other available choices in most cases.

Healing from Lifebloom, Rejuv, Wild Growth, Regrowth, Swiftmend and Tranquility should be seen on every fight.

Healing Touch, Nourish and Wild Mushroom: Bloom may not appear, or appear only sparingly. Whether Nourish is used a matter of personal choice, though it will not provide much healing. Healing Touch should only be used in combination with Nature’s Swiftness. Wild Mushrooms may provide some healing on fights where mana is tight or the raid is stacked up.

You should not see healing from Renewal; this is a poor talent choice for a healer.

Top Spells

A druid’s top spells will vary depending on the nature of a fight and how spread out the raid is. Wild Growth and Rejuv will generally be at or near the top. When the raid is tightly grouped up Swiftmend will provide a lot of healing on fights where the raid is grouped up, but less when spread out. Tranquility can also be one of the top spells for healing done when it is timed well and can be used multiple times throughout a fight. If the Druid is tank healing, expect to see Lifebloom and Regrowth higher on the list.

Overhealing

Druids will generally have fairly high overheal because of the nature of their HoTs. This isn’t something to worry about. Lifebloom and Rejuv tend to have quite high overheal while you should see lower overheal on smart heals like Wild Growth or direct heals like Regrowth.

Notes on specific spells:

Lifebloom

WoL - Lifebloom

Uptime is the key metric here. Lifebloom is our source of Omen of Clarity procs and provides a steady stream of heals to whoever it’s placed on (usually a tank). Allowing a 3-stack to fall off, unless it’s timed perfectly to provide an emergency heal from the bloom, means you have to waste time and mana building the stack back up. Lifebloom uptime should be in the 90-100% range on most fights.

Tranquility

WoL-Tranquility

The first thing to look for is whether Tranquility was used at all. It is our best spell in terms of HPS and HPM and should be used on every fight. With a 3 minute cooldown it can be used 2-3 times on most fights.

Next look at the number of direct heals – Each Tranquility should tick 20 times. If this number is not a multiple of 20 it means Tranquility is being interrupted. This is most likely due to casting it at the wrong time and needing to move mid-cast, or interrupting it before it finishes.

Overheal should be fairly low, but the HoT portion of the spell can increase this number.

Swiftmend

WoL-Swiftmend

Check how many times Swiftmend was used by looking at the number of direct heals. Swiftmend has a 15 second cooldown (12 with the T14 4-piece bonus), so it can be used 4 or 5 times per minute. It’s unrealistic to use SM every time it’s available but it should be used often (especially if the Druid is specced into Soul of the Forest).

Note: Swiftmend has two different spell IDs. 18562 is the direct heal, while 81269 is the ground healing portion (previously known as Efflorescence).

Cenarion Ward

If the Druid has this in their spec, the most important thing to look for is overheal. If the overhealing on the spell is very high, the Druid is not using it optimally.

Direct Heals
Direct heals should not make up the bulk of a druid’s healing, but Regrowth should be used fairly often. Low use of direct heals will likely mean that Clearcasting procs are being wasted.

Buffs Cast

This screen will tell you how often a druid is using their cooldowns, along with the uptime on key abilities.

World of Logs Druid buffs cast

Lifebloom – As noted above, uptime should be as close to 100% as possible.

Harmony – This is Druids’ mastery which increases the effect of all HoTs while it’s active. Harmony should be up as much as possible, look for 95%+ uptime. If uptime is much lower, the druid needs to cast more direct heals to keep it active.

Barkskin – Barkskin can be used once every 45 seconds. It should be used often to mitigate damage taken (though not necessarily on cooldown).

Tranquility – As noted above, Tranquility should be used on every fight. The amount should be a multiple of 20, indicating the druid channeled the spell for the full duration (Note: There are 2 Tranquility effects listed, the one to look at is spell ID 44203).

Innervate – Innervate has a 3-minute cooldown. It should be used at 70-80% mana the first time, then whenever it’s off cooldown to get as much mana as possible.

Ironbark – This is a damage reduction spell Druids can cast on someone else, it has a 2 minute cooldown. It should be used on every fight.

Clearcasting – Compare the amount of Clearcasting procs to the number of Regrowths cast (this is found in the Healing by Spell tab). The Druid should have at least as many Regrowth casts as CC procs.

Trinkets – If the druid has an on-use trinket equipped, check the cooldown on it and the amount of times used. They should be used the maximum amount possible.

The following are talents, so whether they appear in a Druid’s logs is spec-dependent:

Nature’s Swiftness – This spell makes your next spell with a cast time instant, larger and mana free. It has a 1 minute cooldown. This spell is often used for emergency heals, though if the Druid has it in their spec, you should see it used at least a few times on every fight.

Incarnation – Incarnation has a 3 minute cooldown. In your average 4-7 minute fight it should be used twice. A third use can be squeezed into fights that last longer.

Nature’s Vigil – Nature’s Vigil also has a 3 minute cooldown. In your average 4-7 minute fight it should be used twice. A third use can be squeezed into fights that last longer.

Heart of the Wild – If the Druid has this in their spec, you may not see it used. It’s generally only used on fights where the Druid has the room to stop healing and do some damage. Otherwise, it’s just taken for the intellect buff.

You should also check to see if the Druid is using abilities given to them by Symbiosis. For the list of those, check here.

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Posted in Druid, Guides, Healing, Raiding, World of Logs

Tagged barkskin, cooldowns, Druid, Healing, lifebloom, spells, tranquility, uptime, wol, world of logs

Healing Tips for Terrace of Endless Spring

Posted on December 19, 2012 | 2 Comments

Here some tips on how to heal the four encounters in Terrace of Endless Spring, including the best time to use cooldowns and which talents and symbiosis targets are optimal for each fight.

First, a few general tips:

Feline Swiftness is the level 15 talent that I recommend for any fight.
Nature’s Swiftness is the level 30 talent I recommend for any fight. Remember the cooldown is only 1 minute. It makes your next heal instant, 50% bigger and mana-free, so use it often.
The major glyphs I recommend are: Glyph of Wild Growth, Glyph of Lifebloom and Glyph of Regrowth.
For the good of the raid, using Symb on a tank is probably the best choice in most cases (a Paladin or Warrior would be my last choice since, really, who wants Cleanse or Intimidating Roar on a boss fight?) If you use this on a DK or a Monk, be sure to use IBF or Fortifying Brew during the encounter.
Carry lots of Tome of the Clear Mind. Which talents are strongest can change from fight to fight. It you want to maximize your healing potential, you will be changing talents often.

Protectors of the Endless

This fight isn’t too exciting to heal. I’m going to go over the healing for Elite mode (Kaolan last), since it’s really no more difficult than normal.

While all three Protectors are up, most of the damage will be focused on the tanks. Keep Lifeblooms on one, keep Rejuv on both. There’s not a whole lot of raid damage, just some Water Bolts which people should be loosely spread out for. There’s also a Lightning Prison which stuns some random raid members and causes them to do damage to players near them. This should be dispelled asap.

Once Regail has been killed, Protector Kaolan will start dropping void zones on the ground, forcing the tank to slowly kite him around the room. Assuming no one likes to stand in void zones, this shouldn’t impact healing much. Asani will start casting Corrupted Waters. Be sure to get near the orb as it’s about to die so you get the Purified buff (increases haste for 20 seconds).

When Asani dies, Kaolan will gain Expel Corruption. Every 30 seconds or so he will drop a 30-yard wide whirlwind-looking thing that damages anyone standing in it – the closer to the center, the more damage you take. The melee may take a bit of damage from this, but it is completely avoidable. The Expel Corruptions will stay on the ground for the duration of the fight, so the raid needs to keep moving to find a clear spot to stand.

One thing to note is that as Protectors are killed, the remaining ones gain a damage buff, so tank damage will be increasing throughout the fight.

Talents

Level 60 – I’d take Incarnation for this so you can have LB stacks on both tanks for a time. There’s not a whole lot of group healing to do in this fight.

Level 90 – Either

Symbiosis

I give Symbiosis to a tank to give them an extra cooldown (even if it’s a Paladin).

Cooldowns

Tranquility – There’s no real amazing time to use healer cooldowns on this fight. While you’re learning it, it might be good to have it up for the first Expel Corruption you encounter in case people get caught in it. Other than that, I just use it whenever.

Tree of Life – Use this at the beginning of the fight for the multi-LB stacks then again whenever it’s available.

HotW – If you take this, you can probably afford to use it and spend some time doing DPS at the start of the fight since there’s not much to heal.

Tsulong

After Protectors, this is much more exciting to heal. This is a 2 phase fight where you alternate between killing Tsulong and healing him.

During night phase, the tanks take moderate damage and the raid takes constant, low-level damage. There is a constantly stacking debuff, which causes people to take more damage. The only way to clear the debuff if to stand in the Sunbeam which spawns throughout the phase for a couple of seconds. People should be aiming to clear their stacks when they get to around 8-10. There is also an ability called Nightmare on this fight, which makes it a good idea to have the ranged spread out a little bit. Nightmare creates a circle on the ground which you can run out of and Tsulong’s Breath should be pointed away from the raid. Don’t go in the Sunbeam to clear your stacks when Nightmare is about to happen or you risk having it spawn in the Sunbeam. Besides the constantly ticking damage, most damage is avoidable. A couple of tricks I use for this phase are to target WG on Tsulong so it can reach anyone, and to use Swiftmend on someone who is standing in the Sunbeam, so anyone who runs in there will get some heals.

During day phase, Tsulong becomes friendly and he becomes the primary healing target. If you are healing Tsulong, keep LB and Rejuv rolling on him along with a steady stream of Regrowths. Cast WG on him when people in the raid are also taking damage. One of the most important things during this phase is to dispel Tsulong ASAP. When an Embodied Terror spawns he will cast a debuff (Terrorize) on both Tsulong and random raiders which will damage them for 10% of their health every second. Make sure you have at least 1 person, and a backup, assigned to dispel Tsulong. The other healers should be dispelling the raiders who get debuffed. Every 30 seconds Tsulong will do a Sun Breath that will buff anyone standing in it. The buff returns 20% of your mana pool and increases your healing done by 200% for 6 seconds. Make sure you are prepped to do the most healing when you get this buff. Spells to use: NS + HT, apply a fresh RJ, Swiftmend, Wild Growth. You should also be using Tranquility for one of the 4 Breaths. Also assign heal increasing cooldowns like Guardian Spirit and Life Cocoon to happen immediately after a Breath. Of course, since the raid is dealing with adds, someone needs to do the much less glamorous job of keeping them alive – it’s usually me When healing the raid I still keep LB on Tsulong and use him as my WG target, but the tanks and other raiders need to be spot-healed throughout the phase. Even if you’re on the raid, make sure you’re in front of Tsulong before he Breathes.

When Tsulong transitions between phases, have people Purge/Dispel him so buffs/debuffs don’t linger.

Talents

Level 60 – I’d take Incarnation so you can more easily heal both Tsulong and an add tank at once during day phase.

Level 90 – Nature’s Vigil so you can use it during the day phases.

Symbiosis

I’ll generally use it on a tank or a Monk.

Cooldowns

Tranquility – I like to use this early on during first night phase, then again on one of the later Breaths in day phase.

Ironbark – I find that sometimes the tanks don’t get to clear their debuffs before they swap. I use Ironbark when I notice a tank has 15+ stacks while tanking the dragon.

Incarnation / Nature’s Vigil – If you have these, make sure they’re up for day phase while you will be affected by breath.

Lei Shi

This fight is mostly about healing the tanks. They will take significant damage from Lei Shi, and the damage gets heavier as the fight goes on. There is really only one ability that does significant damage to the raid, which is Get Away! In addition to damage, this ability pushes everyone towards the edge of the platform. I assign at least 1 healer cooldown for each one of these.

Heal the active tank. A lot. Especially at the end. When Lei Shi casts Get Away, use your cooldowns and put out as much raid healing as you possibly can (the tanks won’t be taking extra damage here).

Talents

Level 60 – Incarnation for the extra healing and ability keep LB on both tanks when adds are up.

Level 75 – Disorienting Roar
The adds that spawn can easily one-shot people if not picked up by the tank immediately. I like to use this on any adds that spawn near me to buy an extra second.

Level 90 – Either talent is good here, though I generally stick with HotW.

Symbiosis

I use Symbiosis on a Shaman so that I can run and Tranq during Get Away. If you don’t have a Shaman, using it on a tank to give them an extra cooldown is a good idea.

Cooldowns

Tranquility – Use during Get Away. You can use this even without Spiritwalker’s Grace, you’ll just be pushed towards the edge, so make sure you’re as close to the center as possible before channelling.

Ironbark – I find the best time for this is when adds are up. Also use it when the boss is under 20% as the tank damage gets crazy.

Incarnation – This is good for a number of abilities during this fight. You can use it during Get Away for the extra healing and ability to cast while moving. You can also use it during the add phases so you can keep LB on both tanks.

Sha of Fear

This fight is… zzz… Oh! I’m sorry, I fell asleep for a minute there. This fight is 10-15 minutes of the same thing and is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

For the majority of the fight you’ll be on the main platform, standing in a light cone, focusing on keeping the active tank alive and occasionally spot healing the raid. The damage on the tanks can be fairly heavy, especially when Thrash happens. For the first 8-10 minutes or so, the damage on the raid is fairly negligible. Once there are a number of adds up, people will be taking (mostly avoidable) damage from Penetrating Bolt, but that doesn’t get significant until the fight is almost over. The boss will also cast Breath of Terror which does massive damage and fears people. However, as long as people are in the Cone of Light, you will avoid it completely.

The one bit of excitement in this fight is that every minute, 5 people (1 tank, 1 healer, 3 dps) will be ported over to a shrine where they need to kill an add. The add will do moderate damage to the people on the platform. As the add takes damage, orbs will spawn around the shrine. These must be picked up (just run over them) or they will heal the add. These do a little bit of damage to the people who hit them, but they also restore mana, so try to hit them all! Try to keep everyone topped up as much as possible. I don’t find the damage overwhelming, but if you get shot by the boss twice you get feared for a couple of seconds which can set you behind on healing. I try to keep a Swiftmend down in the middle of the platform, WG on cooldown and keep a RJ rolling on everyone. There is one big damage ability called Death Blossom which can kill people quickly, but all your group needs to do is hide behind a pillar to completely avoid it. Once the add dies, you can port back to the main platform.

Talents

Level 60 - Either is fine.

Level 90 – Heart of the Wild
This fight has given me the opportunity to use HotW to tank the boss briefly. If a tank goes to the Shrine and does not come back before the current tank gets ported, someone will have to stand in the light circle to activate the light cone. If a Breath happens and there is no light cone, it’s a wipe. HotW can be a raid saver if there are no tanks on the main platform for a time.

Symbiosis

I use Symbiosis on Monk or DK to get an extra damage mitigation cooldown.

Cooldowns

Tranquility – I tend to use Tranquility when I get ported to a Shrine. Of course, you don’t know when that’s going to happen. I generally just use Tranq early and often, you can get 4-5 uses out of it since it’s such a long fight.

Ironbark – Tanks should have their own CDs available for each Thrash, but hit them with IB if they don’t.

Heart of the Wild – Use this if there are no tanks on the main platform and a Breath is coming soon. Use HotW, pop bear form and stand in the light circle. Make sure to use Barkskin, along with any CD you have from Symbiosis. Also be sure to heal yourself as much as possible with Frenzied Regeneration.

Happy healing!

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Posted in Druid, Healing, Strategy, Talents & Spells, Terrace of Endless Spring

Tagged lei shi, protectors of the endless, sha of fear, symbiosis, tsulong

Healing Tips for Heart of Fear (Part 2)

Posted on December 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

Here some tips on how to heal the last three encounters in Heart of Fear, including the best time to use cooldowns and which talents and symbiosis targets are optimal for each fight

First, a few general tips:

Feline Swiftness is the level 15 talent that I recommend for any fight.
Nature’s Swiftness is the level 30 talent I recommend for any fight. Remember the cooldown is only 1 minute. It makes your next heal instant, 50% bigger and mana-free, so use it often.
The major glyphs I recommend are Glyph of Wild Growth, Glyph of Lifebloom and Glyph of Regrowth.
For the good of the raid, using Symb on a tank is probably the best choice in most cases (a Paladin or Warrior would be my last choice since, really, who wants Cleanse or Intimidating Roar on a boss fight?) If you use this on a DK or a Monk, be sure to use IBF or Fortifying Brew during the encounter.
Carry lots of Tome of the Clear Mind. Which talents are strongest can change from fight to fight. It you want to maximize your healing potential, you will be changing talents often.

Wind Lord Mel’jarak

This is a two-phase fight. The first phase involves heavy tank damage (my guild single-tanks this so the damage gets very heavy), with intermittent raid damage. Most of your healing will be focused on the tank for this fight, with spot healing on those raiders who get hit by his Whirling Blades. Rain of Blades is the big raid damage ability which hurts everyone over 6 seconds and does more damage each time it is cast. Healing cooldowns are needed for these. For healing assignments I usually assign a single, smaller cooldown (like Revival from a Monk) for the first two Rains, then get into the longer lasting CDs (Hymn, HTT, Tranq), and start doubling up on CDs by the 4th rain. I get some use of Mushrooms on this fight. I set them up in the melee when raid damage is low and Bloom them during Rain of Blades.

In phase 2, the adds should all be dead, so the tank gets easier to heal, but the raid damage from Rain of Blades and Whirling Blade gets higher. You also need to watch out for Wind Bombs. If someone hits one, it can be recoverable, but two going off will kill most of the raid.

Talents

Level 60 – SotF or Incarnation
It’s a toss-up between Incarnation and Soul of the Forest. The output from SotF can be great during Rain of Blades, though the fight can be very mana intensive, especially as you’re learning, so ToL is a great choice too.

Level 90 – Heart of the Wild
My favourite thing to do on this fight is to HoT up the tank before the pull, pre-pot with an Intellect potion, hit HotW and spam Hurricane on the boss and all his adds for the first 40 seconds of the fight. It’s fun to be at the top of the damage meter for a bit and all the free damage spells you’re casting saves you a lot of mana. Just make sure the rest of your healing team is okay with your doing this, and take the time to refresh HoTs between Hurricane casts.

Symbiosis

I use this on a Mage in this fight for Iceblock. Being able to break the Amber Prison yourself is useful.

Cooldowns

Tranquility – Use this during Rain of Blades, coordinate when it’s used with the other healer cooldowns.

Ironbark – During phase 1 when the tank is taking lots of damage external cooldowns will be needed. I set an order for my healers to use their cooldowns when the tank runs out of her own.

Heart of the Wild – Use right at the beginning of the fight so you can help get all the adds down faster.

Incarnation – If you take this over SoTF, it’s best used just before a Rain of Blades.

Amber Shaper Un’sok

Amber Shaper can be a fun fight or a frustrating one depending on how good your raid is at vehicle fights. Phase 1 is very straightforward. There’s moderate tank damage, and a few people in the raid will take damage when they are attacked by Living Ambers. The only complication to this first phase is the Parasitic Growth. This is a DoT that gets applied to one person every 40 seconds or so. It ticks for minimal damage on them, but does more damage the more healing that person takes. Because of this, the ideal class to look out for the person affected by this is a Disc Priest. The rest of the healers must be very careful to not heal this person, as it will do more harm than good. Don’t use Wild Growth unless you know it won’t hit this person, don’t mindlessly spread Rejuvs. Don’t put Efflo down in the melee if it is a melee who is affected.

In phase 2, the boss will start making other raiders into constructs. The best way to contribute positively to this fight is to be great at being a construct. If you get transformed, you need to be on your interrupts. Immediately target the large construct and get in melee range. When you start casing Amber Explosion press 2 (Struggle for Control) to interrupt it. When the Mutated Construct starts casting Amber Explosion press 1 (Amber Strike) to interrupt it. Amber Strike has a 6 second cooldown, so if you use it early, you’re screwed. Once your raid has brought you down to 20% and another person has been transformed into a construct press 4 to break free.

The raid damage in phase 2 gets a little more intense. The boss does a stomp, Living Ambers will be more numberous and both tanks will be taking damage. The Parasitic Growth will still be happening too, so you still need to be careful with your group heals. If anyone transformed into a construct misses an interrupt the whole raid will take a large amount of damage.

Phase 3 starts when the large construct dies. The raid damage gets higher due to all the dead Ambers on the ground, spitting Burning Amber at the raid. People will be transformed into constructs here as well. If you get transformed, you should use button 1 on the boss whenever possible to stack a debuff on him. Interrupt your cast with 2. When your energy gets low, find an amber puddle and use 3 to eat it. You will not be using button 4 here as the raid will be focused on the boss, not breaking people free.

If you are not in a construct, just focus on putting out as much healing as possible. Everyone should be grouped up, allowing Swiftmend to do a lot of healing. The Parasitic Growth still gets cast during phase 3, but the damage going out on the raid is high, so you can’t really afford to not use your AoE heals.

Talents

I’ve done this fight with both SotF and Incarnation; HotW and Nature’s Vigil. I don’t find one talent significantly outperforms the other.

Symbiosis

Use it on a Mage. Iceblock will remove the Parasitic Growth, which makes the lives of the healers easier. Parasite isn’t a huge deal in phase 1, but if you get it in phase 3, being able to remove it will save your life.

Cooldowns

Tranquility – I try to use this twice during the fight. I generally use it once in phase 2 if someone misses an interrupt (someone always misses an interrupt), then again when it’s available in phase 3.

Ironbark – I tend to use this on a Parasite target who is taking lots of damage rather than the tank.

Nature’s Vigil and/or Incarnation – There’s no real high damage phase besides the last phase. I’d use these near the start of phase 2 then when they’re up again in phase 3.

Grand Empress Shek’zeer

Shek’zeer has both heavy tank damage and heavy raid damage.

During phase 1 keep a steady stream of heals on the active tank. Random raid members will take moderate damage from Dread Screech. The damage you need to worry about is Sonic Discharge. When a Dissonance Field reaches zero health, it will explode and do a large amount of damage to the entire raid. There should be 4 explosions in phase 1. I assign at least one healer cooldown for each. The other thing to worry about is the Cry of Terror debuff. The person sho has this should go into a Dissonance Field so they don’t AoE the rest of the raid. However, when they’re in the field, they don’t take any healing. I put a Rejuv on whoever has this so I can Swiftmend them as soon as I see them step out of the field. It’s really important that they come out before the explosion, or they’ll probably die. The ranged should be spread out in phase 1, so I mostly use WG/RG/RJ on ranged and use Swiftmend and occasionally Mushrooms on melee.

During phase 2 a number of adds will come out who need to be picked up by the tanks. The damage on the tanks can be very heavy here, though the raid damage shouldn’t be too bad. I pick a tank to focus on and spot heal the raid when needed.

Phase 3 is where the damage really ramps up. The boss does a ton of damage to the raid and anyone affected by Visions of Demise who does not get out of the group will also damage everyone else. During this phase I keep HoTs on the active tank and use WG and Swiftmend in the group on cooldown. This phase is really mana intensive so I also use Mushrooms a fair bit since they cost so little mana. Also try to dispel when you can, as you don’t want people being feared to the opposite end of the room. Healing cooldowns should be chained as much as possible.

Talents

Level 60 – I usually go with Incarnation to help out with mana a bit, though SotF would be useful as well.

Level 90 – Either talent is fine.

Symbiosis

I generally use this on a Monk or DK for an extra damage mitigation cooldown that I use for Dissonance and in phase 3.

Cooldowns

Tranquility – Use just before one of the Sonic Discharges in phase 1. Use when available in phase 3.

Ironbark – I find the tanks need this most during phase two when they’re tanking all the adds. Use again in phase 3.

Happy healing!

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Posted in Druid, Healing, Heart of Fear, Strategy, Talents & Spells

Tagged amber shaper un'sok, grand empress shek'zeer, heart of fear, heart of the wild, incarnation, symbiosis, wind lord mel'jarak

Healing Tips for Heart of Fear (Part 1)

Posted on November 28, 2012 | 9 Comments

Here some tips on how to heal each encounter in Heart of Fear, including the best time to use cooldowns and which talents, glyphs and symbiosis targets are optimal for each fight

First, a few general tips:

Feline Swiftness is the level 15 talent that I recommend for any fight.
Nature’s Swiftness is the level 30 talent I recommend for any fight. Remember the cooldown is only 1 minute. It makes your next heal instant, 50% bigger and mana-free, so use it often.
Unless I state otherwise for a particular fight, the major glyphs I recommend are Wild Growth, Lifebloom and Regrowth.
In 5.1 we’re going back to providing useful cooldowns when we use Symbiosis on tanks. So, for the good of the raid, using Symb on a tank is probably the best choice (a Paladin or Warrior would be my last choice since, really, who wants Cleanse or Intimidating Roar on a boss fight?) If you use this on a DK or a Monk, be sure to use IBF or Fortifying Brew during the encounter.
Carry lots of Tome of the Clear Mind. Which talents are strongest can change from fight to fight. It you want to maximize your healing potential, you will be changing talents often.

Imperial Vizier Zor’lok

This fight has three distinct phases, each with very different damage patterns and a final phase which combines all the abilities of the previous ones. It’s a single tank fight, so there’s only one person to keep Lifebloom rolling on.

The first three phases take place on different platforms around the room and can happen in any order. On one platform you will have to deal with Attenuation – this causes Sonic Rings to spiral outward from the boss, doing significant damage to anyone they touch. How healing intensive this phase is depends on how good your raid is at avoiding them. Some quick heals, like Regrowth or NS/HT, can save people who get clipped a couple times. Otherwise, I just toss out instants as I’m running around to heal any damage that happens.

On another platform you have to deal with Force and Verve. This is the most healing intensive part of the fight. The boss will spawn 3 noise cancelling zones which your raid must split up and get in and then do massive raid-wide damage for 10 seconds. This is where most healer cooldowns should be used. As the zones are spawning I will put up a RJ/SM on someone who is in the zone to get Efflorescence down. I use Tranquility on one Force and Verve and use an output cooldown along with Wild Growth and many Rejuvs and Regrowths on the next.

On the last platform you ave to deal with Mind Controls (Convert) on people in your raid. If they aren’t CC’d and broken out quickly, they can reack some havoc as they also get a damage buff. Be ready with Ironbark and some quick heals on those people being attacked. You’ll also want to dispel and particularly nasty lingering effects.

On the last phase you’ll see all these abilities again.

Talents

Level 60 – Incarnation
Being able to cast instant Regrowths while running in circles during Attenuation can save the lives of those hit by rings.

Level 75 – Mighty Bash
This will help to cc those who have been converted.

Level 90 – Nature’s Vigil
Since there are distinct, damage-heavy parts of the fight, having a poppable output cooldown is good.

Symbiosis

I generally get a DK or Monk so I can use an extra damage mitigation ability during Force and Verve.

Cooldowns

Incarnation – Use this during Attenuation so you can cast instant Regrowths while dodging rings.

Tranquility – Use this during every 2nd Force and Verve to handle the immense damage.

Nature’s Vigil – Use this during alternating Force and Verves when Tranq is not up.

Stampeding Roar – When the raid is moving to a new platform this will help to get everyone everyone there quicker.

Ironbark – Tank damage on this fight isn’t a big deal, but I will generally use this on the tank during an Exhale.

Blade Lord Ta’yak

This is a two phase fight. The first phase is more about tank healing and positional requirements, while the second phase is very raid healing intensive.

During phase one the majority of the time I’m healing the active tank. In addition I use Rejuv on anyone who gets hit by Wind Step. When a Tempest Slash is about to happen I use Rejuv and SM on a melee (where we stack up), then Wild Growth right as it hits. We also cycle healer cooldowns for each Slash.

In phase 2 the whole raid is taking constant damage. First you need to get through the tornado gauntlet, so you need to make extensive use of your instant spells. Once you reach a platform you can finally relax for a bit and just focus on doing as much healing as possible. I suggest keeping LB rolling on yourself so you don’t have to worry too much about your own health (the tanks don’t get hit by the boss in this phase).

Pro tip: When the boss hits 10% health in phase 2 he will fly to the other platform and you’ll have to run through tornadoes again. If you jump into the wind stream when he’s around 11% it will take you towards the other platform at super speed until DoTs take him down that last percent and the wind switches directions. Your raid can save a lot of running time by doing this.

Talents

Level 60 – Incarnation
The utility of tree form and having extra instants during phase 2 is very good for this fight.

Level 90 – Heart of the Wild
This fight has no real heavy damage portions (except for phase 2 which lasts much longer than 30 seconds) so the flat Intellect increase is the best bet. You will also have time to use the cooldown and do some damage at the start of the fight as there is very little damage going out.

Symbiosis

Use it on a Shaman. Spiritwalker’s Grace plus Tranquility as you are dodging tornadoes in phase 2 is amazing.

Cooldowns

Tranquility – You should be able to get two uses of this. In phase 1 I use it after a Wind Slash. In phase 2, use Spiritwalkers Grace + Tranquility as you’re running the tornado gauntlet.

Incarnation – In phase 1 I try to pop this when a few people get hit with Wind Step so I can roll LBs on them, in addition to the tank. In phase 2 I use it while running through tornadoes (on the one that Tranq is not used for). Cast Wild Growth on cooldown, many Lifebloom and Regrowth anyone getting dangerously low.

Ironbark – Tank damage can get very high due to Overwhelming Assault. Our tanks usually call out when they need an external cooldown to handle one of these.

Stampeding Roar – This is very helpful for phase 2 to help people reach the platforms a little bit faster.

Garalon

Garalon is a single phase fight that is quite healing intensive. Unlike most fights, the tanks aren’t really tanking the boss. They just need to stand in front of him and get hit with Furious Swipe every so often. As a result, the tanks don’t take anymore damage than the rest of the raid – damage is fairly evenly distributed between everyone.

On this fight I generally heal the kiters. This means keeping LB and Rejuv rolling on them, along with fairly frequent Regrowth use as the stacks get higher. In addition to this, I try to keep Rejuvs on the tanks and use Wild Growth on cooldown (targeting Garalon for the cast so it can reach almost anyone). I also try to keep Efflo down in the ranged stack, though sometimes I feel Swiftmend is needed on a kiter or a tank.

I assigne healing or mitigation cooldowns to be used after every Crush.

Talents

Level 60 – Incarnation
The damage during this fight is non-stop, so I find it very mana taxing. Being able to spam cheap Lifeblooms is helpful (as is Wild Growth hitting extra targets).

Level 90 – Heart of the Wild or Nature’s Vigil
I’ve used both HotW and NV on this fight and don’t notice a lot of difference between them. If you’re healing the kiters or kiting yourself it can get hectic, so you may want one less CD to worry about and just go with HotW.

Symbiosis

I generally use Symbiosis on a Monk or DK for the extra damage mitigation. You want to mitigate damage from as many Crushes as possible.

Cooldowns

Incarnation – Use it early and often. Take advantage of the cheap Lifeblooms.

Tranquility – I use this immediately after a Crush happens.

Ironbark – I use this on the kiters, focusing on the classes that don’t have much damage mitigation of their own.

Happy healing!

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Posted in Druid, Healing, Heart of Fear, Strategy, Talents & Spells

Tagged blade lord ta'yak, Garalon, heart of fear, imperial vizier zor'lok, incarnation, stampeding roar

Size Matters

Posted on November 6, 2012 | 18 Comments

I have a problem with the current state of resto Druids. A resto Druid with a complaint – shocker!

My complaint isn’t about low healing output – I think my output is okay for the most part.

My complaint isn’t about mana – I like to run with as little Spirit as possible and I enjoy the mana management game (since I no longer have to worry much about LB or Harmony management).

My complaint isn’t about a lack of utility – between Symbiosis, our mobility, and all of our talent options I think we have immense utility.

My complaint is that I just don’t have enough healing spells. I want more buttons to push. Looking at actual healing spells (not cooldowns or passive effects) our basic toolkit is just too damn small.

Druids have 9 healing spells (Nourish, Regrowth, Healing Touch, Rejuvenation, Lifebloom, Wild Growth, Swiftmend, Wild Mushroom: Bloom, Tranquility). When you consider which healing spells are actually worth casting, we have even less.

Let’s take a closer look at our direct spells (I’m using my current stats for the values of these):

Nourish

2.5 second cast time
Costs 6120 mana
Heals for ~24,500, or ~29,400 if the target has a HoT on them
Without a HoT on the target: HpS = 9800, HpM = 4.0
With a HoT on the target: HpS = 11,760, HpM = 4.8

Healing Touch

2.5 second cast time
Costs 17,340 mana
Heals for ~71,600
HpS = 28,640
HpM = 4.13

Regrowth (glyphed)

1.5 second cast time
Costs 17,820 mana
Heals for ~77,000
HpS = 51,333
HpM = 4.32

Regrowth does more healing, is faster and is cheaper than Healing Touch. Regrowth does almost 5x the HpS as Nourish. Though the HpM of Nourish is slightly better (and only if the target already has a HoT on them), you’d need to cast almost 3 Nourishes to do as much healing as one Regrowth. So there really isn’t a reason to use Nourish or Healing Touch, glyphed Regrowth outclasses them both in speed and output.

Then there are Mushrooms. In a 25-man raid, when they’re hitting so many people (and pets) and suffering from diminishing returns they do very little healing per person. Plus they are awkward and unweildly (yes, yes, beating a dead horse). Sure, they don’t cost much mana, but they also don’t keep people alive. They’re slightly more useful in 10s, where they will hit less people for more, but still aren’t as good as a Wild Growth or Rejuvs on multiple people. Unless you are standing around, twiddling your thumbs with nothing to heal there’s not much incentive to set up Mushrooms.

If you take a look at the top ranked resto Druids on World of Logs you’ll notice that most of them don’t use Mushrooms at all on most fights (10s or 25s). You’ll also notice that most don’t use Nourish at all, and the ones who do only use it a handful of times. Healing Touch is generally used only a handful of times per fight as well, in combination with Nature’s Swiftness.

When we take these factors into account, that leaves our toolkit looking like this:

Rejuvenation
Regrowth
Lifebloom
Wild Growth (8 or 10 second cooldown with glyph)
Swiftmend (15 second cooldown)
Nature’s Swiftness + Healing Touch (1 minute cooldown)
Tranquility (3 minute cooldown)

We only have 3 healing spells that are worth casting that we can cast whenever we want – Rejuvenation, Regrowth and Lifebloom. Lifebloom isn’t really even an option. Once those initial 3 stacks are up, you only really cast LB when there is a tank swap, you’re in ToL, or once every 15 seconds to refresh (if you don’t refresh it with a direct heal). All of our other useful healing spells have cooldowns of 8 second or more.

This complaint isn’t coming from a desire to top healing meters. It’s coming from a desire to have an engaging playstyle that forces me to make decisions about which spells to cast to keep the raid alive. Imagine this scenario: you’re healing a boss fight, there is raid-wide damage going out. Wild Growth and Swiftmend are on cooldown. There is 8 seconds left on your Lifebloom stack. The damage isn’t enough to warrant casting Tranquility (or it’s already on cooldown). What do you cast? Rejuvenation or Regrowth. You only have 2 options! This is not an interesting or engaging decision. It’s also the only decision we get to make for 50% of our active time in fights.

I really like a lot of the things that have happened to Druids in this expansion. I enjoy figuring out if Heart of the Wild or Nature’s Vigil will help me more in a fight. Or whether the utility of Incarnation will be more useful than the output of Soul of the Forest. I like figuring out which Symbiosis target will be the most useful. But I’m starting to feel like all the thinking I need to do takes place outside of the encounters – I figure out the optimal talent and glyph setups for each fight, the best time to use all the cooldowns, and then I execute. When I’m actually healing there’s very little decision-making to be done and very little room to heal any differently from encounter to encounter.

Our toolkit needs something to spice it up a little bit. We need more healing spells, or refinement of the ones that are currently useless, so we have the ability to adapt our healing to different encounters or different damage patterns. As it stands now, the lack of options in our toolkit does not let us do that.

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Posted in Druid, Healing, Observations, Rant

Tagged Healing, resto druid