Category Archives: Hunter

This week since I’m away Zwingli offered to write a guest post. Be sure to check out his blog, Zwingli’s Weblog O’WoW.

Even though I’m turning into an altaholic, I’m still a Huntard at heart.  It is from this heart that I speak to my DPS brethren and sistren about the care and feeding of their healers.

Seriously, let’s talk about this a little bit. I know what you’ll read on the forums. I understand the relationship between the Tank and Healer. I know exactly where I am on the healing priority list. I get it.

Now, let me tell you something I’ve learned over the past six years of my WoW experience: Don’t believe everything you read. Understand, there is always an exception. Ok? Let’s talk about our healers.

First, let there be no misunderstanding, if I’m in a group, the healer is mine.

I take personal responsibility for their well-being. Yes, I know the Group Priority List, and were I fall in it as a hunter. Remember what you read in the forums?

“If a DPS dies, it is their fault. The Healers don’t heal the DPS. If they do, it is only a small heal, for which they should be grateful!”

Yes, I’ve read those threads too.

Now, let me tell you about every guild healer I’ve ever been with. They take it personally if their DPS die, period. Each and every one of them has cared about my character’s well being. I’ve learned that I need to care for them. If we want the most successful group we can have, then I need to care for the healers more than my Recount and MQoSDPS.

This is where it begins. If you don’t care for the other: that nameless, anonymous person on the other side of the pixilation; then you are depriving yourself of a better experience.

So, we start by caring for them. If you want a happy healer, then make sure you care for that healer.

Secondly, Always Bring Cookies!

OMGOSH Yes! Ok, maybe you don’t have cookies; but you can bring whatever the current version of the Fish Feast is.

I’m looking at you Broiled Dragon!

Yes, there is value to leveling up your secondary professions, and happy healers are a large part of it. You set that baby out before the Instance/Raid even begins. Don’t make them wait, or set it out themselves. Doooo Eeeeet!

One of the things I’ve learned about healers is that they take their professions seriously. Usually, these are the people making sure the Guild has the mats for the Feasts, Cauldrons, Gems, Enchants, or whatever to be Raid/Heroic ready. They do way more than their fair share. So, get your little pew-pew tushy up and out every now and then. Do a little hunter-gathering, and make some Nummies for their Tummies! I swear, it will be better than bonbons! If you find they like to use something other than the latest Feast craze; then make sure to start mass producing it. Mail them some every chance you get with a nice note of how much you appreciate them.

Oh, by the way…this kind of stuff works in real life. We call it appreciation. You see, there are some people who feel loved by being helped, or experiencing some sort of service; while others feel love through different means. Point is, Doooo Eeeeet!

Thirdly, Watch Their Six!

You’ve got the CC Baby, use it! You can’t begin to believe the rewards you will reap for setting a freezing trap (Woot, Hunters!) down in front of a Healer before a pull.

Yes, they won’t stand there for long. They will move around. The encounter probably requires it. BUT, it is a huge psychological boost. Now, what you need to do is be willing to eat the bullet (mob) for them if they do get into harm’s way. Yes, you might be able to put a CC on a mob; but most likely the best you can do is nuke the mob to get its attention. Grab that baddy by the nose and haul it back over to the tank.

Yes, the Tanks have tools to gather errant mobs. Problem is, the Tank could be momentarily distracted by the other four mobs trying to chew his or her face off. Don’t assume that the Tank will immediately grab the errant mob. Remember, the Healer belongs to you. Take care of that Healer!

Finally, Don’t Forget the One Thing…

Do your job. This is the most important thing. You are there to kill things. The Tank holds the mob’s attention. The Healer keeps the Tank up through the tremendous amounts of damage. YOU BRING THE PAIN, BABY!

As a hunter, I want to apply the most MQoSDPS that I can. To do that job effectively, I need to do a few things. I need to Focus Fire on the marked target, Not break CC (if there is any), and Stay Out of the Bad!  If I do these things, they should minimize any potential pain on the part of the Healer.

If you follow these very simple principles concerning the Care and Feeding of your Healers, you too will reap the long-lived benefits.

Remember, <3 your Healers and just see if they don’t reciprocate!

Try it, and let me know how it goes.

Zwingli

Zwingli is a Night Elf Hunter on Sentinels Server, US.  He’s been playing since 2006, married for 10 years, and the father of two wonderful Nelflings! You can find him blogging at Zwingli’s Weblog O’WoW.

Thanks for the post Zwingli! And to those uninitiated in the ways of DPS like myself, MQoSDPS means “Massive Quantities of Sustained Damage Per Second.” Yes, I had to google that. Shameful, but true.