Post by Jonathan on Dec 20, 2008 17:31:34 GMT -5
Great thread. Hopefully my response won't dilute it.
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Q u o t e:
added> Healer Competition:
While most of PvE is cooperative, raid healing is stupidly competetive with poor support mechanics for multiple healers healing the same damage. It also creates an environment where faster spells are artificially more valued because it means your heal actually works. To overcome this with communication and mods takes an unproportional amount of effort.
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I think this is very well stated.
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Q u o t e:
Healer Reduction:
Start 25-mans with 7 healers (or even 8 in some cases). Drop down to 4 healers as content becomes farmed. Start new content - need 7 healers again.
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I think that this is valid, but it is something a lot of players experience. Early on you need more tanks. Early on you need more CC (less so in LK than BC).
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Q u o t e:
UI/Interface Issues:
The base Blizzard UI is terrible for healing. A lot of encounters are easier if you're staring at the boss and see a cast start (for example: Loken) rather than staring at health bars. Having to either get a mod or macro every single ability is dumb.
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I think there is a lot we can do to improve the default UI especially for healers. It won't solve every problem for players who use something Grid and Clique, but it can be a lot better. Just showing buffs and debuffs on the raid UI would be a nice improvement. There is a lot we can do here.
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Q u o t e:
Dual-Spec:
Healers have a PvE spec, a PvP spec, and a DPS/questing/dailies spec. Dual-spec suggests that healers are only supposed to do 2 out of those 3 things. It should not be unreasonable to allow PvP healers to have a tri-spec option.
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I think that is a valid point. You can come up with a lot of reasons why players might want more than two specs. However this is a new feature for us and we need to see what actually happens to the game as a result before we go nuts. Down below you mention the problem of casters rolling on items without hit and a lot of spirit just because it fits the criteria of ZOMG PURP + SPELLPOWER. Now imagine that someone wants to roll on an item because one of their many specs (assume for the sake of argument that they are all legitimately used) can use it. The whole "I guess I can use that for an offspec" becomes a much bigger deal.
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Q u o t e:
Healer's Fault:
Stand in a fire? It's the healer's fault. Get crit while tanking and die? It's the healer's fault. Not enough DPS so the healers run out of mana? It's the healer's fault. Trying to do an instance in mediocre gear with no CC? It's the healer's fault. If a mechanic is supposed to be a gauge of skill, there are other ways to handle it than making healing really really hard. Thaddius is a successful solution - a nice exception to the rule.
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WHY U CAN'T HEALS ME THRU WRONG THADDIUS CHARGE? HUH? I HAS TO DPS!
It is never the fault of the DPS. If they couldn't beat the enrage timer, it's because the tank didn't generate threat quickly enough. It's because they had to run out of the fire because your spellpower was too low to heal them through it. It's because you wouldn't let them Whirlwind or Volley or Arcane Explosion because you had to Shackle the bad man.
Pick your analogy. The DPS player is the quarterback, the soprano, the lead singer. ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: AWESOME! BECUZ U R!
(Dear DPS, don't freak out. I'm kidding. But remember it's the healer, the tank, the decurser and the crowd-controller who are helping you be so awesome.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q u o t e:
added> Healer Competition:
While most of PvE is cooperative, raid healing is stupidly competetive with poor support mechanics for multiple healers healing the same damage. It also creates an environment where faster spells are artificially more valued because it means your heal actually works. To overcome this with communication and mods takes an unproportional amount of effort.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think this is very well stated.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q u o t e:
Healer Reduction:
Start 25-mans with 7 healers (or even 8 in some cases). Drop down to 4 healers as content becomes farmed. Start new content - need 7 healers again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think that this is valid, but it is something a lot of players experience. Early on you need more tanks. Early on you need more CC (less so in LK than BC).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q u o t e:
UI/Interface Issues:
The base Blizzard UI is terrible for healing. A lot of encounters are easier if you're staring at the boss and see a cast start (for example: Loken) rather than staring at health bars. Having to either get a mod or macro every single ability is dumb.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think there is a lot we can do to improve the default UI especially for healers. It won't solve every problem for players who use something Grid and Clique, but it can be a lot better. Just showing buffs and debuffs on the raid UI would be a nice improvement. There is a lot we can do here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q u o t e:
Dual-Spec:
Healers have a PvE spec, a PvP spec, and a DPS/questing/dailies spec. Dual-spec suggests that healers are only supposed to do 2 out of those 3 things. It should not be unreasonable to allow PvP healers to have a tri-spec option.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think that is a valid point. You can come up with a lot of reasons why players might want more than two specs. However this is a new feature for us and we need to see what actually happens to the game as a result before we go nuts. Down below you mention the problem of casters rolling on items without hit and a lot of spirit just because it fits the criteria of ZOMG PURP + SPELLPOWER. Now imagine that someone wants to roll on an item because one of their many specs (assume for the sake of argument that they are all legitimately used) can use it. The whole "I guess I can use that for an offspec" becomes a much bigger deal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q u o t e:
Healer's Fault:
Stand in a fire? It's the healer's fault. Get crit while tanking and die? It's the healer's fault. Not enough DPS so the healers run out of mana? It's the healer's fault. Trying to do an instance in mediocre gear with no CC? It's the healer's fault. If a mechanic is supposed to be a gauge of skill, there are other ways to handle it than making healing really really hard. Thaddius is a successful solution - a nice exception to the rule.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHY U CAN'T HEALS ME THRU WRONG THADDIUS CHARGE? HUH? I HAS TO DPS!
It is never the fault of the DPS. If they couldn't beat the enrage timer, it's because the tank didn't generate threat quickly enough. It's because they had to run out of the fire because your spellpower was too low to heal them through it. It's because you wouldn't let them Whirlwind or Volley or Arcane Explosion because you had to Shackle the bad man.
Pick your analogy. The DPS player is the quarterback, the soprano, the lead singer. ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: AWESOME! BECUZ U R!
(Dear DPS, don't freak out. I'm kidding. But remember it's the healer, the tank, the decurser and the crowd-controller who are helping you be so awesome.)
