How to Play a Healer in :World of Warcraft"

In "World of Warcraft," the healer is a vital part of any group make-up. You're quite literally the lifeline of your party, and as such, should be appropriately prepared to keep your party alive. Outfitting your character with good gear helps, but healing is as much about skill as anything else. It may take some time and a bit of practice to excel as a healer. This article is aimed at dedicated healers (those specializing in holy or restoration talent trees) though off-spec healers may find some of the tips useful as well. It is also directed at raiding healers of maximum level.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Active World of Warcraft account
• Character of a class capable of healing (priest, druid, shaman, paladin)

1. Decide what type of healer you would like to be. As a raid healer, determine if you will be primarily healing the Main Tanks (MTs) or spot-healing the entire raid. You probably already know this information, or can easily ask your class or raid leader for the answer. This will influence some of your gear choices, and in some cases your talent or spell choices as well. In the case of a druid, decide whether you would like to focus on heal-over-time (HoT) spells or Healing Touch before choosing your talents. In the case of a priest, decide whether you want to bring more buffs (discipline/holy hybrid) or bigger heals (deep holy) to the raid.

2. Learn about the five-second-rule (FSR), if you don't already understand it. In short, the FSR kicks in when you remain non-casting for five seconds or more. After five seconds of no casting, your mana regeneration will increase based on your spirit. You may mouse-click over your mana regeneration or spirit totals on your character tab to see your non-casting mana regeneration numbers. The FSR is mainly relevant for healers who will be using large heals with longer cast times. It is used to maintain mana efficiency. Druids casting mainly HoT spells and paladins using Flash of Light might not notice it as much.

3. Once you have decided what type of healer you want to be, start gathering gear to best suit your style. Healers who cast quickly and often will like gear with lots of mana-per-five-seconds, or MP5, on it. Healers who choose slower casting heals and spend much of their time not casting, or receive a secondary buff from spirit (most holy priests and Tree of Life form druids) may prefer more spirit. Note that every good healing set will have a good amount of MP5, no matter what type of healer you are.

4. Choose your enchants. Once you get a piece of gear that is worth spending the time and money/materials to enchant, think about what enchant you would like. For most gear slots this is an easy decision, but weapon enchants vary based on personal preference. For example, a healer who primarily heals an MT may prefer +81 healing spells. A healer who is a spot healer or just wants more mana regeneration may prefer Spellsurge. This is also a nice raid buff if you are placed into a group with other mana users!
   
   Though stat enchants like spirit and intellect are often less expensive to get on your weapon, their bonus is not as strong. Like they say, you get what you pay for.

5. Download some mods to help you heal. This is not necessary to be a successful healer, but it makes your job easier. What mods you enjoy will vary based on your playing and healing style, as well as what works best for you. A raid frame/party frame mod is recommended, as well as healing specific mods if desired. Many unit frame mods have healer settings as well, and are customizable to your particular playing style.

6. Learn to gauge your heals. This means getting an idea of how fast your tank is taking damage, how hard a boss hits, how quickly your character is able to cast, and how the other healers in your team work together. Timing is a large part of being a good healer, as is learning how to work with other healers to avoid the dreaded overheal (or wasted mana). In some cases, this involves a bit of "preemptive" casting where you anticipate who is going to be taking damage, and when they're going to be taking it so that your heal lands in time.

7. Ask your healer, raid, or class leader to separate healing. Assigning specific healing targets to different people will help avoid everyone healing one person, and letting others die.

8. Learn to cancel your spells. Some people don't like to do this because it takes more concentration, but it helps save you mana in the end. It's better to have a heal prepared and cancel it if it isn't needed than to let someone die because you were not ready.

9. Resurrect other characters capable of resurrecting the party/raid first in the event of a recoverable wipe (when a Soulstone, Divine Intervention or Reincarnation was used). After that, choose other mana users, and finally rogues and warriors who need minimal preparation time to be ready for the next pull.

Tips & Warnings

• Intellect is a bonus stat, unless you character gains a secondary benefit from it. While it's nice to have a large mana pool, what's more important is how you use that mana, and how well you're able to get it back.
• Learn on which fights it is O.K. to overheal. For bosses that hit very hard or give lots of spike damage, it's better to have your healing team overwriting each others' heals than to not heal the tank enough and cause a raid wipe.
• Don't focus on gear that adds to pure healing alone, such as greens that only add healing. Some stats and MP5 are desired too. A large bonus healing number means little if you cannot last through long fights.
• Remember that gear is not a substitute for skill and practice. If you want to be a good healer, you have to put a little work into it.
• Don't rely on mods to be a good healer for you either.