Archive for June, 2009



11
Jun
09

Gaining Rep with the Healer Faction, part 2

More tips for gaining rep with your healers.

1.  If I am assigned to heal the raid, and you are standing across the room out of my range, do not whine if you die because ‘you didn’t get any heals.’  Me running over to where you are standing- all alone- means thats less heals I’m putting on the people who, you know, were smart enough to stay by the healers.

2.  We can’t heal through Overload.

3. When the warlock summons fel cookies, TAKE ONE.

4.  We can’t heal through Lightning Tendrils.

5.  We can’t heal through Eye Beams.

6.  Do not kite Eye Beams through us.   Please refer to #5 if you start to wonder why we ask this of you.

7.  We can’t heal through the Death Rune.

8.  Don’t pull aggro from the tank and then drop aggro.  Doing so is almost certain death for a healer.

Please keep these statements in mind when working with your healers, and we promise they will be happy and keep your tail alive.

The Mandatory Tree Shot.

The Mandatory Tree Shot.

FOR THE HORDE!

~Pyo

11
Jun
09

Open Letter to DPS

Dear DPS,

I know, we sound like your mother. You can’t have cake  before dinner, you have to wear a coat in January, and we don’t let you stand in ANYTHING fun. I imagine it makes us sound pretty lazy, that we don’t want to heal you through the Poke-balls, the Death Runes, the Whirlwinds, the flame walls, Void zones, OR the Fire.

We promise, we’re not just asking for lulz. We healers do secretly love our DPS. You make shit die. If you’re good, you CC the mob that’s about to eat our face. You throw up a Blizzard on top of the spiders who have a hard-on for some delicious CoH/WG Heal Aggro. When we see you Vanish, Feign, Ice block, Fade, Misdirect, or eat your warlock cookies at a helpful time? We love you a little bit more.

You pay for a lot of progression repairs that really aren’t your fault, while the tanks learn how to run out of novas, discover you can fall off Kologarn’s ledge,  and your healers exclaim, “holy mother of Zeus, he hits like a truck!” in /healschannel. We know, long suffering DPS.

Did you die from the following?

Then yeah, that’s probably our fault. We’re sorry.

Next time we don’t die of an enrage timer, we’ll thank you, too.

10
Jun
09

Post Series- Tree!healing in Ulduar, part 2: The Antechamber

Ok, time for part 2 of my post series on tree!healing in Ulduar!  Today, I will be tackling the Antechamber- Kologarn, the Assembly of Iron (AKA the Iron Council) and Auriaya (The Crazy Cat Lady).

First up to bat- Kologarn, the Bridge Boss.

Dude, we're going to walk on your face...

Dude, we're going to walk on your face...

First off, let me add that it is ALWAYS better to let the new people run up the steps first… after all, who didn’t scream/ gasp when they first saw him rise up from the mists like ‘RAWR!’

I digress…

Kologarn’s fight is all about predictable damage.  When you first see him, you’ll see his huge head, massive torso, and his gunshow- two HUGE arms, aptly labeled Left Arm and Right Arm.  Upon entering range, he will proceed to threaten your raid and start walloping on them.  Kologarn has several abilities:

1.  Eye Beams- he rages so much that it manifests in the form of Eye Beams.  These will narrow onto a target at range (its easy to tell if you’ve got them or not) and they do a crapload of damage. 

2.  Stone Grip- occasionally throughout the raid, he will snatch people off of the ground with his Right Arm and crush them.

3.  Oblivion- a little more often, Kolo will use his Left Arm and sweep it over the raid, causing massive raid damage.

4.  Ground Punch-  I don’t know that its actually called this, but he’ll slam his Left Hand on whoever is right in front of him, interrupting spellcasting and locking out casting trees.

5.  Paralyzing Breath- if there are no raid members for him to beat on in melee, he will breathe on the ranged and wipe the raid.

6.  He also stacks a damage increase/ armor decrease (not sure) debuff on the tanks.

Ok, now that we see where the damage is coming from, lets talk strategy.  The raid should be arranged thusly- melee in the front and slightly to the right, MT in front, ranged spread out across the back of the room.  The middle of the room should be totally empty to allow the safe kiting of Eye Beams, which will need to be moved safely away from the raid and not hit the target- that’s not hard, as the Eye Beams are slow.  Melee DPS will focus on the Right Arm and destroy it- when you destroy the Arm, he will take a hit to the body equal to the health of the arm.  However, when the Right Arm dies, it will spawn Rubble- smaller earth elementals that will need to be picked up by an OT and AoE’d down.  When the Right Arm dies, melee switches focus to the body until the Right Arm spawns again.  The Left Arm should be left alone until his health is low enough that destroying it will kill him.  There will need to be at least 2 OTs- one for the Rubble, and one to taunt off of the MT when his damage/ armor debuffs get too high.  The MT/OT on Kolo will taunt off of each other until he’s killed.  Casters should stay away from melee range at all costs, because his Ground Slam attack will interrupt your spells.  Also not that the Eye Beams will not target melee.

Tree!Druids!  You should be standing with the melee!  :gasp of breath:  And , no, I’m not kidding.  Why, might you ask?  I’ll tell you- HoTs are instant cast, and your best friend in this fight.  Toss them on anything that moves, and some things that don’t.  You will not have to worry about tanking Eye Beams, and you won’t get locked out of your healing tree.  Save your Wild Growth for after he uses Oblivion, and tell your healing lead that if they stick you on the tank, they’re wrong.  Trees shine in this fight with their ability to throw down a lot of healing in a short period of time.  For those guys you don’t get with Wild Growth, toss Rejuvs.  Simple fight to heal!  And good luck- he drops the Ironmender, one of the best offhand frills out there for trees!

The Assembly of Iron:

The Assembly of Iron

The Assembly of Iron

What’s better than fighting one huge boss?  Fighting one huge boss, and 2 small ones!  They’re kinda like the Billy Goats Gruff only… made of iron.  And WAAAY meaner.  This encounter involves 3 bosses attacking at the same time.  Each one has different abilities, and gain new abilities when one of their group is killed.  This strat will be for Normal Mode IC, vice Hard Mode.  Kill order is Steelbreaker – Runemaster Molgeim – Stormcaller Brundir

Steelbreaker:  This is the MASSIVE guy in the middle, the first one who needs to be killed.  He comes equipped with one fairly nasty ability- Fusion Punch.  Its the Hail Mary of all punches.  It wallops the MT and will need to be dispelled by either a pally or a priest, because it will rock a tank’s world… in a bad way.

Runemaster Molgeim:  This is the vrykul guy, and the second on the kill list.  His abilities include:

1.  Shield- or something like that.  A red, glowing shield appears around him.  It can be (and should be) spellstolen by a mage.

2.  Rune of Power- Increases damage dealt by 50%.  Its a smallish blue rune circle on the floor- hard to miss.  He’ll cast it on Steelbreaker, which means he needs to  be moved out of it fast- before Fusion Punch.

3.  Death Rune- No joke.  Its big.  Its green.  And it will kill your whole raid.  He only drops these after Steelbreaker is down, so be thankful.

Stormcaller Brundir:  This is the small Iron Dwarf that dies last for Normal Mode.  He comes with his own, special variety of abilities:

1.  Overload-  really?  Not that hard.  Decently long cast time, big DBM emote, just get out of range of him or he’ll one shot you.

2.  Chain Lightning- Shaman wish their CL hit this hard.  Its just like their spell only, ya know… it hurts more.  Spread out to minimize damage.

3.  Lightning Whirl- Brundir spins around really fast and lobs balls of lightning at the raid.  Can hit people across the room, and interruptable.

4.  Lightning Tendrils- ok, you remember those big guys before Kologarn?  The ones that would jump, stun half the raid, then deposit a glowing ball of lightning doom on you?  Think that, only a dwarf instead of a ball.  He’ll rise up off of the ground and randomly stalk a raid member.  As soon as he does this, RUN!  Turn around and get away from him, as the tendrils do massive damage and are almost certain death if you’re caught in them.

Just watch out for each boss’s individual abilities, and kill them in order.  Trees, you will most likely be on raid (SHOCK!) and while there is a bit of raid damage, its the tanks on Steelbreaker and Molgeim who need the most love.  Tossing HoTs on them if their healers are having trouble is a good idea, the’ll love you for it.

Auriaya:

This boss is all about… the pull.  Not kidding.  If you survive the pull, you’ve got it.  Auriaya, and her 4 kitteh companions (2 in 10 man) patrol in a semi circle around the room at the base of the stairs behind Kologarn’s broken corpse.  She has a few special abilities:

1.  Fear- yes, its annoying.  But she does it.

2.  Sonic Screech- cone of damage aimes in front of her.  Damage is divided equally amongst everyone in front of her.

3.  Activate Feral Defender- this is another cat she summons in addition to the 4 she already has with her.  Its health has to be monitored closely because, upon death, it will spawn a void zone under its corpse.

4.  Sentinel Blast- an AoE shadow spell that does a crapload of Shadow damage and increases your Shadow Damage taken by 100% for 5 seconds.  Long cast time, NEEDs to be interrupted.

The strat:  Have the raid either in the hidey hole next to the stairs leading down, or on the stairs (your choice) and have the cats marked.  The cats need to be tanked away from each other, as they buff each other when they are too close.  Have a DK drop DnD (or a hunter drop Snake Trap) at the bottom of the stairs that Auriaya pats closest to and back off.  My guild runs enough OTs to take care of all 4 cats while the MT (typically a DK) handles Auriaya.  Have hunters Misdirect onto the OTs and pull.  Cats will Pounce, doing large amounts of damage to their target, so they need to be healed and healed FAST- I recommend stacking Lifeblooms on all of the tanks just before the pull.  Kill the cats, and move onto Auriaya.  When she summons the Feral Defender, have DPS concentrate on him until he is almost dead- he will pounce around the raid and also summon a swarm of mobs, which will need to be AoE’d down.  Call out low health on the Defender, and move when he dies.  Stay in front of Auriaya.  Interrupt Sentinel Blast.  Profit.  Get lewtz.

Trees!  Typical raid healing strategies apply here- judicious usage of Wild Growth and Rejuv are all you really need, plus the occasional Swiftmend.

That is all for this installment of my post series.  Remember- Angry Healers!  Letting You Die of Your Own Stupid since 2009!

TREEPUNCH!

TREEPUNCH!

FOR THE HORDE!

~Pyo

10
Jun
09

Priest Leveling: A Fable

Hark, the Herald Angel Forgot her Pants

Once upon a time, there was born a baby Druid, whose paws were yet small and whose eyes not yet open. And she was viewing ye olde YouTube videos of Kil’Jaeden kills, and lo, to her wondering eyes did appear the glorious visions of angels. And she said, “Doth my sight deceive me, for hark, what could be the glad tidings of the spirit healers suddenly materializing in ye olde bloody Sunwell?” And the vast multitude about her cryeth in a loud voice “NOOB, L2 SPIRIT OF REDEMPTION”. Verily, she L2SofR’d, by studying the ways of the wowwiki and walking the paths of the thottbott, and so she declaimed, “Damneth, Priests are wicked awesome! I should make a priest!”

Mysterious thunder clapped across the sky, as Sargeras turned to Elune and said, “Ha, wanna-eth make a bet, goodie goodie?” Elune responded, “My followers are not so easily dismayed by your vile sorcery! Surely Moonwells shall follow her wherever she goes, and the balance of the Shadow and the Light shall find favor in her hallowed breast. Bring-eth it on.”

And thus, on that fateful day, an inexperienced initiate approached the keepers of the Light, and by their orders, she did Smite at Lashers, and heal her compatriots left tormented in the wreckage by the power of the Naaru. And it was good. As she gained in experience, she culled bears, and collected pears, and forged a new friendship with the wild furlbogs, through the grace of the Light. And then she was sent to a far away island to Smite (and Mind Blast, and Wand) the spirit whelplings of the Green dragonflight, to help them ascend into the Dream. And lo, did they poison her, and lo, did they lead to a ridiculously annoying quest chain with pirates, and lo, did they appear out of nowhere and treat her cruelly.
And her mind thus tormented, she didst retire to a leisurely and idle youth, where she soothes her broken spirit with the wine skins and fishing holes of the Gomorrah of Ironforge.

Not shown: Pony Keg; Horny Gnome Humping My Leg

Not shown: Pony Keg; Horny Gnome Humping My Leg

But the stirrings of the Light echoed in the Druid’s breast, and thus one rainy day, a mere slip of a Blood Elf did turn from her addictions to the ways of goodness. An outcast by virtue of her albino features and the protective ruby glasses she wore, the young priestess sought higher purpose in the service of the greater good. Until one day the Druid got fed up with her ugly belf face and stupid belf pornstar hair and verily doth rage deleted her.

I mean, really.

I mean, really.

There exists only hints and whispers of the fate of the Foresaken who chose to follow the old ways of the Light, despite her disfigurement and overpowered racials. Her life and her story, like so many others, was a victim of the Scourge.

Perhaps the Druid had somehow realized the war of Good and Evil taking place around her, as Sargeras tried all his tricks to dissuade her from her well and appointed Path. Perhaps the Druid was sick of running away in a bubble, hoping not to die. Perhaps the dear cost of Ice Cold Milk was rankling to a woman who grew up Tauren and had a free lifetime supply of the good stuff. Perhaps the Druid was tired of discovering wanding was better DPS than her spellcasting. God Frickin’ Damn, leveling a priest sucks! However it came unto be, the Druid turned her back on the Light and immersed herself ever deeper in the knowledge of the forests, and Malfurion’s lessons.

But as the Druid grew in strength and experience, she met many priests of virtue and talents unknown, who showed her the power and glory of the Light. And her heart was opened yet again, to the hope of finding new ways to heal her loved ones in battle, to shield them from their enemy’s blows, and repair their wounds in the lulls of peace. Plus, priests get the best looking Tier, for sure.

And besides, how badass does my baby Troll Priestess look in the All Arugal Get-Up? Wish me luck!

I'd hit it.

I'd hit it.

09
Jun
09

Gaining Rep With the Healer Faction

Gaining Rep with the Healer Faction: How to Not Piss Off the People Who Decide Your Life and Death

It’s a well known fact that I rez people in “order”.  The more I like you, the sooner I will revive you.  If you’ve really peeved me off, I may ignore you entirely.  This generally means that my boyfriend is rezed first, followed my fellow healers, and then everyone else. 

Healers code: rez each other first!  That’s also pure logic in a raid situation.  The more of you there are the quicker everyone will get back up.

But that’s not what this post is about.  No, this post is all about how to not irritate the ever living daylights out of us, so that your corpse isn’t cold and forgotten on the floor longer than it has to be.

  1. Release and run back on wipes.  No, don’t run all the way back and ignore the transporters, you smart ass. 
  2. GET OUT OF THE FIRE.
  3. Don’t ask for heals.  We know you’re dying.  Really.
  4. GET OUT OF THE VOID ZONES.
  5. Don’t jump down our throats if stuff seems to go wrong with healing.  Ask instead, what happened?  It could well be that we were kept from healing by something out of our control.  If not…well, we usually know when we make mistakes.  Kind of hard to miss.
  6. GET OUT OF THE POKEBALLS.
  7. Don’t make our jobs harder.  If we ask you to leave X area clear for us, then…leave X area clear for us.  I’m looking at you, hunter who stands in the middle of KTs room.
  8. Remember, whirlwinding mobs don’t want hugs.
  9. No really, they don’t want hugs.
  10. On that note, don’t drag Ouchy Things towards me.  I don’t want hugs, either.

09
Jun
09

This Blog Needs Moar Tree

So have a tree.

Watch for splinters!

Watch for splinters!

FOR THE HORDE!

~Pyo

09
Jun
09

New Header!

Everyone be sure to thank Bubbs for our awesome new header!

Angry Healers!:  Letting You Die of Your Own Stupid since 2009!

FOR THE HORDE!

~Pyo

08
Jun
09

GOOD PRIEST/BAD PRIEST

GOOD PRIEST understands that Meditation and Inspiration are critical talents to have for any healing spec : )
BAD PRIEST doesn’t like dipping into a healing tree that isn’t his/her primary tree >:(

GOOD PRIEST makes sure to learn all spells upon hitting level 80, and checks back at the trainer if respeccing to something he/she doesn’t normally play : )
BAD PRIEST forgets to train ranks of CoH when going Holy for the first time on a Sarth +3 attempt >:(

GOOD HOLY PRIEST specs into Spirit of Redemption but never really has to use it! : D
BAD HOLY PRIEST dies so often that his/her raid members think that failangel is some kind of awesome cooldown you’re supposed to use all the time >:(

GOOD PRIEST pops a mana pot and shadowfiend before bugging the druids for innervate : )
BAD PRIEST spams an “INNERVATE ME NOW!!” macro two minutes into every boss fight >:(

GOOD PRIEST knows how to MC and isn’t afraid to use it : )
BAD PRIEST never used their MC button before Razuvious, or since, and just ran around like a headless chicken going “WHAT R BONESHILD” the whole time >:(

GOOD PRIEST doesn’t let their spec keep them from performing to their best ability in awkward raid comps : )
BAD PRIEST bitches and moans when they’re on the raid as disc/on the tank as holy and refuses to have dual spec holy/disc if it’s a reccuring problem >:(

GOOD PRIEST is always prepared to buff, but makes sure not to overwrite any priest buffs already out as to not waste anyone’s candles : )
BAD PRIEST doesn’t buff ever, or overwrites everyone’s buffs constantly >:(

GOOD HOLY PRIEST doesn’t bubble when there’s a disc priest in the raid : )
BAD HOLY PRIEST bubbles the tank before a big pull and randomly throws shields on the dps >:(

GOOD PRIEST doesn’t bubble themselves during heavy raid damage, with a disc priest in the raid : )
BAD PRIEST does >:(

GOOD DISC PRIEST recognizes and embraces their role as mass dispel bitch : )
BAD DISC PRIEST doesn’t have it hotkeyed and bitches at the holy priests for not mass dispelling on Hodir >:(

GOOD PRIEST rezzes people who died on a boss kill without being asked : )
BAD PRIEST sits there goin HURR WHERE’S MAH LEWT >:(
GOOD DISC PRIEST gems for Int and SP : )
BAD DISC PRIEST gems for Spirit >:(

GOOD PRIEST pays attention to how well their assignment lives, their own overhealing, and spell breakdown to gauge how well they do : )
BAD PRIEST slaves over the meters >:(

BAD PRIEST

BAD PRIEST

08
Jun
09

Flow Chart for Tree!Druids

Compliments of a dear friend of mine. 

L2 tree!heal, noob.

L2 tree!heal, noob.

Edited FOR MORE ARROWS!

 FOR THE HORDE!

~Pyo

08
Jun
09

Bubb’s PvE Holy Paladin Guide for the Math Wary

Or, The “Just Tell Me How To Not Suck” Guide

Disclaimer: I based much of my work upon the EJ thread. It’s an excellent resource, and this is merely my attempt to make it more friendly for those of us who find the math headache inducing. The thread and other sources are linked at the end of my babble.

Part One: Stats
Stamina: A dead healer is useless. Stamina is good!  Just take whatever you get on gear, for the most part, though I might keep around a few high-stamina pieces for Really Ouchy Things.  Like Maly.  Hi, Maly. 
Intellect: Know this stat. Love this stat. Int is boosted by Kings! Int gives you mana, crit, and spell power! Int is also your primary regen stat, as it boosts Divine Plea and Replenishment returns.
Spirit: What the fuck, no.
Spell Power: +Heal. Duh. This is obviously a very important stat, but not one I’d worry about terribly because they throw it at you on all of your gear. I believe I entered Naxx 10 with about 1200 in spellpower. SP boosts the effectiveness of your Sacred Shield.
Crit: Crit means bigger heals for less mana. It’s a great stat, especially as you get into more uber gear. Aim for at least 25% for Naxx, and shoot for 30%+ as you gear up in purples, with the exact amount depending on your play style and who you run with. I do love me a good pet crit chicken.
Haste: I consider haste to be a secondary stat. If your gear has some +spell power and int and other tasty stuff on it, as well as haste, well hey! Bonus. I wouldn’t gem or even specifically gear for it, however. If you find yourself in the position of needing to spam Holy Light (HL), then haste is your friend, but save haste for after you have good levels of crit (30%) and mp5. With luck you’d have some haste from Judgements and your local friendly shaman totem, anyhow.
Mp5: Warning: Bubbs in an mp5 rebel.
Crit is greater than mp5 these days, but do not ignore it!
I happily take it if it’s on gear that’s otherwise a massive upgrade and I don’t take much of a crit hit, but I wouldn’t gem for it unless your gear is oddly lacking in this stat. Int and crit are the better stats to gem/enchant for, int especially.
Remember, mp5 is easy to make up without gear-replenishment, totem, wisdom, flasks, etc.
If you come to a raid with crit stacked sky high and only 30 mp5, I’m going to make sad faces at you. Aim for 200 or so before wandering into Naxx. Flash gets a greater benefit from mp5 than crit and yes, you’re still going to use Flash. 

Part Two: Abilities
We remain largely two button healers. FoL and HL are still going to be your bosom buddies. You shouldn’t class yourself as a FoL or HL spammer, however. How about spamming whatever is required for the fight? On trash, this is likely to be FoL. On bosses, this can be FoL combined with Sacred Shield (crit boost!) or, yes, Holy Light (o hai, Patchwerk!).
If Blizzard really wanted us to spam HL all the time, why would SS work the way it does? You can compensate for Light’s Grace not being up, honest. If you need a buffer for a ‘slow’ HL to land, toss SS if it isn’t up already, toss a holy shock and an instant FoL if it crits, and then HL. I’ve macro’d an Oh Shit Button just for this (with Divine Favor to guarantee that crit).
I seem to toss more HLs around in 5 mans than I do in raids, but that’s largely because in raids I have other healers to back me up.  Of  course that was also in Naxx.  In Ulduar bosses are mean.  :(   HL HL HL HL zzzz.
Learn to predict incoming damage. You can’t be perfect all the time of course, but it’s not hard to know that X boss tends to do slow steady damage/spike hard/require you to never take your eyes or heals off the tank ever. Anyway, down to specifics…

Holy Light: Yes, if set up right, we can toss quite a few of these around. If you pile on mana reducing effects then the efficiency of HL and FoL can be rather close. Be wary of overdosing on this spell on longer fights, however, because nothing sucks quite as much as being OOM when you’re needed. Except perhaps being dead.
HL can cause zomg crazy! overhealing but as long as you have the mana keep ticking, it’s not a huge deal.

Flash of Light: It’s smaller than its more lauded cousin, but quick and cheap. Love it and use it, for goodness sakes. It’s great for lulls in action, or for buying time until a bigger heal can be gotten off. It’s also great for spamming (especially with SS) when the incoming damage isn’t enough to warrant a HL.

Holy Shock: Holy shock is a handy oh shit button, or something to toss off while running away from whatever stupid thing Blizzard has us stationary healers fleeing from this time. It’s not terribly mana efficient in comparison with FoL, but damn it’s handy in a pinch. A HS crit means a quicker HL or an instant FoL if you have Infusion of Light. Once you hit 30% or more crit, this becomes more viable for more frequent use as a crit naturally means a cheaper spell cost, but I still wouldn’t use it too much. Don’t use it in place of FoL unless the instant factor is crucial.

Beacon of Light: Because somewhat better than being able to only heal one target at a time is being able to heal two. Beacon is annoying for two reasons: one, it has a short duration. Two, it isn’t cheap. I personally don’t bother with it a lot. Sometimes only the tank is taking damage and it can be such a huge mana sink.
It’s great in situations where there is aoe damage, especially in 5 mans. It’s great to toss on the OT while healing the MT. It’s also great to toss on yourself if you’re bad at watching your own green bar (I am) or when you need to stand still and eat some aoe (#^&^%& mojo puddles! #$%$^% blizzard!) in order to be of any use. There are some simple mods out there to tell you when Beacon falls off and I recommend getting one.
Note: Over healing does not trigger beacon. Neither does trinkets with a healing effect. Pfft.

Sacred Shield: The disc priest in me was excited by this spell, though it works quite differently than any priest bubble. SS lasts for 30 seconds. The SECOND time someone takes damage with SS up, then it creates a buff that absorbs a CERTAIN AMOUNT of the damage based off a percentage of your spell power + 500. The damage absorbing buff lasts no longer than six seconds, and has a six second cool down. Also, while it is up, you have 50% more crit from FoL.
Normally, SS is used on tanks. I have not noticed any rage starvation issues with my pet warrior tank, but don’t cast it pre-pull. It’s damned nice on Patchwerk.

Avenging Wrath: Wings! Admittedly I forget about this spell most of the time and it currently has the annoying side effect of triggering forbearance. It increases healing by 20%. I’m careful using it since it deprives me of my bubble for 2 minutes, but it’s great when combined with Divine Plea to negate DP’s healing reduction.

Divine Plea: DP gives you mana back based on int, though it does reduce your healing output. I counter it with AW as mentioned above, and use it preemptively just like I used to do with mana pots. Its short cooldown means you can use it multiple times in many boss fights. Sadly, Wings has a longer cooldown, but I can still use it more than once, especially when I blow it early on.

Divine Favor: Poof! Your next heal is a crit. It’s useful to follow up with HS for an instant FoL or shortened HL.

Divine Illumination: This is another spell I’m bad about remembering, except on fights that I know are going to be HL intensive. Useful on boss fights to extend your mana pool. If you know you’re not going to need it at a certain point (after an enrage for said HL spamming) then it’s good to use it whenever it’s up.

Lay on Hands: Sure as hell isn’t what it used to be, in a good way. Use it as a last ditch oh shit button on the tank or on you for mana.

Judgements: Regularly judging can be a right pain in the ass. Sometimes you just can’t take your heals off the tank for a moment! For that reason (and healer tunnel vision) I would pick whatever judgment is the least important as far as uptime goes. Use it if you can for the mana/healing, as well as the haste buff for you, but only as often as the haste buff drops off. No need to toss out on every cooldown.
Some say that a ret paladin would be better off judging Light, and a holy paladin better off judging Wisdom, since Light scales better with AP. I’d just go with what I said above and have any meleeing paladin keep up whatever’s the most important for your group/raid.

Hand of Salvation: If you have a moment, glance over at the threat meter, see which DPS is on top, and throw this at them. It’s better to be proactive with this than reactive, since it reduces threat over time rather than immediately.

Hand of Protection: This is your “oh shit the mage already pulled agro” button. It’s also used to force tank transitions. Do not place this spell where you might hit it on accident because HoPing the tank is baaaaaad. Why yes, yes I’ve done this.

Hand of Sacrifice: As a holy paladin I forgot this existed except for Maiden in Kara. I honestly prefer other methods of deflecting damage off the tank that doesn’t put my own health at risk.

Sources: EJ’s Holy Paladin Guide (http://elitistjerks.com/f76/t35975-holy_paladin_guide_wotlk/)
World of Matticus’ Recommended Requirements for Naxx (http://www.worldofmatticus.com/2009/01/05/recommended-requirements-for-naxxramas-normal-and-heroic/)

For gear, I highly recommend Banana Shoulder’s list here. She also has a great list for gems. I seem to use nothing but Brilliant Autumn’s Glow and Smooth Autumn’s Glow, however I also don’t yet have a meta gem to worry about. The Dazzling Forest Emerald was great until my gear shat mp5 at me. If I did have a meta slot, I’d probably lean towards the Insightful Earthseige Diamond. Mm, int. For gear of all classes, this is not a bad resource either.




Ellspeth, the Angry Tree

The Angry Healers is a World of Warcraft blog dedicated to the underappreciated and often overlooked role of The Healer (c) from the perspective of a (mostly) angry Tree!Druid. Here will be discussed talents, gear, spells, specs, and other healing related topics, as well as snarks, rants and general grumpiness about my chosen role in WoWlife, and patchnotes, changes, nerfs/ buffs, and expansion myths and legends (and maybe even facts!)

Header art by Triggerman @ dA.

Like Me on Facebook!


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.