I hope everyone’s holidays brought them everything they wanted, and then some. Mine brought me friends from up north, a faction swap of my priest back to the Horde to play with them, and a hangover (no, nothing as epic as The Hangover.)
But now, its time to get angry, healers. And its time to show some appreciation.
Whilst parusing teh intarwebz this morning, I came across a post in a snark community (no, I’m not snarky, not at all… ) I frequently post in about ‘DPS being a dime a dozen’ and that ‘Healers and Tanks deserve loot drops more than DPS.’ What made this worst, perhaps, is that this was guest posted over at World of Matticus.
Hooboy.
Rage, incoming as I step back from my favored role as a raid healer… and put on my ‘I was a successful DPSer’ robe and hat. (Hunter, Boomkin, Shadow Priest, and Rogue GO GO GO!)
First off, guest poster, DPS are not a dime a dozen. Them being a dime a dozen implies that they all do the same amount of DPS, no matter what their class, have no utility whatsoever, and are pretty much required to stand there and auto attack while the tanks and the healers do all the work.
-ahem- No. In the words of the XT-002 Deconstructor: ‘ no no No No NO NO NO NO NO.’ Seriously, dude, wth? What do you mean the DPS are just ‘meat in the room’? Who’s killing the boss? Not the healer. Not the tank (for the most part, though I do applaud Blizzard for giving you guys some DPS capabilities now.) The Deeps.
Who’s interrupting the brutal Frostbolts on Lady Deathwhisper? Probably your kicking Rogues.
Who’s interrupting the problematic Sentry Blast that could wipe your raid in Ulduar? That’s probably a combination of your rogues, shaman, and warriors.
Who’s helping your Tank frontload asstons of threat? That Hunter back there, with her Misdirection.
Who’s taking down the gangs of trash mobs that pull together? That Shadow Priest using Mind Sear, that Mage using Blizzard, that Warlock using Rain of Fire, that Boomkin using Hurricane.
No- NOT the Tank. Or the Healer. The DPS. Their whole job is to slam the boss and mobs with enough damage to kill them. There are fights in game that REQUIRE the DPS to have a minimum personal DPS of 7.5k. Can a Tank do that? No. How about a healer? Nope, not them, either. Do you not remember fights like Reliquary of Souls in Black Temple, where abilities HAD to be interrupted? Where if you didn’t have a Rogue kick rotation, you wiped?
Now, please keep in mind- this isn’t to say that there aren’t idiots amongst the DPS. There are, and there are such a large number of people that play DPS that it seems that most of the idiots are concentrated there. But I’ve run with some pretty fail tanks and healers, so I can say with confidence that its not just them. And its not just being DPS that makes those special cases idiots. Some people just aren’t very good. But idiots are not limited to DPS. Oh no. You would be surprised at how often I get complimented on my healing in PuGs because some people just can’t get it. And how often do I find myself beating my head off of my desk because the tank can’t hold threat? I assure you, its fairly often, and the majority of the reason why I just don’t PuG anymore.
And its not just this- groups are a machine. Everything needs to be there in order for it to work. No heals? Tank dies. No Tank? Everyone dies. No DPS? The healer runs out of mana before the tank gets a chance to get the mob down. Raids are even more so, because everyone is expected to perform at a level much higher than expected in a 5 man instance, where- literally- failing to put out the proper amount of DPS or do any of the other utility abilities DPS classes possess can, and will, wipe the raid.
LEAVE THE DPS ALONE. Sure, DPS are everywhere… but good DPS are just as hard to come across as good Tanks and Healers. And I don’t say ‘good’ and mean ‘have really good TPS/DPS/HPS and thats it.’ I mean ‘have really good HPS/TPS/DPS, don’t stand in the fire, can dance with the best of them, and can smile after its all said an done.’
So, Mr. DPS- Are- Meat- In- The- Room… tell us again exactly why it is that you feel that Healers and Tanks do all of the work? Sure, we’re underappreciated at times… but I think your post show how even the DPS can be taken for granted. I stand by the outstanding DPSers in my guild, who attend my raids, and make my job easier. Cheers to you folks who continue to prove posts like the one over at WoM wrong.
What a better way to start the year at Angry Healers than with an Angry Post! =D
Stay angry, Healers! Up next: Icecrown Citadel strategy posts!
