There’s never a Healer around when you need one.

I wrote this post while bathing in the aftermath of last night’s UFC 116 event.  I’m all about violence, and it doesn’t get more violent than Fury Warriors, am I right?

At Blog Azeroth, ecclesiasticaldisc posed a the question to healers:

Where do you draw the line on shifting the priority of someone’s heals down (or refusing to heal them all together)?

I’ve never played a healing class to any serious degree.  If anything, I’ve made one on a Refer-A-Friend account where they were simply a heal bot for the character I was leveling at the time.  But I’ve known Healers, from casual to raiders, and the mentality I’ve seen in them goes way back before the days of WoW.  It’s also something every class should know when it comes to what is expected from their own playstyle.

Know Your Role, people.

Generally speaking, a Healer should never have to heal anyone but the Tank.  The DPS classes should know how to ride the aggro wave, balancing their balls-out damage while staying just below the point where they peel off the mob being damaged.  If they never have aggro, they should never be damaged.  Every class should have healing potions to take care of themselves if they happen to get tagged by an AOE blast, or if an add happens by and starts nibbling on their neck.  Incidental damage happens, but folks should take care of themselves first before they start screaming for the Healer to save them.  Will their DPS suffer?  Slightly.  But if you lose the Tank because the Healer is busy healing the Mage who pulled aggro, it’s a bad day for everyone.  Tanks should give someone one chance and taunt the mob off of them when they pull aggro.  If they do it again, they can tank it, and Healers should not have to waste a drop of mana trying to keep them alive.  Could this wipe the group or raid?  Possibly.  But some people can’t be told to mind their aggro.  They need to be shown the consequences of their actions.  That can be a very painful lesson.

Warrior!  For the Love of God man, TAUNT THIS APE OFF OF ME!

What about folks who stand in the fire?  Should Healers keep these potential Darwin Award winners alive?

Like people who pull aggro, players who stand in the stupid should get one mercy heal and a reminder to spend a little less time watching the damage meters and a little more time maintaining situational awareness.  Sometimes that’s easier said than done, and multiple issues come up in the heat of the moment.  Healers should not have to babysit the other classes.  With all the addons available to players, there’s no reason people should be standing in voids/fires/poop.  If someone is taking damage because they are not paying attention, any heal thrown their way it is a gift.  It should be appreciated, not expected.  Players should not feel entitled to heals because they HAVE to play sloppy and stupid just to top the damage meters.  You play sloppy and you pay for it.

Heals plz.

This is Herculano.  Respect your Healers by not playing stupid.