Cataclysm Druid Healing Tips

Druid Healing Tips

Here are some quick tips for getting through dungeons.Of course, if you end up in a group that is just plain dumb, then you're at a loss. :(

-Keep Lifebloom stacked on the tank. It will help mitigate damage and it's cheap. Also, the T11 4 set involves keeping Lifebloom at 3 stacks for a spirit increase, so start practicing now :)
-Topping off DPS is not a priority. As long as everyone is at least about 60-70%, there is no need to panic. As you go, you will learn which bosses do more then 50% of a persons health, and that way you know to keep them up, but honestly, there is nothing super emergent about healing beyond the tank. I like to drop Wild Growth and let it heal if the dps need some healing.
-That being said, keep the tank hotted up and cast Nourish to replenish his health. Before Cata and after 4.01, Nourish became obsolete. It is now your best tank heal.
-Be conscious of the cost of your spells and who has priority. Mana Conservation is now key to being an effective healer.
-Keep an eye out for when Clearcasting (Omen of Clarity) procs. This is a great free heal, especially an expensive Regrowth. It's good to also understand how long it lasts, so that you can make sure not to waste this free heal. If everyone is topped off, still throw a Regrowth on the tank, just for that extra HoT in case you need to heal with a Nourish (remember, more HoTs = greater heals from Nourish).
-Remember: intellect > spirit > haste > crit > mastery. Although you may feel like stacking spirit is the way to go, Intellect is still by far the best stat we can go for. Higher spellpower means better healing and less mana you will need to consume.

-Be patient. Most dungeons are long (Halls of Origination is 7 bosses long and the size of a mini Ulduar) and many people are going through learning experiences. Hopefully, by you showing patience and a calm attitude, others will follow suite. It is even now more crucial that everyone works together to defeat an instance and yelling at each other and griping the whole time won't help.

The new Cataclysm healing style definitely holds a learning curve. It requires many WotLK healers to break out of habits we've been playing with for a couple years now. But it's possible, and just requires patience. It's easy to get discouraged; God knows I have. 

Happy healing. :)

Cataclysm so far (Vash'jir, Deepholm, Instances)

I'm halfway into level 83 two days after launch. With finals looming, I'm attempting to make it to 85 before I have to go into study hibernation.

Leveling at the release of an expansion is on par with constantly wiping on a boss; you might as well bang your head against a keyboard to obtain that same headache.
It's bad enough there are tons of people to compete with for quest objectives, but because of this, respawn rates are up, and I find myself dead more than I should.

I started off in Vash'jir because I wanted to try out the underwater thing. It's actually a lot of fun, and Blizzard makes getting around fairly easy. Vash'jir is incredibly linear, despite the fact that it is in the Ocean. Each quest leads you exactly to the next task. It's probably for the best, considering that the open areas of Vash'jir make it feel like one could easily get lost.

Can I just say that Whale Sharks are the coolest thing ever created? Every time I see one, it reminds me of the expanse of the ocean (in real life too) and I'm left in awe.

It was fun to experience a Naga based storyline. Being a Naga was also a lot of fun.
On that note, Blizzard did a good job mixing up the quests. They also don't have painful amounts of items you need that may or may not drop from each mob. There is a point where you get a quest to go kill x amount of y, and you feel overwhelmed with deja vu, but it's never too many. Even though sometimes, high respawn rates end up biting you in the ass, you have to be thankful for this with the amount of people you're dealing with.

I spent a little time dappling in Mt. Hyjal, just because as a Druid nerd, I wanted to go see Malfurion in all his glory. Ysera's new model also looks really cool. Mt. Hyjal was incredibly crowded though, so after discovering the new dungeon, I promptly left for Deepholm.

Deepholm gives me the sense that I am in Vash'jir if it was a mountain. It's huge, and even with flying, it still feels overwhelming.  

Dungeon running has been an interesting experience. Because you have to discover the instances first, I haven't been able to run much with my guild. We did Blackrock Caverns and it wasn't too bad. I liked the way Blizzard made the boss fights more engaging.

Using the Dungeon finder by yourself is a different matter. I did Throne of Tides with a pug and it was interesting at best. The tank and I were good; he was smart enough to not pull too many, and I was able to adjust quickly to each scenario. The dps were another story. The rogue had never heard of the concept, get out of the black shit, and died at least 7 times. Between the rogue and the dk, no one felt that it was a good idea to interrupt, and one boss fight resulted in just me and the tank fighting for a good 3 minutes to finish, because the rest of the dps died.

The trash was actually difficult, but there was no surprise.

What I'm trying to understand is Blizzard's future vision for healers.

They say they don't want us standing around not healing, they want us to DPS. They also say that healing won't be about quick reflexes, but about survivability and managing our mana. But somehow, I'm still healing my butt of because the damage is overwhelming at times, and if someone isn't topped off, there is a good chance they are dead. Somehow, this vision isn't really working out.

Unless raid encounters are different, there's really no difference in healing styles, except that we go oom faster.

WTF Blizzard. Make your mind up!

That being said, Throne of the Tides was some of the most fun I've had in a dungeon. The fights were fun to experience, the healing was intense and engaging. The bosses were all unique. I mean fighting a wall? That was the best part...Attacking the wall!

Plans for Cataclysm

Been busy with college lately, but here's a quick update.

Cataclysm is rolling out tonight at Midnight. I'm pretty excited. The new content available in Patch 4.03a was just a taste of what Blizzard has in store for us, and honestly, I'm quite impressed.

-Leveling to 85 on Covington
There will be no rush to Server first here, but I will be trekking to 85 so that I can get myself prepared for raids.
-Leveling a Worgen
I need to find a new Alliance server, but I would like to dapple in Worgen leveling.
-Leveling a Goblin
I heard leveling a goblin is an experience not to be missed. So I'll roll a goblin on a server somewhere.
-Leveling to 85 on Fleur
My fury warrior is my choice melee, but she s still 77. I will probably take her to 85 next, mostly because I'll need her mining abilities as well.

Cheers you guys! Happy Cataclysm!