Today, my gentle snowflakes*, we are going to discuss the priest spell Binding Heal.

Unfortunately I don’t have a clever renaming for this puppy. It’s not that I call it “Binding Heal” in my head whenever I need to use it. Far from it. I think my brain would explode if I used the correct nominative for any spell. Rather than “Oh, crap, I need to use Binding Heal!” my brain will say “Oh, crap, I need to use the Heal-myself-and-someone-else-thingy!”

Which…well, it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, does it?

So we’ll avoid awkward acronyms and just call it Binding Heal. HMASET is too long. You can call it whatever you like.

So what are the vital stats on this spell?

It’s holy, so obviously isn’t intended for shadowform synergy. Cast time is 1.5 seconds. Range is 40 yards. So far, I may as well be describing a Flash Heal, right?

We don’t get it till level 64. And if you’re anything like me, you wrinkled your nose and snorted as soon as you trained it. What kind of lame excuse for a shiny new BC talent is this, any way?

Well, let’s take a look at the tooltip text.

Heals a friendly target and the caster for XX to XX. Low threat.

Not terribly complex, is it? Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty to say (as if there was ever any doubt. I could turn a fortune cookie into a novel).

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I’ve never been on any 25-man raids.

Someone left a comment requesting that I note on my Overhealing thread that the guide was only good up to 10-man raids, and was pretty much useless beyond those. (my words, not theirs).

I’ll say it again : I’ve never been on any 25-man raids.

Heck, I didn’t even go on 10-man raids pre-BC.

My raiding experience is utterly encompassed by Karazhan at this point.

I’m not going to add a note to my Overhealing thread about 25-man raids, because I don’t know anything about them.

I don’t.

For all I know, every blessed word I write is useless for anything outside of Karazhan. I would have to add that note to every single entry I’ve ever written, to be safe.

And I’m not going to.

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You’ve all felt it.

That slight widening of the eyes, the faint tremble in your fingers, the quickened breathing, and that nightmare-inspired dropping of your stomach to your feet.

What do you do when a herd of monsters, bristling with weapons and fangs, mouths dripping with hateful foam, eyes locked on your, burning a hole in your face? When the only thing standing between them and you is the in-game equivalent of a Hello Kitty bathrobe?

You panic. You run away, right? You’re going to die, of course you’re going to die, the tank lost aggro and you’regoingtodie!!!!

EVERYONE has been in this situation. Panic is universal. Panic is human.

And it’s PANIC that’ll kill you, unless you can learn how to manage it.

It’s just a game
It’s just a game, right? Just pixels on a screen.

That may be true, but it doesn’t mean that you’re not dealing with real panic. Sure, it’s on a lesser scale than…say…having someone point a gun in your face. But it’s the same critter all right. You lose control. The thinking, reasoning part of your brain shuts off and the only thing left is the overweight asthmatic hamster that runs all day keeping your brain going.

And he’s terrified.

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e·go·tis·ti·cal
–adjective
1. pertaining to or characterized by egotism.*
2. given to talking about oneself; vain; boastful; opinionated.
3. indifferent to the well-being of others; selfish.

*e·go·tism
-noun
1. The tendency to speak or write of oneself excessively and boastfully.

I hate it when dictionary definitions are circular. So I provided the definition of “egotism” too, for completeness.

Basically, in order to be classified as “egotistical” you have to talk about yourself, be opinionated, be boastful, and be selfish.

This whole blog is centered around me. I’m a priest. To be more specific, I’m a healery priest. I have pictures of my character in the header and on the sidebar. I want you to know that this is MY blog. My articles are about ME and what I have learned about priesting.

I am boastful. My group and I have done some pretty amazing things.

I am opinionated, and I am stubborn. If you’ve managed to find one of my “buttons” - one of those topics that you can express your opinion on and I will doggedly ignore you, then you probably already know that.

I am indifferent to the well-being of others. I am selfish. Someone who doesn’t want to take the time to learn or attempt to help themselves will get ignored by me. I’m not going to punish them (that’s sort of the opposite of “indifference”), but I really don’t care what they do. I’m concerned about me and my circle of friends. I will expand that circle so that I am also helpful to people who give a damn - who are trying, and who are looking for help, not handouts.

Thing is….so are you guys.

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I do try to keep my entry links to other blogs to a minimum, but this time I had to share.

Chris over at Wow Addicts Anonymous recently posted a three-part series on how to play your class in a group.

Part I :: Basics and DPS
Part II :: Tanks
Part III :: Healers

A superb read for everyone. Not only can it tell you something about what to expect in a group situation, it is an invaluable resource for…oh, say, a HEALER, who needs to know what various tanks are capable of in an easy-to-find format.

Or a TANK, who needs to know what their healer may be capable of.

Or someone who has never been in a group before, and wants to learn.

Or someone who wants to know whether or not they can tweak their performance in a group.

The subject is crucial. The format is the beauty of it, though, because the information is easy to reference and skim to find the bit you’re looking for. You can read the whole article, or you can just glance down till you find what you’re looking for.

It’s intended as an overview and not an in-depth discussion of each class and ability. And as such, it’s perfect.

Let’s talk hardware, baby. You show me your joystick and I’ll show you my gaming pad.

No, this isn’t an offer for l33t cyberz.

I’m going to share with you one of my glorious secrets - one of the things that ensures my success and gives me that oh-so-critical edge over the competition. This is why my heals are always a fraction of a second faster than my cohorts, why my reaction times are lightning-fast, and my Batman-like array of utility spells never confuses me.

The Nostromo Speedpad n52.

Cue sparkles and glitter.

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