The Egotistical Priest
An irreverent and opinionated discussion of the many classes
in the World of Warcraft gaming universe.
Gearing for low-level Pickups
by Hannelore
Some people would have you believe that what you’re wearing doesn’t matter, especially as a healer.
“Oh it’ll be fine, you’re not going to be taking damage.”
“Oh don’t worry about it, there are four other people there to help.”
“Oh don’t worry, those monsters don’t REALLY want to kill you.”
I’m sorry, but if you’re the one in the dress, twiddling your sparkly fingers in the back, you are the ONE PERSON the monsters want to kill the most.
And recall, we’re not talking about a well-oiled machine in which all members work well with each other and know what they’re doing. They are not highly geared with the choice tidbits from prior dungeon crawls. They are not trained in precisely the right way in order to fulfill their position in your little posse.
They are wearing greens from Ragefire Chasm, and the destro-lock has just announced, “ok, good2go, Hannah is healing my VW is tanking and I need summuns lol”.
Welcome to a pug group for Scarlet Monastery. (And don’t call me Hannah!)
Your first priority is your own survival. Do you have a chance in blue blazes to make it out of this fracas within the maximum of 3 wipes? That’s my max, by the way. I really don’t care what the rest of the group does – if I die 3 times, something is horribly wrong and I’m better off with the dwarves in the wetlands. The things I look for to ensure my survival is: my spec, my gear, my group.
I may not have a cookie cutter spec, but I need to be able to hop back and forth from soloing giant stone statues to healing a group pummeling scarlet zealots. This blend actually works well, especially when my group often forgets that I’m back there, and I wind up having to solo-kill occasional zealots that thought I looked tasty. Admittedly, my wardrobe is classy and appealing, and these guys have been locked up with “Blades of Light!” Herod for so long that even a orc woman might get their little hearts racing. But still! Bad touch! /grrface /holyfire
These guys are used to running on their own, too, so a lot of their gear is probably built around surviving. Unfortunately it’s actually rare to find that. More often, these days, someone of the higher echelons swings by and escorts them through their troubled times. Now they’re grouped up with you because they just need a couple more levels in order to wear the gear their friend helped them get. Meanwhile, RFC greens.
If I were running with a set group of individuals that knew what they were doing, were wearing the appropriate gear, and were capable of working as a team, I could focus more directly on just healing the tank and then sipping a latte. However, with two hunters, a rogue, and a warlock, there is not one but seven tanks. Seven. I’ll let you count and figure it out. Take your time.
We done here? Alright, moving on!
So with all that going on, it’s actually BAD if I wind up throwing a heal down on everyone. Seven different tanks. One healer. All that grrface from the monsters winds up consolidated on me. It’s especially bad if one of those tanks suddenly drops off their radar (vanish, feign death, actual death), because then they come after me. I can guarantee you that none of them have the wherewithal to turn around and blast that joker off of me. Even worse if the tank is a paladin.
What, you say? How is that bad? Plate armor, reactive agro, self heals, self-righteous smirk? How is any of this a bad thing?
Because, in my experience, when I suddenly pull agro off of him, and am screaming for help between trying to fade, bubble, and resist the urge to psychic scream – Mister “I sucked on a Naaru for this knowledge!” turns around and STARTS HEALING ME.
Look, that’s not as generous as it sounds. Paladins get this neat effect where they can heal with less rage-effect on the monsters around them. I think it’s innate. Maybe it’s just the fact that most of their armor has spines while mine has a touchable softness. Who would you rather tackle?
Don’t answer that.
So, ideally, I should be decked out in gear that should help my healing. But in fact, most of my gear is set for mana regeneration and stamina. I throw down quick heals, slip back into the regeneration state (5sr) and hope I have the hitpoints to survive the beating when the hunter pets die, the hunters feign death, and the warlock has sacrificed the voidwalker to get that nifty shield that outclasses mine.
The rogue has been stealthed and afk for the past three pulls.
August 25th, 2008
I used to laugh at “of the Whale” gear. Until I tried to level a holy priest. Now, I laugh at “of the Wolf” (agi/spirit? wtf?), and have a healthy respect for anything with Stamina and Spirit in it.
August 25th, 2008
“of the Wolf” - hybrid druid?
@Hannalore
At least you know about mana regen at the lower levels. I knew about the 5-second rule since lvl 4x, but it never, not once, occured to me that I could gear for mana regen/mp5 until level 70. lol - that is what water was for
August 25th, 2008
@Xtian
Afraid Iratio’s right. Any druid about my level is probably stacked with Of the Wolf gear, because they are tanking AND healing for equal numbers of their pugs. You may get invited to a group and not know your role until you get to the instance door. Gotta be prepared, and agility means armor, dodge, and crits! Mmmm, crits. The spirit is to make sure you survive when the healing is subpar, or YOU wind up main healing because the mage has decided to tank.
@Iratio
I have gone through an entire dungeon where our only chance to drink was right after initial buffs and before the final monster-fellow. The warrior/bear has got half a bar of rage from that last fight, why should he stop now? Charge! No out-of-combat means no sweet, sweet, MGD. Oh, and declaring “OOM” means “Out of Monsters”, and indicates you need more, perhaps one to play with on your own. The cow-druids told me about how much mana I can get back by just standing there (well, they stand there, I get to shoot wand-spitballs over the tank’s shoulder), and it’s been great.
August 25th, 2008
@Hannah (yes, I do it just to get on your nerves)
While against my better judgment, I find myself becoming sympathetic to your plight. As such, I offer this advice in the form of a story.
When I decided to grow a warrior, I knew I would need some heals. After taking a quick survey of my surroundings, I realized my pickings were very slim. Thus, I browbeat one of my friends into playing and made her heal me. That’s right…60 levels of full resto goodness, although she still curses me for it. Once the Dark Portal opened again, she discovered boomkin and only looked back once she hit 70, but still…
My advice, con one of your friends into being your tank. Failing that, find a good tank and attach yourself to him/her like a freaking limpet, or maybe a remora. They’ll love you for it and you’ll appreciate the meat-shieldiness they give you.
Yyou might need to eat a sandwich, first, though. Seriously. You look like you’re about to fall over.
August 25th, 2008
@Khol
Yeeearrrrrgh!
I’m afraid my adventuring is too infrequent for me to land consistent tanking minions. I prefer to look at it in a positive light and recognize that each bad experience with a group of people who aren’t interested in actually learning how to do what they do is a one-time-only situation. The next time I venture out of Silvermoon, they’re either well and gone, or quit the adventuring life altogether. Yay, freedom!
And I am petite. And trim. Sandwhiches are for orcs and tauren. I live on magic and hate. /grrface
August 25th, 2008
“The rogue has been stealthed and afk for the past three pulls.”
I lol’d in real life on that one
Regarding never stopping in an instance - Best way to do em!
We even have an acronym for it. CSoM! (constant stream of mobs) go go!
/rawr
August 25th, 2008
@ Iratio + Hannelore re: of the Wolf
I stand corrected. Silly druids - they don’t even have a wolf form.
August 25th, 2008
@Hannah
Magic and hate? You’re starting to sound like my last ex…
*shudder*
August 25th, 2008
Just completed a pug SM Lib and I can confirm your story. That said, with me being a veteran wow player with 2 70s who releases to the graveyard just as the boss is killed and hence get no loot… it doesn;t say a lot does it
samownall - World of Warcraft News
August 26th, 2008
Turns out that casual PuGging is just another form of PvP, except it’s the “friendly fire” version. Consequently the PvP approach - stam, int, more stam, a bit of + heal and a monstrous drink problem - seems to do the trick for those “all gone a bit wrong” PuG moments…
August 26th, 2008
@Hannelore : It doesnt sound like your describing something unique to low level pugs, most of that holds true even in the heroics at 70. A pug falls under the box of chocolates category, your most important attribute isn’t your gear but your ability to adjust rapidly followed by the understanding that you may have to bow out of the run because it just isnt working. 3 of my 70s have been around long enough to keep or get gear thats usually used in a pug, +stam is your friend
@Wyndorfina : “friendly fire” … rofl … That makes so much sense .. I got stuck in a pug where a hunter refused to listen to anyone, even his guild mates. That meant he refused to install Omen or Diamond for threat meters. Omen has a nifty feature that tells you what your buffer % is. Be it 10% for melee or 30% for ranged, as a healer I try to stay in the 30% zone. Back to our hunter, both of us are about side by side in the 30% zone when he decides to pull a mob. Did that hunter immediately FD, NO … he waited to bring it to the 10% zone and then do it. Toothpicks anyone ? my poor resto druid never stood a chance
August 26th, 2008
@Wyndorfina
That’s actually a GREAT way of thinking about it. Also goes with the “must need to think fast” and “no comatose healing allowed”, because you always have to be on your toes. Now if only I could flag and Mind Control that rogue into the lava…
@Weta
You’re not telling me I’m wrong, are you? ARE YOU!? And I would be a much less … bitter… elf, if my groups were more like chocolate. Mmm, chocolate. I am too stubborn to bow out of a group before the third wipe, especially if I’m already at the door, ready to go. Now, if they choose to ignore me or speak in Swahili before I’ve put out the effort to get to where we’re going, I have no problem letting them go, free as a bird, released back to the wild, it’s better out there. You’ll be with your own kind! Go! Run away, little pug! You’ll be happier there! *sob* I’ll always love you!
August 26th, 2008
I am a 70 Hunter, but I have a Priest with whom I never PUG’d. From 1-70 either solo or with guildies it was easy everyone wants a healer. I rolled my hunter expecting about the same love from my guild… Why? Why did my guild abondon me to those animals?! I had to PUG from 1-70 (shudder) I still wake up screaming…. The worst was Ramparts, My trusty Gorilla Confatalis was called upon to tank while a friend of mine was to bring their cat to OT, chain trapping Polymorphs and MC saw us to victory but it was so nerve racking I find it hard to fly over Hellfire still. Any healer willing to stay through a debacle of that magnatude makes my friends list for sure, but I add a note to call them every time I have a real tank just so they know I don’t normally run instancing with pet tanks.
BTW <3 Hannelore, there is nothing sexier than someone who lives off of magic and hate =)
August 26th, 2008
@ Crimsontusk
Yes, I accept all accolades and small children as tax-free donations.
September 5th, 2008
In my experience the key to surviving as a priest in a PuG is adaptability, and in the kind of gear spec that you describe adapatability can well mean “heal-tanking”. If it comes down to heal tanking then feel free to use your Psychic Screams and your heals and your shield and everything else all on yourself — remember if you die then the whole PuG does too, so the sitution can’t get any worse.
Optimally try and make sure the tank is at least one level higher than you.
When you get Prayer of Mending (level 50-something?) use that early and often on the tank, it counts as self-healing so it boosts their aggro not yours.
October 5th, 2008
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