Shaman on Ramen

I have a problem with self-esteem, it seems. You see, both times I approached level caps on Elam (both Burning Crusade and WoTLK), I specced resto right off the bat and healed my way through 10 naxx, Karazhan, Magheridon’s Lair, Sartharion, and more, all the while gobbling off offset pieces in the hopes that one day, I’d be mainspec enhancement. I did this because A)I’m competitive. I am not cool with being last on the dps meter, and I knew that was where I’d be with fresh 70/80 gear. I logicly know meters shouldn’t matter, but it’s in my nature to want to be the best I can be, and to get frustrated when I’m not. xD B) Healers were simply more needed. I remember quite a few pug Gruul’s where we sat in lfg for an hour-hour and a half spamming “LF2M Gruul’s, healers.”

In Burning Crusade, my introduction came a few months before joining Surreality for the first time, and when they recruited me as Enhancement I was the happiest little cow alive, all decked out in my badge gear and Sunwell Pleateu trash offhand. Somewhat ironically, my first ten man raid with Surreality was a Karazhan that I healed rather than DPSed, with the guild leader’s then-alt-now-main Resto Shaman, who I stole this from. (She said she was impressed that night, and that I carried her heals. She probably forgot, but I didn’t!) In Wrath of the Lich King, this came the day I joined Surreality…again. (Long story, dunt ask. Maybe it’ll be a rainy day blog! xD) Before that, my little ten man group of friends who I unceremoinously dumped my progression content guild to farm 10s with needed me as resto most days, and since I had somehow been promoted to raid/guild leader, it was my job to sacrifice my desire to hit things with fiery weapons for the good of the guild until I managed to escape back to the 25mans that spawned me.

Possibly surprisingly, I actually DO know a thing or two about healing. I’m no where near as competent as our guild’s actual healers, and I’d worry about being asked to help heal on progression content since I’m super rusty, but I do know how to heal as a shaman. And, since I have no life, I have of course read every Resto Shaman theorycrafting article you could think of, so I do at least know the theory of shaman healing. (I also -only- heal on Notelam, my paladin, but I don’t think I have the /played as a healer on her to speak about it much. )

As an offspec healer, and a grumpy one at that, I decided to take up the call to fill out Ms. Medicina’s Healing Questionnaire, mainly for fun.

* What is the name, class, and spec of your primary healer?
My raiding main is Elam, an Orc Enhancement Shaman, who likes to dabble in the art of the glowing-green lights.

* What is your primary group healing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)
Mainly 10mans, as there are very few 25mans I pug on my main- and those that I do, I like to tear up the deeps meters a bit tooo much.

* What is your favorite healing spell for your class and why?
Ancestral Awakening. It’s not -actually- a spell, in that I don’t click it. It procs off critical Lesser Healing Waves, Riptides, and Healing Waves, smart healing the person in the raid with the lowest HP for 30% of the amount healed.

If I had to choose an actual spell I click, I’d choose Lesser Healing Wave. After the sadness of not using the spell at all while healing through most of BC, it was great fun to see it make a come-back, and it’s ability to proc Imp. WS and Ancestral Wakening, as well as it’s own strength as a heal AND it’s synergy with Earth Shield through glyphing, LHW has become an excellent tool.

* What healing spell do you use least for your class and why?
Healing Wave.  It’s a tool that has it’s place in a healing arsenal and should not be discounted, but beyond the normal Nature’s Swiftness +HW macro that every shaman has had since Ronal Reagan was president, it’s not a strong heal. Elam’s healing gear is considerably stronger than Notelam’s, but her Holy Light his for similar amounts and is spammable.

* What do you feel is the biggest strength of your healing class and why?
Versatility, at least in a 10-man setting. While no Holy Paladin, Earth Shield+Lesser Healing Wave do provide strong single target healing, and Healing Wave IS good for needed burst healing. Chain Heal+Healing Stream Totem(raid wide 5-person smart heal, make it happen please Blizzard!) make Restoration a competitive raid healer, and it has the added benefit of looking kick-ass. And while I know that healers hate the assignment, I think through Riptide and Tidal Waves’d Lesser Healing Waves, Resto Shaman make excellent spot healers, for predictabe single target damage on someone not the tank. Incinerate Flesh on Lord J, Penetrating Cold on Anub, Light Bomb on XT are all examples of this.

* What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your healing class and why?
Mobility combined with a lack of defensive abilities other than Earth Shield. Like both other specs of Shaman, Resto can be described as a turret- great throughput potential, but requires standing in one place for 10mans to shine. For pugs on fights like Onyxia, I genuinely worry on Elam when running in (since I don’t trust other pug healers.) On notelam, I can blessing of sacrifice the tank and keep Beacon of Light on him, using Holy Shock crits+instant Flash of Lights to keep myself and him up while running to position. On Elam, I riptide+ES, and then run in and stop to cast every few seconds, leaving me in potential damage places if I’m not careful.

* In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best healing assignment for you?
Bind half my keys to targeting melee, the other half to pressing chain heal, and then letting my puppy walk on the keyboard while I /afk sandwich! Really, though, whilst I was pugging my way through Naxx25 back when Naxx25 was content, I used to love fights like Instructor Raz and Sapphiron where I just chain healed the night away and hit 4-5k hps.

* What healing class do you enjoy healing with most and why?
Holy Paladins. They’re just such strong healers. Even mediocre H Paladins can make a fight substantially easier.

* What healing class do you enjoy healing with least and why?
Holy Priests. This has nothing to do with synergy, but I’ve just always found the spec to be incredibly boring. I don’t believe they work that well with restoration, though. I’d much prefer a stronger single target healer with me.  

* What is your worst habit as a healer?
Chain Healing the ranged and hitting one person. I might like that spell a LITTLE too much.

* What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while healing?

People dying. Honestly, be courteous and try to stay alive, please!

* Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other healers for PvE healing?
To quote my raid leader at Altadin.com, “Shamans are in a fantastic place right now.  We are exceptional raid healers and (properly glyphed and itemized) can be strong main tank healers as well.  We buff the raid via totems, which can be tailored to suit not only to the group make-up but also the nature of the encounter.  We have defensive and offensive dispels, a ranged interrupt that is off the global cooldown, limited but still situtationally viable CC, self-resurrection and — of course — Bloodlust.  If anything, shamans are overpowered at the moment compared to other healing classes.”

* What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a healer?
Beyond the simple “Did we down the boss? Did my assignments die? Did I run out of mana?,” there’s recount- however, healing is not like dps, and maximum HPS is not always the best solution- especially if you’re running at a million percent overheal, or you’re assigned to do something not conducive to throughput.

* What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your healing class?

That we’re still in Burning Crusade, where my 1-4 buttons were multiple ranks of CH, and the question wasn’t “should I chain heal” but “which rank of chain heal will give the least overheal.” SRSLY. THERE ARE OTHER SPELLS. Inorite?

* What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new healers of your class to learn?

There are A LOT of keybinds and abilities, and just knowing how to put down your Call of Fire and use LHW/CH/HW/Riptide/ES does not a healer make. Resto shaman might need to purge if lacking an offensive dispeller. Some fights might call for grounding totem. And, don’t assume that because the last fight was a chain heal fest that that pattern will sustain itself through a raid.

* If someone were to try to evaluate your performance as a healer via recount, what sort of patterns would they see (i.e. lots of overhealing, low healing output, etc)?
I think they’d wonder why I was healing and not DPSing!

* Haste or Crit and why?

Haste. Crit has it’s place, especially in proccing Ancestral Awakening and Imp. WS, but crit is not something you want to rely on as a healer. Crit is burst, and while having on demand burst is great for healing, sustained HPS throughput is achieved through haste.

* What healing class do you feel you understand least?
Holy Priests. :S

* What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in healing?
I’m an add-on whore.  I currently use Grid, GridStatusDebuffs, and more that I’m totally forgetting. :s Nature’s Swiftness+Healing Wave macro ftw!

* Do you strive primarily for balance between your healing stats, or do you stack some much higher than others, and why?
I’m currently gemming Spellpower, but only because there were no quick autumn’s glows on the AH, and I sooo wasn’t buying 12 Quick King’s Amber. xD. Given the choice and the money, I’d be on top of haste in a heartbeat.