Healing Part 5: Teamwork

So now we've seen the 4 different classes that can heal. We've learned who can heal in what situations best, who benefits from what statistics, etc. So what do we do with this information? We build a strong raid group.

Knowing that druids and shamans are great raid healers and that priests and paladins are great single target healers helps the class makeup of a raid assign their own positions really. Having a druid/priest/shaman on the MT is huge, because if you have earth shield, renew, rejuv, lifebloom, regrowth, and prayer of mending on you, you probably aren't going to die anytime soon. Paladins are excellent for providing a solid stream of healing for long periods of time, with the occasional burst here and there. Priests and paladins are great for bringing a low target to full quickly, while druids and shamans are excellent for any "oh shit" times on a main tank with Natures Swiftness. Understanding these essentials makes a raid more powerful. It shows that people can learn to heal together and work out their strengths.

This also should be considered when looking at loot as well. If a neckpiece with +healing and MP5 on it drops, the pallies and shamans should have first dibs, since they get very little returns from spirit. Same goes for priests and druids when it comes to spirit gear. Obviously if mail drops and no shammies want it, paladins can grab it up if it's an upgrade. Remember though that mail should go to shammies first, and paladins second.

One final note about teamwork in regards to healing. It takes time. Every player's style is different. Healing with shaman A may be totally different from healing with shaman B, based on their healing styles. It takes time and practice to get enough synergy so that not too many heals are overheal, and less mana is wasted on a given fight.

If there's one thing that I hope you've learned from this series, it's that no healer is the same, no healing class is the same, and there are reasons people get assigned to certain roles in raid fights. If you don't think you belong in that role, tell your healing assigner why you think that way, and see if you can help the raid by figuring out your best place. But ultimately it comes down to learning how to heal in a given situation, and learning how to maximize the worth of you and your class's healing style.