I Don't Know What To Do :(

[druideena 14]

I'll be setting up normal 5.1 tier raids this weekend, I'll be setting up a ToES tonight. you are more then welcome to come and heal it. Putting it up on OR in a few.

[Tarazet 144]

Well, my new friends, here is the latest: I did not raid last night because I have been suspended from the raid team until my performance improves. Although I am very upset about it, given the amount of work I have done to secure my spot, I support Dru in his decision. Progression raiding is not the place to learn a new spec. I nearly left my guild - which I love - to find one more suitable to my current ability, but they convinced me to stay and assured me they would continue to help me

So the next question, and I will give you my opinions, is: What is the best way for me to get better at this point?

I am thinking that I should, in this order of priority:

1) Heal LFR's. Not ideal, as they usually do not follow the same mechanics as real raiding and are kind of a cluster f***, but it is an opportunity to heal, with the goal being to top the meters?

2) Do heroics, because it is healing

3) Do Open Raid and if I get kicked, so be it

I will be starting to do Dailies every day, and farming rep, and continue all of the questing I did not complete when I hit 90, but I currently do these in Shadow. Should I try to do them in Disc for the challenge and just suck up all of the deaths?

I will be reading all of my spells at least daily and hopefully 3x per day, same with IV Disc Healing Guide

I will try to get some help with setting up Weak Auras and Vuhdo, even if I have to pay someone to help me.

Any other suggestions? Or comments on what I plan to do?

I almost feel like switching to another class - I have Shammy, Druid, and Pally healers at 85, waiting in the wings, but Priest has always been my main and I am not nearly as good at these classes. At least, I don't think I am.

As always, I thank you for your very considerate responses

P.S. Yes Krazyito, I will try to always be casting something - spam, spam, spam

Oh, and btw, perhaps some of you would be willing to "Like" some of my posts so that I can get some rep here lol?

Do all of those things for sure. Start with 5-man heroics, because in those dungeons, no one is helping you heal. As a side benefit, you get JP which you can convert to Honor and turn in for Motes of Harmony, which is a nice boost to the bottom line.

Edited April 26, 2013 by Tarazet

[Karessa 2]

Hi Taldryx,

I'm sorry to hear about your suspension from the raid team. I would encourage you to keep running LFR for the sole reason of learning from other players. I've been playing and raiding on my priest since BC and always as holy and a healer. This xpac, I decided to try Shadow and not being used to dpsing, I initially ran LFR over and over again to observe other shadow priests. When they beat me in the meters, I'd armory them to see their gear, stat priority and spec. Recount helps tremendously since it allows you to to see what spells they're using and how often. Then I'd respec or redo my stats/glyphs and run LFR again to see if I got any better. I'd encourage you to do the same with whichever healing spec you're more comfortable with. Think of LFR as a place for practicing.

Also, I would refrain from switching between holy and disc if I were you, at least until you're completely comfortable with one spec and able to raid effectively with it. Then by all means, learn the other spec so you can be good at both. I know disc priests are all the rage this xpac but I raid in a 10 man as holy because my guild allows me to play the spec I want (thank god) and we haven't had any issues. I'm most comfortable with holy and I know it well and I think that's what's important, rather than trying to play the "in" spec because you feel you should and not knowing what to do.

I should add that the reason I came here to this site and forum is because I'm trying to learn disc now and it is almost an entirely different play style altogether. I just need to get used to it and I'm glad I chanced upon your thread since so many have given some great advice on playing disc.

I know you're no longer doing progression raiding with your guild but here is my WOL for our progression attempts on Horridon so you can compare our spells used: http://wws.worldoflogs.com/reports/rt-rbufpmwk4a9mgcsi/sum/healingDone/

And here is our kill video:

Just some notes on raid healing for that fight:

I save my lightspring for the last two doors because there is more damage going on at the time.

I also use Cascade when needed, sometimes as an "oh shit" spell because it's more or less an instant heal for someone really low on health. It's a costly spell and it easily overheals but if you have no mana issues and someone needs to be saved asap, it can be used.

I keep PoM up on the tank as much as possible, even if it clips. PoM is like healing on auto pilot. And I love the sound it makes too. :)

I usually keep Inner Will up instead of Inner Fire because it does really help cut down on the cost of my most used spells which is PoM, CoH and of course, Cascade.

Anyway, don't give up and keep practicing. You'll get there. Best of luck!

Well, my new friends, here is the latest: I did not raid last night because I have been suspended from the raid team until my performance improves. Although I am very upset about it, given the amount of work I have done to secure my spot, I support Dru in his decision. Progression raiding is not the place to learn a new spec. I nearly left my guild - which I love - to find one more suitable to my current ability, but they convinced me to stay and assured me they would continue to help me

So the next question, and I will give you my opinions, is: What is the best way for me to get better at this point?

I am thinking that I should, in this order of priority:

1) Heal LFR's. Not ideal, as they usually do not follow the same mechanics as real raiding and are kind of a cluster f***, but it is an opportunity to heal, with the goal being to top the meters?

2) Do heroics, because it is healing

3) Do Open Raid and if I get kicked, so be it

I will be starting to do Dailies every day, and farming rep, and continue all of the questing I did not complete when I hit 90, but I currently do these in Shadow. Should I try to do them in Disc for the challenge and just suck up all of the deaths?

I will be reading all of my spells at least daily and hopefully 3x per day, same with IV Disc Healing Guide

I will try to get some help with setting up Weak Auras and Vuhdo, even if I have to pay someone to help me.

Any other suggestions? Or comments on what I plan to do?

I almost feel like switching to another class - I have Shammy, Druid, and Pally healers at 85, waiting in the wings, but Priest has always been my main and I am not nearly as good at these classes. At least, I don't think I am.

As always, I thank you for your very considerate responses

P.S. Yes Krazyito, I will try to always be casting something - spam, spam, spam

Oh, and btw, perhaps some of you would be willing to "Like" some of my posts so that I can get some rep here lol?

[Cedrin 3]

I sent you a private message. Willing to spent some time and share what I do with my disc priest. Maybe cross realm if its possible. I have a pretty simple setup that does a lot of output I could share

[Sensoriella 4]

Hi there, I'm wondering, why are you so determined to give up healing as a holy priest? Disc might be a bit more powerful at the moment and prefered in raids but holy priests arent <scrubs> lol. They're still good healers....also I dont think you're ever going to heal better as a disc priest. You like holy better right? You're more comfortable with it, you have way more chance of getting better as a holy priest than learning a whole new spec. I have both disc and holy specs and last night on Lei Shen (LFR) I outhealed by far 4 disc priests and a monk, and I was in holy spec. Maybe it's just a reforging issue? That has nothing to do with skill and will affect your numbers. Try Ask Mr Robot or something like that? Then do a few lfrs and see what gives you better numbers. Dont stop doing what you like, all these people mean well im sure but all this advice will just leave you frustrated and confused. As for being able to do dailies etc, I do em all as a healer and just use my damage spells, I usually switch to disc for that tho since it's a bit more damage, but ive done it as a holy priest before. I hate shadow too! And for the raiding part, don't feel bad, take a breather, relax and start doing the things you enjoy in the game while you experiment with different talents and reforging etc...and see what gives YOU better numbers. Who cares what everybody says, we all have different styles of playing. You'll never be good at something you dont enjoy doing tho! Also remember that just the stress of feeling like youre not good enough, will make you nervous and cause you to forget what spells you need to use etc... Maybe you can take a break from the priest for a little bit too, try out a shammy or druid or pally or monk! Dont give up the game tho, just concentrate on doing what makes you happy, and have fun experimenting on your own, without anybody looking over your shoulders! Hang in there :)

[Peelyon 416]

A lot of good points made by Sensoriella!

Sometimes playing what you know and what you enjoy can make a big difference. Perhaps taking a little breather, not putting too much pressure on your performances and just enjoy the game again then after a little while, a fresh look at the situation may help!

[Taldryx 13]

Thank you for your comments! I have 2 90 Priests and am doing just as you say - chilling with no pressure, trying to get better on my own, and playing both Holy on my lower geared Priest, Eseral, and Disc on Taldryx to see which I prefer. Will continue to post my progress as many of you have been very generously following it

Oh - and I plan to level my 85 Resto Druid and my 82 Holy Pally to 90 and see how they feel.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Taldryx

[Tarazet 144]

Thank you for your comments! I have 2 90 Priests and am doing just as you say - chilling with no pressure, trying to get better on my own, and playing both Holy on my lower geared Priest, Eseral, and Disc on Taldryx to see which I prefer. Will continue to post my progress as many of you have been very generously following it

Oh - and I plan to level my 85 Resto Druid and my 82 Holy Pally to 90 and see how they feel.

Hi Taldryx,

I salute you for sticking with it and doing your best to improve. In this game, it is important to know how different healing styles work and how they fit in with the raid, but ultimately, your focus should be on your "main" spec and just getting better at it. In MoP there are no wrong choices as far as class/spec. The only mistake is asking someone to fill a role that they can't perform.

As a guild, we all know our strengths and weaknesses and adjust to them. My main is a Guardian Druid. When I was having trouble tanking Mar'li because of the massive amount of magic damage that I had no way to mitigate, we switched me to Malakk. Suddenly, Malakk couldn't stun me, the DK was much better on Mar'li, and we finished Council 3 pulls later. Then when I was getting bitten in half by Tortos' Snapping Bite, we switched me to the bats. Where I was falling over dead before on the turtle and putting out unimpressive numbers, on the bats I was suddenly doing 210K DPS and taking very little damage, and they were easier for me to hold aggro on, to boot. We didn't finish him yet, but we will this weekend.

Of course, you're not a tank, but the point I have is, this is a class that has some serious issues - we don't handle large hits well due to a lack of passive mitigation, we can't dispel ourselves in our tanking stance, Bear Hug does no damage if the target is immune to stuns.. I could go on. But we find the right situation to make me shine and then everything just works. It's the same way with healing. Find out what your strengths are and solidify them.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Tarazet

[Stoove 347]

I see that lots of other people have contributed a lot to this thread and I'm glad you're making progress. I have one thing to add which might help; back when I started healing in Wrath I was having a very similar problem with not casting enough spells. One piece of advice I was given at the time - which helps me to this day - is to constantly repeat to yourself when you are unsure; "ABC".

Always Be Casting

That short aide memoir sure helped me, and I hope it helps you. Good luck :)

[Tarazet 144]

I see that lots of other people have contributed a lot to this thread and I'm glad you're making progress. I have one thing to add which might help; back when I started healing in Wrath I was having a very similar problem with not casting enough spells. One piece of advice I was given at the time - which helps me to this day - is to constantly repeat to yourself when you are unsure; "ABC".

Always Be Casting

That short aide memoir sure helped me, and I hope it helps you. Good luck

Always Be Casting indeed. Don't forget that direct heals in Holy will put an Echo of Light HoT on the target, and it stacks. So even if it seems like it went straight to overheal, the chances of the spell being completely wasted are pretty small if your target is taking any damage.

[Taldryx 13]

All very good advice! I seem to hear that over and over - "ABC!" so I am trying hard to stick to it. Tarazet, you make a good point, and oddly enough my RL (I am still on the team, thankfully, just benched for the moment) and I had a long talk about that yesterday: that we should play to my strengths, and I should practice that way. So I regemmed from Spirit to Int and added in more Mastery and we are looking to make my heals bigger and stronger. Going to go see how that works right now!

You have all been so kind to me - anyone who would like to add me and perhaps run cross-realm sometime - I would love it!

Battle ID is: Diva#1649

[Krazyito 521]

Are you still playing Disc? I honestly would not advise mastery as Disc... For Disc, crit works better with some haste that you are comfortable with.

While holy likes a lot of haste, I feel too much haste as holy would not be good, so again that "3039" haste value and then stacking amstery as holy (or even crit as hoy) would work well.

[Taldryx 13]

Hmmm Krazy - yes, I am still on Disc. RL asked me to try Mastery, but I will talk with him about Crit.

TYVM as always!

[Jenaye 9]

I don't heal anymore as I mostly play a warlock now (hi Zagam), but aside from that, I want to thank YOU, Taldryx, for having the strength of character to come forward with your issues and seek assistance. There are many people that play and know their actual effectiveness is lower than it should, and simply don't do anything about it. Hopefully people can see this, and be inspired to come forward to ask for help; that's the reason sites like this exist!

[Taldryx 13]

Awwww thanks for the "'atta girl" Jenaye! Many folks have echoed that sentiment. I guess I am not afraid of being humble and vulnerable, cuz to me it is all about the Team. In WoW and IRL. It WOULD be lovely if some peeps could feel the same way, instead of getting their epeens all out of whack if they need help.

And, btw all - I have improved! Consistently topping the charts in LFR's (even the harder ones) and starting to frequently do 45K - 55K HPS instead of my common 30k. WOOT!

And, another guild on my server is going to have me sub in ToT starting next Tuesday as one of their healers is quitting WoW. This should be interesting! I will let you know how it goes or maybe even link a log.

I couldn't have done it without the help of all of you kind souls contributing to this thread.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Taldryx

[Vlad 411]

Awwww thanks for the "'atta girl" Jenaye! Many folks have echoed that sentiment. I guess I am not afraid of being humble and vulnerable, cuz to me it is all about the Team. In WoW and IRL. It WOULD be lovely if some peeps could feel the same way, instead of getting their epeens all out of whack if they need help.

And, btw all - I have improved! Consistently topping the charts in LFR's (even the harder ones) and starting to frequently do 45K - 55K HPS instead of my common 30k. WOOT!

And, another guild on my server is going to have me sub in ToT starting next Tuesday as one of their healers is quitting WoW. This should be interesting! I will let you know how it goes or maybe even link a log.

I couldn't have done it without the help of all of you kind souls contributing to this thread.

I'm glad you got such nice replies in this thread. I'd just like to mention one thing, since you said you're going to raid with another guild in the coming lockout. Make sure that your current guild (guild master at least) is ok with it, since sometimes people can get hissy fits about this kind of thing.

[druideena 14]

Are you still playing Disc? I honestly would not advise mastery as Disc... For Disc, crit works better with some haste that you are comfortable with.

While holy likes a lot of haste, I feel too much haste as holy would not be good, so again that "3039" haste value and then stacking amstery as holy (or even crit as hoy) would work well.

We currently propose the following statistic priority.

• Intellect;

• Spirit;

• Mastery Rating;

• Critical Strike Rating;

• Haste Rating.

-From the

Discipline Priest Healing Statistics Priority and Reforging (WoW MoP 5.2)

I wanted her to focus more on healing and less on atonement.

Edited May 6, 2013 by druideena

[Krazyito 521]

It's still my opinion that crit>haste>mastery for disc.

The reason being that mastery is a "jack of all trades master of none" where it increases your shield absorb (which you can't predict when it will happen other than PW:S) and your total healing done. Though the increase is just not very substantial.

Where as with crit you have more chances to proc DA and your critical parts of the heal will never overheal since it becomes an absorb. On top of the side effect of more damage when you are doing atonement.

Even if you don't dps, crit is still a better stat IMO.

[Tarazet 144]

It's still my opinion that crit>haste>mastery for disc.

The reason being that mastery is a "jack of all trades master of none" where it increases your shield absorb (which you can't predict when it will happen other than PW:S) and your total healing done. Though the increase is just not very substantial.

Where as with crit you have more chances to proc DA and your critical parts of the heal will never overheal since it becomes an absorb. On top of the side effect of more damage when you are doing atonement.

Even if you don't dps, crit is still a better stat IMO.

The improvement in behavior and rotation that Crit gives might be nice, but perhaps based on theorycrafting, it's not the best conversion rate or doesn't give the better benefit per point. I don't think anyone would argue that dodging attacks is desirable for a tank, but the conversion rate for Dodge is awful, so most tanks don't take it..

[Taldryx 13]

I do appreciate the opinions on what to stack - it does give me something to think about in future. However, for now, I am obliged to follow Druideena's outline as he is my Raid Leader......

Which leads me to your comment, Vlad, which was right on the money - and, yes, I had thought about that and in-game mailed Dru (to make SURE that he got it) and he does not appear to have any objections. But thank you!

[Taldryx 13]

I JUST DID 85K ON A JIN'ROHK ATTEMPT AND 80K ON THE KILL!

WOOOOOT!

SO PROUD OF MYSELF - AND ALL OF YOU GET CREDIT FOR IT TOO

[Krazyito 521]

logs pls

[Storm 426]

I wanted her to focus more on healing and less on atonement.

Attonement healing gets a huge buff on many of the early fights with bonus damage, putting it way ahead of direct healing.

- Standing in the water on Jin'rokh gives the disc priest 40% more damage

- Horridon receives 50% more damage taken for each door thats been closed. by the end of the fight a disc priest would do 3x damage, and 3x attonement healing

- Tortos receives 25% increased damage whenever a shell is kicked at him

Also, I don't know how recent the simcrafts are that Icy is using for their disc priest guide, or the rotation it's using to calculate, but Mastery took a huge hit in usefulness when they removed the benefit to spirit shell. It's only really useful as a boost to direct tank healing. Raid wide damage is usually spread out, and predictable enough that I've never run into a situation where I'm spamming prayer of healing without spirit shell. So mastery isn't doing anything for my aoe heals, just the occasional direct flash or greater heals.

[Taldryx 13]

Ok, Krazy, I will try to remember to record logs and link

[Lestaris 2]

So I don't really have anything to add; having never played a priest healer, but just wanted to say that this thread is a nice change from the usual impatience and negativity slung around, against players who are doing their honest best effort to improve.

To Taldryx, congrats on your fairly massive improvement , and good on you for accepting all criticism and suggestions and not getting defensive/making excuses like so many players do.

Everyone here who put so much effort into assisting should be commended as well.