Disc, trying to move to the next level

[profsparkles 0]

Hi all,

 

some context: I've been a hunter most of my WoW life, and was raiding heroic progression until a few months ago. Real life forced me to take a break, and when I came back a friend asked me to help out healing with his guild (10 man), that was working on blackfuse at the time. Geared up my disc alt, and for the first time in my life started healing normal raids. 

 

Now, in terms of hps I'm mostly in line with the other healers (2 druids), depending on fight of course (though one of the druids seems to be about 20K above the other one, for similar ilvls). I'm ahead on fights like Shamans, but lagging on Malkorok, for example.Nothing out of the ordinary, I guess. Overall, I think the switch to healing has been quite ok.

 

However, when I check my healing against some Warcraft logs parses, it feels I could/should be doing more. Generally, I try to use penance on CD, Smite during low dmg phases, the AA/IF/SS combo on cd, PW:S on tanks (and raid before big dmging attack). I've been working on using AA and PoM (glyphed or unglyphed?) more regularly (I sometimes forget about it when doing atonement, and it's not the time to use it with SS). My healing breakdown seems to be a lot different from these logs though. I see priests with 40-45% healing done through divine aegis, and I'm just not getting there atm. Is this a style difference? Is this going for pure atonement, rather than a mix during heavy dmg phases? Is this casting PoH more often and hope it crits? Is this something that happens when moving from 560 to 570 ilvl range? 

 

I'm a bit unsure that I'm missing something in this respect, and confused by a number of small things, for example how a fellow disc could have the same damage done on an ordos run, but about 50% more healing from atonement? 

 

My armory is here: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/character/quelthalas/Aldare/simple

I'm hoping to get rid of Nazgrim trinket, and gradually work to even out mastery and crit as ilvl increases (bc for example on HC Immerseus, 40% of my healing seems to be PW:S; it's only 8% overhealing and instacast, so I figured, why not? But are there, against my instinct, better uses of my GCD?)

 

Could look for logs, but since they're progression, I'm afraid they would expose flaws that come from learning the fight rather than this specific issue I'm seeing right now. 

 

Thanks!

[Espiee 161]

Link the logs instead of describing them.

 

Generally your stat priority seems fine, you should want as much crit as possible for this tier, where DA will your most important source of healing. You could do with less spirit though, 12.5k is a lot static spirit esp. when you have the metagem. Consider getting the DPS cloak instead too, the crit on that is worth ever so much more than the proc from the healer cloak.

 

40% of your healing coming from PWS sounds high for Immerseus and most other fights.

[profsparkles 0]

You're right, current progression logs are here, though I'm a bit concerned that in this case "what I'm doing wrong because of progression" might get entangled with "what am i missing about playing disc": http://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports/VKdaqmZC9yFtrNMB

 

Some normal fights are a bit earlier, on my personal account, for example (a little after, I started running an alt for most fights): 

http://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports/XhrtVqTmvNB1fw24#fight=4&type=summary

 

In general, PW:S usage is not as extreme as on HC Immerseus, but I do realize it's quite high compared to others. But in general, I thought: 150K shield, + 0.37 * 150K crit - 10/15% overhealing => Still a large number for one GCD. So what am I missing?

[Gwenymph 414]

 

However, when I check my healing against some Warcraft logs parses, it feels I could/should be doing more. Generally, I try to use penance on CD, Smite during low dmg phases, the AA/IF/SS combo on cd, PW:S on tanks (and raid before big dmging attack). I've been working on using AA and PoM (glyphed or unglyphed?) more regularly (I sometimes forget about it when doing atonement, and it's not the time to use it with SS). My healing breakdown seems to be a lot different from these logs though. I see priests with 40-45% healing done through divine aegis, and I'm just not getting there atm. Is this a style difference? Is this going for pure atonement, rather than a mix during heavy dmg phases? Is this casting PoH more often and hope it crits? Is this something that happens when moving from 560 to 570 ilvl range? 

 

 

Saving AA for IF/SS and high damaging abilities is an older approach.  All healers have such great reactive and/or smart heals that the benefit of holding AA to help during those old school phases we remember it being useful are no longer necessary.  Use AA on CD and keep its uptime as high as possible.  The logs you posted have 40%, 40, 30, 30 which means you are paying attention to it, just try to ramp it up quick on the pull then use on CD for the remainder of the fight and push for 50%+ uptime.  You have the 2-pc so the extra crit you'll gain while its active (even if only 10-20% more per fight) will increase your DA.

 

Using Penance on CD is correct 99% of the time and you are using it offensively which is great.  I like to use the PoM glyph but you'll need to track it a little better to improve its efficiency. You have one fight where its uptime is over 90%, the others omitting Malk are 2, 60, 45%.  You're targeting the tank almost every time which is great but you need to make sure you are keeping it up a lot higher.

 

Another approach that has mostly been replaced is using PI.  Along a similar line of why we don't hold on to AA, priests can snag ToF as a mainstay talent in that tree.  There are so many adds and or large damaging ability that our ToF uptime is 60% plus.  This can be seen even on the fights where you chose ToF over PI.  I'd suggest just keeping ToF going forward and make sure you are hitting the adds as they go down.  Outside of that, atonement will keep up ToF for us "smartly" by hitting the firestanders then again at the end of the encounter by boss HP.

 

I watched your combat replay and you are stacking for Sha and Noru so switch your L90 to Divine star and use it on CD for Noru and on boss ability for Sha.  You'll get a lot more out of it on pure heals and DA.

 

I know you mentioned picking up another trinket and that is something most of us struggle with, the RNG boss.  You'll want to shoot for the Prismatic off Sha and the Samoplange of Siege, which by your logs and post im assuming you already knew but figured I'd throw it out there just in case.  I see multistrike on your logs and wish you GL in replacing it!

 

Hope some of this was helpful

[profsparkles 0]

Thanks, it's good to hear some of these things. I didn't know about the "new" AA usage; but do you mean people never use it in conjunction with SS anymore, just for DA? Or still half the time when it lines up?

 

I'm aware of the PoM shortcoming, one of my working points, definitely.

 

Have been using ToF lately, for most of the fights.I had tried Divine Star on some of those fights you mentioned, and while I know this would theoretically be better, for some reason my results had been superior with Cascade. Will give it another go though, as I forgot to consider its effect on DA.

 

Any comments about the PW:S usage?

[Gwenymph 414]

In regards to AA, just keep using it on CD and if it happens to line up w/ SS its just a bonus.  Looking at some of the fights your PWS was spot on as far as proccing rapture like Nazgrim and Iron Juggernaut.  Judging by the cast timers it looks you're tracking the Meta proc as well.  You're gettin 1-2 PWS off after each proc which is ideal.  If you're not tracking it, you a getting pretty lucky with it and would recommend starting to track it.

 

This next part is totally based on playstyle; but if anything you may be casting pws a little more than most priests.  That being said, if you are not having mana problems it's not a concern at all, infact you only had a bad Overheal number on 1 fight.  So even if you are using it more than most, you're not just throwing it out there as wasting the mana and GCDs better used to help the raid in another manner.  The opposite side of the coin, using less PWS, would mean you are getting more PoM casts, and more efficient atonement hits that proc ToF (which will help the raid dps some as well). 

Edited March 22, 2014 by Gwenymph