Why Heal?

It's a fair question - after all, healing tends to be a stressful, thankless task and it makes levelling sloooooooow to say the least. So why do it? Well, as Nao's post mentioned, Pilf and Nao were created specifically to ensure we got to see end game content. What server doesn't always have a need for tanks and healers after all? And instancing on the way up? Well, it's *amazing* how much quicker it is to PuG 3 dps slots when you already have the hard roles sorted out...

We also had the fortune to be in a growing guild (since left - but that's a whole 'nother post or six) where a lot of people were levelling either mains or alts so the group quests, in the main, were cake, as were the instances. Nao's druid was already in the guild and in the mid 60s, I'd tried (and failed) to get on with playing mage and we decided that we'd powerlevel a tank and a healer instead and for me, for the flexibility and variety of heals, priest was the natural choice. The guild started kara about a month before we hit 70 so we got in on that fairly early as well. But I digress, the question was why heal?

Once you take out the guarantee of seeing end game content it is a tricky one. Healing is incredibly frustrating, and this doesn't stop at 70. I just got out of healing a heroic Black Morass as a favour to a mate and was it stressful? Oh yeah. There are, even at 70, even with 'Champion of the Naruu' titles, demonology warlocks who think they can tank. Who life tap like there is no tomorrow. Who use aggro like it's only ever A Good Thing. Who appear to have no clue as to how to control their felguard whatsoever. A few months ago I would have ranted in a similar vein about hunters, but I have to put my hands up. The hunters I play with are wonderful human beings. They know how to trap, they regularly pull the threat off me, they have lovely pets (if a little on the large side and occasionally a little disobedient), and are generally all round people you want to play with. They dispel the huntard myth completely (ok, they are the exceptions to the rule...) Sem, Akasa, Juniornip, Grimmsmote, much <3 babes...

So healing, with people who don't know how to play their class, understand aggro, Omen etc is stressful. But healing with your guildies, the people you know inside out and play with always is easy right? Well no. See I carry a huge amount of what I like to call 'healer guilt'. This means that when we wipe, it's my fault. Always. Regardless of the trap that broke, the mage that got one-shotted, the fear, the hits-like-a-truck-even-on-plate crits. My fault. Not that anyone *ever* says this. No, my guild value their healers and go to great lengths to hold their hands up and roll for blame. But still, the healer guilt takes over. I heal therefore when someone, anyone dies, it's my fault for not getting to them in time. A lot of priests take issue with this school of thought. They say, probably quite correctly, that players should watch their threat. Should pot and bandage. Should do whatever that means they don't die. And they're probably correct. The 'odd dps here and there are expendable' school of thought I dislike, but I have come to terms with. The healer's primary job (with a few exceptions) is to keep the tank alive. Our regular 5 man group for heroics consists of Nao tanking, myself healing, Sem on his hunter, Nip on his shaman and usually a 5th from the guild. Without fail Nip eats dirt at least once. He's specc'd enhancement so is up close and personal and can't take big hits. If it's a choice between Nao or him, Nao gets the heals (nothing to do with the personal circs y'know, just the way it goes /wink) He knows this as well, it's the way of the game. The guild's favourite gnoam lolwock, Noir, gets regularly sacrificed to keep the raid-gods happy and never complains. She's afflic specc'd so when the threat wipes... so does she.

That said, interestingly, I've never enjoyed playing as much as I do when I play Pilf. Part of it is the pride thing - I've invested so much in her, she has really good gear, an epic flappy, lots of land mounts and pets (yes, I know, e-peen much...) and she's me. There is so much of me in her, as odd as that sounds. The guild regularly give me stick for my carebear-ness but that's me all over. For all the stress of healing, my role is clear. And maybe that's why I like it. There's no worrying about marks and crowd control, save the occasional shackle, no fret about kill order, just keeping the tank and the raid up and on their feet. And the fact that everyone knows that 'threat wipe' means 'the priest dies...' nah guys that's what this button is for...