Druid Healing

I have taken the plunge and dual-spec’d Ravenwynd.  She is now Balance/Resto and recently I have been mainly healing with her in attempt to gain some confidence.  I had toyed with the idea of healing with her before but on the rare occasion I’d tried it I wasn’t keen.  Firstly there was the rolling Lifebloom thing; I hated it.  It felt very constricting and I loathed having to keep my eyes glued to that little HoT counter.  The other aspect I disliked was HoTs themselves.  When I see that big chunk of hp disappear I like to be able to pick the appropriate spell knowing a) how much it will heal for and b) that the missing hp will be restored immediately.

I initially went feral for Raven’s alternate spec but then thought about it some more and realised that I didn’t want to tank on her and I wasn’t that fussed about kitty DPS.  I also vaguely recalled posts about how the rolling lifeblooms had become pretty much obsolete with recent patches so I decided to give druid healing another go.  Gradually, I am getting used to healing with HoTs.  I’ve started to get used to how much they heal for per tick and feel less panicked when that missing chunk of hp isn’t immediately replaced.  I very rarely use Lifebloom and mainly stick to Rejuvenation, Regrowth and Swiftmend.  Knowing that I can top up with a Nourish or two if hp isn’t coming back up as quickly as I’d like helps a lot too.  Wild growth is brilliant for group heals and doesn’t have the range limitations that Holy Nova has for Hulan.

Slowly my confidence is starting to grow.  I’ve run several heroics with guildies and after a wobbly start I feel like I’m getting into it.  My biggest worry at the moment is that being very well-geared they don’t actually need that much healing.  I need a few groups with “Oh shit” moments so I can see what works and what doesn’t when it’s all going to hell!  In spite of the recent “failpug” posts recently by Tam and BBB I think I shall gird my leaves and inflict my noob healing skills on a PUG or two.