View Full Forums : TOL healing difficult?


Keibo
03-26-2008, 03:01 PM
Hello All,
New to the forums and have to say it is great here. Let's just it is a world of difference from the wow forums. Now I'm only 50 on my druid but I have healed 5 mans with a pally (fairly easy but it is my only experience as a healer). I've been reading up on all the rolling HOT's and read the TOL healing guide in the wow forums, it seriously sounds like Druid healing is pretty hard. It seems that there is asteep learning curve with working the 6 second window to refresh lifeblooms (might be 7, can't remember). Pretty much sounds like you are constantly casting HOT"s the whole fight. I guess what I'm asking is how did you cope with Druid healing and how long did it take to become somewhat competent at it?

Keibo

Keibo
03-26-2008, 03:02 PM
Oh, I am talking about end game healing. And should I spec TOL from the time I hit 70 or go more of a dreamstate HT healer until my stats improve?

Thanks again

Wynn
03-26-2008, 03:17 PM
I went tree at 58 :P Its kinda like playing a warlock with a clicktocast mod healing isn't to bad. Tree doesn't come in to its own till 64 and when it get lifebloom. After playing resto this long I watch the pallys and priest in the raids and to me that looks harder then what I do.

Kyane
03-26-2008, 03:52 PM
Druid healing is actually pretty easy, after you get the hang of "rolling" lifeblooms ( where you don't actually let them bloom on the MT ). You want the constant healing to help offset the spike damage that normally kills tanks ( in raids ).

I've healed as a druid ( you top the charts and are bottom on overheal ) and am currently healing as a resto shaman ( I love chain heal ).

TOL is kind of like an affliction spec'd lock, where you're constantly watching your hots not wanting the rejuv or lifebloom to drop off.

Keibo
03-26-2008, 04:34 PM
Do you think it would be safe to spec TOL when I hit 70 or do a Dreamstate build?

Wynn
03-26-2008, 04:53 PM
Go tree, Druids are kings of Heals over time, Tree druids forces on this.

Keibo
03-26-2008, 05:04 PM
Sounds good. Thanks for the info!!

Zute
03-27-2008, 01:16 AM
And don't worry about soloing as a tree. It isn't bad at all. I just root and dot and things die.

Keibo
03-27-2008, 11:50 AM
Yeah, that was actually a concern. Since I am only 50 now, when I hit 70 the xpac will hopefully be coming out soon and I wasn't sure if I should spec resto if I am going to have to lvl to 80 (This is my new main, druids are just too fun). But I've grinded as a prot warrior so how bad can it be?

Wynn
03-27-2008, 02:02 PM
I level 58-70 as a tree with just living in 5mans I sure I going to level 70-80 leveling the same.

I have a feeling that when everyone and there mother makes death knight there going to want healers :P

Keibo
03-27-2008, 06:29 PM
Hey Wynn, what is your experience with grinding resto? Some days I may only have an hour or two to play and will not have time to run instances.

Wynn
03-28-2008, 04:00 AM
Pve you can't die, but it takes for ever to kill stuff. I had alot of guild support when leveling.

Pookies
03-28-2008, 11:29 AM
As many others have already chimed in to say, playing ToL is jsut like playing any other class in the game: with some research, practice, and some helpful addons, it's cake!

Personally I couldn't survive without a click-to-cast addon (I use Clique) and an addon that tracks my HoTs (I use NECB, which also tracks a plethora of other stuff).

I don't really have a lot of experience leveling as resto (because I didn't), but solo at as level 70 resto with decent gear is easy-peasy IMO. Essentially, you're a gimped balance druid ... but all of the basic tools (direct damage, DoT, immobilization) are there!

Dynamic
04-03-2008, 02:00 PM
Pve you can't die, but it takes for ever to kill stuff. I had alot of guild support when leveling.

Thats how i pretty much went about it. Leveled with 2 friends Mage/Rogue. so they did all the work and i kept them alive throwing Inervate on mage for non stop fun. But i was Resto Pre-TBC and just never ended up going back post. it isnt as bad as you think especially with the changes to 1/3heal to Damage.

Keibo
04-03-2008, 02:23 PM
Hey Pookies,
I was looking at your build and is that a more pvp oriented resto build (consider arena and bg's please)? How does it work in PVE? Also what is that addon in your avatar that looks like a counter for your hot's, it looks very simple?

Thanks,
Keibo

Pookies
04-03-2008, 02:47 PM
Hey Pookies,
I was looking at your build and is that a more pvp oriented resto build (consider arena and bg's please)? How does it work in PVE? Also what is that addon in your avatar that looks like a counter for your hot's, it looks very simple?

Thanks,
Keibo

Hai Keibo,

What I did first when deciding on this spec was take every talent I wanted from the resto tree. I skipped anything that had to do with Healing Touch and Traquility, and ended up with 13 points leftover.

At that point, it didn't really matter where I stuck the rest of my points, because they wouldn't really affect my healing (at least, that was my rationale). So I took the CC talents out of balance. Improved Nature's Grasp and Control of Nature are great for PVP, but they are also huge assets when soloing.

So I did spec this way with PVE in mind (which it works great for, BTW) ... it just so happens that I dumped my leftover points into talents that are considered "PVP".

And the addon in my avatar is Natur EnemyCastBar, but I am currently using Chronometer.

tlbj6142
04-03-2008, 02:58 PM
Hey Pookies,
I was looking at your build and is that a more pvp oriented resto build (consider arena and bg's please)? From what I've read (www.resto4life.com) you only need 31 points in Resto tree to be an effective ToL RAID healer. However, you have waste 10 additional points to get to ToL. Typically on Nature's Focus and Subtley (both provide more benefit in 5-mans than they do in RAIDs).

So, the minimum ToL build would be XXX/ZZZ/41 (http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0ZZxVcLcq0eot). What you do with your remaining 20 points will have little affect on your ability to heal in RAIDs.

any folks put all of those 20 points in Balance to give them a bit more solo'ability and/or provide some additional raid buffs (insect swarm, brambles, etc.). However, by doing a 9/11/41 build you get a great Arena build as well as a great RAID healer build.

If her site wasn't down right now, I'd point you to the recent write-up on Resto4Life in which she talks about all that I have mentioned above.

Keibo
04-03-2008, 03:01 PM
Thanks Pookies! Those points in balance do look like they would help a ton in PVP and soloing. I hate to say this but I may have to use your awesome build when I hit 70, it looks exactly like the type of build I was trying to go for. Originally I was trying to get some points into tranquility talents. Do you find that tranquility is a seldom used ability to spec points into it?

Thanks again,
Keibo

Pookies
04-03-2008, 03:51 PM
No problem, Keibo. Go ahead and use the build, I myself was not the first person to ever come up with 13/0/48, lol!

I really can't justify buffing up a skill that I could potentially use for a whopping eight seconds every ten minutes. Whereas Tranquility has the potential to make or break an encounter for you, I doubt that the 10% reduced mana cost (the mana you save wouldn't even give you one extra Lifebloom) or reduced threat (your tank should be WAY ahead by the time you pop this) are going to make or break that encounter for you.

I use the same rationale for HT talents ... should I buff a skill I would potentially use once every three minutes in conjunction with NS? This is a little more of a gray area if you tend to use HT more often than once every three minutes. Personally, I leave all the HT talents out of my build.

iz1988
04-04-2008, 05:13 AM
healing as a ToL is FUN!! and much better than i could have imagined :D Just respecced yesterday after a lifetime of playing as a feral :clap:
i'd highly highly recommend (in fact it's almost a must!) the add-on LIFEBLOOMER. it monitors the ticks on all your HoT spells including Rejuv, Regrowth and of course lifebloom, which makes it a whole lot easier to keep track of the entire party's healing status. invaluable addon.
Have fun! :elfbiggri

tlbj6142
04-04-2008, 10:32 AM
Here's the Resto4Life post I was talking about...

http://www.resto4life.com/2008/03/18/shake-my-talent-tree/

Keibo
04-04-2008, 04:12 PM
Hey tlb,
Yeah, I have been trying to access that website but it is always down. You made some really good points about your arena talent spec. Now for the 9/11/41 would that include thick hide. Also does that affect your armor contribution when not in form? One thing I learned on my warrior is that staying power in pvp is very important. The main reason I see why some other people have over me is that they don't drop and I drop quicker. that 9/11/41 spec looks fairly nice. Actually do you think you can make one on wowhead so I can see what you would pick different from what I would.

Thanks,
Keibo

P.S. I am getting so excited I might have to respec resto at 51!

tlbj6142
04-04-2008, 05:14 PM
Maybe something like this build 8/11/42 (http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=0zjZVMhoZVVIbcq0eot)?

The 11 points in feral are there to get Feral Charge and Brutal Impact. Thick Hide really isn't going to help all that much in PvP, but Feral Instinct helps even less.

In Balance you want to max out Nature's Grasp (root) and Control of Nature (avoid interrupts).

For Resto you can move a few things around depending on how much you want to focus on PvP or Resto PvE healing.

Natural Shapeshifter is a PvP talent (though it does benefit raid cat dps as well). Furor is required for PvP, but you lose ImpMotW (a minor PvE talent). I've also seen folks take the 3 points out of living spirit (raid pve talent) and move it into Natural Perfection (more of a PvP talent). You could free up 1 point somewhere in the Resto tree but I'm not sure here you'd put in Balance or Feral that would offer much help.

Given that you'd probably have lots of mana in your Resto PvP gear, I'd consider moving the 3 points in Natural Shapeshifter (purely a PvP talent) into Subtley (more of a 5-man PvE talent). Or even 1 point into OoC (which could help a bit in PvP if you have to go Kitty for some melee DPS, why would you do this??).

So the above spec is a good starting point, but you'll need to decide about where a handful of points should be for your playing style.

I don't PvP all that much. So, someone with a bit more PvP knowledge might provide better insight.

Claritondeus
04-07-2008, 08:21 PM
Feral Instinct helps in arenas to stay stealthed until you have to pop out and heal. Sucks when a rogue finds you in stealth and gets an opener on you. That'll put you in a big hole to start out right away.

Claritondeus
04-07-2008, 08:27 PM
And Natural Perfection (even after the nerf) is also a must for Arena / PvP druid healers. Really helps against crit heavy classes (i.e. rogues hunters warriors ... the ones that own druids).

Anything to add to survivability will help a TON. That being said, it depends on your arena comp, but most teams will focus on beating down the druid, or cc'ing him enough (which is hard to do) to burst down 1 of his teammates.

Keibo
04-08-2008, 12:07 PM
Thanks for the info Claritondeus. I was actually going to try to PVE more with a little bit in PVP (Arena and BG's). But that does make sense about staying power. That seems to be one of the major elements of pvp. Pookies spec looks about the balance I am looking for. All the pve talents needed with some in balance to help in pvp a little.

Sky
04-08-2008, 01:34 PM
healing as a ToL is FUN!! and much better than i could have imagined :D Just respecced yesterday after a lifetime of playing as a feral :clap:
i'd highly highly recommend (in fact it's almost a must!) the add-on LIFEBLOOMER. it monitors the ticks on all your HoT spells including Rejuv, Regrowth and of course lifebloom, which makes it a whole lot easier to keep track of the entire party's healing status. invaluable addon.
Have fun! :elfbiggri

So true, after getting myslef uncrittable with one set and dps kitty with another I found my guild had too many tanks and for pure dps pain I have a 70 warlock as well, so went ToL...and I love it, pure and simple. :texla:

Keibo
04-09-2008, 11:38 AM
It all sounds great!! I'm only 54 and I can't wait. I might just respec at 60 and instance grind to 70 as resto. As a 70 warrior I noticed that a good healer makes the instance go quick and on easy mode. A bad healer ... makes me want to smash my keyboard. Plus I like that a druid's heal style is so unique compared to any other class (I think druid and shammy healing are my favorite, I forget the name but it is the healing chain lightning that I think is awesome). Bad dps is a dime a dozen but you could usually cope with that. A bad healer or tank=certain death.

Keibo
04-09-2008, 11:40 AM
Sorry, I made a druid to try to become a good healer. And with everything I am getting here I might just do it.

Claritondeus
04-17-2008, 02:09 PM
Lots'o'HoT's :0

Archiee
04-17-2008, 02:14 PM
I'm seriously thinking of trying Dreamstate healing. I have 4 set bonus on T6 (5% increase of Healing Touch). Using The idol off morose, some haste and Mp5, might actually be viable.

iz1988
05-01-2008, 10:49 PM
despite my initial fears, i've found that i never have the need to cast HT while in ToL. at most a NS+Regrowth+Swiftmend does the trick. about 6-7k of heals in 3 seconds. but i've only been up to kara, so this might become outdated soon...

Organtis
05-02-2008, 06:29 AM
Unless I am doing something wrong it seems that alot of posters here have an exaggerated view of soloing as resto. I went full ToL for about a day, I have been a moonkin for a while and I couldn't do it. Just to give you an idea, I found myself hotting my self up everytime I got 2-3 mobs on me and if I was fighting a mob that could heal it was a mana battle that always left me drinking..... much more than a moonkin. Maybe they should call it Tree of OOM.

I seen my spells affected drastically, my actual crit seemed non-existant from 30% to about 15%. My SF went from 2500 crits to 1600 crits. My wrath went from 650 to 425 and on top of that I lost my 400x armor bonus. I found myself in a pickle, because I had to wear my moonkin gear but then I couldnt heal myself as well.

I ended up doing a 44/0/25 build yesterday, and the truth is I have healed 5 mans with ease even as full balance. I will admit though that in instances I have to believe ToL pwns since I have heard people talk about doing boss encounters with 60% mana left over.

Just my 2 cents

Zute
05-02-2008, 11:27 AM
Well, comparing it to moonkin isn't really fair. It's just that given enough +heal gear you've also got a fair amount of +spell dmg too. Sure, getting 2-3 mobs on you is going to be tough, that's why you should pick your battles carefully.

You'll be fine in most 5 mans with a hybrid spec. But I suspect you'll start to struggle when you get into heroics.

Organtis
05-02-2008, 06:52 PM
[QUOTE=Zute]Well, comparing it to moonkin isn't really fair. It's just that given enough +heal gear you've also got a fair amount of +spell dmg too. QUOTE]

Please forgive me for being critical as I'm just playing devil's advocate. However, I think your using a fair amount of +spell dmg loosly. Ive noticed that for caster gear it's about a 1:2:3 kinda ratio meaning that a piece of gear will have say 60 damg and healing or 90 healing and 30 dmg. so if you have 1500 healing you will only have 500 dmg. So being that your resto druid will more often then not be wearing cloth you are at a huge disadvantage. Imagine spending 3.5 sec casting starfire and doing about 1000 dmg, thats bad. In contrast a rogue or mage at that level should be doing about 2100 dmg in that same time frame.

I would love to see a discussion on the survivability of a holy priest... we all know from PVP that holy pally is unstoppable, and a shammy wears mail.

Again, I'm just saying that I dont think soloing as resto is any less painful than falling off Aldor Rise. :dh2:

Pookies
05-05-2008, 08:51 AM
With the damage gear I have in the bank right now (all of the Kara and ZA damage leather, also look into the LC mace and the Ogri'la OH), I can easily get into the 700-800 damage range by using my healing gear with damage pieces swapped in. With this much damage Starfires crit for well over 2k. Not to mention that, if you keep some healing pieces, your regen is still respectable and you have very little downtime (I would rarely drink post-2.4 because I didn't even need one Innervate every six minutes to keep going). You pretty much have the bonus damage of a balance druid who just hit level 70, but you have a lot less downtime.

I used to solo very quickly in my healing and damage set before Isle of QQ started getting really bad on my server and I had to switch to my PVP gear (down to about 500 damage).