Hihi,

I wasnt quite sure how to title this post. My problem, I am hoping someone could advise, is that, when I group with my friends (usually I am the only healer), I tend to aggro too much of the mob. My current armor stands at 1313, is that too low at 45? Ive seen some talking about 16k...it surely must be! lol

I was wondering if there were certain buffs I could use, or is there anything I can do to lower my threat level? i don't seem to take many hits before dying.

Any help would be great :)

Thank you.

I know the first question that is going to be asked is:
What is your spec?

first off, be sure not to overheal. let the tank get good aggro before u land ur first heal. sometimes, its a good idea to cast a heal over time on the tank before he engages mob - this way, u wont get aggro from this first heal, and tank will be just fine for as long as the HoT works.

second, make sure u get urself some leather items instead of cloth.

third, ur 1313 armour at level 45 is just fine. 16 k is for bearform and wearing end-gear.

fourth, go bearform till tank regains aggro. Use frenzied regeneration. If its only one mob thats attacking u, stun it, shift to caster form, throw barkskin and heal (or just heal - depending on timer on ur stun). If u can avoid healing urself before tank regains aggro, id prefer that, because healing urself will of course just push u up on the mob's(') hatelist.

last - some go catform and cower if theres only one mob. i find this deadly in almost all cases, but mebbe im bad at it :)

PS: sometimes its ur grpmembers that make u overheal because a mage or a rogue, for instance, dont respect aggro, meaning that u have to heal them too. Theres one solution to this: tell them that ull only heal main tank and that the others will have to learn to control their aggro. this issue is encountered by every goddam healer thru out all the mmorpgs and some people just dont seem to understand why they cant land a 6k nuke before the tank even hits the mob. well, teach them by not healing them :)

1313 ac is just over 6k in dire bear. Not bad for that level. It will not be until mid 50's and above until you get the high ac equipment in order to be able to try for 16k ac.

On a semi-related note, you should definitely have the Tortise ring (120ac) from the Tanaris escort quest at your level.

its 4700 something according to my calculations

ring would be Band of the Great Tortoise http://www.thottbot.com/?i=3333

im normally the healer in instances and if i get aggro i shift into cat form and use cower

pallys have a 'buff' that reduces agro by 30%

shamans will get that next patch i believe

Try using a couple different ranks of healing spells if they are not taking as much damage.

A paladin's Blessing of Salvation buff is what you probably need. Get a mod that will show your group's actual HP/Mana as numbers rather than just the bar. You'll be able to better gauge what rank to use for what situation. I'd recommend CTmod for this.

sometimes, its a good idea to cast a heal over time on the tank before he engages mob - this way, u wont get aggro from this first heal, and tank will be just fine for as long as the HoT works.
This is untrue. As soon as the tank takes damage and your HoT heals you start building aggro. If you don't believe me test it yourself. Get a tank to grab a mob, sunder once, and stop hitting it. Cast a regrowth on the tank. The mob should stay on the tank initially, but as they take damage and your regrowth HoT heals you build aggro and the mob will eventually run for you.

ourth, go bearform till tank regains aggro. Use frenzied regeneration. If its only one mob thats attacking u, stun it, shift to caster form, throw barkskin and heal (or just heal - depending on timer on ur stun). If u can avoid healing urself before tank regains aggro, id prefer that, because healing urself will of course just push u up on the mob's(') hatelist.
Delay healing as long as possible to help your tank. Make a macro that tells your group you have aggro and then shifts you to bear form. Do not move, except maybe towards the tank a bit if he's a good distance away. Bash as soon as you know your tank is coming for the mob.

last - some go catform and cower if theres only one mob. i find this deadly in almost all cases, but mebbe im bad at it
Cower is so ineffective I don't even keep it on my action bar anymore. If I need to give up aggro I shift to bear & stun.

PS: sometimes its ur grpmembers that make u overheal because a mage or a rogue, for instance, dont respect aggro, meaning that u have to heal them too. Theres one solution to this: tell them that ull only heal main tank and that the others will have to learn to control their aggro. this issue is encountered by every goddam healer thru out all the mmorpgs and some people just dont seem to understand why they cant land a 6k nuke before the tank even hits the mob. well, teach them by not healing them
My mage usually takes a bit more than 40% of the incoming damage in a group. He dishes out 50-60% of the damage in the group.

Quote:
sometimes, its a good idea to cast a heal over time on the tank before he engages mob - this way, u wont get aggro from this first heal, and tank will be just fine for as long as the HoT works.


This is untrue. As soon as the tank takes damage and your HoT heals you start building aggro. If you don't believe me test it yourself. Get a tank to grab a mob, sunder once, and stop hitting it. Cast a regrowth on the tank. The mob should stay on the tank initially, but as they take damage and your regrowth HoT heals you build aggro and the mob will eventually run for you.


But you need to re-read the quote, the OP is saying you case the HoT BEFORE the tank engages. Your test is invalid because your casting regrowth after the tank has agro. Of course you'll gain agro. A better test would be to cast a HoT then have the tank get proximity agro, but don't hit anything, and make sure he doesn't have any type of thorns.

I haven't run this test myself, so I don't know the results, but I always try to cast rejuv on a tank before the fight starts so it is already regenning as they engage to try to slow down any health spikes.

I agree that the test situation is not valid. Cast the heal before the tank engages and you'll get the same result.

I maintain: Aggro is generated when the heal takes effect, not when the heal is cast.

I tested this back in my 30's. I'll do it again tonight with maybe ten reps and share the results.

Create is right, but the amount of aggro u get is smaller if u hit tank before he engages than after. this is even more true when considering Regrowth, that has a direct heal component in it.

as for cower, ive had the chance to try it out some more, and i really like it.