The healer shortage and how to fix it
by Mike Schramm 
Dec 18th 2008 at 2:00PM
The Tank Shortage is a topic that's come up a few times before, though thankfully, since the release of Wrath, Death Knights have more or less solved the situation. But the issue facing us now is just as dire: a Healer Shortage. Ghostcrawler acknowledges that there may be such a shortage on the forums, and he gives two reasons: first, lots of people are still working their way up to level 80, and the majority of healers may still be leveling through Northrend. And second, they've beefed up and changed a lot of DPS builds lately, so many pre-Wrath healers may have respecced DPS to try it or to level a bit, and haven't gone back yet.Later, he backpedals a bit -- not everyone is experiencing a healer shortage, and while he's already told us Blizzard is working on ways to make healing more "fun," he also points out that some people enjoy the whack-a-mole game. Still, just because a problem isn't affecting everyone doesn't mean it's a problem: it's true that lots of groups are having trouble finding healers, and lots of healers would rather not watch health bars all day.
We're very curious to see what changes Blizzard might have in mind for healing -- we discussed quite a few on the healer podcast a while back, including making healing spells a little less attention-intensive, and giving healers some UI ways to keep their eyes on the fight rather than their party members. And of course, if the rumors are true, we'll hopefully have a new healer Hero class to come and fill in the blanks. GC says this isn't a matter of tweaking things in one patch, so we are definitely a few patches away, but there is hope for healers on the horizon.
Filed under: Druid, Paladin, Priest, Shaman, Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Blizzard, Raiding, Classes, Buffs, Wrath of the Lich King, Forums
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 10)
Meatismurder Dec 18th 2008 2:06PM
I will healz you!
Mattack Dec 18th 2008 2:07PM
But healing is fun how it is...
ShadowProt Dec 18th 2008 7:26PM
I hate healing the way it is, whack -a-mole was only fun when i was 5. I find it boring, and prefer to be involved and get to watch the fight rather than stare at coloured bars.
Gommez Dec 18th 2008 7:05PM
Yeah well... We'll see about that..
Pudie Dec 18th 2008 2:11PM
The dual spec feature should help a little bit. Being able to switch between two would make more people switch to their healing spec if a group has trouble finding a healer.
Trevin Ward Dec 18th 2008 3:38PM
Totally agree. I play a prot pally and my second spec is going to be holly.
I think that the tank shortage wasn't fixed with dks only helped. I think the real success is how much fun prot is now for pallys and warriors.
Dan Dec 18th 2008 2:59PM
It's going to help in that every hybrid in the game is now going to be asked to heal, no matter what spec they want to play.
Dillon Dec 18th 2008 3:16PM
It will fix any shortage that exists.
Yes, people may be asked to heal for a heroic or raid, but switching between talents and glyphs will be an easier, and far less expensive option than it was before.
People have been doing it for the entire existence of the game, now they have the option of switching back to a tree they can solo with when they aren't needed to heal.
The only problem I would have is with a loot rule that wouldn't allow those people who are healing also roll on loot for their off-spec as if they came to that run with it. Like you say, healing may not be their character's main focus.
flameflash82 Dec 18th 2008 3:41PM
I am a tank and dps druid as my main, and I would LOVE to heal more often. My guild needs me as a tank most days but when I PUG I'd love to therefore heal.
Oddly enough, many see me and assume I'm a healer, are there no druid tanks around anymore? I love my flying bear (knockback effects) but I've quite enjoyed healing when the chance arises as well.
I want to just post: Druid, LFG and that be enough.
Though I'm also looking forward to getting my priest dual specced into shadow to see how that works...
And my warlock into destruction...
And my mage into arcane...
Dual spec will make my altoholic self even more altish. ;)
Shivoa Dec 18th 2008 8:59PM
Definitely agreed that dual specs will solve a lot of this. I only just dinged 80 and am still Balance and intend to stay that way until I've completed the solo content I'm interested in doing (which is all of it, still got two and a half zones of untouched questing to enjoy) but I'm already being dragged into instances to do some light healing for friends when they can't find a real Resto player. As I'm not focussed on instance/raid damage I can play Balance but with plenty of mana regen thanks to the almost dual purpose of caster DPS/heal gear (one with hit and crit/haste focus while the other goes for more spirit and int) but it would be a lot easier to have an actual Resto build with glyphs and hopefully Blizzard will give up the cheap respec option soon to bounce between two styles.
Although something like a Heroic HoL is possible for a Balance doing healing it does require the tank to be well geared beyond levelling green/blue to finish the final boss and I'm sure there are some encounters that I'd simply be incapable of doing currently. I don't mind healing but I'd rather not have to pay for constant respecs just to do it well as well as maintaining a viable solo spec where a lot of my game time is still spent.
Corrytrevor Dec 18th 2008 2:10PM
I would like to let you all know that Corrytrevor on Skullcrusher US is healing (holy paly).
I have been healing for about a year now and enjoy it very much.
I won't lie though, I really enjoy respeccing Ret and bashing faces.
CT, Skullcrusher-US
Graytail Dec 18th 2008 2:12PM
Over my years playing, both of my most played characters have been healers. I can say that there is a shortage. Most days I get tell after tell asking me to heal, and hours later I begin getting repeat tells from people who asked me before, because they are still looking.
Several reasons for this:
a) Healers get tired of healing group after group and getting no loot, no recognition, no thanks.
b) We have other things to do. We like to quest, to farm mats, rp; etc.
c) Pugs don't watch for healers usually, so a lot of us go with steady groups who know how to keep their us alive.
Overall though, it's just more fun to tank or dps once in a while, and I can say that after healing for 4 years, I'm liking the break I get when I decide to play my tank over my healer - and as in the post above, Ghostcrawler nailed it. We re rolled dps or tanks and for a while we may not be back...
JPN Dec 18th 2008 2:15PM
No offense but...why should you get thanked to heal? I don't get thanked for killing the boss that you might get loot on. Why should you get "recognition"? And why wouldn't you get loot? I mean, I guess maybe you should get thanked because of this perceived "healer shortage" but you're just as essential as I am.
Deadly. Off. Topic. Dec 18th 2008 2:30PM
@ JPN
See, the problem in essence is that everyone should thank everybody. This of course does NOT happen. However, since there are limited amount of healers, being EXTRA nice to that healer endears you to them more than “YOU SUCK!” Hey, it might not be fair, but if you want a healer you can either bitch at them and not get any more runs, or kiss ass. Your call really.
Third option, roll a healer. (I love my disc. priest.)
Arrowsmith Dec 18th 2008 2:40PM
to JPN:
I thank my tank for soaking damage and keeping his/her threat above mine.
I thank my healer for keeping the tank alive so the tank's threat stays above mine.
I thank my fellow DPS for attacking the mob or boss until it dies. I also thank them for not stealing aggro from the tank.
Very simple, really.
VSUReaper Dec 18th 2008 2:42PM
JPN, you should thank the healer b/c its the healers that buff you 75% of the time, its the healers that make it so that you CAN kill the boss, and its the healers that top you off in instances after you kill said boss so you dont have to waste your food or bandages.
Its the healers that waste gold on buff reagents, water, and food buffs/pots/elixers(flasks) so that you and the trigger happy tanks can go chain pull and aoe everything down.
Its also FUN to kill the boss, to go pewpew on something and stroke your ego, telling yourself that you just killed that thing. Healing can be fun, but in a stressful, hold-your-breath-until-the-3-group-pull-is-over sort of way. DPS is fun b/c if you are half decent, you know the set rotation that you do and you can sit back and only pay half attention to what you are doing. If a healer does that, someone dies.
Also, its not that much fun to play a healer with the whack-a-mole interface atm. I remember when I rerolled my warrior tank, going through the instances with my GF saying how cool the instances look, or how ugly the bosses were, or wow! I didn't know chain lightning looked like that! She was mystified that I had never seen some of these instances or bosses before until she played on my healer one afternoon. Healers never get to see anything but the changing health bars.
In fact, b/c so few people play healers, they end up getting dragged through several instances in a row and get burned out. Thats what happened to me. Log in, instantly get summoned to an instance/raid, finish and move onto the next one. Rinse and repeat for 4-5 hours.
I never got time to farm gold for epic flight, work on professions (hell, my guild at the time GAVE me all the mats for my tailoring so I could get the PMC and Whitemend sets), or anything fun until after I quit my priest.
Robert M Dec 18th 2008 3:09PM
@JPN,
ARE YOU F-ING KIDDING ME? Your importance, particularly if you are DPS, only goes as far as those bosses with enrage timers.
With the change to tank DPS in wrath, all tanks are able to dish out damage. Wrath also almost negated the need for a threat meter because every tank i have played with, including the one I actually play (a prot pally) is so far out in front on the threat meter, that the job of almost every other memeber of the group has been dumbed down in favor or more challenging mechanics.
Since holding threat is no longer an issue and tanks can dish out a significant amount of damage, every run becomes about the healer. A tank, though the 2nd most important member of the group, is entirely dependent on the healers ability to dish out heals. If the healer goes OOM, the fight is over essentially. The dps can all die and as long as the tank can dish out enough DPS and the healer can keep him alive, everyone gets the loot everyone is after. Healing is a thankless job with exponetially more stress than any dps. I have a lock whose rotations I'm always trying to improve, and DPS is always rewarded with a dmg meter report at the end of the run.
Ask any healer, they will tell you about thankless runs and people complaining about repair bills and acting like its the healers fault. Back before Wrath, I even had players get pissed becuase I wouldn't use my rez cooldown just for them.
Try sincerely whispering a healer after a run and complimenting them or telling them thanks, you might be surprised at how appreciative you are of their ability. Thank yous are not that common for even the best healers because everyone expects them to shut up and heal. Your comments prove as much.
arscruor Dec 18th 2008 5:05PM
@JPN
man i wish we knew your in game name cause no one would ever heal for you again...
oh and as 1 of 3 dps in a 5man, your 1/3 of the DPS, 1/4 if you count the tank.
we are all important, but dont belittle the healers who suffer to heal you through those 5mans, i leveled as ret, then went back to holy upon reaching 80, i dont really do any of the dailys unless they dont require killing things, i waste my gold on mats and water so you dont have to eat between fights
oh and i bet you stand at the front of the mob too...
Amaxe Dec 18th 2008 7:15PM
@JPN
No, healers are more important than you are. Lose the healer? You're basically screwed. Lose a DPS? You can survive if everyone else works together (And I say this as a DPS, not a healer).
Attitudes like yours don't help with the Healer shortage. They get the blame when things screw up, and don't get the credit for when it goes smooth. Why should they bother with a PUG if this is what they get?
Jack Spicer Dec 18th 2008 2:11PM
Another possible reason for a healer shortage might be the recent popularity of instance zerging. Dashing through instances AoE'ing everything in sight has been made much simpler with all the changes to AoE tanking, and while it might be fast and fun for everyone else, it leads to sloppy damage avoidance and puts a lot more pressure on healers than pre-Wrath instancing did.
A new healing-focused hero class would be a neat idea. If there was one in the works, I would hope that they would do something similar to what they did with DKs and tanking, i.e. the new class could heal effectively in all three trees (no Shadow tree equivalent).