Recently a comment on of my latest posts over at wow.com brought into question a bit of my integrity. Normally I do my best to ignore the bad comments but this one stuck with me a little bit. My last piece was talking about restoration shaman and haste. People seem to be under the impression that I didn’t like haste and was jumping on the band wagon to appease readers. Well as I’m certain most of you know I’m not really into the whole appeasement thing. It was questioned my “flopping” in stat priority, so I figured I’d take a few minutes and explain a little bit more how I view things like stats, spec and strategies.
First I don’t think there is a wrong way to do it. Not saying if you’re a healer and go afk because your HoTs are still active is ok, but rather everyone has their own style of game play. Some people love to tank heal, other people love to raid heal some float between these roles. Others still like the idea of being pure utility, not caring about topping the charts but rather lessening the burden of their fellow raid healers. The thing is all of this is valid, each is a unique way to play the game. We each play the game to have fun right? An easy way to do that is to find something you enjoy doing and making it yours.
I’ve seen healers stack Int above all else (recently) and still do fantastic jobs. I’ve seen players with more MP5 than I think even they knew what to do with but they still did fine. I saw a healer with SP coming out of every pore. I’ve seen healers and players doing all sorts of wacky things that work for them. But that’s the point it works for them. I acknowledge the fact that sometimes there are things more optimal to a situation, better ways of doing things based on the encounter alone. I accept that and I am not above admitting sometimes certain things are better than others in those situations. I like telling people different ways of doing things because it sparks creativity and offers an alternative way to do things that someone might not have thought about before. I like it even better when someone shows me something I hadn’t thought of before and I can say that I learned something from it.
So, there I am, in the middle. I try to see everything from the point of view of “how would this work?” rather than “oh that is just out right wrong! When it comes to things like stat priority my firm belief is that it will always be custom tailored to the role you choose and you as a player.
I mean we play in a game with a rather large population of players right? Eventually we’re going to run across something that might not be how we’re used to doing things but somehow works. Me I’d rather keep an open mind and take a look at it and try to understand how it works. I’d rather understand it rather than just dismiss it out of hand. Who knows I might learn something from one of those wacky situations. I know there’s been a few boss fights I heard of some strange way of doing it that worked, as well as the fact my guild routinely does things in a very odd fashion, but it works for us.
So what about you? In your travels have you encountered anything cool or odd that you didn’t expect to see but worked? Melee hunter? holy pally dps? Maybe some odd stat stacking?
That’s it for today, until next time Happy Healing!
Having an opinion is nice, however this game does revolve around numbers and if there is a “best stat” to stack I expect the people I play with to go after it as appropriate. Everyone needs to be concerned about playing as well as they can.
@totem Why? it’s a game. the point is to have fun. If a person can’t have fun, why play? Numbers are only one part of the game. There’s also story which is part of the game etc etc.
I agree with your PoV, Lodur.
See, this doesn’t necessarily mean that folks like us want to see DKs stacking spellpower – it’s about mixing up the priority of class-appropriate stats to fit with certain situations (that was for the … lovely people that might misread the entire article).
I run five-mans and heroics. Where a raid tank wants to stack stamina, my philosophy works around preventing myself from taking too much damage. As a warrior, everything that I block, parry, etc., gives me rage, which gives me higher threat output. Yes, I love stamina and I love making my threat pool bigger, but my tanking style requires decent avoidance. My healers wind up bored, but I’m a freaking beast.
It is possible to be the best that you can be while doing something a little different that fits with the way you do things. It is not necessary to blindly worship the EJ numbers if you want to rock.
… Just keep in mind that this only works if you’re going for stats that actually benefit your class in some way.
.-= Matojo´s last blog ..Stranger in a Strange Land =-.
You can say it’s a game all you’d like, but for hardcore raiders it’s a bit more than “just a game.” If you want to keep it as “just a game” where you do as you like whenever you like then hardcore raiding is not for you.
Doing just fine is a hell of a lot different than being the best. If the numbers say x stat is the best, people will expect the best to have it.
Just saying.
.-= Gamer Kirei´s last blog ..FF14 – Aspects of WoW I Hope They Implement =-.
@Gamer Kirei I’m not saying hard core raiders aren’t right. I’m saying the gamer who wants to run 5 mans will have a different priority than the one that the one who runs hard core raids. They are both right. But I’m also saying that you need to keep an open mind even as a hardcore raider. Take a look at boss strategies. How do you think they get formed? people try things until they work.
The glyphed HT build for Resto Druids has always sort of been the awkwardly-regarded stepchild of the family, but I put it to good use throughout Naxxramas and Ulduar, and even a little ways into ToC. It stayed as my second Resto spec, in fact, until Icecrown Citadel was released. It would crit for 8-10k and cast time was under 0.7sec; worked great for fights like Razorscale and pre-nerf XT, IMO. Still, most people didn’t take me seriously until they saw my output. Whether that’s a validation of the build or a great healer making the best of an awkward style, I’m not sure, but I’m leaning towards the former. It’s pretty impractical now, though.
.-= Ithato´s last blog ..Reasons To Date A Raider =-.
My Priest took a trip of the beaten track during BC.
I am made her into a Holy Smite DPS Priest. It was a massive success. My raid leader loved having me. I could DPS at around 80% of the full DPS raiders, and could heal at around 80% of the dedicated healers.
That versatility to switch on a dime from Full DPS to heals (without dropping.casting) shadowform was great.
Man I miss those days.
.-= Dracomage´s last blog ..Very very interesting read and analysis =-.
I agree with your point, especially when talking about healers. DPS is more of a science, so there does tend to be one right way to spec/gem/play. But that doesn’t apply to healing nearly as much. I’ve seen some resto druid blogs give advice that I completely disagree with. It doesn’t mean that they are wrong (or that I am), it just means we play differently.
.-= Jasyla´s last blog ..I think I hate MMOs =-.
@Lodur It is just a game, however you performing well is key to everyone else’s enjoyment. Not playing optimally hurts everyone’s fun. You owe it to your guildies to work hard and do well!
@totem IF that is your focus to end game raid sure. I’m not saying that is not the case, but if you’ve made that decision chances are that is what you do to have fun in the game. That’s all.
This is one of those posts where it helps to actually READ through it all, as opposed to just skimming it, or you totally miss the point.
Most of the game, especially healing, revolves so much around play style. Yes, numbers are a part of it, but at the same time, numbers can be adjusted so to speak. Those numbers that people on EJ come up with can vary from person to person depending on the person playing the character and their play style. What may give one person 500 more hps may not give another any hps. Does it mean that one is right over the other if they still have the math to back it up? No, it just means that they play differently. DPS rotations are a little more firm, but what healer has a set rotation that they try to not deviate from?
My disc priest hears all the time that she needs to L2GemLOLS because she is gemmed for Int at the moment. Why? Because she does mostly 5mans where there is no guarantee of replenishment, or that you aren’t going to get a tank that will chain pull the entire place without checking to see if the healer still has mana or is even sitting anywhere near them drinking. But does that mean that I’m a crappy healer? No, I do just fine thank you. Does it mean that I can’t heal raids? No. My spells may not hit for as much as someone gemmed for SP but I can still hold my own.
TL;DR – pick your stats based on what works for you, not necessarily the numbers, because they can be skewed.
.-= Tart´s last blog ..For the birthday girl =-.
You are wrong! Matt is right! That is all!
.-= Matticus´s last blog ..The thought process of Lodur =-.
There are definitely right and wrong choices as healers. I do think it usually comes down to spell choice. Gear is much more up in the air. Ask yourself, “self, what are the biggest problems I have right now as a healer?”
Running out of mana? Gear for regen.
Not getting heals to the right place at the right time? Gear for Haste.
Not healing for enough? Gear for throughput.
That comes up with an answer that is unique to the player and their playstyle. However, it doesn’t help much if their playstyle needs adjustment.
So, there’s no wrong way to gear (well, unless you a gemming str or something silly), but there is a wrong way to play.
Honestly look at it this way.
The kind of players who are seriously choosing WoW.com as their main source of information are probably not that advanced anyway. I Personally abide the philosophy of haste till i cant sustain it however depending on the role your guild assigns you as (small guilds don’t often have a surplus of healers) you will probably have your basic stat values change.
As Felade said above me there are Right and Wrong ways but most of the time it is more about spell usage than gearing (obvious face palm moments aside) and usually more gearing for the wrong situation.
If it’s stupid but it works, it isn’t stupid…
Really there are 2 issues, the first being that playstyle should dictate what stats you want. If all you do is got to EJ or pull up that Wowhead stat weights its not going to be that good for you sinse they werent generated for your character. Your better off understanding your character and having an idea of what stats you are lacking.
Second is how bad is not going with the ‘best’. Sites like EJ are good at showing what the best spec/gear/enchants are, but there is rarely any details on how bad some of the other options are. GC brings it up on the forums alot, it doesnt matter if a given spec (or gearing choice) is good enough to handle the content, if the internet hasnt decided its the best the mobs will not bother with it.
Really, at the end of the day healing is easy. End the fight with a little bit of mana and everyone alive. There is many ways to get to that point.
Right and wrong to some degree sure. My Holy Pally was assigned to Raid heal in my first full clear of Naxx. I asked the pug raid leader about it. “Why would you put a Holy Paladin on raid?” She put me on tanks. Later I joined their guild, it worked out, because I knew enough about the class to know that is not a strength of the class. Can it be done? Sure. There have been Holy Pallies who solo healed Naxx, after another healer dropped, or dropped out.
There is no doing it wrong. There are however things that make you go huh? And occasionally “that was fun,” or “Let’s never do that AGAIN!” My first raid on my shaman I was assigned to tank heal. It was Toravon. I was wearing Blues. The tank lived. I used Lesser Healing Wave and Healing Wave to great effect. The druid gave me an innervate when I needed it. I was oom at the end, but the boss went down, and the tank stayed up. That to me is all that matters. Did you as a group succeed. My style may be unconventional, but did it work with “THIS” group. If so carry on. To me that is half the fun. The shaman with 71 points in Resto did fine. She has her style. I develop mine over time, and adapt to the people I raid with. I love that part of the game.
I always ask my guild to let me holy dps…..
They never do 🙁
I always like to bring a bit of creativity to a fight, i just like to experiment a little.
Id like cataclysm to bring a new style of raid instance, one which would reward Creativity over following a plan to the letter.
And id also like it to be a place where you don’t hear the words “Stop Healing Guys” 😛
Its hard convincing people that When i do something odd in a raid, I might actually know what im doing :P. It usually follows with people telling me things I already knew. 🙁
Part of the problem with “cookie cutter” specs, gems, rotations, etc is that they are often taken out of context.
Most of the EJ threads I have read where they talk about optimal stats, they are talking about END GAME RAIDS. If that is not what you are doing, or not what you do most, then that may NOT be the best spec, rotation etc. for you.
What happens is you have a bunch of “parrots” who read the thread and then tell you that your spec is wrong because it diverges from x. The parrots don’t understand that even the theory crafter’s that created that spec are not saying it is the best for EVERY situation. They are saying that, statistically, it is the best raiding spec.
One of my biggest pet peeves is with players who copy a spec from the internet and suddenly become “experts”.
I had this happen on my DK tank a few days ago. He is my newest 80 so his gear is not that great. I actually had another DK (DPS) tell me that I couldn’t possibly be def capped cause I was using a 2H weapon…
He had read a dual wield tank thread somewhere (technically Dual wield frost IS the highest TPS for DK’s) and he was suddenly an expert. But it was clear he didn’t understand the mechanics that he was talking about, NOR did he grasp the concept that dual wield frost tanking has MUCH higher gear requirements before it is viable.
EJ is a great resource, but you really need to at least TRY to understand the mechanics that MAKE certain specs better before you go around offering your “knowledge” to the rest of the world.