I give up healing...I tried...I really tried

Just hit the ilevel for heroics today.

I believe that this is very much at the heart of the issue, and I hope that you'll reconsider your stance.

Essentially, while you may have crossed the barrier that kept you from entering a heroic instance, that doesn't necessarily mean that your character is quite ready for those encounters until you've accrued more gear. It might be easier to view the minimum item level as a way of preventing those who have little hope of success from queuing, rather than carte blanche for assured victory once you hit the threshold.

If you're willing, you might find it beneficial to spend a little bit more time in regular dungeons, as well as acquiring reputation items or crafted gear, before you pass final judgment on whether healing is the right path for you in Cataclysm. After you're wearing gear that's a bit more appropriate to the challenge that the content presents, you might even find it fun.

Regardless, I hope you find the path that's the most enjoyable for you.

01/20/2011 11:26 PMPosted by Springfoot

Great, here we go with 20 pages...

I could lock it now if that would make you happy?



Edit: No, I won't.

i know MANY healers tht dropped it cause its in the toilet now.

I didn't say that getting gear will making healing fun. It will, however, make healing a bit easier. Fun is a subjective thing.

It simply shows that Blizzard's attempt to introduce a challenge for healers was by the laziest method possible, nerfing their efficiency into the ground.

Healing was so good, and so efficient, toward the end of Wrath of the Lich King that healing wasn't a challenge for a geared player. Healers were able to make up for any number of mistakes made by their group, and almost never ran out of mana.

That isn't a direction that we are comfortable continuing in since it obviated choices in the healing process, allowed players to effectively ignore encounter mechanics and, dare I say it, minimized skill as a component in healing.

While there may be opposing perceptions of the results, I don't think it's laziness by anyone's standards to put thought, care and work into tuning a game to create a challenging but 'winnable' experience. I believe it would have been laziness to maintain the status quo.

This just proves what most of us have been saying all along; Either Heroics need to be easier or that cap needs to be pushed way up.

Like I said, the cap exists to prevent those with little hope of success from entering heroic instances - not to prevent anyone who might not be ready from facing them. Players with appropriate gear who meet the minimum requirements do have the capability to succeed, though that success might not come easily. For those who are having a frustrating experience, I don't think it's untoward to counsel gear. Gearing up a bit more before tackling heroics is probably a good bet, as it stands to help make their time in those instances more enjoyable.

01/21/2011 8:19 PMPosted by Orango

Healing was so good, and so efficient, toward the end of Wrath of the Lich King that healing wasn't a challenge for a geared player. Healers were able to make up for any number of mistakes made by their group, and almost never ran out of mana.

And it was fun.

I think it's reasonably apparent that some players feel the same way. I think it's fair to say that there are others who are reacting to their initial experiences in heroic instances. There are still others who are genuinely enjoying the new model, despite (or rather, because of) its inherent challenges. Nonetheless, we want to make healing more engaging, challenging and (hopefully) fun.

Since we're not likely to return to the Wrath of the Lich King model for healing because it was destructive to encounter mechanics, it might be best to focus feedback on how to make the current, more challenging healing model more fun. We always welcome constructive and considered feedback.

How about leave it how it is, and stop these rediculous knee-jerk reactions to the vast minority of players who actually post on these forums.

I didn't mean to suggest that there's any kind of imminent change on the table. I merely wanted to encourage the kind of feedback and constructive criticism that we can use, rather than demands for a return to a previous model.

But, I did buy two pieces of PvP gear to get into heroics but thought the little lost on useless resil wouldn't matter too much.

That minimum ilevel doesn't assume wasted stats. It assumes very little, actually, except that you are hopefullly wearing gear that is appropriate for your class and spec. Gaming the system to get into heroics before your character's gear is appropriate for them is a good recipe for frustration - for yourself, and the groups you're likely to play alongside.

01/21/2011 9:57 PMPosted by Mimiç

Don't bother. Doesn't matter how many people tell them healing isn't fun anymore. They're just going to continue plugging their ears yelling NAH NAH NAH NAH NAH. Maybe enough cancellations will do the trick but who knows. All I know is I had fun healing before this expansion.

The irony of your statement is all the surrounding posts from other players in this thread who claim to be having fun.

I guess they're all just crazy and I should only listen to those who are saying it's awful?

01/21/2011 10:09 PMPosted by Mimiç

The irony of your statement is all the surrounding posts from other players in this thread who claim to be having fun.

I guess they're all just crazy and I should only listen to those who are saying it's awful?

So you deny that a ton of people aren't switching their healers to dps? You deny all the threads in the healing forum since the launch of people just flat out saying it's no longer fun. I must have dreamed it all and I apologize.

Nothing of the kind. There are obviously players who are frustrated by the current state of things.

I was just pointing out that there is more than one perspective on this and that the feedback we've received is nowhere near unanimous, despite what some seem to believe. That certainly doesn't invalidate your or their perspective, but it's good to be mindful that it is not the only perspective.