Tank and Healer Symbiosis Guides


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World of Warcraft has changed a lot over the years, some of it for the better, some just for the sake of change. There are big changes just over the horizon once again coming to the game in the form of Cataclysm. No one other than Blizzard is really sure of when it is going to hit the stores or just exactly what it is going to change in the game, but it will change a lot. We know that Azeroth will change, we know that stats will change, and that is just the tip of the changes apparently.

Threat per second on large groups is a bit of a joke currently for Paladins
Having two end game tanks and two end game healers lets me take a pretty good stab at the question as I can see both sides of the issue. I know how tanks and healers work in raids and groups and how the two class types work together. I also have several ideas on how they could be made to work together better in the game. Do my ideas match up with what Blizzard is thinking, or are they way out in left field? Only time will tell.

Things both class types need

Healers and Tanks ideally need to work well together, that’s a key point of making both classes fun and interesting to play. The symbiotic relationship between the two is what creates a lot of interest and what ties players together in game. Luckily many of the things that I believe are needed in Cataclysm to make both class types better, are the same for both class types. Both class types need some excitement added for them, both need some interesting gear choices, and better cohesion between them. How to do this though?

For excitement both class types need a little more variety thrown at them. Again some things translate to both, such as more base abilities to be used to break up standard rotations. This can be done by adding more specialty abilities, which could become unwieldy or adding more interesting mechanics to fights. Aggro drops or juggling aggro can do this for tanks in most fights.

One thing that could fix part of this for healers is the much talked about larger health pools coming in Cataclysm. Right now players spend far too much of their time at either 100% health or dead. There is very little in-between other than on a tank. This is due to healers being able to top off most players in a single heal, which does not lead to a very exciting game, everyone is either full health or dead. Blizzard has already said they will be implementing bigger health pools and smaller heals to try to address this.

Tank Issues

There is one major thing that tanks need to make them interesting to play and that is bringing threat back into play. Right now threat is almost a non-issue in the game for almost any tank that is geared remotely close to their DPS players. When was the last time that DPS pulled aggro or really had to slow down drastically? When was the last time a healer pulled healing aggro? Neither happens any more to any great degree. Fighting aggro and stressing over the amount you can produce brings excitement to the class type. Right now, I do not remember the last time I had to worry about it.

Threat per second on large groups is a bit of a joke currently for Paladins
Some issues come into play for Warriors on AOE pulls and sometimes for Death Knights or Druids if DPS starts too early after an AOE pull. In general though AOE threat is so easy for every tanking class that most non-boss pulls have devolved to simple AOE pulls with single target DPS and coordinated crowd control being a thing of the past. And don’t even get me started on Paladins! Paladins are a complete joke on AOE pulls. All we have to do is run in toss our shield and consecrate and all the enemies are locked onto us. The current AOE threat situation has removed so much skill, finesse, and coordination from the game it is sad.

Tanks also need to have a bit more choice in gear to be able to create sets specific to certain fights or situations. This used to be viable with block sets, avoidance sets, and mitigation sets. With the upcoming simplification of stats I for one am worried that playing with numbers will be greatly reduced. There needs to be a way for tanks to distinguish themselves. Knowing that Tank A has huge avoidance and is good in fight X, but Tank B has huge mitigation or block and is better in fight Y adds a lot to the game and a lot of enjoyment to tanks collecting different pieces for different reasons.

Healer Issues

Many healers use either Grid of Healbot instead of the default UI
Not all healers need them though. Druid healers seem to provide an interesting balance unless you are worried about absolute efficiency. They have lots of options and can do multiple things, jumping from player to player for HoTs, through a big heal, or throw a fast small heal. All of their spells seem to have a place and work well. They are by far the most interesting healer to play. All healers should be that interesting, they should be able to raid heal or single target heal, not have one specific role.

Healers also need a major revamp in the UI department. I know of very few raid healers that have touched the default UI in ages. This needs to change. Players that are levelling up and may not know any better get stuck using a very poor interface for healing, get frustrated or bored with it, and leave the game. Once healers find Grid or Healbot they like it far better, find it more interesting to heal as it gives them a bit more thinking time, and stick around longer. I think it is far overdue for Blizzard to come up with a healing interface that is more efficient and fun for healers, and this is the perfect time for it.