Druid Healing ?'s
OK, so, I have decided to give PvP healing a break for a while and have started to do PvE healing. Yikes, it just feels like sooo much pressure, but I am slowly getting over that...
I have respecced/glyphed into some more useful things for PvE and have started to replace some gear with PvE gear. Mostly normals to get the hang of it and get some JP gear. Done a couple of heroics, but they all fell apart for various reasons (none, I think, mine). I accidentally landed in an End Time group and actually was able to heal through the first 2 bosses, but could not keep up with the pulls after that. So, I think I am doing something right.
Here's the issue. It seems like I am really struggling to keep the tanks up on large pulls in normal mode. The few heroics I have landed in seemed to be the same issue, but not enough data to figure it out. I know that since so much of druid healing it periodic, it takes some time to stabilize the tank, but, it gets a little nerve wracking.
Typically, I will get 3 stacks of Lifebloom and then through a Rejuv. Seems like after that I need to go right to Healing Touch (maybe even instant it) and Swiftmend to get Efflouessence. Once they all start ticking, I can get into a good cycle with Nourish, Lifebloom, Rejuv and then decide when to hit others to keep the rest of the group up.
So - could it really me that my PvP gear really needs wholesale replacement to get the right healing numbers or is the cycle for druids just a free fall of healthbars until you get all your spells ticking or maybe something in between (or something I am totally missing)?
Think you guys covered the basics pretty well. One thing I would add about tank healing is that I like to get lifebloom rolling on the tank before every pull so that you can start using other heals right away when they start taking damage. If I can I will keep it rolling between pulls too just so I don't have to re-apply all three stacks. Also it's all about stacking the hots, so if the tank is taking a lot of damage I will have lifebloomx3/rejuve/regrowth and even wild growth going when I can.
As far as gear goes, def work on getting all PvE and reforge to haste until you get the break points. I think it's something like 2050 haste where you get an extra tick of rejuve. After you reach the desired amount of haste, mastery is the next best stat.
I get most of my info from the elitist jerks forums, so if you want detailed numbers/instructions their site is really useful.
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I'm not the best person to evaulate your situation since I only recently have started druid healing but I've gotten a pretty good feel for it so I think I can help you out. If Miow reads this she can critique both of us.
First of all, after checking the armory your gear should be good enough for the original 5 man heroics...anything more than could be a little rough but you are doing the right thing by running normals (I did a ton of those on my pally when she hit 85.) The pvp gear hurts you a bit since it is early Cata gear and you lose lots of secondary stats for resilience. Obviously, the quality of the rest of your group will come into play as a good tank works with the healer (defensive CDs) and if the dps knows to get out of fire you should be fine (maybe you've just had bad luck.) My word of advice is check the recount death logs....if you see a dps getting damaged to death despite your heals (standing in stuff they shouldn't) that's their fault, not yours. If they die to damage that's an unavoidable part of the encounter...well, that's all on you.
I think the big difference in druid healing versus say a pally, shammy, or holy priest is that druids have to be proactive instead of reactive. A druid lacks the big power heals of the other classes in exchange for hots so when there periods of aoe hitting all of the raid with rejuvs BEFORE the damage hits is a good thing. I stack 3 lifeblooms and then spam nourish on the tank (whether they need it or not) to ensure it never falls off...also, if you know it is going to fall off recast it instead of nourishing to ensure the tank is getting steady heals (much better to cast one lifebloom to refresh the stacks then let it fall of and have to cast it 3 times.) If the tank takes spike damage that's the time to rejuv and swiftmend. I only cast regrowth if it's either an emergency and you need a big, fast heal OR Omen of Clarity has procced. In fact, when Omen procs I cast regrowth on the person who seems to be taking the most amount of damage after the tank...it's free healing so you might as well use it proactively. I use rejuv as I stated above but will throw a few out on occasion to help mitigate some of the periodic damage that goes out. Use Wild Growth on cooldown or save it when you know AOE damage is incoming. And don't forget about Tranquility...it's one of the best healing spells in the game so between that and tree form you've got some powerful abilities that you can stagger for periods of incoming damage.
Lastly, I would change around your talents a bit more. Get rid of Furor and Perseverance and throw those points into Genesis, Nature's Cure, and Blessing of the Grove (dispelling those magical effects is a lot easier than healing through them.)
Oh, and there is no need to reforge for hit in a PvE environment. Haste and Mastery are your two best secondary stats so more of those is better.
Hope this helps.