So... what will disc do??

#0 - Aug. 15, 2010, 2:13 a.m.
Blizzard Post
Quote from our Crab overlord:

Q u o t e:
We don't like prehotting (or pre-shielding) as a general strategy. On certain fights where you know that the damage is going to come fast and furious then maybe it's appropriate, but we don't want the current LK style to continue. I've healed a lot as both Resto and Disc, so I know the power of prehealing, though it's not as if you need first-hand experience to understand how useful and powerful it is.


Full disclosure: I might be completely off base here as a Healer who's never played a disc priest.
I've got the Shaman-"Lazers with Tidal Variations" down, am tight with Druid "Drop 'em full'a HoTs", and get the Paladin Holy-Firehose style, and the mystic power of Chakra. Those I get.

The Lightwell/PW:Barrier/everybody-got-bandages? styles of raid encounters - I get that too.

Look at the quote again.
What will disc do?
Tank healing = Got it on lockdown. It's like Bubbles around bubbles with a chewy Healing core. Oh, and a big Backup bubble, so {add meme here}
Raid healing = ... I got nothing.
If you don't like Pre-shielding the Raid, what is it that you want the Disco priest to do?
->Use nonbubbles
->Have Glyph of PW:S do the work with the mighty Heal-erang as a trusty sidekick
->Bubble the wounded and let the other healer pick up the actual health bars.
->Wait until Beta Cataclysm includes raids that show that all AoE damage is made fairly slow-moving missile-like effects, and the healer must have low latency and outstanding virtual depth of field to shield those who are about to get hit.
->Something Else.
#14 - Aug. 15, 2010, 10:46 p.m.
Blizzard Post
Some of you guys can be so extreme sometimes. :) Less emphasis on shields doesn't have to mean never, ever cast shields. Your mastery doesn't have to be junk just because you cast actual heals sometimes.

A typical Icecrown Disc priest today might have a healing breakdown that looks something like this:

40% Power Word: Shield
35% Divine Aegis
8% Glyph of PW:S
7% Prayer of Mending
4% Divine Hymn
2% Flash Heal
1% Penance
3% Other

Imagine that instead of 75% shields, you do 50-60% shields and the rest is made up by Flash Heal, Heal, Greater Heal and Penance. So instead of doing most of your healing, shields are down to doing only a majority of your healing. :)