Dear Healers who don't DPS

[rockint]

But with the attitude you're advocating, I should have just let the tank die and the group wipe, because you know, tanking's "not my job"!

This is simple... The healer's primary job is to heal. Doing damage is definitely very helpful and preferred, but their DPS means absolutely nothing if I'm dead. And that's something I see way too much. 0 heals while I needed literally every cooldown I have, but the healer is right up the DPS's ass in AOE damage.

If the healer isn't DPSing, just deal with it and move on. The tank not dying is kind of the top priority. Once that healer is more comfortable with keeping everyone alive, THEN worry about the damage they do. You have to build skill, it doesn't just come naturally.

[Astrololol]

Yeah, but not everyone will want to play the way you want them to. You dps on your healer?
Good for you, nobody asked. Throwing a stone or a malefic isn't groundbreaking. Or those aoes that eat up mp.
Personally, if the tank's hp is flying to China and back, dpsing won't even be in my immediate list of things that I should be focusing on. Tank not dying > getting cast interrupted because the mob you were targeting died anyways.
If the tank isn't laying on Death's doormat, then yeah, I'll dps a bit, but stop if it's draining my mp.
inb4"nobodyaskedwhatyoudoeitherhurr

[Starflake]

Always this over the top crap by people. Nobody dies often because healers DPS too much, you're just a walking hyperbole. In my four years of playing this game of tanking a lot, I've maybe died twice due to a healer tunnelvisioning while DPSing. There is always room to DPS, even with garbage tanks. I've seen plenty of them if you know your class, your cooldowns, then you can DPS a lot. You seldom see tanks that are so terrible that you have to heal full time. More often than bad tanks, I probably see bad healers. It's no wonder you can barely DPS when your regen is not on 90% of the time and you don't use Tetra or Essential Dignity. It's no wonder at all.

[Deceptus]

This is simple... The tank not dying is kind of the top priority

And killing enemies is priority two.

If the tank isn't dying, move to priority two.

[Astrololol]

Clearly, you've never had to heal a tank wearing half cloth, and a couple of lvl 1 accessories, in a mid-level instance, nearly getting two-three shot, while losing agro constantly.
If you do, tell me how that goes!

[MaliceLiddell]

Clearly, you've never had to heal a tank wearing half cloth, and a couple of lvl 1 accessories, in a mid-level instance, nearly getting two-three shot, while losing agro constantly.
If you do, tell me how that goes!

If by mid-level you mean 30-40, I would just let the tank die and have the DPS tank at that point. A DPS that has mildly relevant gear can take the hits, on single pack pulls, without too much heal spamming. Sometimes it's better to cut your losses and rely on your DPS to win the day. Plus you would probably have to babysit their HP less than the tank, giving you time to toss up dots at least. I wouldn't recommend it if it's your first time in the dungeon, but once you have a good grasp on it, it's not even hard.

As a side note, 3 dps 1 heal runs are super fun. Give 'em a try!

[Taika]

Clearly, you've never had to heal a tank wearing half cloth, and a couple of lvl 1 accessories, in a mid-level instance, nearly getting two-three shot, while losing agro constantly.
If you do, tell me how that goes!

I know I won't have to heal a tank like that, because I've removed them from the party after explaining to them why it's important to wear appropriate gear for group content.

[Keridwyn]

I treat DPS like alcohol, enjoy responsibly. That said like alcohol it's not for everyone.

The only thing I advocate for is that people try. If it doesn't go so well you can lay off and try again at another time. The barriers of your comfort zone are only as rigid as you make them and if you lean against them once and a while you might be surprised at how far they will stretch in the end!

[Maeka]

Always this over the top crap by people. Nobody dies often because healers DPS too much,.

I've been in groups with healers who let me (as a tank) get down to 10% and then scramble to get a Tetra or Benediction on me when I'm ~1 hit from death. I HATE it when I get those kinds of healers. Ugh.

And yes, I HAVE been killed in dungeons where this has happened, both lowbie dungeons and Lv50+ stuff, and yes I was using my cooldowns. I had this one dungeon at Lv60+ where I almost died, I was at like 2k and I mashed my Hallowed Ground barely survived, and saw a Benediction a moment later. Well, HG wears off and I again go way down I'm looking at my HP meter, everything's on cooldown.... 50%... 30%... glance up at the party window, he's casting Stone IV. 10%.... he starts casting Cure II. haha. yeah right. I had already blown my MP on Clemency because the healer did not get the hint that I do NOT like being below 50% at all times.

Aaaaaaand, *SPLAT*. I'm dead. And the healer eats dirt about 3-5 seconds later.

This has happened more often than I would like. It shouldn't even happen once, to be quite honest.

[Cynfael]

This has happened more often than I would like. It shouldn't even happen once, to be quite honest.

I'm sorry for your terrible luck, but the behavior you describe is so awful that it has only a thin connection to this discussion.

Prior to 4.0, bad healers (and the actual handful who were either learning or suffering from some of the worst latency issues ever) would blame either their tank-murder or slacking off on Cleric Stance. Post 4.0, anyone who is letting their tank die while they DPS instead of heal is either just not good at the game or is falling asleep at the wheel.

Weaving DPS is now effortless and requires little-to-no-planning. If they do somehow overreach, all healers have a minimum of one oGCD tool to cover an "oops-the-tank-is-actually-going-to-die-in-the-next-GCD" moment. Healer DPS is definitely not the culprit here.