Newb Healer - Question(s)

[Thunda_Cat_SMASH]

Just remember, as a healer your first priority is to deal as much damage as possible while healing the absolute bare minimum to survive. Don't fluid aura unless you can keep the monster in range of Holy.

As a WHM yours is the only dps that actually makes a difference. Army of one indeed.

[Rawrz]

Just remember, as a healer your first priority is to deal as much damage as possible while healing the absolute bare minimum to survive. Don't fluid aura unless you can keep the monster in range of Holy.

The sarcasm is real, but this is absolutely what you should shoot for as an effecient healer. Only fluid aura when the mob is a breath away from death. :]

[Cynfael]

Just remember, as a healer your first priority is to deal as much damage as possible while healing the absolute bare minimum to survive. Don't fluid aura unless you can keep the monster in range of Holy.

Truth in sarcasm, actually. I completely agree with the above quote except to suggest that "absolute bare minimum" may be a little extreme if taken literally.

Again, until you can heal monsters to death or otherwise win duties by HPS, you stay relevant and useful by staying busy.

[Gemina]

Just remember, as a healer your first priority is to deal as much damage as possible while healing the absolute bare minimum to survive. Don't fluid aura unless you can keep the monster in range of Holy.

As a WHM yours is the only dps that actually makes a difference. Army of one indeed.

Yes and no. Either way, the way you word it can potentially turn away an aspiring healer.

OP, every healer has their own comfort level when it comes to their incoming damage threshold, and it can change depending on said healer's knowledge of the fight. Having said that, we quickly learn that trash pulls become pretty standard and I already know that wanting to effectively cast fluid aura is part of wanting to maximize your DPS.

However, casting FA every time it is up doesn't mean you are using it effectively. When it is up, you look for your first opportunity to use it effectively. If this does not happen before it would otherwise be off another CD, then so be it. Do not use it if would otherwise disrupt the flow of your party in any way.

Basically when I use FA, I have targeted a mob for destruction. Think of it as an invisible tether mechanic. Like another poster stated, it is like using mercy stroke, assassinate, or any other high crit damage at low health abilities. You don't necessarily have to kill the mob with FA, but focus it down after you use it to take stress of the tank. Which means don't use it if you have to use up a lot of gcds to take it down. Most tanks will let go a near death mob that they lose hate from as there is no point wasting a gcd taking it back.

[RiisWolf]

You are NEVER required to fight in parties and especially the raids.

Please do not blow enemies out of the group for 'more damage'. The only time pushing enemies will save ya'll from damage is if it's stop the enemy from casting something like Mist, or to subsequently cast repose to effectively put them out of the fight. The former is normally handled by the tank or DPS, or evade it entirely. You'll have to trust the party to do this, unless they've shown time and time again that they cannot interrupt or escape it. The latter is normally not needed.

[Cynfael]

...or to subsequently cast repose to effectively put them out of the fight.

To the OP: It's better not to do this. Pretty much ever.

I can imagine some bizarre, desperate situation in low-level play with crazy random people that might make you try this as a hail mary, but generally speaking this is a tactic that inexperienced WHMs use that is meant to be helpful but is actually incredibly annoying.

It's basically all of the bad of shoving a mob out of the tank's ability to build hate and the entire party's short-range and AoE damage options with the added insult of keeping the mob immobile for even longer, assuming your tank or a DPS doesn't veto your foolishness by immediately attacking to bring the mob back to where it belongs.

[RiisWolf]

To the OP: It's better not to do this. Pretty much ever.

... The latter is normally not needed.

YES it's better not to do it! >:U

[Cynfael]

YES it's better not to do it! >:U

I just wanted to emphasize how very, very rarely anyone should consider that option. Remember that we're responding to a new healer

[Urthdigger]

Well, while Fluid Aura to knock away and then reposing isn't good, I have found it useful to use Repose all on its own. Granted, this is explicitly in low level content where people aren't AoEing, combined with a tank marking a kill order and DPS who follow it, but it can make some tricky rooms easier to manage (One or two optional rooms in Stone Vigil come to mind...)

[Tint]

you can use Fluid Aura to push ranged monsters to the tank. ranged monsters will not move close to the tank, so a group with meele and ranged monsters, or two ranged, is more difficult to tank and you can't aoe them all. pushing the ranged monster to the tank will solve such problems.