Even trees need a hug!

Over on the forums, GC wants to know if ToL is fun.

Allison Roberts over and wow.com had a few interesting points. I’d also like to say that both her and Amanda Dean are a refreshing perspective in the World of Warcraft universe (something typically seen as a boys club), and always worth reading, no matter the topic or if you agree with them.

Now to answer the question, is ToL is not fun? Well yes and no…It’s still a great idea, I love being a tree hugging hippie healer. Mochachino and I joke that druids are transcendental liberal new age whacko healers and the paladins are the right wing reactionary Jesus walks with me healers. They are both effective, but paladin and druid healers just see the world differently, and they should. The most interesting and fun thing about druid healing is being proactive and not reactive. Especially now, its about knowing when Lifebloom with explode and not wasting a RG at the same time. Its about watching Loken’s nova cast and timing your WG around it so the group can eat all that damage. Every other healer has to heal after the fact, but druids heal before the damage comes because they can anticipate it coming. Disc has taken a turn to preventing damage, but according to Matticus is still highly misunderstood.

I love healing in tree form, I love that I get a nice boost to my healing, but that’s easily brought by a prot pally with improved devotion. What I love about healing in tree form is the form. I know that people can’t see my cool shoulders or my helmet, and I know that sadly the tree punchers in nexus are so much sexier than me with that silver bark, but unlike any other healer in the game, I wear my form like a badge of honor. There’s no inspecting me like there is a shaman or paladin with a shield to see if I heal. You know when I shift that I’m about to save your ass from anything stupid you might attempt. Stand in the flame walls with Sarth, and it’s my ass you will be kissing when you don’t die. The form idea is sexy, and it’s also a defining druid mechanic. I love the uniqueness of tree healing so much that even though I’m dual specced now, I always hang around town in my resto spec and tree form. It’s nice that I can actually walk around at a decent pace since the pre-Lich patch launched as well.

Now what sucks you ask? Please understand that I think these things make ToL less fun to play, but I still love tree healing, and I give them up every time I step up to heal not because I like to, but because druid healing is different and dynamic.

Offense is spelled HOT. My best opportunity to contribute any damage to the encounter is ZERO unless I pop out of tree, cast a spell, then pop back into tree, and start healing again. That sucks! How is it that a master of nature can heal, but can’t use those same energies to pop a wrath in someone’s ass? The same goes for boomkin. How is it that I am so in touch with nature, I am able to summon treants to assist me, but unable to use that same school of magic to drop a heal on someone just because I’m a giant chicken.

The trees are designed to improve your offense or defense, if you heal as a balance spec, you already are losing mana efficiency, just like any other healing class. The biggest and easiest change is to allow us to use a spell that is not intended for the form. We are punished for doing so with regard to cast time, or mana, and we shouldn’t be doubly punished by popping out of form as well. Is the 5% crit in chicken really going to bring game balance to its knees if the boomkin throws out a RG in a crunch?

The other thing about ToL aura is it’s boring. Why does leader of the pack heal all those melee and hunters when they crit, but there’s no love for the casters? Improved moonkin increases haste, and leader of the pack offers a heal for melee crits. Why is ToL just some improved healing? Please don’t misunderstand, improved healing is nice, but it’s not cool! Hell, if you have a prot pally with improved devotion, you have no reason to even stay in ToL now, and that SUCKS! Give the aura some love! I know this is inconsistent with most of the buff stacking that seems to be the new master plan for Blizzard, but it would be nice if ToL didn’t share a buff with a paladin talent in tier 4 when the ToL is in tier 9.

Ultimately, there are 2 easy things to do for ToL form. First, let trees use their balance spells. Using balance spells comes with a high cost in mana and time not spent healing. It’s something that Blizzard thinks is ok for all the other healers, so let us cast a moonfire if we have the spare time. Second, give ToL aura some love. I don’t really have any ideas about what exactly can be done to make it more fun or desirable, but I'm there are some ideas out there that make sense if they were implemented.

-Rhab