Raid Rx: Pick the best moments for Rallying Cry
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI-, macro- and addon-related. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading on the Matticast.
4.1's out! I've been busy killing trolls in Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub, grabbing healing loot for my alts. I wasn't able to get a chance to explore the new healing synergies with all the new healer abilities and Rallying Cry. Warriors have that new ability which temporarily grants 20% maximum health to members in your party or raid for 10 seconds before the health fades away.
Like it or not, warriors are now a part of the arsenal that healing leaders have.
Also, a nifty trick includes combining both Rallying Cry and Last Stand that leads to mega-health for your tank. Doing this requires two warriors. From what I can see, Rallying Cry needs to be used first, before Last Stand, to maximize benefits. Get your tanking warrior to use Enraged Regeneration, and that'll just about outheal anything most healers can do.
Get used to adding Rallying Cry to your skills. Warriors, please remind your leaders that you have it available. Now, on what fights would your warriors be doing their whole yelling thing? I've got several in mind.
The purpose of Rallying Cry is to provide an additional health buffer for players. This gives healers additional time to play catchup without running the risk of losing players. When looking at different encounters, think how to really maximize the usage of the spell. It isn't exactly a healing mechanic. It just adds health to everyone temporarily, and that maximum health goes away after the duration has expired.
Heroic dungeons In Zul'Aman, the Dragonhawk boss is a prime candidate, when all of his eggs are hatched and beating on the tank. The Lynx form of Daakara, when he starts charging and blitzing players, is another ability where Rallying Cry comes in handy.
What about Zul'Gurub? If you've tackled the panther boss, you know how punishing her panthers can be. I'd use them when she unleashes the rest of her panthers to give your healer more time to keep people alive.
Throngus in Grim Batol.
Rah in Halls of Origination.
Just for fun, you could use it on Ozumat in Throne of the Tides during the final stage. It increases your health to something incredibly ridiculous.
Raid encounters Remember that Rallying Cry has a limited range. Right away, I know I've got two conditions to keep in mind before I call for it.
Players need to be relatively close together. A 30-yard range is a fair limit. Think about encounters where a majority of the raid is stacked together in proximity with the warrior who is going to use Rallying Cry.
Players need to be at low health. This is the obvious one. I can't imagine you'd want to rally when the raid is stable and there is no threat of a wipe.
Chimaeron Any feud phase right as Chimaeron starts chucking his Caustic Slimes around through the raid is an optimal time to use Rallying Cry. If you're working on the heroic version, you might be able to squeeze another Rallying Cry right at the final phase and get some extra seconds out of players before they succumb to Mocking Shadows. Nefarian casts Mocking Shadows on the raid, and the approximate 2k damage per second combined with Mortality means that phase will be an intense race.
Maloriak During the red vial phase, call for a Rallying Cry right as he unleashes Scorchling Blast on the raid. On heroic, I've hated it when an Arcane Storm hits the raid and Maloriak decides to follow up with a Scorchling Blast. That's an immediate raid-wiper. If you have Rallying Cry up by the time you enter the final phase, use it against impending Absolute Zero orbs (especially if you spot an orb near melee players). Orbs will be devastating to the raid if they make contact.
Magmaw I don't expect there to be much usage for Rallying Cry on the normal mode. On heroic, I would call for it on the transition to the final phase just as Shadowflame Barrage starts hitting the raid. Have your warrior rally, then get your raid to spread out and get into their positions.
Omnitron Defense System Use a Rallying Cry when Magmatron is online and starts using Incineration Security Measure. Yeah, that hurts if it goes on unchecked. Extra health cushion means an extra buffer for healers. On heroic mode, I imagine it would come in handy when Nefarian buffs Electron and Lightning Conductor turns into a Shadow Conductor. A powered-up Toxitron drops a Chemical Bomb which your raid will get pulled into. Rallying here is another option.
Halfus Wyrmbreaker Furious Roar -- hands down, the most annoying mechanic for me is getting chain knocked down. Otherwise, on heroic mode, I would consider using this near the beginning of the encounter as the tanks are positioning all of the drakes and whelps. Once all of the tanks are in proper position, Rallying Cry will provide a nice health cushion long enough to get the first drake down allowing you to relax.
Don't relax too much, though.
Cho'gall On the normal mode version of Cho'gall, I would keep Rallying Cry up my sleeve and call for it right near the end of the encounter. We've had some unlucky transitions in which when we maneuvered Cho'gall on to his throne, we'd get a fire phase with fire pools concentrated in one area.
Nefarian Electrocute. Just Rally on Electrocute, especially when the majority of the raid is stacked together on the final phase.
All in all, Rallying Cry is a nice addition to the long list of desperation defensive cooldowns that players have. 10-man raiders must love it, too, because it cuts down on the class stacking somewhat. You don't have to stack your progression raiding team with as many healing outs as possible. I'm going to enjoy the flexibility!
Need advice on working with the healers in your guild? Raid Rx has you covered. Send your questions about raid healing to mattl@wowinsider.com. For less healer-centric raiding advice, visit Ready Check for advanced tactics and advice for the endgame raider.
