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Where does the pressure lie in healing?
I used to be a healer, once upon a time. It was in the days of vanilla, when being a healer consisted largely of staring at 40 bars, pressing Flash Heal, and occasionally mixing it up with a bubble or Heal Rank 4 while swigging potions like they were going out of style. It was a very different time, and healing was by and large much less complex than it is today. My guild didn't use Vent, so I did all the healing rotation calls via macros on my keyboard -- that's how easy healing was. I had time to press macro buttons and pay attention to calling things. But at some point that guild fell apart, as guilds are wont to do on occasion. And since server transfers weren't even a possibility at that point in time, I simply rolled another character on another server, vowing to take a break from any and all raiding. It lasted until paid server transfers were added as a feature, at which point my priest was promptly moved to my new server and I began healing again -- this time, in battlegrounds. I helped a lot of friends by healing them while they tried their hardest to get High Warlord in the original honor grind. So what happened? Well ... healing happened.
Addon Spotlight: GTFO with GTFO
Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week, since this is a family show, the "f" stands for "fudge." It is my goal, ambition, and hope that I can foster a positive attitude toward addons and the players who use them in this game. I pride myself on my optimistic and benevolent nature, putting out good vibes into the universe and keeping a happy attitude around me. Raiding is occasionally a trying time for me when my patience is worn thin, certain aspects of the game are not under my control, and there is a stabbing pain in my brain. But I keep my cool. Sometimes, however, people just have to GTFO. Coincidentally, that's where GTFO (the addon) comes in. As raiding addons go, this mod is held in high esteem by many players and raid leaders alike, as accountability has never been higher in the raiding game. DPS accountability is especially important these days. Hopefully we can help people out with spatial awareness, as well as the oldest, most timeless problem of all -- standing in fire.
The Daily Grind: What behaviors get your goat?
There are people who you don't like in any MMO, and that's more or less a given. But sometimes even the people you like can drive you into a paroxysm of rage. You could have known someone in the game for years, rely on them implicitly, and yet always feel that tickle of rage when they start slowing down in order to loot things in the middle of combat. (Or if you're playing City of Heroes and they stop mid-fight to tinker with their Enhancements, which is even worse.) The problem is that these sorts of behaviors aren't bad things by themselves -- none of them have a major impact on gameplay, and they're not large enough to force an argument or discussion. But they irritate you, even though they're not a big deal, and you can't help but notice them. What sort of stupid human tricks bother you when you're playing? People looting in combat? Not mentioning when they need a quick break to recharge? Talking too much or too little? Let us know!
