src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/95073">
is, without a doubt, one of the hardest and most demanding jobs in
World of Warcraft. This fact is even more prominent now after the
massive
changes Blizzard has brought to healing with the release of World of
Warcraft: Cataclysm. Because of this it’s essential that
healers always be on the top of their game. In order to achieve this
all healers must be sure to have the best and most effective
enhancements on their gear at all times.
Before giving you the standard list of must have healing enchants for
Cataclysm, it’s important to first understand why certain
enchants will be better for healers than others. What it comes down to
is simple; Combat Ratings, or as they're more commonly referred to,
stats. Different kinds of healers value stats (Intellect,
Spirit, etc) on different levels. Some healers such as Holy Paladins
will rely more heavily on a stat like Critical Strike than their Holy
Priest counterparts. However, despite the fact that all healers will
value stats differently, healers are essentially all looking for the
same basic stats. You will never see a healer looking for Agility or
Dodge on their gear.
These stats can then be carried over and used for all the healing
enhancements you will need including enchants, gems, and even
consumables. Below is a list of the stats important to healers and what
they do:
- Intellect
- Haste
- Spirit
- Critical Strike
- Mastery
- Stamina
Intellect
With the release of Cataclysm Intellect now not only provides players
with additional mana, which is very important considering that most
healers are finding themselves out of mana (OOM) more and more often.
But it is now also
is the primary source of a healers Spell Power, which increases the
amount a heal actually heals for, and also provides healers with a
slight increase in Critical Strike which increases the chance that your
heals will do even more healing than they normally would.
Haste
Haste provides healers with the ability to cast their heals faster. A
faster
cast time on a longer heal could mean the difference between life or
death for a party member, or even the healer themselves. Haste does
have a
downside, because the faster the healer casts heals, the quicker that
healer will burn through their mana pool. Keep in mind that each
healing class has an “ideal” amount of Haste. After
this magic number is reached Haste becomes somewhat useless and other
stats can and should be focused on. For a more detailed look at Haste
and how it factors into heal over time (HoT) spells in particular, be
sure to read
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/stats/haste-hots-dots"
target="_blank">Haste Explained: How it Affects HoTs
and DoTs.
Spirit
Unlike the days of old, Spirit simply increases the healers mana
Regeneration while not casting and doesn’t do much more
outside of that. While some healers may find that certain talents (such
as Holy Priests) will help make better use of Spirit, most healers will
find that the gear they pick up will have more than enough Spirit on it
to provide them with adequate mana regeneration. If not, healers do
have the option to Reforge pieces of gear if needed. Enchanting and/or
Gemming for Spirit is not necessary unless there is no better option.
Critical Strike
Critical Strike Rating does precisely what it says it does, gives the
class="caption right" href="/node/95074">
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alt="" width="100">
healer and increased chance to crit when casting
spells. This applies
to both damage and healing spells. However,
with its
unreliable throughput this stat will come out as a low man on the totem
pole for most healers.
Mastery
A new stat implemented in Cataclysm, Mastery does something vastly
different for every class and spec. Because of this Mastery’s
importance will vary from class to class, however, this stat should not
be totally overlooked by anyone. To see what Mastery provides your
particular class simply bring up your talent panel in game and click
the “View Summaries” button found at the bottom of
the panel or check out a
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/90201" target="_blank">basic
overview of Mastery for each class
right here at Ten Ton Hammer.
Stamina
Stamina, while seemingly unimportant for healers, is something we all
need. Stamina increases the overall health of the healer and because of
this provides the healer with a longer lifespan. Remember, a dead
healer is helping no one. Thankfully Blizzard foresaw the fact that
while Stamina is something every healer needs it shouldn’t be
something they need to focus on. As you gain better gear, your Stamina
levels should automatically go up, so unless your gear level is much
lower than it should be for your current content level, you should
always have enough of this particular stat without gems or enchants.
Remember the above list is in no particular order and depending on what
healing class you choose to play will determine how important each of
the above stats is for you. With a basic understanding of the above
stats and what they do, it should make it far easier to pinpoint healer
enchants and other item enhancements and discern why they are best for
you.
Enchants
border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
-
href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=74240" target="_blank">Enchant
Cloak - Greater Intellect -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=75175" target="_blank">Darkglow
Embroidery -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=75172" target="_blank">Lightweave
Embroidery -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=52764" target="_blank">Enchant
Cloak - Critical Strike
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/95073">
Gems
Gems are amazingly enough just as important to a player as Enchants.
Gemming incorrectly can easily make you a less effective healer than
someone who has gemmed correctly in the
same gear. Gemming your gear works much like picking your enchants.
Using the basic list of stats above you must determine first which
stats are most important for your class and from those stats which you
are in need of and pick gems accordingly. Keep in mind while gemming
that matching the item socket is NOT always the best idea. Before
playing the matching game, consider the socket bonus and decide if it
is worth it or if you can more value without matching.
common gems used by healers are:
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Consumables
With your gear gemmed and enchanted correctly you are well on your way
to becoming the best healer you can be. But, before you step into an
instance be sure to check and be sure that you have the proper
consumables with you, the final step in becoming the ultimate healer.
border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
-
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=58148" target="_blank">Elixir
of the Master -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=58092" target="_blank">Elixir
of the Cobra -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=58144" target="_blank">Elixir
of Mighty Speed -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=58084" target="_blank">Ghost
Elixir
-
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=57192" target="_blank">Mythical
Mana Potion -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=57193" target="_blank">Mighty
Rejuvenation Potion -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=58091" target="_blank">Volcanic
Potion -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=54641/potion-of-pure-genius"
target="_blank">Potion of Pure Genius -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=57194" target="_blank">Potion
of Concentration -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=57099" target="_blank">Mysterious
Potion
-
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=62290" target="_blank">Seafood
Magnifique Feast -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=60858" target="_blank">Goblin
Barbecue -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=62671" target="_blank">Severed
Sagefish Head -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=62666" target="_blank">Delicious
Sagefish Tail -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=62665" target="_blank">Basilisk
Liverdog -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=62655" target="_blank">Broiled
Mountain Trout -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=62656" target="_blank">Whitecrest
Gumbo -
href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=62660" target="_blank">Pickled
Guppy
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