Ohai thar! So... halp?Follow

Dispel glyph is nice too.

But Penance is the only one I'd call mandatory for Disc healing dungeons as you level.

Maz, with all respect, what you're describing once again makes literally no sense at all. Holy is the mana-weak spec. Disc has countless of talents that lower mana costs and even increase your intellect. Holy has no such thing - it's all focused on spellpower and spirit.

Could you like... link an armory, or something? I'm feeling like to experience what you're describing you have to be playing in some kind of really odd gear-mix. Not saying you're like a DK stacking spellpower, but I feel you might somehow be donning mass-spirit gear or something similar.

I'll agree with this, but the fact that this is happening to Mazra is what makes it such an interesting case for me. If he were some random scrub, I'd probably just have gone "Oh, he doesn't know **** about his talents and probably sucks". But I know Maz a little bit and don't doubt his experiences, even if they don't make sense. Which is exactly why I *want* to try to find out how this is possible as clearly, something isn't right here.

Obviously, I can't blame him if he just wants to play holy and sod disc (really, that's the luxury of WOTLK), but I'd also like for him to have a clear view of both specs before actually choosing what he wants/likes.

Basically what teacake said (you sure you don't want to marry me?). I guess I'm too used to people being topped off to rely on proactive healing. This would explain my mana inefficiency while playing Disc, because I recall having to shield and AOE heal everyone all the time. Soul Warding does reduce the mana cost on PW:Shield, but it still puts it up around the cost of Renew (with a Holy spec) and chain-casting Renew on five people will also drain me something fierce.

Granted, all of this was before I had Prayer of Mending and the gear I have now. As said, I might just give it a try.

I'm going to miss Guardian Spirit, though. Lifesaver in so many situations. And the lack of Surge of Light and Searing Light will pwn my questing.

Edit: Reflective Shield is not included in the build linked above. It's not all that hot or what?

Edited, Jun 21st 2010 3:44pm by Mazra

So, I've done a few dungeons as Disco now and I hate to admit it, but seems like you're right about the mana efficiency.

Apparently, last time I was Disco, I was also naked, which may or may not have affected my performance.

Anyway, I'm sort of getting the hang of shield spam, though not keeping everyone topped off is making me jittery as hell. I moved around some points to get Spirit Tap, Holy Spec instead of Focused Will and Imp. Flash Heal. I also kept my Smite glyph and got the PW:Shield glyph, so Penance is on a 9.6-second cooldown (odd number).

Still, it's pretty funny. I doubled my efficiency in TBC dungeons (tank pulled double instead of single) and rarely had to drink (tank also had a tendency to rush ahead while I was low on mana).

Kali, it's a leveling thing. You're in almost full T10, so naturally you have few issues with mana efficiency and such. That's like comparing my Druid to someone leveling up Feral and me going "What do you mean you can't solo Nexus?"

While leveling, you're wearing less than adequate gear. Yes, heirlooms help somewhat, but tanks are still often wearing full DPS gear, making them squishy as hell and topping off becomes a necessity since a crit might drop them from 50% to dead. I've seen a tank drop through PW:Shield in a double crit. When that happens and you've got AOE damage to deal with as well, the mana efficiency of Disc goes south real fast, because it's proactive, not reactive.

Also, I'm a Druid by heart. I'm used to keeping people topped off with one spell.

I am married to a man of Danish ancestry, if that helps.



This is the part that takes some getting used to. It nearly killed me when I switched from Holy to Disc. You have to put the navigation tools away and fly with the Force. If you're too young to get Star Wars references, I can't help you. But you have to trust your shields. Disc works like this: shield the DPS, then forget about them. Shield the tank, look back at your screen every 8 seconds and cast Penance. Don't worry, before long you will be able to do this without looking at your screen. Keep an eye on the health bars, sort of, if you have time between eating burritos/drinking some cab.

You don't need to AOE heal. You don't need Renew. In better gear with a bigger mana pool you may use those things anyway, just because they're kind of cute, but for the most part in regular 5 mans you do while leveling, Shield/PoM and Penance on the tank will take care of everything, with a few Flash Heals thrown in for DPS who took damage.

Obviously I exaggerate, but the crux of it is, if you want to learn to heal as Disc, force yourself to heal a few dungeons without ever using Renew or Prayer of Healing. Not because those things aren't good, because obviously they are and have their place. But because it will get you firmly in the habit of relying on shields first and foremost.

I actually prefer it when shields drop before Weakened Soul expires. More crit is good, and I feel like I fail when I cast Penance on targets not afflicted by Weakened Soul.