Healers-
We are currently in what I consider a growth phase when it comes to raiding, and over the last 3 weeks I've been observing our raid healers. I have also been tasked with the responsibility of managing the raid healers, which includes decisions about who heals and who doesn't. Ultimately, dainjre has the final say in the raid, but I wanted to give the healers my personal observations, perceptions, and expectations of each of you as we move into week 4.
1. Lose the ego. I know some of you come from extensive MMO experience and were part of amazing guilds in other games. That's great, and I'm glad you take pride in that. But Wildstar is a different game, and I don't care if you were the top healer 5 years ago in a game you aren't playing anymore. I am concerned with your performance in this game.
2. Ask for feedback. You may think your healing is sufficient, but you are only looking at it from one perspective. Have you ever asked your tank about your performance? How about that DPS that just died? How about your fellow healer that ran out of focus while you were their healing partner? You don't know what you don't know. If you haven't done so already, I encourage you to approach me to talk about my personal observations of how you are doing. People also provide me with feedback about their perception of your performance, so you may learn something from what I have to say.
3. Practice your craft. We have grown as a guild, and there are new people that I, unfortunately, have not had the chance to play with outside of raiding. However, I do know who logs in on a regular basis vs. those who log in 2-3 times a week for raid nights. And perhaps you don't need to practice how to play because you are awesome. While that may be the case, if you are struggling with raid healing and/or mechanics I suggest you take some time outside of the raid to figure out how to get better. Whether that means healing guildees through adventures/dungeons, theory crafting, or running the Protostar Hazard Training Course, do whatever you need to do to improve as a player.
4. Earn the respect of your guildees. So you want to be a raid healer? Great! How much healing experience do you have in Wildstar? Do other guildees (outside of your social circle) have experience with you and recommend you for a raid healer spot? Whether or not you know it, people talk about your performance both in raid and outside of the raid. This information usually finds its way back to me, which I take into consideration when asked about my perception of you as a healer.
5. Prove it. If you want to heal, the time will come for you to prove it in a raid. When that time comes, you should know that I am critically analyzing every move you make. I have parsed every healer and know where you stand from a "numbers" perspective. But guess what? Every healer knows that numbers only tell one part of the story. Did you let our tank die? Forget to cleanse that nasty debuff? Fail to communicate important information to the raid? These are only some of the many things I am looking for, and if you don't perform you should know that these observations and perceptions will have an impact on whether or not you get a spot on the healer roster.
I hope you each read this and understand that I am not trying to attack you. At the end of the day, the lives of 19 other people rest in your control, and my responsibility is to make sure we have the right healers handling this important raiding function. If you have not done so already, I also suggest you learn how to DPS and equip/rune yourself out, because there will be times when you are asked to DPS. I am not excluded from this, and if you are unable to perform in neither a healing role nor a DPS role, you may need to sit out on certain raid nights depending on our group composition.
Let me know if you have any questions about my expectations of you moving forward.
We are currently in what I consider a growth phase when it comes to raiding, and over the last 3 weeks I've been observing our raid healers. I have also been tasked with the responsibility of managing the raid healers, which includes decisions about who heals and who doesn't. Ultimately, dainjre has the final say in the raid, but I wanted to give the healers my personal observations, perceptions, and expectations of each of you as we move into week 4.
1. Lose the ego. I know some of you come from extensive MMO experience and were part of amazing guilds in other games. That's great, and I'm glad you take pride in that. But Wildstar is a different game, and I don't care if you were the top healer 5 years ago in a game you aren't playing anymore. I am concerned with your performance in this game.
2. Ask for feedback. You may think your healing is sufficient, but you are only looking at it from one perspective. Have you ever asked your tank about your performance? How about that DPS that just died? How about your fellow healer that ran out of focus while you were their healing partner? You don't know what you don't know. If you haven't done so already, I encourage you to approach me to talk about my personal observations of how you are doing. People also provide me with feedback about their perception of your performance, so you may learn something from what I have to say.
3. Practice your craft. We have grown as a guild, and there are new people that I, unfortunately, have not had the chance to play with outside of raiding. However, I do know who logs in on a regular basis vs. those who log in 2-3 times a week for raid nights. And perhaps you don't need to practice how to play because you are awesome. While that may be the case, if you are struggling with raid healing and/or mechanics I suggest you take some time outside of the raid to figure out how to get better. Whether that means healing guildees through adventures/dungeons, theory crafting, or running the Protostar Hazard Training Course, do whatever you need to do to improve as a player.
4. Earn the respect of your guildees. So you want to be a raid healer? Great! How much healing experience do you have in Wildstar? Do other guildees (outside of your social circle) have experience with you and recommend you for a raid healer spot? Whether or not you know it, people talk about your performance both in raid and outside of the raid. This information usually finds its way back to me, which I take into consideration when asked about my perception of you as a healer.
5. Prove it. If you want to heal, the time will come for you to prove it in a raid. When that time comes, you should know that I am critically analyzing every move you make. I have parsed every healer and know where you stand from a "numbers" perspective. But guess what? Every healer knows that numbers only tell one part of the story. Did you let our tank die? Forget to cleanse that nasty debuff? Fail to communicate important information to the raid? These are only some of the many things I am looking for, and if you don't perform you should know that these observations and perceptions will have an impact on whether or not you get a spot on the healer roster.
I hope you each read this and understand that I am not trying to attack you. At the end of the day, the lives of 19 other people rest in your control, and my responsibility is to make sure we have the right healers handling this important raiding function. If you have not done so already, I also suggest you learn how to DPS and equip/rune yourself out, because there will be times when you are asked to DPS. I am not excluded from this, and if you are unable to perform in neither a healing role nor a DPS role, you may need to sit out on certain raid nights depending on our group composition.
Let me know if you have any questions about my expectations of you moving forward.