[Devostar]

I have a lvl 80 Lock and found dps to get mind numbingly boring, sure watching the big numbers flash up was nice but there's only so many times you can do the same rotation and not wanna die. The idea of tanking didn't appeal to me not really the hit things with a big sword type. (yes I know there's more to it ) So that left me with only the healing option, I chose a priest as its the classic healer class, I'm only lvl 40 atm and Im disc spec for healing (Holy is cool but i prefer to prevent damage rather than heal damage) and shadow for lvling so I can still get my dps fix. I've gotta say that I love healing, the amount of power you have is awesome, I like the fact you have to actually think and react and if you do your job well the instance/raid is a success. In closing its nice to be needed.

[Matthras]

I'm a carebear and usually like to do things for and take care of other people. Funny I'm saying this since I'm a guy, but...>_>
Quite frankly I love the responsibility that comes with being a healer because I can observe more directly whether my healing was an issue or not. It's also a lot of fun to think about party mechanics on the run and quickly calculate the damage intake as to think about what to do next.
That and well, being thanked for being a good healer is always a nice way to boost the ego :P

When I first picked up WoW, I knew I wanted to roll a healer and I levelled as a Holy Priest from 1-80 all the way *facepalm*. Got bored for a bit as Holy, switched to Disc, haven't looked back since. I've DPS'd and have an offspec gear set for Shadow but like other people say it's a little mind-numbing.

[Uffda]

Through my MMo lifetime my main has always been a Paladin so when I started playing wow that was my first toon. Pre BC I was a whack a mole heal/cleanse bot and when BC came out I decided to try my hand at DPS so made a mage and the a warrior for tanking. I enjoyed DPS for a time but eventually got burned out with the competitive nature of it and although I enjoy tanking from time to time I dont always like the stress is adds to my evening so I went back to healing.

I like the rush you get when your heal lands just in the moment between living and dieing. I like the comradarie you end up sharing with your healing team. I like the little tricks you learn to keep a raid going. Most times it is far less stressful then chasing a damage meter and or controlling a raid.

[Eide]

I've always played tanking characters, from when I started WoW right till now. To me DPS just isn't any fun. At heart I am something of a control freak. I like to be in control of any group I'm in, and Tanking is THE way to do that.

Healing however is the thing I enjoy to do whenever I don't feel like tanking. It's also a measure of control, and it makes me something of a rarity (specially in BG's).

[Satorri]

To be clear, I do everything, and this expansion cycle my tank has been my main mostly because that's what we've needed most (and when we didn't *need* a tank for sufficient numbers available, my healers didn't want the other less experienced tanks).

I was a healer through the last 2/3rds of BC, and I have my healers now in the Licking that I play when I can, and for me it's a pretty simple matter.

More than either of the other two roles, healers are the most cooperative part of the raid. It's not about how much you can put out on an absolute scale (i.e. dps or tank threat), it's about the right amount, in the right place, and a sharply coordinated heal team effort is a work of beauty.

Sadly, to find this you need to find healers with the right attitude (i.e. *NOT* linking meters to show off how he topped the meters again because he's so great), but I play with some nice people, so it's quite enjoyable.

Like Matthras said, I'm a carebear, I like supporting the team, being specifically co-operatively focused.

[Blue]

Coming from the tanking arena, healing is also breath of fresh air, for me. The fights I used to play, as meat shield and pace car, I now can actually see--that is, when I'm not furiously selecting raid frames to throw heals! It's beginning to spill over into my Shadow Priest, as I find myself throwing heals, even then, now...doesn't do much for my DPS, but DPS gets boring, all by itself...something I always expected, but never had tested before...

Why do I heal? I am absolutely addicted to helping the others in my group. That was true, for me, as tank, anyway...I just do it more directly, now!

[holyjebus]

well tbh when i first started playing i saw the class preist and i turned and said to my wife "who the *&%^ would want to be a priest in a game" lol ... any way i did the token Human Warrior (sorry other humie wars) leveled to 70 played a little bit... then WOLK came out. i jumped straight onto the DK as i wanted to step away from tanking and i thought dk's were the coolest... so i got to 80 and started dps'ing my way threw nax and got sick of the same thing over an over rotation wise. (sorry deeps, this is just my experience) i wanted somthing that was unpridictable and different, but i missed being a "main" asset to the raid. so i rolled a priest started playing it like any alt thinking in my head it would get to 20 and i would delete it, just dont have the time to manage 3 toons. but i got addicted more then ever before. i started turning down raids leaving my guild just to play my priest. i loved it. the challenge the random stuff ups you get to fix. and the thrill of healing something hard and getting the feeling of accomplishment. i got something out of helping others. not i heal full time and even with 3 other 80's i don't touch them for anything but farming gold :P and i play my lock from time to time just cause i like to dot up people in bg's.

i will never look back. i still enjoy tanking and having a go with deeps. but nothing gives me my fix but healing. in saying that when you get content on farm healing can get monotonous. but thats when u dont heal for 10-20 sec let every one get low and test your self :P or change from holy to disc or disc to holy ( for priests ) and play around with a diffrent healing spec.


i have no idea what is written above this. it all just fell out of my head lol. um ok .... so i like healing and yea.

HJ
signing out!


Edit: O O O... and what satorri said

Source: Satorri healers are the most cooperative part of the raid. It's not about how much you can put out on an absolute scale (i.e. dps or tank threat), it's about the right amount, in the right place, and a sharply coordinated heal team effort is a work of beauty.

[Elchion]

Well long story short, I've played Paladin class type in every single MMO, rpg whatever. I began play WoW a few months after release. Alt were spawned, but then forgotten as I pushed my pally to 60 before TBC. Yes I was THAT slow. I was ret when ret wasnt cool. I stuck with ret all the way to 80. Then I was like ok now what. Gear is PoS no one wants me. Well not entirely true. Joined a decent guild and began running Naxx for gear. Couple weeks go by and see that Heals were sometimes hard to come by so i molded myself into dual spec Ret/Holy. Holy became main spec and I found healing more fun, just alot less worrysome than about keeping my rotation going. Heal has it's own pitfalls, but alot of satisfaction when you and your timely heals keep the tank up and the raid from wiping. Or squeezing just enough mana out to pop one more heal so the tank can finish off the boss.

[hellokitti]

Hubby rolled human prot warrior...he sorely needed someone to heal him through Hogger...so I abandoned my druid (for a bit) and rolled human priest because the robes covered up her thunder thighs instead of accentuating them the way plate did.

That and I am more about the behind the scenes play, cooperative nature, and overall healer attitude. Cheers!

[Fealthas]

Liked Elves, liked the idea behind a priest, rolled NE priest, lvled shadow, wanted to go /cry, respec'ed healer. Never going back

[Reev]

I heal because I feel the need to experience the whole game. I like seeing the game from all the main role perspectives. This is important also, since I'm a raid leader as well, and I think it should be required for raid leaders to have good experience with all 3 roles.

I also heal because it's fun, and very challenging compared to the other roles. Tanking gives you a lot of control over the fight. Healing requires you to surrender that control while still hanging on to the responsibility. Unlike the other two roles, rotations are relatively unimportant. It's by far the most situational role in terms of spell choice. There is a lot more reaction time and thinking needed in healing, whereas tanking requires more tactical thinking, which doesn't have to happen quite as quickly most of the time.

I dps because I really enjoy sometimes surrendering all control and just concentrating entirely on maximizing myself. DPS is the most selfish role for me, because outside of doing raid utility things like Tricks of the Trade, anesthetic poison, etc. I get to really concentrate on myself a lot more. Don't get me wrong, I'm still doing what the raids require from me, switching to the right targets, etc. but I'm not having to wrangle anything for other people, or concentrate on keeping others alive. It can be relaxing.

So in short, the 3 roles provide the following satisfaction for me:
DPS: Relaxation, self gratification
Tanking: Control, ego boost
Healing: Challenge, teamwork

[cherryblossom]

I play a resto druid because its kinda like who i am in real life i am the girl that if u fall asks u if ure ok and tries to help you out.However its not easy,takes alot of skill to be a good healer if something fails first to be blamed is tank and heals seldomly the dps >_>
but other than that its gratifying to know that u were part of an achievement ^_^

[keebz]

Well said, Reev. I was main spec DPS for quite a long time and put up numbers that topped the DPS charts, with good gear or not. You used the perfect word when you said self-gratification.

I have recently switched to tanking and it definitely is a larger role. There is a lot more you have to do and the burden of the entire encounter pretty much rests on your shoulders, at least in your head. One missed taunt, bad timing on cooldowns, loss of aggro, bad positioning, inability to adapt, and lots of other things will lead to a failed encounter. Tanking is a lot more stressful as you are in "control" like Reev said and being that I just recently switched, I'm still getting used to that greater responsibility. It also sucks because I remember being DPS, and if there are encounters such as Beasts where the tanks and healers do their jobs fine, but there are problems with the DPS, I start to feel the need for that "self-gratification" and switch to DPS (of course, I don't really want to).

It's the same thing with a healer. I have never played a healer so I can't speak for that role. However, healers must work with each other as a team but moreso with the tanks. Once that level is reached where the tanks and healers trust each other completely, everything from there goes smoothly even after mess-ups. However, in terms of the entire raid, what cherryblossom said is true - if something goes wrong, the first people looked at usually are tanks and healers, and then DPS. I must also say that having a good healer (guildie or friend) makes me tank more confidently and take a few more risks (try out new stuff). The same thing goes for the saying that a good healer can make up for an undergeared tank.

Above all else, the biggest thing I have learned, especially from my recent experience of switching to a full-time tank is:

Good tanks are invaluable. Good healers are priceless. You always want those same good tanks and healers in your raid because they have "chemistry". Good DPS are also invaluable because the encounter is going to go nowhere without them, but you can usually afford a little bit of slack. On average, raids consist of 16 DPS vs 3 tanks vs 6 healers. This gives us a very low number of tanks and healers which, of course, stand out because there's so few fulfilling that role.

[Amamaeth]

I play a healer because I like the challenge. I like knowing what is going on with my raid. I also like the freedom of choice I can have with my gear depending on play style and it not being a detriment to the raid (some restrictions may apply). I also just love the priest theme and mechanics.

..but this is coming over several tanks and dps raiders so it's also something newish (barring the fact that I healed on my paladin).

[Maèl]

Tank is in the driver's seat. Healers are riding shotgun.
I like both. Don't like sitting in the back.

[Exostential]

I played a rogue in my younger and more vulnerable years, then rolled a shadow priest soley for pvp because hey, they glow purple.

I Always healed dungeons to prove mah gaming skills when needed but it wasn't till doing old hillsbrad that i decided to spec into holy to make instance leveling easier.

The rush of healing with talented abilities was so exhilarating, it was like all the healing i had done before was with weights. And unlike dps'ing which i was ok at, i just had a natural talent for healing.

I play a druid now, which i consider to be the mirror mirror version of a shadow priest, i love it and have not looked back. I heard a quote the other day about the 3 roles;

Dps is a science
Tanking is a strategy
Healing is an art

Very well put, you can guess which of those subjects i got A's in.

[Martial]

Strange how most tanks (like myself) also have a fully spec'd healer. Actually makes sense as tanks and healers tend to keep their heads very cool in HCs and raids while the ranting and jumping up and down normally come from DPS (though in my experience NEVER hunters for some reason...). Must be a personality thing?

Well whatever it is I raise my glass to all you Tealers/Hanks out there! Thanks for keepin the game fun ;-)

[Zireea]

Well I play a healer for its the roll that suites me the most. I have tried tanking it wasen't really my thing and dps didn't give me the same satisfaction as healing. I do enjoy the fact that without me the tanks wouldn't be able to do what they do best while the dpsers beat the s*** out of the bosses and the otherway around.

So why am here on tankspot, I have no idea but hey aslong as I heal everyone I don't think anyone minds .

[Njordus]

because dps is easy, and tanking is just dps'ing in front of the boss

[OpForce]

I play a healer because it's a challenge. Tanking and DPS have their own challenges, but being a healer means you're responsible for the lives of everyone, including your own. Without healers, groups wouldn't get very far in raids. Being a shaman healer, I have time against me (so I stack haste like it's going out of style). Timing is key in almost every role, but if your heals don't get to the person in time, they can die. So the challenge aspect of the role is what I love about doing it.