mjdoom,May 6 2005, 05:07 PM Wrote:Preshielding is certainly not always necessary, but there are also definitely situations where it is and I'm not sure that it's not a good habit to get into anyway. Any situation where you are preshielding is probably a controlled pull where you are at or near max mana on the pull. In that case any mana you have will be concentrated on keeping the primary AOEer alive and generally the mobs will be dead long before you go OOM. The extra buffer added by the preshield is certainly worth it IMHO.[right][snapback]76504[/snapback][/right]
And you are correct. There are some situations where it is absolutely necessary to preshield. You're absolutely correct on that. And that's why I sometimes preshield and sometimes don't. But there are also times where it's better to let the mage take a slight beating.
mjdoom,May 6 2005, 05:07 PM Wrote:Edit: I don't want to sound contradictory but you made the claim that your method "keeps the mage alive better." Where is your basis for this statement? As I see it you are leaving less margin for error (with weakened soul) and intentionally letting the mage take more damage, what am I missing? (This is an honest question, please don't take it the wrong way)
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My basis for this statement is that in certain situations and for the good of the group, everyone comes out alive in the party if I do it this way and I have more mana to use to heal others if need be. Aleri also has Improved Power Word: Shield maxed out so the weakened soul only lasts 15 seconds instead of the full 30. If I wait to cast the shield on the mage and then hit with a renew, in 15 seconds the mage will get almost all of that health that they lost back. The mage can get 2-3 AoEs off before I have to put a shield on. Then with shield on, they get to cast another round of AoEs. If the mobs aren't dead within the amount of time between the start of the AoEing and the time the shield wears off, they're damned close to it so the mage only needs one maybe two flash heals. Certainly not the wasteful "spamming" that Hedon mentions until you can get another shield on the mage. If you pre-shield, then your mage doesn't get that first 2-3 "free" AoEs so the mobs aren't as hurt when the shield goes down so you are more likely to be required to shield again. With this method, I'm less likely to have to shield a second time and that saves me mana.
This also depends upon how much AoE other members of the group are contributing. Aleri is a holy priest (with 10 points in discipline for unbreakable will, improved power word: shield and improved power word: fortitude) who has a protection specced warrior in front of her and two mages (usually) for support. If we need AoE, we've got AoE so we can take out groups quickly enough for me to usually not have to shield twice, but if I do have to shield twice (and I have), then that 15 seconds makes a huge difference. I am also almost always the only healer in the group so mana conservation and regen is a huge concern of mine. That means sometimes having to play things a little tighter so I can have mana when that patrol pops around the corner. One slightly beat on mage is much better than one dead mage and hurt other characters because I spent so much mana healing the mage when he/she needed to pump out the AoE.
I shouldn't have said, "keeps the mage alive better". I should have said that it keeps the group alive better.
Intolerant monkey.