08-15-2005, 08:17 PM
From extensive Druid use (and neglecting the upcoming patch that buffs Feral a bit), they are primarily healers in PvE. I'll leave PvP comments to someone more versed in that aspect.
You are right in saying that it could be due to a lack of healing in general. I play a Balance Druid and, when in a raid with ample healing and no need of my help, will outdamage 2/3 of the raid. Last UBRS run where I did not need to dedicate myself to healing (3 priests, a rarity), I ended up #4 in damage. As a side note, I'm generally not crazy about damage meters, but in this instance they were used more as a guage than a competition. No overhealing to skew the results, no stupid moves to increase damage.
That said, at the end of that raid I was filling the hybrid role by going about 50/50 in terms of damage and healing. Why was I healing when I had been primarily artillery throughout the instance? Because I can. It was more important to ensure the tanks were nice and healthy than it was to pound away with Starfire. There were no other Druids, so no other source of Regrowth and Rejuvenation to lend HoTs into the mix.
Far more often than that situation, I find myself as one of the primary healers in a run. And in Molten Core, I tend to be paired up with a Priest to keep the Main Tank up. In those cases, Restoration would serve me far better.
Hence, most Druids in high-level (UBRS, Strat, Scholo) or endgame (MC, BWL) instances are going to see the most benefit from the Restoration tree. They can heal, so it's assumed that they should.
Were there more Priests in the above instances, it would give more freedom to the hybrid classes. But as a Druid is not looked at as a "high dps" class, it would be rare for one to be recruited when the healing spots are already full. People would rather invite a rogue or mage to fill that slot.
You are right in saying that it could be due to a lack of healing in general. I play a Balance Druid and, when in a raid with ample healing and no need of my help, will outdamage 2/3 of the raid. Last UBRS run where I did not need to dedicate myself to healing (3 priests, a rarity), I ended up #4 in damage. As a side note, I'm generally not crazy about damage meters, but in this instance they were used more as a guage than a competition. No overhealing to skew the results, no stupid moves to increase damage.
That said, at the end of that raid I was filling the hybrid role by going about 50/50 in terms of damage and healing. Why was I healing when I had been primarily artillery throughout the instance? Because I can. It was more important to ensure the tanks were nice and healthy than it was to pound away with Starfire. There were no other Druids, so no other source of Regrowth and Rejuvenation to lend HoTs into the mix.
Far more often than that situation, I find myself as one of the primary healers in a run. And in Molten Core, I tend to be paired up with a Priest to keep the Main Tank up. In those cases, Restoration would serve me far better.
Hence, most Druids in high-level (UBRS, Strat, Scholo) or endgame (MC, BWL) instances are going to see the most benefit from the Restoration tree. They can heal, so it's assumed that they should.
Were there more Priests in the above instances, it would give more freedom to the hybrid classes. But as a Druid is not looked at as a "high dps" class, it would be rare for one to be recruited when the healing spots are already full. People would rather invite a rogue or mage to fill that slot.
See you in Town,
-Z
-Z