Some questions from a newbie 50 WHM

[Yarikh]

Hi, this is my second week as Level 50. So I've been reading up, experimenting and trying out other kind of combination of play style to try to improve as a WHM.

This is my first 50 class, so the only time I ever get to see another WHM in game is during 8 man parties and it's not enough to go by example. So.. I'm here to ask the more experienced 50 WHM and players who have been in party with them some questions about what they expect or their preference.

So far what I have been doing is trying to juggle the two roles, practicing and getting familiar with adding cleric stance + DPS into the dungeon gameplay aside from boss battles. Because just focusing on healing probably doesn't cut it anymore. Especially where speed is concerned. And the last place I want to be is the one who slow the whole party down.

I realize there isn't just one kind of playstyle and it is more situational. So I'm trying to get a better idea from other players' point of view.

I've been getting mixed reviews so far.  Some party prefer the WHM to just step back and stick to healing and not waste mana on DPS and just throw some DoT every now and then to just be the passive supportive role, some prefer that the WHM be more active, put up cleric stance and also contribute to DPS.

What would you expect or prefer your WHM in your party to do? --Other than the obvious, make sure nobody dies.

Also, for attribute distribution, I read some guides say that we should dump them in VIT more than MND for Titan. Darklight doesn't give enough Vit for survival for Titan? @-@;

[Fafarian]

What will you do when you have full mana? Mana keeps regen-ing, so it is best to throw some dps here and there to help out. But this only applies to 4m dungeon, you better stick to healing role in 8m dungeon, until your group is so overgeared that there is practically nothing to heal! When I do AK/WP, I just throw 1 regen then switch to Cleric's Stance and spam stuffs to my heart content. Remember that you do not need to top up your tank to full, 70-80% will do since tank will regen HP to full between combats.

As for Titan (and this whole CoB t1-4), you do not even need full DL for it. Mixed gears of AK/DL accessories + Relic weapon are enough. Of course, better gears mean easier job! Just remember when the turmoil comes and pre-cast heal, you will be fine with just 3k HP (that was my HP when I first killed Titan).

[Mion]

Lav cleared Titan with just 2.8k HP with AK gear.

As for the role of healers, I would prefer them to not enter cleric stance, but apply DoTs (Aero, Thunder) due to enmity issues if Holy is spammed to increase DPS.

[uberdyologzz]

Ideally, a healer should be using Cleric+DPS to help push a fight to end faster.

THAT SAID, in fights that really matter (i.e. long, protracted fights with a lot of incoming raid damage and multiple tank spikes), keeping track of everyone's HP, upcoming incoming damage, which target should be DPSed, avoiding AoEs, whether or not cleric stance is toggled on or off, among other things (when to refresh Regen, managing mana), dropping the DPS side of the equation will be the best way to raise chances of success, especially for fights unfamiliar to you.

No group will question a healer who doesn't DPS in order to keep on top of heals - groups will definitely question a healer who misses a clutch heal because they wasted a second on toggling Cleric Stance off, or who ran OOM too soon because they popped too many holies forgetting that SoS is still far from a recast.

TL:DR; be comfortable in "just" healing fights/dungeons, especially ones you don't know. Go for DPS when you're very comfortable in the fight/dungeon already and you know that you can contribute damage without wiping the party. This includes knowing the tank's capabilities, esp. when on DF or running with a certain tank for the first time.

[Yarikh]

Thanks for the valuable input and advice, everyone. 

It'll take some getting used to balance both and remember WHM's priorities. All that's left is to keep at it and get more experienced and familiar with different kinds of party setup.  And probably learn to grow thicker skin if things don't always go as planned.

(I guess I let some of the bad runs in DF get to me a little bit.. haha.. ^^; )