Healing Comparison: An Examination of Power Creep in Dragonflight

Famed Restoration Shaman and Wowhead Class Guide Writer, Theun, delves into the world of healing in the popular game, Dragonflight. In his latest article, he compares the differences between past and present healing to identify some of the causes of the current issues in the healing community. If you've been keeping up with his previous articles, it's no surprise that healers are not satisfied with the current state of healing, leading to shortages of this pivotal role in various content. But what exactly are the root causes behind these frustrations?

Changes in Healing Landscape

In a recent episode of the popular podcast, The PoddyC, the hosts discuss the prevalence of defensive cooldowns and how this has dramatically shifted the focus in high-level raiding and Mythic+ dungeons. The mechanics in the game now seem to be designed to provoke the use of defensive abilities, allowing players to survive without relying heavily on their healers. This has created a situation where healers feel less impactful and players feel more self-sufficient.

In his exploration of this topic, Theun takes a closer look at the power creep of defensive and healing throughput cooldowns for different classes before and after the release of Dragonflight, the latest expansion. He suggests that this power increase may have played a significant role in the rise of compositions that don't require a dedicated healer. Such compositions have been observed in recent weeks of the Mythic Dungeon Invitational (MDI), a competitive tournament where the best players battle it out in challenging dungeons.

• Encounter Design and Raid-Wide Damage

Another aspect that Theun delves into is encounter design and the lack of constant raid-wide damage mechanics. In Dragonflight, many encounters do not consistently inflict damage to the entire raid group, resulting in less demand for healers to provide widespread healing. This further diminishes the perceived importance of healers in the game.

Theun suggests that in order to restore balance to healing, Blizzard, the game's developer, should consider adjusting the healing and damage intake ratios for Season 4. This would address the current disparity between the prevalence of defensives and the role of healers. However, he also notes that the introduction of Hero Talents and their additional throughput defensiveness in the upcoming expansion, The War Within, may complicate matters further.

Final Thoughts

As healing continues to be a hot topic among players and the gaming community, the issues surrounding it are multi-faceted. Theun's analysis highlights the impact of defensive cooldowns, encounter design choices, and the constant evolution of the game's mechanics. It will be fascinating to see how Blizzard addresses these concerns and whether healing and damage balance will be achieved in future updates and expansions. In the meantime, the healing community eagerly awaits the changes that Season 4 and The War Within will bring to Dragonflight.