Running with a backup healer

[Vyndree]

I find this works well for my 2 shadowpriests (with 2 locks and a pally)... But it could also work for my 4 shaman+tank group if I felt like extending the effort.

Basically what this does is lets your healer do all the healing up until some horrible disaster comes and she dies -- in which case your backup healer, using the same keypresses, starts healing.

Dedicated Healer:
[code:1]/cast [target=focustarget,help,nodead] Greater Heal; [target=focus,help,nodead] Greater Heal[/code:1]

Backup Healer:
[code:1]/stopmacro [target=DedicatedHealerName,help,nodead]
/cancelaura Shadowform
/cast [target=focustarget,help,nodead] Greater Heal; [target=focus,help,nodead] Greater Heal[/code:1]
Does the same thing as the dedicated healer, except she doesn't pop out of shadowform unless the dedicated healer is dead. This means she can only shield and pot/healthstone until the dedicated healer dies.

Furthermore, all of the backup healer's dps spells go like this, if you want them to stop dpsing when the dedicated healer dies (saving their mana for heals):
[code:1]/stopmacro [target=DedicatedHealerName,dead]
/cast [target=focustarget,harm] Mind Blast[/code:1]

I just thought I'd share, as this greatly simplified things for me. After all, when your dedicated healer dies, you typically don't have much time to think about things. So having them macroed really helps.

And on a total side-note, all of my characters have an "uhoh" button (it's basically my "I'M GONNA DIE!!!" spam button.
Dedicated healer (priest):
[code:1]/use Healthstone
/use Healing Potion
/castsequence [target=player] reset=30 Power Word: Shield, Fade, Renew, Flash Heal, Flash Heal, Flash Heal[/code:1]

Backup healer (shadowpriest):
[code:1]/use Healthstone
/use Healing Potion
/castsequence [target=player] reset=30 Power Word: Shield, Fade, Renew, Flash Heal, Flash Heal, Flash Heal
/stopmacro [target=DedicatedHealerName,help,nodead]
/cancelaura Shadowform[/code:1]

Warlocks (each chooses a unique rezzer to soulstone so they don't SS the same char):
[code:1]/use Healthstone
/use Healing Potion
/cast [target=RezzerName,help,nodead] Soulstone
/cast Create Soulstone
/cast Healthstone
/cast [target=TankName,help,nodead] Sacrifice
[/code:1]
What this does is uses healthstones/pots and attempts to soulstone a rezzer. If you don't have a soulstone, it creates one and then soulstones the healer. After soulstoning a rezzer, it creates a new healthstone (or one you can use if you didn't already have one).
At the same time, as long as the tank is still alive, it sacrifices the voidwalker. The reason I check for this is because I do not want to be sacrificing the blueberry if he's tanking. Typically my tank is my focus or I have the locks focus a mob for offtanking, so I put /cast [target=focus,help,nodead] Sacrifice -- if their focus is a mob, or my pally tank is not dead, they won't get rid of the voidwalker.

Tank: (mine happens to be a pally)
[code:1]/use Healthstone
/use Healing Potion
/stopmacro [target=DedicatedHealer,help,nodead]
/cast [target=player] Holy Light[/code:1]
I refuse to bubble in this macro. Bubble is a seperate button, because it drops my tank's aggro while active (you get the aggro back when you remove the bubble) and the mobs will run around killing my squishies.
DI is also on a seperate macro since I rely on warlock soulstones first.

[Wilbur]

Very insightful Macro'ing. Now if only we could pull people away from the Multiple Warlocks + Priest Groups ;-)

[Vyndree]

Very insightful Macro'ing. Now if only we could pull people away from the Multiple Warlocks + Priest Groups ;-)

Hey, I also have my 4x shaman 1x warrior group. (Sometimes I swap the warrior with the pally).

I don't think I could do 4x locks/1x priest. My 2 priests will be shadow (dedicated healer as well, just stepping out of shadow for instances and elites). This group I was basically trying to find some things that had synergy with paladins -- shadowpriests seemed ideal since I already have a shaman group (health and mana return), and warlocks have synergy with shadowpriests.

And hey, at 70 I can always grab my other priest and respec lolsmite and ret ;)

[Wilbur]

/me mumbles to self. I'm seriously considering Tinkering with a Hunter Group at some point in the future.

[Vodka]

This is genious! =D

However, I do have a quick question... Let's say the primary healer runs oom, but doesn't die... How would I add a modifier to the secondary macro? I tried taking out the stopcasting on the secondary all together and making it only heal on modifier, but I couldn't get it to work. User error, I am sure :wink:

Any insight? :?

[Zaelar]

Use a different button to cancel shadow form and change action bars. You would only need to press it once so it shouldn't be too inconvenient. You should also have that same button change your main healer's action bar so they get a chance to regen mana instead of doubleing the heals.