I've been playing WoW for quite some time now. But only recently have I joined the "club" of endgame play. Since now I have a level 70 character I began to "re-learn" the game. It seems that when it comes to traditional roles in this game most of the characters level their toon based on a specific spec or two that allowes for the fastest leveling. This could be most damage or the most resource efficient way to level. However, that all changes once you get to 70 because now characters begin to specialize.

I will reveal my ignorance and will say that for quite some time I though that Priests are the best healers in the game. The other healers had their ability as a nice-to-have. So I never thought of druids, shamans or paladins as "healers". I begin to see my error. Running some of the level 70 dungeons I begin to see the awsome healing powers of the healing specked Druids and Shamans and even Paladins. In fact, I have seen some encounters where Shamans or Druids performed better then Priests. Once again, this was due to my ignorance, but I believe that that ignorance is widespread.



Let's examine the lower levels, and the healers available. Playing a priest I constantly got invited to go and do dungeons out of the blue! Somone would send me a tell and invite me, even though I was not looking for a group. Same experience happend to my friend through his leveling who also has a preist in his late 50s. I never had this experience playing a druid or a shaman. Yet after healing a WC run with my druid, I realize that priests don't have monopoly on healing.

I am still amazed at the shaman and druid healing powers. It seems that when they are specked and geared they are unstoppable, and can sometimes even survive and encounter where priest goes down fast ( like when boss agroes and beats up a shaman before tank regains control of the citation). I've seen them in action, and will have to give them respect. The question is, do they give themselves respec. Do they offer them selves as healers while leveling, or do they also give in to the notion that their fate is to DPS until they are 70 and bring a priest along for healing.

Please don't get me wrong! I love my preist. I love my discipline specked Preist because I enjoy leveling him when I'm by my self, and enjoy the respect I get when it comes to finding a group to play with. I personally did not like leveling Druid, perhaps it is something to level in the future. What I am saying is that we need to change the perspective of the WoW community out there, and get more of the non-Priests classes visible as healers before they reach level 70. That way there are more people to run though the lower level instances, and we get better experienced healers once they reach 70.