Healing for Dummies

Following on from DPS for Dummies, and Healatica Principia (what an amazingly pretentious title XD). I have healed in Wrath with all of these specs, but not all in progress raids. Like the DPS guide, this will obviously not make you a star, just get you started. The value here is having every style listed in a very condensed format.

Comment very welcome.


Druid:
Always: be casting, prehot if you're bored.
AOE: RJx5/WG, tranquility for decimates
Spot: RG/swiftmend. I like LB for minor spot healing, it's sick efficient and can be boosted if the incoming DPS rises.
Tank: Full hots + nourish spam. You can afford to roll at least 1 stack of LB and are hurting your HPS badly if you don't. Fast stack if you have mana issues; slow stack on secondary tanks.
Mana: use innervate early and you should have very few problems.
Macro: yell to Rebirth, NS+HT
Gear: cap haste then stack SP. Spirit is ok, mp5 is terribad.

Disco priest:
Always: Bubbles are always your priority. Keep PoM up but try not to hide it under a full shield. Melee usually make the best targets; use SW:D if it jumps to you. Use Pain Suppression and Power Infusion liberally.
AOE: If everyone's shielded and big damage is incoming, consider Renew. Not a strength.
Spot: Flash heal. Never use GH. Binding heal if you're damaged.
Tank: Maintain renew, penance to top up, binding if you're damaged, flash when you have to.
Mana: shadowfiend, try the Rapture trick if you're too leet for this guide.

Holy priest: Skipping for now because I haven't played Holy since BC.

Holydin: HL build is recommended.
Always: Maintain beacon, JotJ and SS, usually both on MT. Use your auras and hands.
AOE: Haha. Glyph HL and spam. Raid-bubblewall before big bangs.
Spot: Holy Shock, FoL. Hands.
Tank: FoL, HL when needed (ie most of the time, in raid).
Mana: Time Plea with lulls, but USE it. Other healers will cover you. Stacking with wings loses overall HPS, but this isn't a big problem. Pop DI when you know you'll be spamming HL.
Macro: DS /cancelaura, DF+HS (FoL after)

Shaman:
Always: Think out your totems. Usually you want SoE, Flametongue, WoA + Healing Spring. Use Stoneskin if you have a DK; skip FT if you have an elem sham; use windfury if WoA is covered and you don't have a frost DK; use Mana Spring if you lack BoW. Tremor and Cleansing can be situationally OP.
Always: Maintain water shield and healing waves for yourself, earth shield on the tank.
AOE: Brain heal FTW.
Spot: CH, Riptide, LHW. Rip leaves HOTs about to CH.
Tank: Riptide, LHW spam, HW if you really have to.
Mana: Mana Tide is a bit lame but does affect your group. Shaman are hard to run OOM, but if you get close use more LHW and less HW.
Macro: NS+TF+HW, NS+CH


I really like macros like this:

#showtooltip
/cast [@mouseover] earth shield; earth shield

It will cast on your mouseover target if it can, or your target if you have one, or yourself (assuming you have auto selfcast on).