World of Warcraft, Healing Now Awards Damage

So unless you've been busy beyond all belief for the past two weeks then you already know about the huge change coming in patch 2.3. Your plus healing will now also add +33% of that healing back in plus damage. Without a doubt one of the biggest changes World of Warcraft has ever seen, though it's been downplayed quite a bit compared to many other changes coming in patch 2.3

Without a question this change has been coming for a long time, it's an issue healers have brought up again and again for what seems like forever. Without any offensive ability healers were rendered virtually useless outside of raids. They had no way to farm, no way to quest, and they really couldn't even PvP on their on.

Completely forget the fact that healers can now kill monsters at least semi-effectively, the global changes to how arena will be played are going to be huge. Since most healers have around 1500 healing in their PvP healing gear they will now also get at least 500 damage. Doesn't sound like much, but consider the effect this will have on a 2.5 healer team. These teams are amazing because it's so difficult to burn one single target, they can all heal each other, and come patch 2.3 they will all be able to do a reasonable amount of damage.

Though please don't overestimate the change, a healer's primary role in an arena is still going to be just that. Though the damage they have the potential to put out cannot be ignored, especially in the case of a 2.5 healer team, the "2345" setup for example. I'm quite intrigued by the possibly of tri-talent specs popping up, as they take advantage of both healing and damage talents, adding additional versatility.

Ryan "Foxem" L., the priest who plays on my arena teams has already stated he is interested in potentially trying a holy tri spec. Clearly his primary role will be that of a healer and dispeller, though with some additional talents he would also gain the ability to throw some damage, adding complexity to an already complex role.

When you break it down to the most basic of levels this change will certainly alter the way in which a team secures a kill. All of the sudden a healer's extra bit of damage right at the end might be the bit that gets the kill. Earth shock, shadow word: death, holy shock, and many other healer offensive spells will become true threats in the next few weeks.

Arena techniques and strategies are going to forever transform, and honestly, I'm excited to see it. For starters it opens up a wide variety of new roles and talent specializations for healers. Beyond the damage buff to healers, hunters are looking pretty amazing. With so many additions, fixes, and changes I can't wait to see how the hunter class as a whole will change in arena. Add an awesome looking 10-man dungeon, season 3, and all kinds of new gear, well it's going to be an amazing patch and I can't wait.