It's about as easy to switch your role in
World of Warcraft as
it has ever been in the history of the game. With dual spec, you can
have two ready to go. With the justice/valor system and heroic Hour of
Twilight dungeons, you can have a passable off-spec set in a few days.
The problem nowadays isn't gear, and it isn't having to go respec to do
it. The problem is ingrained habits, and that problem can be the hardest
to overcome.
It's certainly far from impossible, though.
The first thing you have to do when switching from tanking or healing to
DPS or vice versa is abandon how you approached the job. You're not
doing that job anymore.
Sell wow gold When I first went DPS in Firelands, it took me
two weeks to get myself to stop trying to intercept mobs running for the
healers or other DPSers and getting myself killed. That was because no
one was healing me -- not because they didn't care, but because they had
no idea I was about to get aggro on Firelands trash. Why would they? I
wasn't a tank. It's not that they didn't appreciate it; it's that they
had no way of anticipating I was going to do it.
Likewise, as a DPSer, you have a rotation or priority system you need to
execute in order to get your DPS to where it needs to be. While
specific fights control how much DPS you can actually do (and at times,
you'll be told to control your DPS in order to
not kill
something), it's different from tanking (which is half holding threat
via active use of abilities and half juggling incoming damage so you
don't explode) and far less reactive than healing. Healers don't just
run through their rotations -- they react to incoming damage and prepare
for big spikes or lots of raid damage. Approaching one of the roles
with the reflexes and habits of the others is something that will take
you time to unlearn.
Some players are natural at this. Others have a longer breaking-in
period. However, there are ways that you can shorten your adjustment
time if you're having issues going from one role to another.
-
Change your ability layout. Don't keep the same
abilities on the same keybinds if there's any cross-use between roles.
If you use similar abilities between roles with different names, make
sure they're on different keys. Make it so that you actually have to
stop and reorient yourself when you go from healing to tanking. Note
that I am not suggesting you make it actively harder for you to find
abilities you need, just make it different enough from your main spec or
role that it requires you to think about it.
-
Go out and practice. I'm not just saying hit a dummy
(which would be useless for a healer, anyway); I'm suggesting that you
run some Battlegrounds, hit a few heroic dungeons (or normal dungeons,
if you're not comfortable with heroics or geared enough for them yet),
and in general, use that new spec for its intended role. Once you're
comfortable, hit up some Raid Finder runs and get a few stress tests in.
It's not a bad idea to try and keep your gear and specs current by
switching what you do in PUGs and Raid Finder as frequently as you can
still enjoy. You don't even have to be intending to actually switch what
your main spec is, just keeping yourself limber mentally by trying out
the other role for a while.
-
Learn from others. Even if they're not your class, if
they're in your role, they probably have a few things to teach you. I'm
not saying go ask everyone, but if your guild has a few veteran tanks
or healers, why not see how they approach the role? Do they use
a lot of macros? What addons do they use? How do they handle specific
fight mechanics? Other players can be a resource -- you should be making
use of it.
-
Forget how you performed your old role. Especially if
someone else is now doing it, don't spend even a second watching and
saying, "That's not how I did it," because you're not doing it. Your
attention should be on what you're supposed to be doing. Now, it's
possible that you're right and that the new person is doing it wrong.
Worry about that once you've mastered what you're supposed to be doing,
not before.
-
Pay attention to your mistakes. Yes, acknowledge them
in raid or party, but also, really examine them. What did you do wrong?
Why did you do it? Often, when you have a few seconds to dissect your
mistake, it will end up breaking some misconception you had or habit you
didn't even notice. Despite the way people can overreact to mistakes in
PUGs and the Raid Finder, you're not a bad player for making one.
You're a bad player if you refuse to learn from it. wow
gold for sale And when someone
else points out a mistake, as long as they're not being a raging jerk
about it, consider what they're telling you. Can you move in closer and
pick up the adds sooner? Can you hold attacks for a few seconds? If the
advice is warranted and good, make use of it. If not, you've lost
nothing by considering it before rejecting it.
It's all about getting yourself thinking differently. While it can often
be impossible to absolutely expunge every trace of your old role
(especially if you've done it for extended periods of time), you can
learn to sequester them so that there's not so much bleed-through, and
you can perform them effectively. You just have to give yourself the
time and experience you need to start thinking like what you currently
are instead of what you just were.
