In Deep Slumber Part 2

In Deep Slumber Part 2
Destromath Still a Problem

Sista has yet to kill the pit boss, Destromath, making six more attempts and trying different approaches. That makes fourteen failures so far. Sista is getting better at her healing but still has trouble keeping both the tank and Lyessa alive. One or the other always dies. She tried focusing heals on Lyessa as if she is the tank and just do general healing for the rest. That makes sense, because when Lyessa dies, it's immediately game over. But that approach didn't work, either.

Not giving up, Sista formed a new plan. How about handling the fight like a real five man dungeon run? She hasn't been able to bull her way through it. Sista has to learn to heal properly. Swallowing her pride, she asked Wildshard for help. Wild has his reservations, but he couldn't deny the twinge of adrenaline that coursed through him, something he hasn't felt in a long time. That adrenaline came with the taste of fear as well. 

Wild made a personal assessment of his own willingness, and found that he wanted to help, in whatever way he could. He mentally dusted off the cobwebs. Proper healing rotations and use began slowly coming back to Wild. He then passed on the knowledge to Sista. Unlike many specs which changed drastically in Legion, the resto druid spec is still very close to what Wild learned many expansions ago. Wild tutored Sista on when to refresh Lifebloom on Lyessa. That is critical. Second, Wild chided her for completely ignoring her mana levels. She can't heal if she has no mana. Both shortcomings can be improved using addons, one to track Lifebloom, and another to watch her mana. She may still die, but at least she'll know why.

Sista also has to learn the fight. She watched video to gain additional information on how to handle it. She learned that her "group" includes a guardian druid (the tank), a moonkin and another DPS. She learned that there are seven stages. Stage five is the most difficult. She'll be taking hits from Destromath, plus waves of fire on the ground and groups of stalking minions. During this phase Lyessa must be kept alive. Then, at stage six, if she can get to it, the DPS will start to overwhelm the pit boss. That assumes Sista has kept her DPSers alive. Destromath is forced into the air above the ground, helpless. Then Lyessa is able to be cleansed in stage 6 and gets her win in stage 7 by picking up the G'hanir artifact. That's what "should" happen.

Sista hasn't been able to survive stage 5. She worries about whether her gear should be better. Then there are the other members of the group. Is the guardian druid really doing what a tank should be doing? Are the DPS staying out of the fire and avoiding the minions? Sista has her doubts. Given the video of the fight, the battle is all on Sista's shoulders. She wins or loses on how well she can heal her group.

So, Sista calls on the talents of Wildshard again. In Wild's early years he used addon mods such as Healbot as an aid. Sista may decide to try one of those mods, but there is a learning curve to using them and often difficulties in getting it set up properly. As Wild became more confident in his healing skill, he stopped using canned mods and began crafting his own healing "mods" using macros.

For example, this is the macro for casting Lifebloom
/cast[@mouseover,nodead,help][@player]Lifebloom

The macro checks a number of things automatically that you don't have to worry about. Using the macro is a matter of simply hovering over the character (using the side panel) and then clicking the Lifebloom button. You don't have to go look for the character to heal him/her, and if there is no target it automatically casts the heal on herself.  Wild has macros for all of the heal spells. Sista needs to learn the spells, what they do, and which buttons to click.
Finally, there are the Lifebloom and Mana addons Sista will use to track those key items.

Players who run dungeons and raids routinely know all of this. It's second nature. Wild used to be one of those kind of players. Not anymore. But both Sista and Wild hope that between the two of them they might triumph at least once and kill this pit boss. It would be great for Sista to get that accomplishment, and it would bring back great memories for Wild. And PS - Don't stand in the fire!