The Cataclysm beta has been going pretty strong now, with news trickling in from various sources. If you haven't heard, a new round of invites for the beta will be going out soon. While you keep checking your email and Battle.net pages, I thought I would share some of what I have seen healing the first few instances and doing a little questing.

Gear availability, stats and talents

A lot of people have been asking how our current gear will hold up compared to quest rewards and drops we will be seeing early on in Cataclysm. Honestly, I can tell you things are quite a bit different so far than what we are used to seeing. First of all, we have to keep in mind that the level gap is only five levels this time around. Compare that to the other two expansions, which saw 10 levels of growth, and you have to realize that mob drops and quest rewards will be a lot closer to the items we are ending the expansion with.

Take a look at Crepuscular Shield at ilvl 279; compare that to Bulwark of Smouldering Steel, an ilvl 264 raid epic. The stats compared between the two are not that far apart. Keep in mind, too, that INT will be giving us not only our mana pool, but will also be the stat that drives our spellpower. Also remember that spirit will be replacing MP5 on gear for us. The rest of our mail gear so far seems to be right in line with this, as well. In several cases, there have been green items that have borderline challenged ICC-25 epics. The bottom line for those asking if they should be hitting the raids and instances hard to get the best items they can: I can tell you not to really worry about it so much. It appears it won't be nearly as important as it was in the past expansions, as quest items and drops are already shaping up to fill in any gearing gaps that you may have. It really seems that there is going to be a big equalization at 85 in terms of gearing among all the players.

Stat-wise, you are going to be very much in the same place that you are when you end the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. What I mean by this is that your stats won't be too much different from where they are right now. As it stands, expect to lose a little bit of spellpower and a little bit of MP5. When I loaded Lodur up, I was down about 200 or so spellpower and about 60 MP5.

Talent-wise, things are unchanged on the beta. We have heard that there is a very specific vision for the talent trees that will see a radical change from what we are used to. As of yet, though, this change has not been implemented. I am looking forward to the build where they include this, as I'm very interested in how they change things around to trim the fat out of the tree.

Falling in love with new spells

Greater Healing Wave is one of the new spell additions you have to look forward to. I know before I talked about it's being a situational heal, and it very much is a situational heal. That said, though, it is a wonderful situational heal. As it stands right now, as a backup nuke heal, GHW is pretty effective. I've been using it as an emergency heal tied to Nature's Swiftness, and it has saved a tank many times over. Healing Wave is earning its place as a staple heal. It is very mana-efficient for the amount of healing it does, and with a healthy amount of haste, it gets even better. I find myself using this spell almost as much as Chain Heal, and it has been a very reliable heal.

Unleash Elements is so-so right now. You pick this up at level 81. It allows you to unleash Earthliving Weapon, causing a minor heal on your target, and buffs your next healing spell by 20%. The super-charge is nice, but right now it is the only reason to use the ability. The heal really is minor, and there were several instances where the global cooldown was better spent on a regular heal. I think that the healing portion of it may wind up being altered soon in the upcoming beta builds.

I have not yet hit level 83 on the beta, so I have not been able to play with Healing Rain yet. Aside from Spiritwalker's Grace, this is one of the abilities I'm looking forward to playing with the most. An area of effect HoT that is not Healing Stream Totem intrigues me. I am curious to see how effective it is and moreso how useful it is. I am curious how often we will be using this compared to our standard heals.

Healing is harder!

When the developers said that they were going to make healing harder, they were not kidding. Mana consumption has definitely gone up. You can't simply spam heals anymore, and this is just in the first available instances! Things hit a lot harder now, as well, making healing a little more interesting. You have to pay special attention to your mana and what heals you are choosing for what. If people are spread out, Chain Heal may not be the best choice for you at that time, whereas Healing Wave may be just what you need. There were a couple of points where I was healing and was attempting to gauge incoming damage and a tank died -- from full to zero in two shots. Part of this is that some of the tank mechanics are wonky in the beta, but you can definitely see an increase in difficulty, mana usage and a need to be aware of your environment and how your group is interacting with it. It is a bit refreshing to be so challenged right at the start, but I have a feeling this will be tweaked and fine-tuned at least a little bit in the upcoming builds.