Survivor mage...

But when you look this good, who cares about your DPS numbers?

My buddy Ran frequently teases me when I am playing my mage, Ceniza, stating, "Oh, I thought you were healing," because my fireballs and combustibles just cannot compete with his legendary daggers, or his warlock prowess for that matter. This got me to thinking, however, about switching from character to character, and the abilities we do have to keep our tails alive. Obviously, when we are playing a healing character, we have various abilities to keep others alive and ourselves, to greater to lesser degrees. Maybe I'm not doing it right, but I have yet to find that "Oh, Sh*t!" button while healing on Matty, but she is not without a few salutiferous solutions up her sleeves.

I am too sleepy and lazy to come up with a comprehensive list this morning, but these thoughts were rattling around my noggin: Just how does one survive when the odds are proccing against you?

Preventative Cures:

• Draenei:  Draenei have the Gift of the Na'aru. This little spell with the big cooldown
• Herbalism: picking flowers has its benefits--this has saved my mage many times, even though the act of picking the daisies bores the snot out of her.
• Mages: Ice block, and Dwarfs have the racial Stoneform
• Death Knights: All kinds of goodies to keep them from going all morgue-box
• Rogues: recuperate, naturally
• Paladins have all kinds of means of keeping healthy, the big doses are of course, Lay On Hands and the Guardian of Kings, who shouts the interjections when he's out such as "Hey!" I keep expecting him to follow that with "Get off my lawn!" but he never does, as disappointing as that is. Maybe that'll be in tomorrow's patch.
• Forsaken: Oh, this is distasteful, but they have cannibalism. Well, waste not, want not, is the Dark Lady's motto. Got a couple hundred dead bodies lying around? Dig 'em up and use them for your dark purposes! Hooray!
• Warlocks rock the gym, using all kinds of spells to not only heal themselves, but others in case of emergency. If there's a lock in the room, I always feel better, and stock up on Lockrocks, put it on my action bar for quick access, and have been known to crack a soulstone or two. See? They're not so evil.

As far as warriors, other Horde races, etc., I do not have any authority to write further. I would love to know your favorite prescription for staying healthy and whole, and able to live to fight another day.

Oh, and this might be the cure for LFR loot-aches:
http://lifeingroup5.com/?p=2882&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mops-solutions-problems-t13

Theme song: Spoonful of Sugar by the ultimate mage, Mary P.

And Bear posted this link, because laughter is the best medicine:
http://www.thedailyblink.com/2012/07/forum-raiders-in-real-life/