Tactics #3: Dispels

This tactics post will probably be shorter than the first two, since dispelling isn't something that's particularly difficult; it's more something to be aware is crucial on some fights, and what your character can (if anything) dispel.

Wowpedia has a good table for who can dispel what; if your class and/or specialization can dispel, and you aren't already running a healing addon that tells you about it, a nice non-healer-specific addon for tracking friendly/defensive dispels is Decursive.  An addon isn't necessary for dispelling if you're good at watching buffs/debuffs on health bars, but if you just can't seem to keep track of them, Decursive has its own little tiny health bars that you can plop somewhere you can keep an eye on them.  I switched over to Decursive during Cataclysm after three expansions of healing as a priest without an addon, simply because I got tired of juggling Dispel Magic targets.

So what's the deal with dispelling?  Some fights you'll run into have bosses or other monsters that will put a debuff on some or all of the characters in your group.  These debuffs may do massive damage to their targets, or if they may have a debilitating effect if left on too long.  Some debuffs can just be healed through, but if your group is dying repeatedly to them, focusing more on dispelling than keeping everyone's health topped off may prove to be more effective.

Dispelable debuffs come in four flavors: magic, poison, diseases, and curses.  Different classes can dispel different debuffs, but most healing classes can dispel at least two.  If you're not sure what you can dispel (if anything), check out that Wowpedia table or just browse through your spellbook.  If you're coming back to the game after a relatively long break, dispels underwent a major overhaul in Mists of Pandaria, so they may have changed since you last played.

Some points to remember:

• Healers have the most dispel options, but caster classes in general often can do at least one, even if it's only to dispel offensively (for example, if the boss puts a heal-over-time spell on itself).  If your healers are getting overwhelmed, see what your options for spreading out the load are.
• If you're in a group that has multiple healers, divide up the work.  Most dispel abilities have an 8-second cooldown, and frequently two or three targets will need dispelling at the same time.  All the healers should probably be watching for them.
• Priests have a mass-dispel ability on a longer cooldown; this can be helpful when everyone is grouped up, but it doesn't work on all effects.  It's also mana-intensive when used repeatedly, so it's not really effective as a crutch in a large group if the other healers aren't helping.
• Dispelling is similar to shield effects in that it frequently prevents damage rather than heals damage taken.  A healer with a lot of dispels in a dispel-heavy fight may have a lower healing throughput on a meter than the other healers in the group, but similar to shielding, they may be making up for that with the dispels.
• Some fights may require a diverse healing roster due to the variety of debuffs involved; if you're missing a dispel type, it may be harder for your group to kill that particular boss.