@Rosekin: This is actually one of the points I tried to address in my post, Out of Combat Resurrection:

It is possible for a group of rogues and druids to stealth to the back of some instances, assassinate the boss mob(s), and hearth out (this is currently possible in Sethekk Halls and is considered the best way for rogues and druids to acquire the Shoulderpads of Assassination). It is also an instance dynamic that Blizzard has been aware of for some time, dating back to stealth runs for the Seal of Ascension quest in LBRS. When Blizzard wants to prevent this from being a viable option, they employ one or more of the following methods:

• Mobs which have Truesight and have a larger aggro radius toward characters who are stealthed. Partied rogues are frequently unable to sap a given group of mobs because one or more of them see through stealth.
• Stealthed and triggered spawn mobs. These are mobs that you can’t see until they’re in range to aggro and attack you. These mobs include the assassins in the room with Blackheart the Inciter.
• Narrow corridors in which mobs patrol, making it harder to stay out of the perception range. Sometimes these corridors have the added difficulty of one or more stealthed or triggered spawn mobs, making getting through while stealthed even more difficult.

It’s also worth noting that stealth and resurrection is the most difficult and time consuming method of respawn circumvention. A group would be much better off with a Soulstone, Reincarnation, or Divine Intervention. And in many cases, it would often be faster to reclear the mobs that have respawned.

But let’s consider one far-out possibility. Let’s say the world is perfect and Blizzard grants us an OOC rez. What’s to stop an entire party from suiciding into a dungeon and getting a druid to stealth ahead and rez them to the boss/objective they’re trying to reach? As a very rudimentary example, let’s look at Kara Key Frag #2. Warrior Rob wants it but doesn’t feel like getting a group so he just goes commando into the dungeon and lets his best friend Druid Mike rez him all the way to the key.

Combination of an IC and OOC rez can’t be considered overpowered at this point. But what about the combination of Stealth and an OOC rez? How would you suggest combating the exploitation of these two abilities in conjunction?

Second, allow me to say that amongst all the arguments here, I have not heard any reasonable argument for a Restoration Druid to not have an OOC rez of some kind. The best argument that is repeatedly issued is “uniqueness” will be lost. The problem with that is that the other 3 healing capable classes all have the ability to rez OOC, and yet I would still laugh at you if you said that they were in no way unique from each other. Even in terms of healing spells and abilities alone, each brings a very unique flavor and style. Each of these classes has weaknesses and strengths which are unique to them regardless of their ability to rez others OOC. Shaman totems, Paladin auras and blessings, and Priest’s Power Word abilities, all separate and define them as well. It is taken for granted that these healers bring people back to life after they die.

The fact is that the lack of an OOC rez makes a Restoration Druid, by default, the least desirable healer in any 5 man PvE content, regardless of player skill, item selection, or content being played. Rebirth, by its nature, has little impact in 5 mans. If the tank dies, casting Rebirth on them only affords them an oppurtunity to die again, since the loss of aggro basically means that the rest of the group will likely be dead, or near it, by the time the tank rejoins the battle in any meaningful sense. There are typically no other healers in 5 man content, aside from the Restoration Druid (obviously if you are tanking or DPSing as a Druid, Rebirth could be used on the healer), so the only way it can be used is to resurrect fallen DPS or CC players.

Being frank, I can count the number of times on 1 hand where I genuinely felt that a promptly cast Rebirth changed the outcome (from failure to success) of an encounter in 5 man content. I do not hesitate to cast the spell if it is available, but it very rarely has such an impact on an encounter as to be considered comparable in value to the ability to rez fallen comrades at will. In raids, the ability is priceless, but most raids have no argument against taking Restoration Druids, and I do not think any player of a Restoration Druid is arguing for an OOC rez from that perspective.

I have seen Restoration Druids passed over many times by players seeking healers in LFG. I have even seen groups elect to take an offspec healer (Shadow Priest) as the healer when a very well geared, specced, and capable Restoration Druid was available, and wanted to go. Their reasoning was the inconvenience of having to take extra time every single time a player died.

Players will have biases, its a fact, and it is the nature of human beings to occassionally hold irrational or poorly reasoned thoughts and feelings towards certain things. The problem here is that there is a sound reason for players to decline to have a Restoration Druid in their groups. Even if 1 believes that Druids are inherently equal to the other healing classes in terms of healing output (many do not), there is no way to justify taking a Restoration Druid as opposed to any other class of healer, even if they are not necessarily as well qualified for the position.

To those who say that an OOC rez is only needed if the group “sucks” or there “isn’t enough healing” being done, its clear you’ve either never played heroic 5 mans, or never played as a healer in 5 mans. People die all the time in 5 mans. Not necessarily as a wipe, just here and there. AoE attacks, certain random effects, broken or resisted CC, and mobs that use CC effects all can result in sudden player deaths that are largely uncontrollable and unavoidable, and these effects are common. You don’t need an OOC rez for wipes really. It arguably takes 5 players roughly the same time to do a corpse run as 1. The difference is waiting 5 to 10 minutes, maybe longer, every time a single player dies. This makes a 30-45 minute run through Heroic Slave Pens into more than an hour, possibly even longer, as players die on pulls later in the instance.

That is my take on the argument.

I really like this idea, can’t believe it was only mentioned once in comments, it lends a lot to the colour of the druid class, and sure you are still going to get complaints either using it or not but that’s all part of the fun.

So yes, I’m coming from a different perspective – you’re saying “why aren’t we the same as them?” rather than asking “why aren’t they as different as we are?” Remember the mass-rez that Pallies were going to get at one point in the beta? That would’ve been a good start!
Imagine if all the healers had different ways of picking people up off the ground just like they all have different ways of healing. That sounds a lot better than everybody having the same way.

Really, I agree on the cooldown being a pain in non-raid situations – but I’d still trade you my rez in a heartbeat for how powerful it can be in a raid.

It’s bad design. Really. If you were designing a car, What do you think about first when you decide to build one? It isn’t the fluff like the CD player and what colour the seats are going to be.

Build the framework, then pile the fluff on top. Every class that can be called on to perform the “healer” role should have 2 basic capabilities:

1)make players health bars go up
2)pick up dead players whenever it happens.

Now, there is nothing whatsoever that says you can’t get exciting about the implementation of these abilities. Priests get a big pile of different mechanics, shamans get a single-target and a logic-driven raid heal, paladins get sheer lastability and druids get funky HoTs. That’s the make-green-bar-go-up bit sorted out.

The stumbling block is the ‘pick dead player up’ bit. Someone decided to make that our “shiny toy”, only even thought they spent the ‘pick dead players up’ and part of the ‘shiny things’ budget on it, they still had to take out a loan (compromise with a 20 minute CD).

Players don’t want to take along a druid to heal if the only res in the group will be on a 20 minute timer. Buyers wouldn’t want a car that could only indicate left by firing a signal flare every 20 minutes, either.

I avoid PuGs because I can get some guildies together – having to deal with res/run whining when I do the occasional PuG MC/AQ/BWL for giggles is enough – I’m not gonna do 5-mans with randoms unless I’ve got a ‘hard’ res.

A few comments called out that OOC rezzing is a role-defining ability – it can’t be, and not just because druids are healers that can’t do it. How can being able to OOC rez someone define a healer, when those classes can respec as DPS or tanks without losing that ability?
It’s a class ability, not a role ability. Ironically enough, this supposedly role-defining ability is only useful when there isn’t enough healing!