World of Warcraft consumed two years of my life. I started playing just before the release of Burning Crusade and pried myself away after Cataclysm.
I was a proud member of the Horde, starting as a Hunter – an obvious choice for someone who loves having animals by their side. After playing for a while, I fell in love with the role of healer (Holy Priest for those of you in the know). It’s a tricky role in a party: you have to keep up with everyone’s health bars while also trying to save yourself from danger.
I was thinking back fondly on my WoW days and it hit me: playing a healer is a lot like being a Scrum Master.
In fact, a typical MMORPG party is similar to being on a Scrum team.
You have your tanks. I would liken these to Product Owners. Tanks are the front line. They need to fully understand the market (dungeon) as well as the customers (enemies) and give clear directions (Product Backlog Items) to the party (team).
You have DPS (Damage Per Second). These are the Developers, the ones doing the work. They can get their work done however they want while collaborating on a common goal and being transparent about their progress, adjusting their approach as needed.
The healers are the Scrum Masters. They’re not in there doing damage. Instead, they’re outside of the battle looking in. They’re checking in on each party member, especially the tank who tends to need the most healing. They’re juggling the party’s health bars, trying to conserve their own mana (magic) for what will make the biggest impact, all while keeping an eye open for any traps and pitfalls that could befall the party.
There’s no one looking out for the healer’s health, so they need to find ways to be self-sufficient. They’re the last to be thanked when things go well, and the first to be blamed when they don’t.
I suppose I was destined to be a Scrum Master before I even knew what one was. Or maybe I’m just masochistic. Either way, I have always enjoyed healing the most, as I have the Scrum Master role.
Now if only I could see the team’s health bars.
Image by WTFast