Trends in Guild Recruitment: Where are all the ranged and healers?

Pursuing the guild recruitment forms, a consistent theme emerges. Guilds are looking for healers, and they’re looking for Ranged DPS. I see the same dynamic playing out in my guild. Plenty of melee DPS and melee support (tanks), but lacking for ranged DPS and ranged support (healers).

I’m as guilty as anyone. For most of my World of Warcraft career, I’ve played a tank. Even though I’ve made the switch to DPS in Battle for Azeroth, wouldn’t you know it, I’m a melee DPS. But give me a little credit, at least I have a ranged offspec.

I’ve never liked healing. In my early days playing WoW, I felt tremendous social pressure to heal. When I gave in and slapped on my healing gear, I didn’t enjoy it. The fight happened over there disconnected from my experience filled with twenty to forty green boxes. I can describe the mechanics of fights I’ve tanked in excruciating detail. I can’t even think of the ability names of fights I’ve healed.

I’ve played both ranged and melee DPS, but the only ranged DPS I enjoyed was Beast Mastery Hunter and it’s an outlier. Every ranged DPS is a caster. You stand still, say “I’ma casting my fireball” and ten seconds later your fiery destruction heads for your enemy. Assuming, of course, you get the cast off. Many times, it’s constant stopping your casts to move out of the fire, void zone, or running away from the Fury Warrior trying to rip your robes apart.

I would think ranged would have more appeal. You see the fight better and many mechanics we deal with in melee never touch you. You keep a distance from your enemies and have fantastic crowd control abilities.

If you do recruitment for your guild, do you see this same issue of always needing ranged and healers in your recruiting?

If you main a ranged DPS or support, why did you choose it?