DPS take damage from time to time even when they're doing their job properly and not drawing aggro - AoE spells for example; and sometimes even if a healer does have the time, it's unfair to expect them to keep you patched up anyway.
Correct, and a potion is fine for emergencies. However, the healers job is to keep everyone topped up, meaning that in a party where everyone does their job, i.e. the warrior is tanking, rogues DPSing, the healer should be healing whoever needs it.
I'm not sure whether you've played a healer or not, but I have. A lot. On my paladin, in a normal or heroic instance, I will most likely be spamming Flash of Light on a 1.5 sec cast time, or Holy Light in special circumstances.
Now let's say that our tank has 13k hp, and the rogue has 9k.
They both take a cleave. The tank has 10 hp left, but the rogue with only leather armor has 3k to go. Who do I heal? I heal the rogue with a Holy Light, and then I put a Holy Light on the tank. Both now have full hp.
Let's say that I for some reason decide to keep healing the tank. He is at full hp, and there is probably an incoming Cleave soon. The rogue uses a potion, and now has 4.5k hp. This means that if he gets a cleave again, he
dies. Get the point? A healer is responsible for the lives and hp of his entire party, and not only the tank.
What do I think healing potions are for?
Potions are lovely for raiding, 10-mans like Karazhan and instances. What I don't think is that potions are made for being used by people who can't heal themselves, and therefore won't be healed in groups. They can be real live-savers, but that doesn't mean they are compulsory.
