Restoration Druid

Overview

Talents and builds

Level 60 and raid build

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Key talents

• Living Spirit3/3Increases your Spirit by 15%
• Improved Tranquility2/2Reduces threat caused by Tranquility by 100% and its cooldown by 60%
• Nature's Swiftness1/1When activated, your next Nature spell becomes an instant cast spell
• Tranquil Spirit5/5Reduces the mana cost of your Healing Touch and Tranquility spells by 10%
• Improved Rejuvenation3/3Increases the effect of your Rejuvenation spell by 15%
• Swiftmend1/1Instantly heals a target with your active Rejuvenation or Regrowth effect for an amount equal to the full duration of the periodic effect of the consumed spell

The build spends most of its points in Restoration and fills Balance with the periodic-healing and critical-chance talents. Chosen by simming candidate builds on the same gear against the same fight. Every figure behind this ranking comes from one stated incoming-damage profile (the scaled Phase 1 tank hits and raid pulses described on the BiS page): it ranks gear and builds for this spec, and says nothing about which healer class is stronger.

• Naturalist shortens Healing Touch, Gift of Nature strengthens every heal, and Improved Rejuvenation strengthens Rejuvenation.
• Reflection keeps part of your regeneration running while you cast, Tranquil Spirit makes Healing Touch and Tranquility cheaper, and Living Spirit lifts Spirit.
• Bloom (1 point, new in client 1.60.1.70707) heals the target for your Spirit whenever a Rejuvenation or Regrowth runs its full duration; with heals over time doing most of the work it was the largest single gain the sim found for this build, about +10% healing over the alternatives for that point. It took the point of Gift of the Earthmother, which left the tree in the same patch.
• Swiftmend (it eats the heal over time it reads) and Nature’s Swiftness are the burst tools.
• From Balance, Genesis adds 10% to every heal over time, Nature’s Majesty adds critical chance, and Nature’s Splendor lengthens your heal-over-time spells.

The build leaves out the capstone Wild Growth and Improved Regrowth: the sim measured both against spending those points elsewhere, and under this profile the points did better elsewhere. That is a statement about this rotation’s mana pacing, not about the spells; since 1.60.1.70707 Wild Growth also has a 3 second cast, and taking it measured about 5% less healing. Swapping Nature’s Focus for Heart of the Wild (10% more Intellect, now on Restoration’s top row) measured under 1% better and is not taken, because the sim cannot see what Nature’s Focus does against interrupts. Open the planner at /planner?class=druid to adjust it.

Rotation and priority

The tank keeps Regrowth and Rejuvenation up for the whole fight, and the heals over time carry most of the work. Healing Touch fires only on a real hole in the tank’s health and only while your mana is keeping up with the share of the fight that is left, so the mana lasts instead of running dry at the first long fight. A hurt party member gets Rejuvenation, and Tranquility goes out when two are well down. Nature’s Swiftness into an instant Healing Touch is the emergency answer for a tank who is nearly dead, and Innervate goes on you when you are low.

The rotation does not downrank.

Stat priority

1. 1MP5
2. 2Spirit
3. 3Intellect
4. 4Healing power
5. 5Critical strike

In simulator-derived order, per point of stat: MP5 first, Spirit behind it, then healing power, Intellect and critical strike. Spirit also reaches the Living Spirit bonus. Items trade several points of one for few of another, so read the list as “which stat is cheap to give up”.

Spell power adds nothing to a heal. Every figure behind this ranking comes from one stated incoming-damage profile (the scaled Phase 1 tank hits and raid pulses described on the BiS page): it ranks gear and builds for this spec, and says nothing about which healer class is stronger.

Best in slot

Enchants and consumables

Races

• Night Elf (Recommended)
• Tauren (Recommended)
• High Order Skyborne
• Windshaper Skyborne

Night Elf is the Alliance pick: Elune's Light. Tauren is the Horde pick: Endurance.

Professions

Herbalism and Alchemy is the general Classic-era pairing for a Restoration healer, giving access to self-crafted mana and healing consumables.

Leveling

Outlined: points added in this level range.

Feral is the stronger leveling choice for Druid overall, and Restoration is generally considered the slowest of the three specs to solo with, since its kit is built around sustaining others rather than dealing damage.