Restoration Shaman

Overview

Talents and builds

Level 60 and raid build

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Key talents

• Riptide1/1Heals a friendly target for 486 to 534, an additional 445 over 15 sec, and increases the effectiveness of your Chain Heal casts directly on that target by 25%
• Purification5/5Increases the effectiveness of your healing spells by 10%
• Healing Way3/3Increases the amount healed by your Healing Wave spell by 25%
• Nature's Swiftness1/1When activated, your next Nature spell with a casting time less than 10 sec. becomes an instant cast spell
• Tidal Mastery5/5Increases the critical effect chance of your healing spells by 5%
• Restorative Totems5/5Increases the effect of your Mana Spring Totem by 25% and increases the effect of your Healing Stream Totem by 50%

The build is nearly all Restoration, with the other ten points in Enhancement: Thundering Strikes, whose critical strike chance covers heals (Forever has one crit stat for spells and attacks), and Ancestral Knowledge for the Intellect. They replace Convection, which only cheapens shocks and Lightning Bolt, Concussion, which only adds to their damage, and Natural Grace, which only lowers threat; that gained about 4% healing in our level-60 heal run. 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.

• Improved Healing Wave shortens Healing Wave, and Healing Way strengthens it; Purification is a flat multiplier on every heal.
• Tidal Focus makes the healing spells cheaper (and adds hit, which a healer does not use), Mindfulness keeps part of your regeneration running while you cast, and Tidal Mastery adds critical chance.
• Water Shield returns mana on a critical heal, Mana Tide Totem refills the group, Restorative Totems strengthens Healing Stream and Mana Spring, and Healing Focus protects your casts from pushback.
• Nature’s Swiftness is the instant emergency heal, and Riptide is the capstone: a direct heal plus a heal over time, and a stronger Chain Heal on its target.

The sim found any build that keeps that core scores the same, because the points that differ change nothing a healer casts. Open the planner at /planner?class=shaman to adjust it.

Rotation and priority

Water Shield and a Healing Stream Totem go up before the pull. In the fight the tank comes first: Riptide whenever it is ready and the tank is hurt, Healing Wave for a deeper hole, Lesser Healing Wave when it is serious, and Nature’s Swiftness into an instant Healing Wave when the tank is nearly dead. Chain Heal is cast on the tank, so Riptide’s bonus applies, and it jumps to the most injured party members. Members are healed directly only while your mana is healthy, so the tank keeps the mana. Mana Tide Totem goes down when you are low.

Under the profile the shaman’s mana lasts the whole fight at raid-ready gear, so the rotation spends the spare on members. It does not downrank.

Stat priority

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

In simulator-derived order, per point of stat: MP5 first, then Intellect, Spirit after it, healing power and critical strike behind. The shaman’s mana lasts the whole fight at raid-ready gear, so extra throughput is what turns into healing; before that gear the same order holds because regeneration is what keeps the casts coming. 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

Water Shield’s proc-based mana return makes a slightly lower spirit floor more survivable than in 1.12, but spirit remains the tree’s primary sustain stat.

Enchants and consumables

Races

• Orc
• Dwarf (Recommended)
• Tauren (Recommended)
• Troll
• Windshaper Skyborne

Dwarf is the Alliance pick: Stoneform. Tauren is the Horde pick: Endurance.

Professions

Community convention for healing Shaman favors Herbalism alongside Alchemy for self-sourced healing and mana potions, or Tailoring for caster cloth-adjacent leather stats, matching general Classic-era healer practice.

Leveling

Outlined: points added in this level range.

Enhancement is the generally recommended leveling spec for Shaman, not Restoration — Restoration’s group-support kit doesn’t translate to fast solo leveling the way Enhancement’s melee durability and burst does.