Restoration Druid Healing Guide (Legion 7.3.5)

Table of Contents

• ×Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Restoration Druids
  • 3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Restoration Druids
  • 4. Patch 7.2 Changes for Restoration Druids
  • 5. Contents
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics of Restoration Druids
  • 2. Talent Choice for Restoration Druids
  • 3. Stat Choice for Restoration Druids
    • 3.1. Raid Healing
    • 3.2. Tank / Mythic+
  • 4. Basic Playstyle for Restoration Druids
    • 4.1. Raid Healing
    • 4.2. Dungeon Healing
  • 5. Cooldown Usage for Restoration Druids
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Main Resource of Restoration Druids
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Restoration Druids
  • 4. Important Procs for Restoration Druids
  • 5. Cooldowns for Restoration Druids
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Restoration Druids
  • 3. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Restoration Druids
  • 4. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Restoration Druids
  • 5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Restoration Druids
  • 6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Restoration Druids
  • 7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Restoration Druids
  • 8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Restoration Druids
  • 9. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression for Restoration Druids
    • 1.1. Patch 7.2 Artifact Points for Restoration Druids
  • 2. Relic Choice for Restoration Druids
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. General Optimization Advice for Restoration Druids
  • 2. Tier 2 Upgrade Priority for Restoration Druids
  • 3. Tier 3 Upgrade Priority for Restoration Druids
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Rotation / Playstyle for Restoration Druids
    • 1.1. Raid Healing
    • 1.2. Dungeon Healing
  • 2. Cooldown Usage for Restoration Druids
  • 3. Optional Read: Mastering Your Restoration Druid
    • 3.1. Understanding Your Spells
    • 3.2. Procs and Mechanics
      • 3.2.1. Mastery: Harmony
      • 3.2.2. Clearcasting Procs
      • 3.2.3. Ysera's Gift
      • 3.2.4. Living Seed
    • 3.3. Detailed Cooldown Usage for Restoration Druids
      • 3.3.1. Tranquility
      • 3.3.2. Ironbark
      • 3.3.3. Artifact Ability for Restoration Druids
      • 3.3.4. Innervate
      • 3.3.5. Tier 1 Talents
      • 3.3.6. Tier 3 Talents
      • 3.3.7. Tier 4 Talents
      • 3.3.8. Tier 7 Talents
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Basics
    • 1.1. Raid Healing
    • 1.2. Tank / Mythic+ Healing
  • 2. Getting a Better Understanding of Restoration Druid Stats
    • 2.1. Statistics Explanations
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Restoration Druids
  • 2. Enchants for Restoration Druids
  • 3. Consumables for Restoration Druids
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Macros
    • 1.1. Generic Macros for Druids
      • 1.1.1. Rebirth
      • 1.1.2. Nature's Cure
      • 1.1.3. Displacer Beast
    • 1.2. Specific Macros for Restoration Druids
      • 1.2.1. Mouseover Macros
  • 2. Addons
    • 2.1. Generic Addons for Druids
      • 2.1.1. ElvUI
      • 2.1.2. Boss Mods: Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs
      • 2.1.3. GTFO
      • 2.1.4. Omen Threat Meter
      • 2.1.5. Parrot or Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 2.1.6. Weak Auras
      • 2.1.7. Recount / Skada / Details!
      • 2.1.8. Grid and GridClickSets (Optional)
      • 2.1.9. TellMeWhen
    • 2.2. Specific Addons for Restoration Druids
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Tier 21 Set Bonuses for Restoration Druids
  • 2. Legendary Items for Restoration Druids
    • 2.1. Raiding
    • 2.2. Mythic+
    • 2.3. Off-Spec Legendaries
  • 3. Loot Competition for Restoration Druids
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Battle for Azeroth
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. Basic Mechanics Changes for Restoration Druid in BfA
  • 3. Baseline Abilities & Changes for Restoration Druid in BfA
  • 4. The BfA Restoration Druid Talent Tree
    • 4.1. Level 15
    • 4.2. Level 30
    • 4.3. Level 45
    • 4.4. Level 60
    • 4.5. Level 75
    • 4.6. Level 90
    • 4.7. Level 100
  • 5. Azerite Traits for Restoration Druid
  • 6. Restoration Druid Playstyle in BfA
    • 6.1. Raid Healing
    • 6.2. Dungeon Healing
  • 7. ChangeLog

General Information

Welcome to our Restoration Druid healing guide for World of Warcraft Legion 7.3.5. Here, you will learn everything you need to know about playing a Restoration Druid in a raid environment and in Mythic+ dungeons.

About Our Reviewer

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Torty, a theorycrafter in the Dreamgrove Discord server, author of this Restoration Druid spreadsheet, and currently raiding in Pure.

1. Class Overview

Restoration Druids specialise in maintaining a steady stream of healing on the raid, which they do primarily through their HoTs. Restoration Druids also do well when tank healing or when healing a small amount of targets for a prolonged period of time (such as players with strong debuffs).

Moreover, Restoration Druids offer a surprisingly high amount of sustained DPS, both against a single target as well as against multiple targets, when talented and geared accordingly (this is in fact the highest DPS output of all healing specialisations).

Outside of using Tranquility, Restoration Druids are limited in reacting to sudden bursts of damage, and they are also not very good at snipe-healing individual raid members. Moreover, Restoration Druids suffer in general when they have to react to damage for which they were not prepared and when they did not have the time to set up their HoTs ahead of time.

In order to properly play a healing role, you will need more than just class-specific information. To better understand healing in general, we recommend that you read our healing guide.

2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Restoration Druids

• Mass Entanglement was slightly changed to now root the target and any enemies within 15 yards immediately, instead of spreading.

3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Restoration Druids

• The healing of abilities overall has been slightly reduced, and the healing of the Cultivation talent in particular has also been reduced.
• The damage of many abilities has been increased slightly.
• Two new legendary items, Soul of the Archdruid and Chameleon Song, have been added.

4. Patch 7.2 Changes for Restoration Druids

• Artifact traits have been slightly reworked. After spending 35 points, you now open up a new path, made up of 5 new traits ( Grace of the Cenarion Circle, Eternal Restoration, Joy of Spring, Deep Rooted, and Concordance of the Legionfall) and all traits with 3 ranks get an additional 4th rank that you can invest in.

5. Contents

To make it easy to navigate the guide, we have split it into 11 pages:

• Easy Mode: TL;DR to own without reading much;
• Spell Summary: see a summary of all your useful spells;
• Builds and Talents: learn how to choose your talents;
• Artifact Traits and Relics: discover how to level up your Artifact;
• Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths: choose the right paths on your Netherlight Crucible;
• Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities: master your rotation and your cooldowns;
• Stat Priority: read up on the respective values of your statistics;
• Gems, Enchants, and Consumables: choose the best gems, enchantments, etc.;
• Macros and Addons: step up your game with useful macros and addons;
• Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot: find the best gear you can wear;
• Battle for Azeroth: learn how to play your class in Battle for Azeroth.

6. ChangeLog

• 28 Jun. 2018 (Battle for Azeroth page): Updated for latest build
  • Innervate duration increased
  • Wild Growth healing increased
  • Rejuvenation Mana cost increased
  • Photosynthesis single target buffed
• 22 Jun. 2018 (Battle for Azeroth page): Fixed Photosynthesis description.
• 21 Jun. 2018 (Battle for Azeroth page): Added changes from the latest build.
• 29 May 2018 (Battle for Azeroth page): Page added.
• 23 Feb. 2018 (Netherlight Crucible page): Updated priorities again to fix an error in the earlier update.
• 23 Feb. 2018 (Netherlight Crucible page): Updated relic and trait priorities.
• 23 Feb. 2018 (artifact page): Updated relic priority.
• 23 Feb. 2018 (artifact page): Updated priority again to fix an error in the earlier update.
• 29 Jan. 2018 (Netherlight Crucible page): Made a small update to the weights of Essence of Nordrassil, Refractive Shell, Infusion of Light, and Secure in the Light.
• 29 Jan. 2018 (artifact page): Made a small update to the Essence of Nordrassil relic weight.
• 29 Jan. 2018 (stats page): Updated the stat priorities.
• 29 Jan. 2018 (enchants page): Updated recommendations to account for Mastery being the recommended stat.
• 29 Jan. 2018 (gear page): Made a small tweak to the Set Bonus recommendation section.
• 29 Jan. 2018 (easy mode page): Updated the page to reflect stat priority changes.
• 03 Dec. 2017 (enchants page): Replaced Ancient Healing Potion with Astral Healing Potion.
• 03 Dec. 2017 (talents page): Added a mention that Typhoon does not trigger Sephuz's Secret.
• 27 Nov. 2017 (gear page): Added Tier 21 Set Bonus recommendations and updated the legendary recommendations.
• 27 Nov. 2017 (easy mode page): Updated page to reflect stat priority changes.
• 27 Nov. 2017 (enchants page): Updated the recommendations to account for the secondary stat recommendation changes, and also added Potion of Prolonged Power as a suggestion.
• 27 Nov. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Made a small change to the item level values for Master of Shadows, Infusion of Light, and Secure in the Light.
• 27 Nov. 2017 (artifact page): Made a small change to the item level values of Persistence and Infusion of Nature.
• 27 Nov. 2017 (stats page): Updated the stat priorities.
• 12 Sep. 2017 (artifact page): Updated relic priority slightly.
• 12 Sep. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Added Netherlight Crucible page for Restoration Druid.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (this page): Added summary of Patch 7.3 changes.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (stats page): No changes needed for Patch 7.3.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (rotation page): No changes needed for Patch 7.3.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (enchants page): Added Lightforged Augment Rune and new 7.3 epic gems.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (talents page): Updated Mass Entanglement's description.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (spells page): Updated the remaining duration with which Lifebloom should be refreshed.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (easy mode page): Updated this page to reflect the changes made to the rest of the guide.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (talents page): Made updates to tier 1, 2, and 3 talent sections (descriptions and discussions).
• 12 Jun. 2017 (stats page): Updated both stat priorities.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (gear page): Added Tier 20 Set Bonus recommendations and revamped the legendary recommendations.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (rotation page): Revamped both raid and dungeon healing playstyles, and made various other tweaks and fixes.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (this page): Added summary of Patch 7.2.5 changes.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (artifact page): Slightly updated the initial artifact path and revamped the 7.2 artifact path. Also updated relic recommendations.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (enchants page): Changed the recommendations to Mastery (and the neck enchant to Mark of the Trained Soldier), as well as adding Potion of the Old War.
• 12 May 2017 (gear page): Added a clarification about choosing your Tier 19 Set Bonus pieces.
• 22 Apr. 2017 (talents page): Clarified that Wild Charge when in Travel Form causes you to jump to the location of an ally, and not to fly to them.
• 22 Apr. 2017 (addons page): Replaced a mention of Remove Corruption with Nature's Cure, since this Remove Corruption is no longer available to Restoration Druids.
• 30 Mar. 2017 (artifact page): Changed the 7.2 artifact path to move the Grace of the Cenarion Circle trait to the first position.
• 28 Mar. 2017 (enchants page): Changed food recommendation to Lavish Suramar Feast.
• 28 Mar. 2017 (rotation page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 28 Mar. 2017 (talents page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 28 Mar. 2017 (this page): Added summary of Patch 7.2 changes.
• 28 Mar. 2017 (stats page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 28 Mar. 2017 (artifact page): Added path for the artifact traits added in Patch 7.2 and made a slight change to the relic priority.
• 14 Jan. 2017 (enchants page): Changed neck enchant to Mark of the Ancient Priestess (it was stealth-buffed in Patch 7.1.5).
• 14 Jan. 2017 (gear page): Updated legendary recommendations and added a Tier 19 Set Bonus section.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (rotation page): Checked and confirmed for 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (talents page): Updated talent descriptions to account for Patch 7.1.5 changes.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (enchants page): Checked and confirmed for 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (easy mode page): Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (stats page): Checked and confirmed for 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (this page): Added summary of Patch 7.1.5 changes.
• 18 Dec. 2016 (spells page): Page added.
• 18 Dec. 2016 (easy mode page): Added easy mode page.
• 28 Nov. 2016 (talents page): Updated tier 5 talent section to reflect that Cultivation is now the best choice.
• 25 Oct. 2016 (rotation page): Updated Living Seed description to account for Patch 7.1 changes.
• 25 Oct. 2016 (talents page): Patch 7.1 updates
  • Updated Prosperity's description (now reduces Swiftmend's cooldown by 3 seconds, down from 5).
  • Added a mention that Incarnation is now off the global cooldown.
  • Updated Guardian Affinity's description (Thick Hide now passively reduces damage by 6%, down from 10).
• 07 Oct. 2016 (rotation page): Fixed a typo.
• 06 Sep. 2016 (enchants page): Changed the neck enchant to Mark of the Trained Soldier, since Mark of the Claw no longer procs from heals.
• 31 Aug. 2016 (rotation page): Removed a mention that you need to let Lifebloom expire in order to benefit from its large heal, and added that it can be refreshed with 5 seconds remaining or less.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (rotation page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (stats page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (enchants page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (this page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (gear page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (artifact page): Added.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (talents page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 23 Jul. 2016 (rotation page): Added a mention of how to use Cenarion Ward, if you have chosen this talent.
• 19 Jul. 2016 (addons page): Removed a mention of GridStatusHots, an addon that has since been discontinued.
• 19 Jul. 2016 (gear page): Updated the trinket recommendation and removed some outdated mentions of Tier 17 gear.
• 19 Jul. 2016 (stats page): Made a small tweak to the stat priority (which did not affect the best secondary stat).
• 19 Jul. 2016 (stats page): Removed an outdated mention of Spirit on gear.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (this page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (gear page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (talents page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (enchants page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (addons page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (rotation page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (stats page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.