[10man] Mistweaver vs. Resto Druid - Pros and Cons?

[DarkPhoenix]

Hey guys, looking for a little input from the wider WoW community.

I'm the GM of a closeknit semi-casual guild who are currently reviewing roles for the next tier of raiding, with a number of our players wanting to change their toons up a little (Tanks sick of tanking, healers wanting to try DPS, that kind of thing).
We always clear normals before theyre nerfed and move into heroics in the last third of tiers however being fairly casual we don't always get to raid every raid night each week. Progression however is first and foremost in our minds.

I've offered to go healer (from DPS) to allow for these players to play the toons they want, as I've always played an alt healer so have a little experience at least with healing compared to our other options.

This is fine, however I'm having trouble deciding between a druid and a monk to fill this role.

A little about our group makeup and factors:

With the changes going through our setup will be:

Warrior Tank
DK tank (May change to pally, is unsure yet)

Very Experienced healer Priest (both specs)
Myself (monk/druid)
Shaman (Enhance/3rd healer)

Priest (Shadow)
Monk (Windwalker)
Hunter (former tank)
Warlock
Shaman (Ele, probably changing to DK DPS)



Now the first thing to note is the amount of doubles we have in classes (Priest, Shammy currently which will change to DK, and Monk), this should not be too much of an issue in regard to buffs, as according to Raidcomp we have everything covered.

Shared loot is another issue, but we're a pretty friendly group that will often pass on gear to lesser geared people and our EPGP system is fair and well monitored.

If I am to play the monk (which I have played more of RECENTLY) there will be a token make up of 5-3-2 which is less than ideal, if i play a druid it will be 4-3-3 which is better.

There seems to be a lot of worry from Mistweavers that they are going to be weaker in the next tier compared to other healer classes based on the adjustments that have been made so far (whether or not these are well founded are another issue), whereas druids are getting some pretty hefty buffs and QOL changes.

Monks have some really nice mobility and are a little bit different to play than the traditional healer triangle of heals with Revival being a nice "Oh crap" button (before the 30% nerf anyway), a decentish tank cooldown and a few niche spells like zen meditation and transference which can be extremely nice on certain fights. But lacks a mana efficient 'medium' heal to top people up quickly (however a spammable high cost flash heal is present)

Ilvl of the toons is Monk: 505 vs Druid 501 so lets call this point negligible.

Whichever I enjoy playing more is not an option either as I enjoy playing them equally, and would be happy to play either.



Pretty much looking for some input from experienced people as to where they see these 2 healer classes being at in 5.4 and the synergy that they will have with a Priest main healer and Shammy off healer, which do you think would be a better fit for a ten man? Why?

I need to make this decision pretty quickly so we can look at pumping some experience and gear into the character (i've been healing normals on the monk the last fortnight) and have it ready for the new tier whenever that may be so any legitimate advice is appreciated.

If theres any more info you need don't hesitate to ask, and if I can provide it I will.

Thanks in advance! DarkPhoenix

[dzidek]

For causal guild it doesn't matter. Play class which you enjoy more But from the perspective of RL go resto druid. He will be insanely op in 5.4 A must-have for any progressing guild. Same as disco priest and pala tank were in this tier.

[Mirri]

Hardly matters if you are a casual guild imo. Both are throughput healers and you won't see much differences. That said resto in 10man is pretty sexy with perma efflorescence on a large % of your raid. You also get the option to play moonkin if needed. And bring stampeding roar and insta rebirth and typhoon/ vortex.

[iKrow]

In a 'casual' group, class comp doesn't really matter. Honestly it only really matters if you're pushing progression really hard. Play whichever class you will enjoy more, that'll allow you to enjoy the hours you spend with your raid even more.

Personally my alt is a Mistweaver, but Restoration Druid is getting huge buffs next patch.

[DarkPhoenix]

We're a casualish guild but progression is our number one priority (as well as having fun of course), which is why i'm trying to determine which will synergise best with the priest and the shammy Offhealer.

Want to be able to hold up my end of the healing so to speak I guess.

Thanks heaps for the responses so far, headed to bed (Australia) so will read any other responses tomorrow thanks in again.

[Bombino]

Probably unrelated. But since you're asking about comp anyways, and you said the Ele is switching, have you thought about a mage or a rogue? They're both pretty great.

[DarkPhoenix]

Probably unrelated. But since you're asking about comp anyways, and you said the Ele is switching, have you thought about a mage or a rogue? They're both pretty great.

Our mage is having to switch to tank to cover the tank changing to DPS, we didn't really want to lose a mage but we didn't have much choice with the amount of people that wanted a change. Also he was the only one that regularly played a tank alt and hes pretty decent at it.

[Lionor]

Well given that you enjoy them equally in terms of composition I think the druid will be a better option in the long run.

This is supported by the fact that both Resto and MW fill the same sort of healing role/style (blanket healing through hots primarilly + burst on demand).

So it's a matter of composition/added cooldowns.

Monks:
1. Monks are more mobile
2. Can DPS on low-phases (though Resto's can too every 6min through a CD).
3. Monks are also super in on demand AoE burst through (TfT-)ReM and Uplift spam which is super powerfull especially in 10mans.

Both share a type of tank Cooldown.

Druids:
1. Tranquility > Revival (with a well placed shroom competing -not beating - with revival especially post nerf)
2. Symbiosis (which could translate in a second Tranquility)
3. Stampeding Roar
4. Easy to swap to Off-spec DPS if needed with small(-er) gear changes
5. In your particular case you have a better distribution in Tier tokens.

So in terms of overall raid benefit (not talking about healing throughput at all) I would pick the druid.

Hope this helps!

[Wombus]

I personally see druids as quite strong healers, my raid team 2-heals most content with a resto shammy and a resto druid. The druid dominates the shammy and has little to no mana issues.

I know monks to be very strong healers, but they seem to have a high skill cap, ensuring your chi generation is optimal and you are pro-active with renewing mist. The nerfs to chi-brew and revival make them not as good as they were in 5.3. Though having said that as has been identified monks are basically at the point where they don't need spirit when played well, and this will only be exacerbated in the next tier.

If you enjoy things equally. Then the only things I think that make a difference are raid comp - tier token distribution and perhaps things like caster weapon spread (monks can use swords and axes but not daggers or 2H maces and druids can use 2H Maces, daggers but not swords or axes) and finally which are you more comfortable with. Possibly try a couple of raids with your other priest healer and find what they feel more comfortable having as their other healer.

I think I would choose druid, noting the things like stampeding roar, rebirth, tranq over revival, symbiosis.

[Lumiair]

My opinion is obviously skewed being a MW myself, but honestly I say go MW. I heal with both a Shaman full time and a Disc Priest when it calls for it and they synergize really well. I haven't done a ton of raiding with my Resto this xpac, but even with the buffs I don't feel they'll overcome Monks. No mana problems and the raw healing output on top of some of the best survivability trumps what a Druid can offer imo. But they may surprise me next patch.

The token predicament you'll have will suck, but honestly the MW sets aren't much to pine for unless they have a huge overhaul on our mastery, and most will be going without as it stands.

Either way I'd say play whichever you feel more comfortable with.

[Deleted]

One nice thing about a monk healer is that you're considered a melee target and thus cannot be targeted by many abilities. Yet you can still stand at range if necessary to help deal with them.

[Orion Antares]

A druid healer has a more ability utility with Symbiosis and Stampeding Roar. I also think that a druid has the potential to burst heal better than a monk.

A monk healer has utility in being treated as a melee by boss mechanics. Meaning that not only should they not be targeted by range only mechanics but they can also stand in melee for fights you might want an extra melee then leave melee when you want them out. Iron Qon is a nice place for this but there are other places them being treated as a melee can be helpful.

A monk has the option to be a DPS-healer for those times when you want more healing than 2 healers can do but don't need the healing that 3 healers can do and also want more DPS to speed up certain parts of a fight. That is if they can master fistweaving.

[Mefistophelis]

I'd go with monk (my main is monk healer). For most of the progress fights you can dps (as a healer) for a pretty hefty amount and that's gonna help your raiding team alot .
On Consorts with 501 ilvl I did 90k dps and around 40k hps as a healer monk during progress ... and that helped a lot ! Druids can't really dps and heal at the same time . Only problem is that you have to be melee range of boss or some adds to be effective .

[Sakamae]

Both will be strong for 10 man raid groups in 5.4, however I think the druid will be a better choice. My 10 man crew runs resto druid, holy paladin, disc/shadow priest. Our druid is already performing well and with buffs coming for SoO he will be crazy. Having played both, I would go with the druid. Boomkin is a nice OS dps without needing to build a completely different set of gear for it (and easy to learn if you're not familiar), and ranged is always a better swap than melee dps from the monk. The CDs offered by the druid are comparable if not stronger than MW. Ironbark is only a 1 min CD, mushrooms going to single shroom, tranq and tree of life....all super strong. Add on symbiosis, combat rez and stampeding roar makes it even more attractive. The dps from a monk healer is nice, but you already have that coming from a disc priest through atonement. I would go for the druid.

[Sierra85]

an excellent skilled resto druid is invaluable. some of the things they can pull off with their utility is crazy.

SoO buffs coming in will make them even better. just a quick look at some of the fights, hots look like they will be pretty strong as well in the raid.

[Spotnick]

Well, let's make it this way, they both use same gear, but you lack people using vanquisher tokens in your group, while you already have 3 people on protector. If it doesn't make a difference, you should gear a lot faster on your druid.

But the strong point about monks is that they are not targeted by ranged-only mechanic and that is a huge plus on some encounters.

[DarkPhoenix]

Thanks for the responses so far guys, the overwhelming indication seems to be Druid.

I'm going to heal some normals on my druid tonight and see how it interacts with out priest healer and his absorbs.

Feel free to keep them coming, I will continue to check in