Resto Druids - Healing Guide

[xGLxAnubis]

Regarding lifebloom...

EVERYTHING I've read basically says Rejuve is your 'go to' heal, and you should only be using LB on MT and OT (More or less). All the druids in my guild follow this mantra, as well as most druids I've PuG'd with, and this article basically follows that same line of thinking.

I disagree 100%. LIFEBLOOM is a my go to heal, and I only use Rejuve on the tanks, and sometimes on the raid if I expect AoE damage. Lifebloom is incredibly efficient, and costs very little mana. (782 mana per - 490 returned = 292 with only talents. 42 Less with Spark of Hope, Another 40 less with T7 bonus) None of your LB ticks will be wasted, it's almost always enough to get the person back up, and anything left over is handled by the bloom. I outheal the druids in my guild easily by 50-75% easily and doubling PuG'd druids healing , and unlike them, that's without me popping an innervate by the end of the fight. Overall I just find it much more mana efficient and an overall better heal. The thing is with the last patch, LB received a BUFF, because that 490 mana returned is static, anything that reduces the mana cost of LB, reduces it by twice as much now. (Previously: If LB cost 100, 30% reduction brought it to 70. Now: LB would Cost 200, 30% reduction brings it down to 140, and the mana return remains at 100 for a net cost of 40)

So... Why does everything I read state contrary to what I'm doing, yet everyone who does what I'm reading under-performs compared to me?

Note: Lifebloom accounts for 50%+ of my effective healing, to get a good idea how much I actually use the spell. Also, I don't actually have 2pc T7, just used that as an example of cost reduction.

[ReadyWhip]

Regarding lifebloom...

EVERYTHING I've read basically says Rejuve is your 'go to' heal, and you should only be using LB on MT and OT (More or less). All the druids in my guild follow this mantra, as well as most druids I've PuG'd with, and this article basically follows that same line of thinking.

I disagree 100%. LIFEBLOOM is a my go to heal, and I only use Rejuve on the tanks, and sometimes on the raid if I expect AoE damage. Lifebloom is incredibly efficient, and costs very little mana. (782 mana per - 490 returned = 292 with only talents. 42 Less with Spark of Hope, Another 40 less with T7 bonus) None of your LB ticks will be wasted, it's almost always enough to get the person back up, and anything left over is handled by the bloom. I outheal the druids in my guild easily by 50-75% easily and doubling PuG'd druids healing , and unlike them, that's without me popping an innervate by the end of the fight. Overall I just find it much more mana efficient and an overall better heal. The thing is with the last patch, LB received a BUFF, because that 490 mana returned is static, anything that reduces the mana cost of LB, reduces it by twice as much now. (Previously: If LB cost 100, 30% reduction brought it to 70. Now: LB would Cost 200, 30% reduction brings it down to 140, and the mana return remains at 100 for a net cost of 40)

So... Why does everything I read state contrary to what I'm doing, yet everyone who does what I'm reading under-performs compared to me?

Note: Lifebloom accounts for 50%+ of my effective healing, to get a good idea how much I actually use the spell. Also, I don't actually have 2pc T7, just used that as an example of cost reduction.

And with the next patch LB gets a nerf.

LB has its uses, but it shouldn't be your mainstay healing spell if you are on the raid. More often than not, the bloom gets sniped by other healers (only exceptions being fights with predictable dmg), and it takes 3 GCD to really get a lot of output on the ticks. Plus, with Spark of Hope and Idol of Awakening (reduced mana cost for Rejuv), Rejuv is ridiculously efficient. And with T8, 4p bonus, there is all the more incentive to be using Rejuv more.

Plus, unless you play on the same realm as these people, how can you say everyone here under-performs compared to you? Do you pull like 20,000 HPS on Iron Council hard mode or something? That's really the only point of comparison I can see in this thread.

[xGLxAnubis]

And with the next patch LB gets a nerf.

LB has its uses, but it shouldn't be your mainstay healing spell if you are on the raid. More often than not, the bloom gets sniped by other healers (only exceptions being fights with predictable dmg), and it takes 3 GCD to really get a lot of output on the ticks. Plus, with Spark of Hope and Idol of Awakening (reduced mana cost for Rejuv), Rejuv is ridiculously efficient. And with T8, 4p bonus, there is all the more incentive to be using Rejuv more.

Plus, unless you play on the same realm as these people, how can you say everyone here under-performs compared to you? Do you pull like 20,000 HPS on Iron Council hard mode or something? That's really the only point of comparison I can see in this thread.

I don't mean people HERE under perform compared to me. Simply that everyone I raid with does what's posted here, and under performs. heck, there's a druid in my guild that raids with us, has gear close to mine, and does half the healing I do. I use recount to check how she's healing, and it's almost verbatim what EJ and this thread say to do. I try to explain to here how I heal so that she'll do better, and she quotes EJ as more or less ignores me.

Your argument for LB is mostly worthless IMO... By the same token, using Rejuve means in the 3 seconds you wait for the tick, your heal will get sniped by another healer. Whereas with Lifebloom you're getting ticks every second, meaning it's less likely a healer will toss a heal on that person, since they're already getting heals.

I dunno, I always toss 1-2 LBs (With WG) when the raid needs healing, I'm always number 1 healing, and yet everyone online says to use Rejuve. Just trying to understand why >_<

[ozmethod]

Theres a few reasons everyone says to use Rejuv. First is because of its length, you can literally keep 3/4 of your 25 man raid constantly Rejuv'd. Because of its low mana cost, especially with the idol, you can do this for the entirety of most fights. Conversely, with LB spam you can keep LB on 8 people.

Second, with 4pc t8, its just incredible.

[ReadyWhip]

Your argument for LB is mostly worthless IMO... By the same token, using Rejuve means in the 3 seconds you wait for the tick, your heal will get sniped by another healer. Whereas with Lifebloom you're getting ticks every second, meaning it's less likely a healer will toss a heal on that person, since they're already getting heals.

I dunno, I always toss 1-2 LBs (With WG) when the raid needs healing, I'm always number 1 healing, and yet everyone online says to use Rejuve. Just trying to understand why >_<

With a glyphed (or non-glyphed) LB, how many targets can you keep full stacks rolling on? I've kept rejuv rolling on 15 people while also using Wild Growth every CD and tossing in a few Swiftmends. But if you do keep LB stacks rolling on the raid, the prior change becomes a big nerf, so I assume you don't do that. And if you don't do that, and apply LB after damage is done, it takes 3 seconds to get a 3 stack up (for what I'll guess to be 1000 heals per tick, with 1 stack doing 333 heals per tick). Whereas in that time, other healers are casting (and probably completing) their heals, and a rejuv that could have been cast beforehand could have already ticked for 2,500 to 3,000. NOT TO MENTION, with the T8 4p bonus, even if you were casting a reactionary heal, the rejuv would instantly heal for a tick on cast. I just don't see how LB can be superior to rejuv for raid heals. I'm not saying LB is bad, just not as good as rejuv for the job.

[Cerelli]

Anubis, you should check your over healing for lifebloom and then rethink your recount numbers. I guarantee that the bloom is the reason for your high healing done compared to the other druids you raid with. So saying that people are under performing because you are counting a ton of over healing from your LBs is incorrect. Though having that other druid spout off EJ pages like they are the bible is pretty laughable. Goes to show that the person doesn't have the ability to think critically for themselves.

That being said, LB is still a great too for raid healing. I will usually roll rejuves on the raid and then add LB's here and there as needed between WG CDs. I fully expect the blooms to be completely or partially overhealed but that is ok for me.

if i'm stuck tank healing then i will always keep my 3 stack rolling (unless by magic chance a spike hits just as i'm about to renew my stack). 3 stacking a LB and letting it bloom seems like a waste of GCDs to me, and the mana cost of keeping it rolling is well within my mana regen so i don't worry about it.

[xGLxAnubis]

Anubis, you should check your over healing for lifebloom and then rethink your recount numbers. I guarantee that the bloom is the reason for your high healing done compared to the other druids you raid with. So saying that people are under performing because you are counting a ton of over healing from your LBs is incorrect. Though having that other druid spout off EJ pages like they are the bible is pretty laughable. Goes to show that the person doesn't have the ability to think critically for themselves.

That being said, LB is still a great too for raid healing. I will usually roll rejuves on the raid and then add LB's here and there as needed between WG CDs. I fully expect the blooms to be completely or partially overhealed but that is ok for me.

if i'm stuck tank healing then i will always keep my 3 stack rolling (unless by magic chance a spike hits just as i'm about to renew my stack). 3 stacking a LB and letting it bloom seems like a waste of GCDs to me, and the mana cost of keeping it rolling is well within my mana regen so i don't worry about it.

Nope, Recount records EFFECTIVE healing and overhealing separately. My LBs account for 75% of my overhealing granted, but also 50% of my effective healing.

And someone said if you pre-hot rejuve and it'll tick for 1500-3k before another healer casts... Damage in ---> 3 Seconds later rejuve ticks for 1500 ---> 3 seconds later Ticks for 1500. 6 seconds for 3k healing. EASILY another healer will have sniped that. Whereas if you roll 1-2 LBs (You don't need a triple stack to get someone healed up quickly), you're getting 350 heals At second 1, 700 healed at second 2, another 700 at second 3. By second 6, you've done a TON more healing than rejuve did (3k vs 3850 with only a double stack), and if you are one of the designated raid heals, and the other healers know this, often your LB will bloom as long as there isn't further AoE damage before it can happen (Because the raid will be lower on health and all healers will begin raid healing). I'm not saying pre-HoT with Rejuve is BAD or un-needed (On a fight like KT, it's amazing so that you can swiftmend an ice tomb), but fights where you're looking at AoE damage at intervals, LB seems superior. Again though, the priests I normally raid with know the druids are going to be raid healing, and aren't *TRYING* to snipe heals, because they know we've got it covered. That means for alot of people, if I know no one else is going to heal them, I can roll a single LB, and when it blooms, they're basically back to full.

*Shrugs* I think alot of the RAWR REJUVE IS BESTEREST!!!! stuff comes from the fact that it IS slightly more mana efficent (Don't get me wrong, I realize this) when LB bloom doesn't crit, forgetting the fact that it ticks every 3 seconds, whereas LB is 1 second, making it the superior raid heal. Not to mention MOST of your Rejuve is going to be an overheal, it'll tick once, MAYBE twice per target. Be surprised if it ticked any more than that (And if it DID tick more than twice, LB would have been a better choice since it could have bloomed). Also, it's ONLY more mana efficient for a full duration Rejuve vs Full duration LB. And the chance of LB running full duration are MUCH higher than a full duration rejuve ticking every time for a full heal. Plus the fact LB stacks, means if you need to roll a double, or even triple stack, it's going to be much better than even pre-HoTing rejuves, with rolling LBs on demand instead. The biggest argument for Rejuve is the fact that it's more mana efficient, but in my experiences, I do NOT go OOM. Even in 10 mans where I have to be a tank healer as well, I won't use Innervate and still won't be OOM on a ~7-8 minute fight. I rarely even pop pots, and only do so on the really long and healing intensive fights.

Now I realize the 2pc T8 makes rejuve slightly better, but again, everyone talks about PRE-HoTing, making the bonus worthless in terms of this discussion. You still wouldn't be using Rejuve as an on demand heal, because LB would still be better for that situation, with or without the initial Rejuve tick from the T8.

I don't know, I'd be interested for more people to actually try my method and see. I've done the rejuve thing, I've seen other people do it, and it NEVER compares to rolling LBs on the raid instead (On demand).

Thanks for all the input one way or the other guys. Don't think I'm merely discounting what you're saying, but in a debate you do have to a pick a side and argue your point. I guess during times where the MT is mostly topped off and there is no incoming raid damage, rolling Rejuves is a good use of your time. Once raid damage comes in, I can then roll LBs for added effect. Just not *entirely* convinced the pre-HoTing rejuves are necessary in most situation *Shrugs*

[axxey]

Other people base their rejuv love on later 25man progression fights and hard modes where you can take our word for it, a 7-10second single target hot per gcd doesn't cut it.

[blahism]

Anyone have any tips for new Resto healing 5 mans?

I've got about 1145 spell power, crafted boots, legs and +35spell on legs (not the most expensive one since i do plan on running naxx to uprgade). Just been running Heroic Nexus, VH, UK and AN right now.

Biggest issues i have thus far:

Overgeared groups - tank zerging the place and me feeling like committing suicide having to chose who i may let die

Undergeared groups - pulling my hair out trying to keep everyone alive.

I know its a vague question, but is there something i'm missing that may help manage those 2 types of extremes that i always seem to run across? obviously i'm forthcoming when i build the groups but people are habitual in how they play and rarely change their style or bother to adapt to everyone elses skill for a pug.


For tanks i usually try and keep lifebloom up.. in 5 mans i don't really have the option of pre-hotting tanks since i always pull aggro.. or at least it feels like i'm pulling aggro doing that.. is it mostly the tanks fault say in undergeared scenario where a good tank can jump in and get aggro quickly even if i have some heal aggro on them?

just curious of any experienced druid trickery to help make it easier or to explain the survivability to the pug.


also, how much gear/spell power does it take before you feel like your on top of the game? I remember when i was tanking and 3 epic pieces made a world of difference in survivability, dps and threat yet as resto i don't have that same feeling of comfort just yet.

[Varon]

First whats your healing specc?plx post armory or at least specc?

keeping 3 stack LB on tank is only good if you aren't short on mana ... if you are let it bloom

try to prehot just rejuv if you pull aggro with full hots prehotted

manawise if its enough build up LB stacks slowly put 1 stack on tank, when 1 sec left (2 if latency is an issue) put up another stack

for aoe dmg throw everyone a rejuv and WG

use Nourish, it's realy nice especially glyphed

use swiftmend glyph, but keep swiftmend on cd in case tank needs it unless he is topped off and hotted and won't die&#160; before you can use nourish during swiftmend CD

if one has to die let it be a dps (lowest dps if possible, but those 4k dps locks tend to pull aggro on bad tanks i know) ... most fights can be done with one dps less but ot without tank or healer ;P

[blahism]

i logged out as moonkin last night so my armory isn't my better healer gear but here it is if/when servers come up today

http://www.wowarmory.com/character-s...anaris&cn=Entz

I found that tossing a rejuv just as tank charges in really helps with allowing me to get a little lead on healing. I just didin't know if pre-healing in 5 mans was standard practice or not, most guides talk about raid healing.

right now mana regen is still a pain.. i chug a lot of unfinished pots between pulls.. try and eat food and such before runs.

i've learned to love wg for sure in 5 mans

[Cerelli]

I always keep the rejuv and regrowth hots ticking on the tank. they have a long duration, relatively cheap, swiftmendable, and gives a nice boost to glyphed nourish for when the tank dips low. At your gear level, keeping a 3-stack of LBs on the tank is probably not going to be possible. When you get more regen and you can afford the mana cost, rolling LB is still amazing for tank healing.

when the raid is taking damage, again rejuv + WG + LBs as needed are your best friend. You can swiftmend the rejuv, and the hots are really nourish friendly. you can also hit people with regrowths if you can spare the cast time (this is best choice for your initial direct heal because of the hot tacked onto the end). But after the hot is ticking, never refresh it until it has expired. Use nourish instead.

The armory is down right now, so i cant give you any support on your spec/glyphs. sorry.

*edit* are you using any sort of healing mod? Healbot, decursive, grid + clique, mouse over macros?

if not, then you really should look into the different options out there. Find the one that suits you the best and get used to it. From my experience healers that don't use mods/mouse over macros have a lot slower reaction time and tend to force other healers to soak up the slack for them. I'm not say that it is impossible to go with the unmodded approach, but it will make your life a lot easier IMO.

*edit 2*

dump those WG and regrowth glyphs. Unless you are raiding, you will get no benefit from the WG glyph. And the nourish glyph makes the regrowth one obsolete.

Put a point into nature's swiftness and make your NS+HT macro.

Probably want to drop one point from subtelty since you shouldnt be pulling aggro anyway.

Personally i would take the points out of tranquil spirit and put them into the last spot of living seed and natural perfection. but that is me. Nourish is already pretty cheap to cast IMO so those points would be better served somewhere else.

[blahism]

Thanks for the great tips, i'll try and check out some of my spec and get things balanced up a bit. I do use healbot for the most part, tempted to try grid/clique but healbot seems to show my hots and everything nicely right now.

[usagi]

Thanks for some of the info on this thread - much of which I feel true to ingame experience, some I strongly disagree with (especially lifebloom-spam) but which is interesting nevertheless and some stuff I would like to add

As for the healing in general : big hps numbers are nice, but they are not the most important thing. Keeping your assigned targets alive and functioning is. Anubis' opinion and phrasing of his point that "another healer will snipe the heal" if you use rejuvenation which nevertheless is clearly more efficient mathmatically is very..... annoying, at least to me.
First healing (especially druidic healing) IMHO is not about having the highest hps, but keeping people alive. High hps might help with that, but if another healer is faster than you, GOOD ! Unless, of course, you slacked on purpose, because the target will live to fight on.
Whether my HPS is lower(ed) because of that is only relevant for my ego/e-peen, and neither of these should enter the equation as relevant in the first place.
Second, and in my opinion more importantly, you can have rejuvenation in place before the heal does even become necessary, because it is so cheap mana-wise, making the matter of "timing" largely a random factor. And it should be in place, simply to make a possible Nourish that much more efficient, glyphed or not.
Third, if you really really need to heal the target NOW and BIG TIME, that is what swiftmend (hopefully glyphed ) is for. Macro'd and bound to your keyboard or mouse, it packs a tremendous healing punch, instantly available every 30 secs.
Oh, and of course, Rejuvenation has a chance of triggering seed, lifebloom has not.

Again, all my points are of course moot, if what one actually cares more for bragging rights over big numbers and not being there whenever it counts and having people survive on your watch.



Second, as for healing add-ons, I found that healbot is extremely helpful ( I never had problems configuring it to my needs or understand its interface, and any grumbles I heard were more of the "I'm so 733t without it, I don't need add-ons" variety^^ ) unless the only thing you are ever going to MT/single target healing, exclusively.. but which druid ever does - that's basically a pally's job, right ?
Having initially started with healbot (after the almost too-good Genesis add-on was phased out pre-BC) , I never warmed to Grid, but from what I hear it is a serious contender. Both help picking out raidmembers in trouble in a whiff, and permit single-click healing with very short movements of the mouse.



Third, do write yourself some macros, if possible of the "mouseover" variety to dish out massive and instant healing blasts with a single keystroke - essentially some "Healing Touch + Nature's swiftness" and "Rejuvenation + Swiftmend" to those in need. Usually the pallies and priests will be thankful for the 10k+ stopgap before their huge heals impacts - often enough some healer is silenced or busy running and hence cannot perform his assigned duties just then and there (and TS/ventrilo will keep one informed of those moments).... a druid closing a possible deadly healing gap with a instant blast certainly does not do wrong.

Fourth, your professions. This may sound obvious, but please, DO consider your professions with regard to your assigned healing role. Leatherworking provides some nice-spellpower boosts for your wrists and skinning adds nicely to your critical-rating, which makes it a good combo.

<snipped because of factual errors>


Last but not least - if you are flush with cash (possible from some alternate character), there is some pretty decent epic gear available rather cheaply in the AH most of the time, especially the crafted set, but also the putrescent bands and septic walkers from Naxx10 and 25 respectively, both of which are traded in the low hundreds of gold and which provide a decent initial boost of spellpower before you hit the raid-instances in force. Same goes for an epic off-hand item (a book, from Inscription profession, Faces of doom IIRC, which should be available for the price of a frost orb and some change from most guildies. As I said, CHEAP ).

[ozmethod]

Usagi, your information on professions is slightly wrong. The fact of the matter is, every "crafting" profession, minus engineering, is near equal in terms of boosts.

LW gives you 37 extra SP.

Alc gives you 37 extra SP from mixology (increased flask bonus).

BS gives you two extra gem slots (gloves and bracers I believe). So 38 extra SP (if thats what you gem)

Enchanting gives 38 SP.

JC gives you 39 SP.

Inscription gives 36 SP.

Tailoring gives a mp5 boost, I don't have exact numbers on it, but it's reasonably close to 25 mp5.

As you can see, the bonuses are all generally close, people can pretty much take what they want. If people are going to go with a gathering profession, Skinning is the only one that really gives any significant bonus.

[Arkados]

Liked the guide, new to Druids so this should help when I hit 80 this weekend

[usagi]

Usagi, your information on professions is slightly wrong. The fact of the matter is, every "crafting" profession, minus engineering, is near equal in terms of boosts.

LW gives you 37 extra SP.

Alc gives you 37 extra SP from mixology (increased flask bonus).

BS gives you two extra gem slots (gloves and bracers I believe). So 38 extra SP (if thats what you gem)

Enchanting gives 38 SP.

JC gives you 39 SP.

Inscription gives 36 SP.

Tailoring gives a mp5 boost, I don't have exact numbers on it, but it's reasonably close to 25 mp5.

As you can see, the bonuses are all generally close, people can pretty much take what they want. If people are going to go with a gathering profession, Skinning is the only one that really gives any significant bonus.

yeah, I stand corrected. Never checked the precise boni for the professions I don't do on the main or my twinks (e.g. BS and JC ) and since mixology doesn't actually provide a precise number of any "bonus" in the tooltip...

still, sloppy.

*chargrined*

[Chizo]

LW gives you 37 extra SP.

Alc gives you 37 extra SP from mixology (increased flask bonus).

BS gives you two extra gem slots (gloves and bracers I believe). So 38 extra SP (if thats what you gem)

Enchanting gives 38 SP.

JC gives you 39 SP.

Inscription gives 36 SP.

OK,but when you examine all of them(stat they give and item they produce) and you are high-end raider,what would be best 2x profession option?
Alc + Ench?

[Degrador]

OK,but when you examine all of them(stat they give and item they produce) and you are high-end raider,what would be best 2x profession option?
Alc + Ench?

For high end raiding the BoP items produced by any crafting profession are irrelevant - they're not as good as 25 Naxx gear, let alone Ulduar. Hence it only comes down to the bonuses which are almost equal. The only slight exception to that is jewelcrafting which for the moment gets extra benefits by being able to get socket bonuses & meet meta requirements with the prismatic gems, but given that will change in a month or so (whenever 3.2 comes out) it's not really worth levelling it just for that.

The only other thing I'd mention is that some profs have more variety in the bonuses they can choose. Here's a basic summary of the options for each prof:

LW: Stam, AP or SP
Alc: Restricted to give bonus to the flask you use (in some ways more flexible as you can change your flask depending on the fight, yet also less flexible as you may want a standard bonus even when using a different flask for a particular fight)
BS: You get the benefit of any 2 gems (the most flexible of any prof)
Ench: Stam, AP, SP or +4 all stats
JC: A choice of about 15 different gems (2nd most flexible of any prof)
Inscription: Dodge, AP or SP

If you actually need flexibility, go with BS + JC. If you want a good money earner, go with Enchanting (DEing your old gear makes you a lot of money, not to mention selling enchs & mats) and Alchemy (making your own flasks can save you quite a bit, along with money you can make selling them).

[Rinqua]

On mods:

I would just like to say "Thank you" for saying that mods are unecissary for healing. I get so tired of folks trying to convince me that I would be a better healer if I have a string of mods assisting me. Yes, I use decursive, yes, UI mods are acceptable, albeit not my preference, but when people start giving me a host of mods I should be using...I get really pissed. If it helps you out, great, but if you can't heal well without mods...not my problem. This goes for both my resto druid & my holy priest. So thanks for sticking that in there. You rock.