(WoW) Guide: Druid - If a tree falls in the dungeon...
... the tank probably did something wrong.
So I'm back to take a stab at the druid class in their Restoration build as healers. And trees. I really have to wonder about that. Who was it that thought "well, we need an alternate form for druids when they do healing - I know, we'll make them walking trees?" Still, a majority of my tanking experience in Wrath has been with a druid at my back, mostly Ailara, then Ajeya. It's been fairly recent that we've had a priest, Velnor, on the roster regularly.
P.S. Feel free to correct/elaborate as needed, Ajeya. Research is good. Experience is usually better. ;)
Build
The big distinction I see in builds is whether a druid is designing for tank healing or raid healing.
A couple popular builds are this and this. There's some flexibility, though, depending on purpose.
- Tree of Life: Sort of a no-brainer talent for Restoration druids, it's the one that defines them. It limits what can be cast, but gives bonuses to healing and a cost reduction in heal over time (HOT) spells.
- Subtlety: 2/3 - being fairly low in the Restoration talent tree, this is commonly used as a couple points of filler to get to the next tier of talents. A third point, however, generally shouldn't be necessary (though some builds use a third point as filler for later, too). Threat reduction is nice, but this shouldn't be what keeps you from the lead on the aggro chart.
- Revitalize: There's some dissention on this one. It gives Rejuvenation (HOT) and Wild Growth (AOE HOT) a chance to give mana/rage/energy/runic power. On one hand, everyone likes their secondary bar getting increased. On the other hand, it isn't a huge benefit for 1-3 talent points and even in a raid it probably isn't going to be helping more than 3 people at a given time.
- Nature's Splendor: Third tier in the Balance tree, this talent gives the benefit of longer duration on multiple HOT spells.
- Intensity: Keeping mana regeneration while casting is always lovely.
Gear
While DPS classes have some hard caps to hit (like +Hit), and tanks have hard minimums to hit (like Defense), healers are a little more fluid. Naturally, the higher the numbers the better, no question there. A desire for Spirit occasionally makes cloth items better than leather that's available, which is sad.
Stat priority:
Spellpower > Spirit > Haste > Crit ... or Crit > Haste, depending on who you listen to and what they're talking about. Haste is good, but Crit is possibly better for tank healing healing.
Glyphs: Glyph of Nourish, Glyph of Swiftmend, Glyph of Wild Growth (possibly swapping one out for Glyph of Lifebloom, depending on how often you use the spells). (Minor) Glyph of Unburdened Rebirth is a convenience.
Sample Pre-Naxx Gear
Elly requested I look at this whole build, but I don't generally see her in "healing" gear, so I can't make comparisons, just try to set some goals in general.
- Head: Helm of Anomalus from heroic Nexus. Enchanted with Arcanum of Blissful Mending (Wyrmrest revered) or Burning Mysteries (Kirin Tor revered), depending, and an Ember Skyflare Diamond or, if mana regene is an issue, an Insightful Earthsiege Diamond.
- Neck: Amulet of Dazzling Light from heroic Nexus (the same boss even). Alternatives include a Necklace of Valiant Blood from the Argent Tournament or a Dragon Prow Amulet (BOE from heroic Utgarde Keep trash). The Titanium Spellshock Necklace is a little off-itemization in lacking Spirit, but it's a craftable epic that's not bad by any means.
- Shoulders: Mantle of the Eternal Sentinel is a nice epic BOE raid drop that might be available, if short on the Spirit side of things. Otherwise, probably the Silent Spectator Shoulderpads from heroic Utgarde Pinnacle.
- Back: A Wispcloak is solid healer-wear, epic crafted. Otherwise, maybe a Reanimator's Cloak (BOE) from heroic Drak'tharon Keep.
- Chest: There's a bit of lack of leather healer chests outside Emblem of Heroism rewards and BOE dungeon drops. The Ymirjar Physician's Robe that drops from heroic Utgarde Pinnacle trash is probably good until the Heroes' Dreamwalker Robe, though. The Robes of Crackling Flame (cloth Kirin Tor exalted) are actually pretty good, too.
- Wrist: Hmm. Looks like Wound-Binding Wristguards from revered Ebon Blade, settling for cloth bracers or spending on BOE bracers. If you're willing to do the latter, look for Bands of the Great Tree from Emblems of Valor, or Bindings of the Depths out of Ulduar.
- Gloves: Heroes' from Emblems, naturally. Short of that, probably Grotto Mist Gloves from heroic Azjol-Nerub or going with crafted cloth Moonshroud Gloves.
- Belt: Emblems of... okay, okay. Ghostflicker Waistband from Kirin Tor exalted is pretty good, if lacking in Spirit. The Belt of Vivacity from heroic Halls of Lightning isn't bad either. There are some varied cloth options, too.
- Pants: Earthgiving Legguards, hands down. It's a leatherworking BOE epic that shouldn't be too hard to get at this point.
- Boots: Earthgiving Boots, another leatherworking BOE epic, areprobably the best option here.
- Rings: Lots of varied options. Titanium Spellshock Ring is a decent crafted choice. A Signet of Hopeful Light from exalted Argent Crusade is good. There's also the Band of Guile from heroic Culling of Stratholme or Spectral Seal of the Prophet from heroic Drak'tharon Keep.
- Trinkets: Darkmoon Card:Greatness (the Int version apparently aids mana regeneration better than the Spirit one), like everyone else. There's an EoH trinket, The Egg of Mortal Essence. There are mp5 trinkets like Cannoneer's Morale from an Icecrown quest, Spirit trinkets like the Talisman of Troll Divinity from heroic Drak'tharon Keep, and even haste trinkets like Spark of Life from normal Halls of Stone. There's some mention that the level 60 Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon is actually rather good.
- Weapon: Staff of Draconic Combat from heroic Oculus. Or a mix like the Dagger of Lunar Purity (Argent Tournament)/War Mace of Unrequited Love (heroic Nexus) + a Handbook of Obscure Remedies (Emblems of Heroism) or a Prison Manifest (BOE from Violet Hold).
Rotation
Healing, for any class, is reactionary. As a tank or DPS class, you might hit an ability because it's off cooldown and does the most threat/damage available. For a healer, the answer is always "it depends." If no one's taking damage, conserve mana. If everyone's taking damage, pull out the AOE healing spells. If the tank is taking slow, steady damage, you put a HOT on them. Druids, with a lot of HOT effects, are probably a little more proactive than most, but it's still situational.
- Lifebloom: A staple spell, it's a HOT effect that stacks up to three times. If allowed to expire (or dispelled), it gives a little burst of healing and returns mana to the caster. One typical approach is to just keep this up on the tank and go from there. I've gone through large sections of dungeons with Ajeya saying, "Yeah, I just put Lifebloom on you and sat back."
- Rejuvenation and Regrowth: Further HOT buffer spells good to drop on a tank.
- Nourish: A solid direct heal that gets additionally effective if used on a target with other druid HOTs going.
- Swiftmend: This might be debateable on its own because it consumes ongoing Rejuvenation or Regrowth on the target, the Glyph for it removes that drawback, giving an instant-cast spot heal for a target with those HOTs.
- Wild Growth: Area effect healing around the target that is higher at the beginning and drops off as the duration goes on, it's good for keeping groups topped off and probably gets heavier use in raids than 5-mans.
- Healing Touch: A large, slow direct heal, this seems most often coupled (and/or macro'd) with Nature's swiftness to make it instant-cast as an emergency heal.
- Tranquility: Another panic button for healing your party (and only your party/raid sub-group)
Other Tactics
- Everyone loves the druidic Gift of the Wild buff for armor and stat boosts.
- Casting Thorns on the tank is a nice little touch more damage to things.
- Innervate, whether used on oneself or someone else in need, is a major mana-restoration spell with a 6 minute cooldown, making it avialable pretty much every boss fight.
Resources/Further Reading:
http://www.nerfthisdruid.com/2009/05/druid-healing-101.html
http://www.nerfthisdruid.com/2009/06/which-talents-should-i-take.html
http://earthshieldsandhots.blogspot.com/2009/06/thales-pve-resto-druid-compendium.html
http://www.wow.com/2009/01/06/shifting-perspectives-gearing-your-restoration-druid-at-80/
http://elitistjerks.com/f73/t37554-resto_pre_raid_gear/
http://www.worldofmatticus.com/category/world-of-warcraft/druid-discussion/
So I'm back to take a stab at the druid class in their Restoration build as healers. And trees. I really have to wonder about that. Who was it that thought "well, we need an alternate form for druids when they do healing - I know, we'll make them walking trees?" Still, a majority of my tanking experience in Wrath has been with a druid at my back, mostly Ailara, then Ajeya. It's been fairly recent that we've had a priest, Velnor, on the roster regularly.
P.S. Feel free to correct/elaborate as needed, Ajeya. Research is good. Experience is usually better. ;)
Build
The big distinction I see in builds is whether a druid is designing for tank healing or raid healing.
A couple popular builds are this and this. There's some flexibility, though, depending on purpose.
- Tree of Life: Sort of a no-brainer talent for Restoration druids, it's the one that defines them. It limits what can be cast, but gives bonuses to healing and a cost reduction in heal over time (HOT) spells.
- Subtlety: 2/3 - being fairly low in the Restoration talent tree, this is commonly used as a couple points of filler to get to the next tier of talents. A third point, however, generally shouldn't be necessary (though some builds use a third point as filler for later, too). Threat reduction is nice, but this shouldn't be what keeps you from the lead on the aggro chart.
- Revitalize: There's some dissention on this one. It gives Rejuvenation (HOT) and Wild Growth (AOE HOT) a chance to give mana/rage/energy/runic power. On one hand, everyone likes their secondary bar getting increased. On the other hand, it isn't a huge benefit for 1-3 talent points and even in a raid it probably isn't going to be helping more than 3 people at a given time.
- Nature's Splendor: Third tier in the Balance tree, this talent gives the benefit of longer duration on multiple HOT spells.
- Intensity: Keeping mana regeneration while casting is always lovely.
Gear
While DPS classes have some hard caps to hit (like +Hit), and tanks have hard minimums to hit (like Defense), healers are a little more fluid. Naturally, the higher the numbers the better, no question there. A desire for Spirit occasionally makes cloth items better than leather that's available, which is sad.
Stat priority:
Spellpower > Spirit > Haste > Crit ... or Crit > Haste, depending on who you listen to and what they're talking about. Haste is good, but Crit is possibly better for tank healing healing.
Glyphs: Glyph of Nourish, Glyph of Swiftmend, Glyph of Wild Growth (possibly swapping one out for Glyph of Lifebloom, depending on how often you use the spells). (Minor) Glyph of Unburdened Rebirth is a convenience.
Sample Pre-Naxx Gear
Elly requested I look at this whole build, but I don't generally see her in "healing" gear, so I can't make comparisons, just try to set some goals in general.
- Head: Helm of Anomalus from heroic Nexus. Enchanted with Arcanum of Blissful Mending (Wyrmrest revered) or Burning Mysteries (Kirin Tor revered), depending, and an Ember Skyflare Diamond or, if mana regene is an issue, an Insightful Earthsiege Diamond.
- Neck: Amulet of Dazzling Light from heroic Nexus (the same boss even). Alternatives include a Necklace of Valiant Blood from the Argent Tournament or a Dragon Prow Amulet (BOE from heroic Utgarde Keep trash). The Titanium Spellshock Necklace is a little off-itemization in lacking Spirit, but it's a craftable epic that's not bad by any means.
- Shoulders: Mantle of the Eternal Sentinel is a nice epic BOE raid drop that might be available, if short on the Spirit side of things. Otherwise, probably the Silent Spectator Shoulderpads from heroic Utgarde Pinnacle.
- Back: A Wispcloak is solid healer-wear, epic crafted. Otherwise, maybe a Reanimator's Cloak (BOE) from heroic Drak'tharon Keep.
- Chest: There's a bit of lack of leather healer chests outside Emblem of Heroism rewards and BOE dungeon drops. The Ymirjar Physician's Robe that drops from heroic Utgarde Pinnacle trash is probably good until the Heroes' Dreamwalker Robe, though. The Robes of Crackling Flame (cloth Kirin Tor exalted) are actually pretty good, too.
- Wrist: Hmm. Looks like Wound-Binding Wristguards from revered Ebon Blade, settling for cloth bracers or spending on BOE bracers. If you're willing to do the latter, look for Bands of the Great Tree from Emblems of Valor, or Bindings of the Depths out of Ulduar.
- Gloves: Heroes' from Emblems, naturally. Short of that, probably Grotto Mist Gloves from heroic Azjol-Nerub or going with crafted cloth Moonshroud Gloves.
- Belt: Emblems of... okay, okay. Ghostflicker Waistband from Kirin Tor exalted is pretty good, if lacking in Spirit. The Belt of Vivacity from heroic Halls of Lightning isn't bad either. There are some varied cloth options, too.
- Pants: Earthgiving Legguards, hands down. It's a leatherworking BOE epic that shouldn't be too hard to get at this point.
- Boots: Earthgiving Boots, another leatherworking BOE epic, areprobably the best option here.
- Rings: Lots of varied options. Titanium Spellshock Ring is a decent crafted choice. A Signet of Hopeful Light from exalted Argent Crusade is good. There's also the Band of Guile from heroic Culling of Stratholme or Spectral Seal of the Prophet from heroic Drak'tharon Keep.
- Trinkets: Darkmoon Card:Greatness (the Int version apparently aids mana regeneration better than the Spirit one), like everyone else. There's an EoH trinket, The Egg of Mortal Essence. There are mp5 trinkets like Cannoneer's Morale from an Icecrown quest, Spirit trinkets like the Talisman of Troll Divinity from heroic Drak'tharon Keep, and even haste trinkets like Spark of Life from normal Halls of Stone. There's some mention that the level 60 Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon is actually rather good.
- Weapon: Staff of Draconic Combat from heroic Oculus. Or a mix like the Dagger of Lunar Purity (Argent Tournament)/War Mace of Unrequited Love (heroic Nexus) + a Handbook of Obscure Remedies (Emblems of Heroism) or a Prison Manifest (BOE from Violet Hold).
Rotation
Healing, for any class, is reactionary. As a tank or DPS class, you might hit an ability because it's off cooldown and does the most threat/damage available. For a healer, the answer is always "it depends." If no one's taking damage, conserve mana. If everyone's taking damage, pull out the AOE healing spells. If the tank is taking slow, steady damage, you put a HOT on them. Druids, with a lot of HOT effects, are probably a little more proactive than most, but it's still situational.
- Lifebloom: A staple spell, it's a HOT effect that stacks up to three times. If allowed to expire (or dispelled), it gives a little burst of healing and returns mana to the caster. One typical approach is to just keep this up on the tank and go from there. I've gone through large sections of dungeons with Ajeya saying, "Yeah, I just put Lifebloom on you and sat back."
- Rejuvenation and Regrowth: Further HOT buffer spells good to drop on a tank.
- Nourish: A solid direct heal that gets additionally effective if used on a target with other druid HOTs going.
- Swiftmend: This might be debateable on its own because it consumes ongoing Rejuvenation or Regrowth on the target, the Glyph for it removes that drawback, giving an instant-cast spot heal for a target with those HOTs.
- Wild Growth: Area effect healing around the target that is higher at the beginning and drops off as the duration goes on, it's good for keeping groups topped off and probably gets heavier use in raids than 5-mans.
- Healing Touch: A large, slow direct heal, this seems most often coupled (and/or macro'd) with Nature's swiftness to make it instant-cast as an emergency heal.
- Tranquility: Another panic button for healing your party (and only your party/raid sub-group)
Other Tactics
- Everyone loves the druidic Gift of the Wild buff for armor and stat boosts.
- Casting Thorns on the tank is a nice little touch more damage to things.
- Innervate, whether used on oneself or someone else in need, is a major mana-restoration spell with a 6 minute cooldown, making it avialable pretty much every boss fight.
Resources/Further Reading:
http://www.nerfthisdruid.com/2009/05/druid-healing-101.html
http://www.nerfthisdruid.com/2009/06/which-talents-should-i-take.html
http://earthshieldsandhots.blogspot.com/2009/06/thales-pve-resto-druid-compendium.html
http://www.wow.com/2009/01/06/shifting-perspectives-gearing-your-restoration-druid-at-80/
http://elitistjerks.com/f73/t37554-resto_pre_raid_gear/
http://www.worldofmatticus.com/category/world-of-warcraft/druid-discussion/
I think this is a solid guide overall - if I could add my spin and emphasis I would say this (as of the current patch anyway 3.1.3): First, the biggest thing I noticed about playing my Resto Druid is it takes a bit to get things rolling. It's not like a Paladin (other healer I play) where you can throw down a 1.5 second Holy Light for 25k+. HoTs take time to apply, and sudden shifts where a Boss switches targets you have to be prepared for. Plan in advance if you know a tank switch is coming up and get HoTs rolling on your offtank. If you know the Boss is about to hammer a random DPS soon be ready mentally with a Rejuv+Swiftmend and possibly more. Check your mana bar regularly and plan when you're going to Innervate. Glyph of Swiftmend - this is an absolute must. You are gimping yourself by not having it. Get the glyph, use Swiftmend as often as you need to. Swiftmend itself - PLEASE NOTE that Lifebloom HoT's are not eligible for Swiftmend. You must have Rejuvenation or Regrowth ticking. I was also going to point out that Nourish isn't affected by Lifebloom, but in looking at wowhead it appears that it now is. I'm not sure what patch changed that. So... Lifeblooms will power your Nourish... cast away. How to stack Lifeblooms: Every time you cast Lifebloom it refreshes your HoT timer for the stack and adds one to the stack (up to 3). After that you only need to cast a single Lifebloom to refresh the entire stack. Regarding the current Lifebloom rule - I have a correction to make. It's not a little burst anymore. It's a HUGE burst. My 3-stack of Lifebloom noncrits for 8-10k and crits for 20k+, and I'm just in pre-Naxx gear. Also, the mana return from letting your Lifeblooms bloom is VERY significant. You will see a several % jump on your mana bar. I have been at 80% mana with Lifeblooms going on most of the party, have them bloom at the end of combat, and suddenly I'm at full mana. This means that it's not feasible anymore to keep 3xLifeblooms rolling all the time and never let them fall off - you can go OOM that way. If you're well geared you can probably get away with it in Heroics but not much past that. You have to let your Lifeblooms pop and you have to plan for it, because you will be reapplying the entire stack then and you need to have enough healing going on to sustain your target while you get the stack back up. Also, because the bloom is for so much, you're overhealing a lot if use Nourish or other direct heals to keep your tank at full and then your Lifebloom pops while your target is at full health. Beyond that advice you'll just have to experiment with what works for you. Wild Growth - I use this quite a bit in 5-man Boss fights where almost every Boss fight in WotLK involves multiple targets taking damage. The problem using it in raids is you only get to pick one target - the rest are based on proximity to the first. Also a problem using it if people are spread out. Also has a cooldown so can't be cast again until it has run its course. Tranquility - I like Tranquility in tight spots but beware... while you're channeling that, your HoTs are falling off and you're not reapplying them. When it ends you better have enough time to get HoT stacks back up on the Tank or others taking damage. Healing Touch - Hardly ever use. Only with Nature's Swiftness, and even then, I forget to use it a lot. I would say, use it like a second Swiftmend if its on cooldown. Nature's Swiftness + Rebirth = Instant battle rez.
ReplyDeleteMy typical rotation is (Heroics): TANK: Rejeuv before tank even aggros (usually at the 'ready' prompt or when I see a warrior pop their rage generation ability). It has a longer duration so it will last a bit and gets a HoT up to stave off that early damage as you get other HoTs rolling. 3xLifebloom if the tank isn't taking overwhelming damage. If the tank IS taking OMG damage I alternate stacking Lifeblooms with first Swiftmend, then longer cast direct heals, like Nourish, or Regrowth (which is nice because you then get another HoT) Regrowth if needed. Nourish (spam) if needed. Problem with spamming Nourish is if you're casting that, you're not healing anyone else. Using HoTs and Swiftmend lets you stay available to put LB/Rejuv/WG on others quickly. Refresh all of the above as needed. DPS: If it's a Boss that's doing damage to everyone or AoE type stuff: Wild Growth. If that's not enough, apply Lifeblooms after. If it's DPS that's spread out and just taking some minor damage once in a while: 1xLifebloom and let it go until it blooms. If it's DPS or an off-tank that's likely to suddenly draw aggro off your tank for whatever reason - Keep Rejuv up constantly and be ready to use Swiftmend and apply more HoTs. Lastly, I think I am going to reconsider my glyphs after seeing what you have above. Glyph of Nourish would probably help me more than Glyph of Regrowth.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insights. :)
ReplyDeleteIt all looks very solid. Thank you for gathering up all the info. And thank you, Ajeya, for your insights as well
ReplyDelete