General Information
On this page, we list your Restoration Druid core
abilities and how they should be used together (rotation) in World of Warcraft
MoP 5.4. We also explain when
to use your various cooldowns. Then, we go deeper and present all the subtleties
that you will need to know if you want to excel at playing a Restoration
Druid.
The other pages of our Restoration Druid guide can be accessed
from the table of contents on the right.
1. Rotation↑top
How you heal as a Restoration Druid depends on several factors, such as
the type of damage (burst damage, sustained damage etc.) that your raid is
taking, the target(s) you are assigned to heal and who the other healers in
your raid are. Additionally, of course, the intensity of the damage will also
further narrow down your spell selection choice.
It is impossible provide a "rotation". You will have to choose when and on
who to use each of your spells, based on their strengths and weaknesses. Once
you familiarise yourself with your spells, you should also read our playstyle section.
1.1. Commonly Used Spells (HoTs)
Rejuvenation should primarily be used:
- to pre-HoT players before a spike of damage;
- to act as a pre-requisite for casting
Swiftmend on players;
- to heal players who have taken damage.
Wild Growth should primarily be used:
- on cooldown, whenever multiple players are in need of healing.
- Swiftmend should primarily be used:
- to heal groups of players who are standing together;
- before a burst of damage will hit the raid, to heal players through it,
allowing you to cast other spells;
- when a single target is in urgent need for a quick (instant cast)
heal.
Lifebloom should be used:
- on the tank, or another target who is taking heavy sustained damage,
always with 3 stacks.
Wild Mushroom: Bloom should be used:
- to detonate the mushrooms that you have placed at the location where raid
members are sustaining damage;
- to place Efflorescence healing zones (if you are using
Glyph of Efflorescence, which we recommend).
1.2. Less Used Spells (Direct Heals)
Nourish should primarily be used:
- as a filler, during times of low damage;
Healing Touch should primarily be used:
- on players who are taking a particularly high amount of damage;
Regrowth should primarily be used:
- on players who are about to die before you can get another, longer cast
off, when no instant cast spells are available;
It is important to note that, if you are using Glyph of Regrowth,
Regrowth will always have a critical effect but its HoT is no longer
present. This glyphed Regrowth basically replaces Healing Touch, being
more efficient than it.
1.3. Additional Action To Perform
In addition to simply using the above spells to react to the damage being
done, you should also keep the uptime on the 
Mastery: Harmony self-buff
at 100%. This requires that you cast a direct heal ( Swiftmend,
Healing Touch, Nourish or Regrowth) at least once every 20
seconds.
2. Cooldown Usage↑top
As a Restoration Druid you have 4 healing healing cooldowns by default.
Additionally, you can gain several others depending on your talent choices.
Your default cooldowns should be used as follows:
Tranquility should be used whenever a very large amount of raid
healing is needed. You may be assigned to use this at a specific time, as part
of a rotation with other healers.
Ironbark should be used to reduce the damage a tank is taking
during critical moments (such as when important boss abilities are about to be
cast). In the absence of such situations, you should just use it on players who
are taking damage. You may be assigned to use this at a specific time, as part
of a rotation with other healers and the tanks' own cooldowns.
Genesis should be used during heavy AoE damage phases to quickly
heal up raid members who are low. Since Genesis causes your Rejuvenation
to run out faster, you must be careful not to over-use it, because re-applying
Rejuvenation to multiple players is very expensive.
Nature's Swiftness should be used on cooldown.
We cover the cooldowns that are obtainable from talents, as well as a few
additional details regarding your default cooldowns, in our
detailed cooldowns section.
2.1. Abilities Granted by Symbiosis
Symbiosis is a buff that you can place on one party or raid member.
The buff lasts for 1 hour, and grants you an ability belonging to the target's
class, depending on what your specialisation is. At the same time, the target
receives one of your spells. Both of these spells come in a slightly modified
version (less powerful than the original). You can see the full list of spells
here, but the spells useful to you as a Restoration Druid are:
Icebound Fortitude reduces the damage you take by 20% for
12 seconds. It is gained from Death Knights.
Deterrence grants you virtual immunity for 5 seconds. It
is gained from Hunters.
Ice Block provides you with a 10-second immunity, during
which time you cannot perform any actions. It is gained from Mages.
Cleanse allows you to remove Disease effects. It is
gained from Paladins.
Spiritwalker's Grace allows you to cast non-instant spells while
moving, for 15 seconds. It is gained from Shamans.
3. Optional Read: Mastering Your Restoration Druid↑top
While playing correctly as a Restoration Druid does effectively rely on
using the above spells as we recommend, there is more you need to understand
to maximise your performance.
3.1. Understanding Your Spells
In order to make the best use of your heals, it is important that you
familiarise yourself with their strengths and weaknesses.
Rejuvenation is an instant cast periodic heal which will make up
the highest amount of your healing at the end of most fights. It also provides
a small initial heal. It is not very costly, and as long as it will not
overheal, it is always mana efficient to use it.
Wild Growth is a spell that heals 5 (6 with
Glyph of Wild Growth) low health raid members over 7 seconds. It is very
mana efficient, assuming it does not overheal.
Swiftmend heals the target for a moderate amount and places a
healing zone called Efflorescence on the ground, under them. The
healing zone heals the three lowest health targets in it for a very good
amount, making it a very strong spell. Keep in mind that Swiftmend can only be
cast on targets who have a HoT on them from either Rejuvenation or
Regrowth.
Lifebloom is a healing over time spell that can have up to 3 stacks
and can only be on one target at one time. You should always keep Lifebloom
running with 3 stacks on a target who is taking constant damage, such as the
tank. It is interesting to note that you can transfer your existing stacks of
Lifebloom from one target to another without having to re-stack them. For
example, if a tank switch is about to happen, casting Lifebloom on the new
tank will apply Lifebloom on them with 3 stacks instead of just 1 (assuming,
of course, that you already had a 3-stack Lifebloom on someone else, such as
the other tank).
Wild Mushroom allows you to place a mushroom at the location of
a targeted raid member. The ability has a 3-second cooldown and no mana cost.
You can then detonate the mushroom with Wild Mushroom: Bloom, healing all
players around it. These mushrooms are an excellent source of healing in AoE
situations, and they allow you to anticipate the type of damage that will
happen. It is best to make use of mushrooms only when you can pre-plant them,
during periods of low damage. This is because taking time out during periods
of intense damage to set up mushrooms is not as efficient as simply casting
other healing spells.
When the mushroom is re-cast before having been detonated, it will move
to its new location and it will retain its accumulated healing bonus.
It is worth noting that 10% of the overhealing you do with
Rejuvenation will be added to the healing that your existing mushroom
will do when detonated. This effect caps at 33% of your maximum
health. The bonus healing thus offered is divided evenly among the players who
are healed by the mushroom.
It is also very important to note that, thanks to
Glyph of Efflorescence, Swiftmend no longer triggers the
Efflorescence healing zone, and instead placing your mushrooms does. In
addition to this, if you are using this glyph, then the healing zone will last
as long as the mushroom that triggered it.
Nourish is a cheap heal with a relatively long cast time that
heals for a low amount. It heals for an extra 20% on players on whom you have
a HoT active.
Healing Touch is an expensive heal with a long cast time that heals
for a high amount.
Regrowth is an emergency heal. It has a high mana cost and a low
cast time. It heals for a large amount instantly and a smaller amount over 5
seconds. Its total healing is below that of Healing Touch. If the target of
Regrowth has less than 50% health, then each tick will refresh Regrowth on
the target to a 6 second duration.
3.2. Procs and Mechanics
As a Restoration Druid, you have quite a few things that you must keep track
of and react accordingly to. Other than using the appropriate spell for the
type of damage that is being done, this is really all there is to playing to
your maximum potential.
3.2.1. Mastery: Harmony
Your Mastery, Mastery: Harmony, has two effects:
- A permanent boost to your direct healing. While this is a welcome buff,
it is not very impressive, since the vast majority of your healing will come
from your HoTs.
- A temporary, 20 second boost to your periodic healing, each time you cast
a direct heal. This part of your Mastery is very strong.
It is important to make sure that the self-buff from your Mastery never
drops off. This means you need to cast at least one direct heal every 20
seconds. Since you should be using Swiftmend practically on cooldown,
the requirement is very lax.
3.2.2. Clearcasting Procs
Each time your Lifebloom ticks, you have a 4% chance to get a proc
from 
Omen of Clarity, making your next Healing Touch
or Regrowth, cast within 15 seconds, cost no mana. Which of the two
spells to use it with depends on the situation:
- Healing Touch heals for more, but also has a longer cast time. Use
this when you want to heal the tank and you are not in a very big hurry.
- Regrowth is a faster cast, so you can use this to save low health
raid members. You can also use Regrowth on someone and then follow it
up with Swiftmend, since Swiftmend requires a HoT, such as the one
from Regrowth.
3.2.3. Living Seed
Living Seed requires a mention as well, even though its benefit is
entirely passive and you will not really have to keep track of it in any
way.
When you critically heal a target with the direct healing portion of
Swiftmend, Regrowth, Nourish, or Healing Touch, you
place a buff on them, lasting 15 seconds. When the target is attacked, the
buff is consumed and the target is healed for 30% of the amount healed by
the spell that triggered Living Seed in the first place.
As we said, this happens passively, but you should still be aware of its
existence.
Successive Living Seed procs stack up on the target, up to a maximum of
50% of your maximum health.
3.3. Detailed Cooldown Usage
In this section, we explain in depth how to use your cooldowns.
3.3.1. Tranquility
Tranquility is a channeled spell that heals nearby raid members
for a large amount each second, and also places a HoT on them that heals for
an additional amount after the channel is finished. It is an extremely powerful
spell. It is best used during times of very heavy raid damage.
You should use Tranquility when you can channel it for its full
duration (or at least very close to its full duration).
3.3.2. Ironbark
Ironbark should simply be used on the tank, when they are taking a
large amount of damage, or on another player who is targeted by a powerful boss
mechanic.
3.3.3. Genesis
Genesis should be cast whenever there is heavy AoE damage, provided
that you have several Rejuvenations active on raid members.
3.3.4. Nature's Swiftness
Nature's Swiftness should be used on cooldown, or as close to it as
possible. You will find it most beneficial to use it with
Healing Touch. This macro may prove useful for the purpose.
3.3.5. Tier 2 Talents
Your Tier 2 talent of choice should be used as follows:
Ysera's Gift is entirely passive, so you do not need to worry about
it.
Renewal should be used whenever you have taken damage, as an
easy and free way to heal yourself.
Cenarion Ward should be used on cooldown on a player who is taking
constant damage (such as a tank).
3.3.6. Tier 4 Talents
Your Tier 4 talent of choice should be used as we describe below.
Incarnation: Tree of Life should be used as many times as possible
during the encounter, whenever you feel it will benefit you the most. What
exactly to do during Incarnation: Tree of Life depends greatly on the
situation that you used Tree of Life for. Generally, the best thing to do
is:
- Use Wild Growth on cooldown.
- Place a stack of Lifebloom on as many raid members as you can.
- Place additional stacks of Lifebloom on raid members, if time allows
it.
- Use Omen of Clarity procs (which should be abundant from
the many ticks of Lifebloom) on instant cast Regrowth.
The idea is that Wild Growth is very powerful, and should be used on
cooldown. Also, the more players you can place Lifebloom on (which is a very
mana efficient heal), the more procs you will get from
Omen of Clarity. This in turn means you can save a great
deal of mana by casting mana-free spells. Regrowth is the best choice since it
is instant cast when in Tree of Life.
You can also use Incarnation: Tree of Life to maintain a decent amount
of healing while moving, by making use of instant cast Regrowth.
Though this technique is generally not the best use of Tree of Life, it can
work situationally.
Force of Nature should be used on cooldown.
3.3.7. Tier 6 Talents
Your Tier 6 talent of choice should be used as follows:
Heart of the Wild should be used whenever you wish to gain a healing
boost, or when you need to perform a role other than healing.
Nature's Vigil should be used when you need a 20% increase in
healing, but as many times as possible during the encounter.
3.4. Restoration Druid Playstyle
As a Restoration Druid, you cannot simply "react" to the damage that is
happening in the encounter, since most of your spells are HoTs. While you
can react to bursts of damage with spells such as Swiftmend and
Regrowth, this is not your best asset.
Instead, you should become familiar with the way in which damage occurs in
the encounter you are progressing on, and you should always prepare for it
accordingly. This means that you should be able to do the following things:
- Have Rejuvenation already up on players before the damage
occurs.
- Use Swiftmend (or Wild Mushroom if using
Glyph of Efflorescence) to place a healing zone under a group of players
just as damage is about to occur.
- Have Lifebloom and Rejuvenation always on the tank, even
if you are not assigned to it.
- Place your mushrooms in strategic locations (where the raid will move at a
certain moment in the near future, or simply under the raid's stationary
position) and be prepared to detonate them when needed.
- Know ahead of time when you will use Tranquility.
Indeed, these are the most important things that you must plan ahead for as
a Restoration Druid. The rest of your gameplay will have to do with keeping up
your Mastery: Harmony buff, making good use of your
Omen of Clarity procs and using spells such as
Swiftmend and Regrowth to respond to unexpected damage.
3.5. Mana Management
Your only tool for mana management is 
Innervate. While this spell
can be cast on other players (healers, mostly), its effect is diminished
when doing so. If you are using Innervate a lot on other players, then we
advise you to use Glyph of Innervate, which makes this less
detrimental. Casting Innervate on others should only become standard practice
for you when you are very comfortable with your mana regeneration.
You want to Innervate as many times as possible during an encounter. You
should use this spell as soon as your mana is low enough that the mana you
gain from Innervate will not be wasted (so generally when you are below 80%
mana).
4. Changelog↑top
- 12 Sep. 2013: Patch 5.4 update.
- Updated several areas of the guide to account for changes to talents and
abilities.
- Added mentions of the new abilities, Genesis and
Ysera's Gift.
- Added that you can (and should) use Glyph of Efflorescence to have
your Efflorescence be triggered by Wild Mushroom.
- Made a change to the Innervate section to account for the changes
it and its glyph ( Glyph of Innervate) received.
- Removed a mention of Glyph of Lifebloom, since its effect is now baseline
and the glyph is no longer in the game.
- 20 May 2013: Patch 5.3 update: nothing to change.
- 29 Apr. 2013: Made several changes.
- 07 Mar. 2013: Patch 5.2 update.
