[Guide] Druid Healing for 4.0

[patto92]

This is my first Guide I've ever written.. So.. It most likely will suck. But. In any case I will tell you all I know about druid healing in 4.0 We are still very versatile, meaning we can Very effectively raid heal or tank heal depending on what spec we are

Talents

Suggested Build
Raid healing spec: http://cata.wowhead.com/talent#00bZcZrczIuc0u0Go (95% of people will be doing this.. so If your not sure what spec to use.. use this)
Tank healing spec: http://cata.wowhead.com/talent#0ZcZrfzIdcbu0uo ( used if you really have no other option of a tank healer )

Reasons for the build: (Raid healing spec)

This Build is Brilliant for raid healing. It’s not designed to use spells such as nourish or healing touch, due to their cast times being obscenely long. With this build you have a massive mana pool and will have the quickest possible rejuvenation casts This build is speced into natures Swiftness for the extra OH shit button

Reasons for the build: (Tank healing spec)
Well, Major reason would be lack of a decent tank healer. You would spec this guild to take advantage of the reduced cast times in HT and Nourish so you can focus more on bomb healing your main target while keeping hots on them

New Spells
Efflorescence - When you heal with your Swift mend spell you also sprout a bed of healing flora underneath the target, healing all nearby friendly targets within 15 yards for 60% of the amount healed by your Swiftmend over 7 sec. This is absolutely amazing, especially when cast on a tank due to it encompassing Melee as well getting maximum heals off.
Tree of Life - Wild Growth: allows an extra two targets to receive WG. Regrowth: instant-cast. Entangling Roots: instant-cast, damage increased by 200%. Wrath: cast-time reduced by 50%, damage increased by 30%. Tree of Life is now the best OH shit button in the game Imo.. Seeming With the instant regrowth’s I can take a raid up to full health in a matter of seconds.

Glyphs

Prime:

First choice
Glyph of Rejuvenation: Increases the healing done by your Rejuvenation by 10%. (MOAR HEALING RAWRRR) <-- Winner there

Second Choice
Glyph of Swiftmend: Your Swiftmend ability no longer consumes a Rejuvenation or Regrowth effect from the target. ( Means you don’t have to recast your Rejuv or Regrowth) /win

Third choice
Glyph of Lifebloom: Increases the critical effect chance of your Lifebloom by 10%. Use this in a 10 man (due to a bit of tank healing) or for your main 25 (tank healing spec
or
Glyph of Regrowth: Your Regrowth heal-over-time will automatically refresh its duration on targets at or below 25% health. (Use this for 25 man Raid healing)

Major Glyphs

First choice
Wild Growth: Wild Growth can affect 1 additional target. ( More raid members being healed = more Win IMO )

Second choice
Glyph of Innervate: When Innervate is cast on a friendly target other than the caster, the caster will gain 50% of Innervates effect. ( mana mana mana ) On a side note. Good for if your mana isn't too bad but a raid members is terribly low (i.e. after a rebirth or w/e)

Third choice
Glyph of Healing touch: When you cast Healing Touch, the cool down on your Nature's Swiftness is reduced by 5 sec. ( Must have for tank healing Spec )
or
Glyph of Rebirth: Players resurrected by Rebirth are returned to life with 100% health. ( this isn't as important as you can only do one B res per fight with a 30 min cool down now )

Minor Glyphs

First choice
Glyph of Mark of the Wild: Reduces mana cost by 50% ( Rebuffing silly people who die to fire in combat )

Second choice
Glyph of Unburdened Rebirth: Your Rebirth requires no reagent ( Cause who wants to buy those bloody things)

Third choice
Glyph of Dash: Reduces cool down of dash by 20% ( good from running back from dying !!!) or.. For getting the hell away from things like ORANGE SLIMES!!!


Stats

Haste capped: The first crucial number for you is 1016. That is your new haste cap you should strive for at level 80. The way the math works you need 37.5% haste to get a 6th tick of rejuvenation (a 50% increase to the base spells output). Any less than that and you only get 5. Assuming that you have a shadow priest, moonkin, or shaman caster in your group that translates to 1016 haste rating. If you are in a 10 man raiding guild and for some reason lack all three of these then I am sorry but you are squarely out of luck. Due to diminishing returns I don’t think you can expect to reach the full amount of haste strictly through gear without hurting yourself.

Intellect: Increasing your SP 1:1 your Crit and your mana pool <-- Very important stat

mastery (Symbiosis): is amazing as well due to the extra amount of healing. Increases the potency of your healing spells by 10% on targets already affected by one of your heal over time spells. Each point of Mastery increases heal potency by an additional 1.25%

Crit: My Thoughts on this: I feel like Crit is a far better stat for a DPS than it is for us. On a boss, every time you Crit and deal extra damage, its simply that, extra damage. As a healer, when you Crit there is always a good chance that it goes to overheal. Plus, I don’t like relying on a “chance” to crit. That being said, of course Crit isn’t bad for us, and sure it’s nice when things do crit. I just think that it’s still not going to be a stat I focus on; rather it will be a stat that tags along on my gear that is no longer worthless.

Summary

So... All in all Druids are still amazing healers. Even though we can't blanket a raid as well as we used too.. We can still pump out a hell of a lot of heals

Feel free to Point out mistakes or grammar.. But yeah ^_^ Hope it helps

Naz

See Page 3 for Druid Healing, When to use spells and Situational awareness

Edit1: By Wench, Thanks heaps for taking the time to write this and look up the gear !

The purpose of this list is to help those folks that are working on gear to raiding.

If you have a fresh level 80 druid, there is a ton of content available at level 80. Unfortunately almost none of this content is played. As a result you will be doing most of your gearing up through justice points and heroics (which grant justice points.) This list serves as a guide for how I rank the items you can acquire from professions, world drops, quests, regular instances, Heroic instances, PvP, and Justice points. No raid drops are included, although the ashen verdict rep ring is.

Chest
Vestments of Spruce and Fir 1,100 JP

Gloves
Lasherweave Gauntlets 695 JP

Helm
Lasherweave Helmet 1,100 JP

Legs
Lasherweave Legplates 1,100 JP

Shoulders
Lasherweave Pauldrons 695 JP

Belt
Belt of Petrified Ivy 695 JP
Braid of Salt and Fire PoS

Feet
Blessed Cenarion Boots Crafted
Prelate's Snowshoes PoS

Relic
Idol of the Lunar Eclipse 347 JP

Neck
Arcane Loops of Anger Devourer of Souls
Love's Prisoner Bronjahm

Back
Volde's Cloak of the Night Sky 579 JP

Wrist
Wrathful Gladiator's Armwraps of Salvation 60,000 Honor
Moonshadow Armguards Crafted

Rings
Band of the Invoker 492 JP
Ashen Band of Wisdom Friendly with The Ashen Verdict
Heartmender Circle 492 JP
Oath of Empress Zoe HoR
Sinner's Confession ToC
Spiteful Signet FoS

Trinket
The Egg of Mortal Essence 348 JP
Ancient Pickled Egg Brewfest
Purified Lunar Dust 695 JP
Talisman of Resurgence 591 JP
Ephemeral Snowflake HoR

Two-Handed Weapons
Engraved Gargoyle Femur PoS

One handed Weapons
Surgeon's Needle PoS

Off Hand
Shriveled Heart HoR
Handbook of Obscure Remedies 290 JP

 

[sGkz]

Thanks but we have EJ for this..

 

[patto92]

Thanks.. But I thought I'd help out.. How about you just respect that I took the time to try and help some people instead of Flame..

 

[hissig]

Not to troll.. just some constructive feedback.


You say you have specced for raidhealing and wont use spells like nourish and healing touch. (I agree) but you have maxed out "Empowered Touch" That's a good waste of 2 points. You should have put them pretty much anywhere else, "Nature's Bounty" beeing a safe bet.

- Natures Cure is also a waste imo. Unless you don't have any other of the old classes that could remove magic in your raid (doubthful)


Other than that everything looks fine. Thanks for the guide

 

[patto92]

Not to troll.. just some constructive feedback.


You say you have specced for raidhealing and wont use spells like nourish and healing touch. (I agree) but you have maxed out "Empowered Touch" That's a good waste of 2 points. You should have put them pretty much anywhere else, "Nature's Bounty" beeing a safe bet.

- Natures Cure is also a waste imo. Unless you don't have any other of the old classes that could remove magic in your raid (doubthful)


Other than that everything looks fine. Thanks for the guide

Thanks heaps for your imput, Yet I Agree with you shall change it now.

 

[CodenameG]

hrm...maybe asking the wrong person about my healing logic in the new Kaboomkin.

 

[sGkz]

nazstyle

Thanks.. But I thought I'd help out.. How about you just respect that I took the time to try and help some people instead of Flame..

well, sorry dude I was not flaming, just saying that, HB/GB's forums are really not here for this sort of stuff, what I mean, is, your post could be a good point on EJ or maybe your guild board, but seriously, we're on a botting forum

 

[patto92]

well, sorry dude I was not flaming, just saying that, HB/GB's forums are really not here for this sort of stuff, what I mean, is, your post could be a good point on EJ or maybe your guild board, but seriously, we're on a botting forum

Its okay. But its why I put it in General Discussion I believe it has every right to be here like the Ufo thread hahaha

 

[evelyn]

Whats "EJ"?

 

[patto92]

Whats "EJ"?

http://elitistjerks.com/

 

[Wench]

This is a very nice start.

Over all I agree with most of it.
In ICC even as raid heals I've been using Healing touch for the first time in years.
Meanwhile nourish has taken a back seat as the casting time is to long for a 4-8k heal.
Efflorescence is indeed awesome but in fights like Lady Death Wisper players may move out of it thinking it is a death and deacy.
I have also found it useful to cast it on nontank melee, if you cast it on the tank then it will only affect the tanks in fights were facing
and positioning are important. Of course this is highly situational.

Haste cap: The first crucial number for you is 1015.

The yellow text is almost impossible to read
If I remember right you get the extra rejuvination tick at 1016 not 1015.

Whats "EJ"?

Elitist Jerks

Natures Cure is also a waste imo. Unless you don't have any other of the old classes that could remove magic in your raid (doubthful)

I really think this is an optional talent. In Pug's its nearly manditory while in a core group it may not be so.

 

[patto92]

This is a very nice start.

Over all I agree with most of it.
In ICC even as raid heals I've been using Healing touch for the first time in years.
Meanwhile nourish has taken a back seat as the casting time is to long for a 4-8k heal.
Efflorescence is indeed awesome but in fights like Lady Death Wisper players may move out of it thinking it is a death and deacy.
I have also found it useful to cast it on nontank melee, if you cast it on the tank then it will only affect the tanks in fights were facing
and positioning are important. Of course this is highly situational.

I tired out healing touch, but I was over healing too much. So I decided to go with Regrowth because of the slightly less mana cost and lower cast time
People do need to eventually figure out the difference between this spell and DnD (green) they do look different
and I changed the colour! I agree >.< yellow hurts the eyes.

Thanks for your Imput <3

 

[purple87]

just a suggestion...you might want to black out your toon/guild name from your image

 

[patto92]

just a suggestion...you might want to black out your toon/guild name from your image

Not my guild not my toon name thats the rogue under me hahah

 

[purple87]

Not my guild not my toon name thats the rogue under me hahah

ahh gotcha haha

 

[Wench]

I tired out healing touch, but I was over healing too much. So I decided to go with Regrowth because of the slightly less mana cost and lower cast time

At this point because mana isn't a concern I don't mind the over heal but yes regrowth is more efficent.

Will you be adding a section on when to cast what spells?

Over all I would say it hasn't changed much. Some of the changes I can think of are:
Rember to use your thorns on every CD although wait a bit to start as it is your aggro not the tanks.
Fights such as precious you have to save your WG for immediately after the blight as you can't spam it because the CD is longer then the duration.
In fights where there is sustained raid aoe such as festergut, I try to stagger my WG and efflorescence effect while maintaining a rejuv blanket.
With the change to tranquility being front heavy now it can be a very effective heal if raid heals are falling behind.
LB is still odd but I try to stack it on the current tank. If I know there is a switch coming I will let it bloom and pre hot the tank that will be taunting.

To help get hastecap:
Reforge all gear and lose spirit to pick up haste.
The moonkin relic is better then the resto as it has haste. (Rumor has it you can use paladin and shaman "relics" now as well)
Even if you can't hit the cap try to hit the one sec GC. Besides it helps reduce the cast time of regrowth and HT.

I'll add more and perhaps a pre raid gear guide if you like later.

 

[patto92]

At this point because mana isn't a concern I don't mind the over heal but yes regrowth is more efficent.

Personally I've been having mana Issues. But thats only on heroic LK, everywhere else has been good.

Will you be adding a section on when to cast what spells?

Yes, I do very soon.

In fights where there is sustained raid aoe such as festergut, I try to stagger my WG and efflorescence effect while maintaining a rejuv blanket.

I've found that Its more Efficient raid healing to use them every time they are cooled down. You will envelop more people then the Rejuv blanket will seeming you can't rejuv the whole 25 man raid anyways these days.

With the change to tranquility being front heavy now it can be a very effective heal if raid heals are falling behind.

I agree

LB is still odd but I try to stack it on the current tank. If I know there is a switch coming I will let it bloom and pre hot the tank that will be taunting.

LB is great, I get a lot of tank healing from it. Really helps

To help get hastecap:
Reforge all gear and lose spirit to pick up haste.

I've mainly reforged Crit Due to mana issues. Crit in its RNG style I don't think is still that important

The moonkin relic is better then the resto as it has haste. (Rumor has it you can use paladin and shaman "relics" now as well)

I agree, I'm using it atm

I'll add more and perhaps a pre raid gear guide if you like later.

Sure, just put it in this and I'll quote you on the front page

 

[Wench]

The purpose of this list is to help those folks that are working on gear to raiding.

If you have a fresh level 80 druid, there is a ton of content available at level 80. Unfortunitly almost none of this content is played. As a result you will be doing most of your gearing up through justice points and heroics (which grant justice points.) This list serves as a guide for how I rank the items you can acquire from professions, world drops, quests, regular instances, Heroic instances, PvP, and Justice points. No raid drops are included, although the ashen verdict rep ring is.

Chest
Vestments of Spruce and Fir 1,100 JP

Gloves
Lasherweave Gauntlets 695 JP

Helm
Lasherweave Helmet 1,100 JP

Legs
Lasherweave Legplates 1,100 JP

Shoulders
Lasherweave Pauldrons 695 JP

Belt
Belt of Petrified Ivy 695 JP
Braid of Salt and Fire PoS

Feet
Blessed Cenarion Boots Crafted
Prelate's Snowshoes PoS

Relic
Idol of the Lunar Eclipse 347 JP

Neck
Arcane Loops of Anger Devourer of Souls
Love's Prisoner Bronjahm

Back
Volde's Cloak of the Night Sky 579 JP

Wrist
Wrathful Gladiator's Armwraps of Salvation 60,000 Honor
Moonshadow Armguards Crafted

Rings
Band of the Invoker 492 JP
Ashen Band of Wisdom Friendly with The Ashen Verdict
Heartmender Circle 492 JP
Oath of Empress Zoe HoR
Sinner's Confession ToC
Spiteful Signet FoS

Trinket
The Egg of Mortal Essence 348 JP
Ancient Pickled Egg Brewfest
Purified Lunar Dust 695 JP
Talisman of Resurgence 591 JP
Ephemeral Snowflake HoR

Two-Handed Weapons
Engraved Gargoyle Femur PoS

One handed Weapons
Surgeon's Needle PoS

Off Hand
Shriveled Heart HoR
Handbook of Obscure Remedies 290 JP

 

[richarddoran]

hrm...maybe asking the wrong person about my healing logic in the new Kaboomkin.

/cheer! so there is a new kaboomkin in the works eh? Sounds awesome

 

[Joker76]

well, sorry dude I was not flaming, just saying that, HB/GB's forums are really not here for this sort of stuff, what I mean, is, your post could be a good point on EJ or maybe your guild board, but seriously, we're on a botting forum

Then why even post?

There are plenty of people here who aren't here to make money botting, call us hobby-botters. I raid 3 nights/week with my guild and bot during my down time for gold, leveling alts, etc. Therefore, I don't mind having a normal raid spec discussion here with other people who have similar interests. That's why they made a forum for General Discussion.

EJ is fine for people who want the cookie cutter specs in BiS gear. However, they are not the end all be all of specs. There are plenty of other situational specs that EJ does not cover, especially for people who don't have full T10 sets. I'm the type of person who will read different sources and come to my own conclusions, so posts like this are helpful. Thanks OP.