Restoration Druid Season 2 Healing Guide
Restoration Druid Overview
Restoration Druids specialize in ramp-based healing — preparing for incoming damage through proactive use of Heal-over-Time (HoT) effects like Rejuvenation. With great versatility and a suite of powerful cooldowns, they excel at healing groups through sustained damage and intense healing phases. Their shapeshifting utility, strong defensive toolkit, and mobility make them especially useful in dungeons and raids alike.
Druids wear leather armor and gain form-specific utility by transforming into a variety of creatures. Their healing is boosted by Mastery: Harmony, which increases healing per active HoT on a target.
Strengths
Excellent healing cooldowns: Tranquility, Incarnation: Tree of Life, Flourish, Convoke the Spirits
Consistent healing from stacked HoTs
High mobility and survivability
Strong utility and shapeshift-based tools
Weaknesses
Requires pre-planning and cooldown coordination
Less reactive to burst damage
Mid-tier spot healing performance
Raid damage output is low
Cheat Sheet Overview
Stat Priority: Intellect > Haste > Mastery (Healing) > Versatility > Crit
Core Talents: Swiftmend, Efflorescence, Lifebloom, Cenarion Ward
Best Hero Talent Tree: Keeper of the Grove (for healing-focused content)
Patch 11.1.7 Restoration Druid Changes
Class Tree Overhaul: Increased flexibility in pathing, fewer filler nodes
New Talents: Symbiotic Relationship, Circle of the Wild, Lycara's Meditation
Moonkin Form Returns: Primarily a flavor update, not meta-defining
Mastery Adjustment
Baseline Mastery was buffed, but now scales less with each additional HoT. Early HoTs matter more than spamming eight.
Quality-of-Life Tweaks
Tranquility is now a 5-second cast
Nature’s Cure is free in the class tree
Flourish provides a minor initial heal
Hero Talents: Keeper of the Grove vs. Wildstalker
Keeper of the Grove: Focuses on burst healing with Grove Guardians, solid defensives via Protective Growth
Wildstalker: Emphasizes single-target healing and adds Cat Form damage, better suited for Mythic+
In Season 2, Keeper of the Grove remains the optimal choice for raid healing, while Wildstalker is viable in dungeons with tighter damage windows or if you want to contribute more damage.
Restoration Druid Playstyle Tips
Keep HoTs Active: Maintain uptime on Rejuvenation, Lifebloom, and Efflorescence.
Use Cooldowns Efficiently: Align Tranquility, Incarnation, and Flourish with damage spikes. Don’t hold them “just in case.”
Manage Mana: Time Innervate for Rejuvenation spam. Rotate healing and regeneration phases with Master Shapeshifter.
Gear & Stat Priority (Season 2)
Stats: Intellect > Haste > Mastery (Healing) > Versatility > Crit > Mastery (DPS)
Intellect from higher item levels generally outweighs optimal secondaries.
Best Professions
Leatherworking: Craft gear close to BiS
Alchemy: Craft your own consumables
Enchanting: Self-enchant without Auction House dependency
Best Races for Restoration Druid
Horde: Trolls and Highmountain Tauren are slightly better throughput-wise, but all are viable
Alliance: Night Elf, Kul Tiran, and Worgen are all balanced; choose what you prefer visually