WotLK Classic Restoration Shaman Guide
Welcome to our Restoration Shaman guide for WotLK Classic, tailored for PvE content. Here, you will learn how all you need to know to play Restoration Shaman proficiently. Click the links below to navigate the guide or read this page for a short introduction.
Restoration Shamans are excellent supports with their buff totems such
as Windfury Totem,
Wrath of Air Totem, and
Strength of Earth Totem,
as well as their utility totems such as
Tremor Totem and
Cleansing Totem,
and support spells such as
Purge,
Wind Shear, and
Hex.
Their healing is very versatile, as the new Tidal Waves mechanic empowers
single-target spells such as
Healing Wave after the new
Riptide
is used, and also after area healing with
Chain Heal, allowing for quick
swapping between area and single-target healing!
If you are considering leveling a Restoration Shaman, check out our leveling guide which focuses on leveling as a healer in a small group setting.
This guide will focus on Restoration Shaman, one of the best area-of-effect healers in the game, who also sport strong single-target healing and the massive utility only a Shaman can bring.
In order to properly play a healing role, you will need more than just class-specific information. To better understand healing in general, we recommend that you read our Healing guide.
If you would like to see where Restoration Shamans fall in the overall rankings among healer specs for both PvE and PvP in Wrath Classic, we have created pages dedicated to explaining what classes and specializations are the best of the best through multiple factors. However, ultimately, you should not let these lists dissuade you from playing what you enjoy.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Totems and support spells for every type of situation, from buffs to CC removal;
Shared gear with Elemental allows for easy swapping between healing and damage between encounters;
Great area healing with
Chain Heal which ties into single healing through
Tidal Waves.
Vulnerable to interrupts in PvP;
Low mobility, survivability, and no defensive cooldown;
Jack of all trades of healing, but master of none means raid spot is contested.
Restoration Shaman Changes in Wrath
Lava Burst is a new spell which always critically strikes if
Flame Shock
is present on the target. While not particularly useful for Restoration, it can
provide a decent amount of damage when healing is not needed.
Riptide is a new heal-over-time for Restoration Shamans with a strong
initial heal component.
Chain Heals cast on targets with Riptide active
will consume it to make the whole Chain Heal 25% stronger.
Bloodlust /
Heroism are now raid-wide but also apply the
Sated debuff to everyone who gets the buff, stopping them from getting
Bloodlust again for 10 minutes.
Tidal Force is a new cooldown which increases your Critical Strike chance
on your next healing spells. Because its Critical Strike benefit is applied (and
consumed) on each jump of
Chain Heal, it is typically more efficient to
use it alongside
Nature's Swiftness and
Healing Wave, which
has a low Critical Strike chance, even when under the effect of
Tidal Waves.
Earthliving Weapon is a new weapon imbue for Restoration Shamans, which
increases healing done and causes the
Earthliving effect occasionally on
targets healed.
Call of the Elements,
Call of the Ancestors, and
Call of the Spirits
allow you to customize up to one totem of each type to instantly be dropped down
when these abilities are used, saving significant time.
Most totems are now raid-wide and do not stack with similar effects.
Wrath of Air Totem's buff is the only that remains Shaman-exclusive.
Utility totems such as
Tremor Totem,
Healing Stream Totem, and
Cleansing Totem are still for your party only.
Windfury Totem no longer enchants the weapon of affected players and
is now a flat melee Haste buff.
Fire Nova is now activated from your current Fire Totem rather than
having its own Totem. With a small 10-second cooldown, which could be brought down
to 7-seconds with
Glyph of Fire Nova for dungeon-focused players, it is a
very strong area damage option, even for Restoration, as long as you can sustain
its high Mana cost.
Hex is a new crowd control spell for Shamans, similar to
Polymorph
but it will not heal the target or break instantly upon any damage, while also
letting the target slowly move around. It is a Curse effect, making it harder to
be dispelled by some classes.
Wind Shear is your new interrupt (
Earth Shock now slows melee
attack speed, instead), and is off the global cooldown, making it extremely
powerful as the only low-cooldown ranged interrupt in game.
The overall result of all of these changes and additions is a versatile
Restoration Shaman, which excels at PvP with its burst damage and
Wind Shear disruption, but can also bring the critical
Wrath of Air Totem and
Bloodlust raid buffs.
Best Races for Alliance Restoration Shamans
Draenei is the only race available. While it is not one of the most impactful Shaman races, it does provide useful benefits such as its 1% group Hit aura.
Draenei Restoration Shamans
Gemcutting increases your Jewelcrafting skill by 5.
Gift of the Naaru is an instant-cast spell with a 3-minute cooldown that heals over time. Because it is free, it can be occasionally useful, and being on the Holy school allows you to cast it in PvP even while interrupted on Nature.
Heroic Presence increases your party's chance to Hit by 1%.
Shadow Resistance increases your Shadow Resistance by 10.
Best Races for Horde Restoration Shamans
Troll is the best race for PvE and also good in PvP, Orc is a great race for PvP, and Tauren is the weakest overall.
Troll Restoration Shamans
Beast Slaying gives a 5% damage bonus against Beasts.
Berserking is a 3-minute cooldown that gives you 20% increased attack and casting speed for 10 seconds.
Regeneration gives +10% passive health regeneration and allows you to regenerate 10% of your total health regeneration during combat.
Trolls are a decent choice if your goal is to maximize your throughput,
due to Berserking. Beast Slaying can also be useful against Beast-type enemies.
Orc Restoration Shamans
Axe Specialization increases your Expertise by 5 while wielding an Axe.
Blood Fury is a 2-minute cooldown that increases your offensive stats for 15 seconds.
Command increases your pet damage dealt by 5%.
Hardiness decreases the duration of stuns on you by 15%.
Orc is the go-to PvP race, due to Hardiness, which reduces the
duration of stun effects. Unfortunately
Axe Specialization is of little
use and
Blood Fury does not increase healing, making its PvE bonuses
mostly irrelevant.
Tauren Restoration Shamans
Cultivation increases your Herbalism skill by 15.
Endurance increases your total health by 5%.
Nature Resistance increases your Nature Resistance by 10.
War Stomp is a 2-minute cooldown that stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds, with a 0.5-second cast time.
War Stomp is quite reliable in PvP, often allowing for an emergency
Lesser Healing Wave cast, but has few PvE uses. The 5% increased health
from
Endurance is useful, but minor.
Best Professions for Restoration Shamans
In Wrath all professions have unique stat bonus benefits, with gathering professions giving the lowest and Engineering and Jewelcrafting (before Epic gems) having the most powerful and flexible benefits, especially in early phases. Blacksmithing also catches up later when Epic gems are introduced.
Engineering is great because of the unique Hyperspeed Accelerators
tinker, which gives 340 Haste for 12 seconds every minute. By using this extra
Haste during your cooldowns or on difficult parts of a fight, you can get more
benefit than the static stats of other professions. Engineering also provides
multiple explosives for extra damage and
Nitro Boosts for a burst of speed!
Jewelcrafting is also great because while most other professions force you to take Attack Power, you can pick from any stat with Jewelcrafting's Epic gems, allowing you to adjust your stats as needed.
Best Shaman Macros and Addons
Using macros and addons makes your life significantly easier when playing Wrath Classic, and they can improve your experience a lot, depending on how skilled you are at customizing them.
If you are interested in learning more about addons and macros suited to Restoration Shamans, check out our guides below:
Changelog
- 30 May 2023 (gear page): Added P3 best in slot items and new page layout.
- 23 May 2023 (enchants page): Updated for Phase 3.
- 18 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
- 18 Jan. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
- 18 Jan. 2023 (rotation page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
- 18 Jan. 2023 (talents page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
- 18 Jan. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
- 18 Jan. 2023 (this page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
- 17 Jan. 2023 (pre-raid gear page): Updated for Phase 2.
- 17 Jan. 2023 (gear page): Updated for Phase 2.
- 12 Sep. 2022 (pre-raid gear page): Page added.
- 12 Sep. 2022 (gear page): Page added.
- 12 Sep. 2022 (enchants page): Page added.
- 12 Sep. 2022 (stats page): Page added.
- 12 Sep. 2022 (rotation page): Page added.
- 12 Sep. 2022 (talents page): Page added.
- 12 Sep. 2022 (spells page): Page added.
- 12 Sep. 2022 (this page): Page added.
This guide has been written by Seksi, original vanilla player and multi-class player, currently playing on Gehennas Horde. You can find him on the Classic Shaman and Druid, as well as the Icy Veins Discord.
- Blizzard Discusses WoW Token in Classic
- WoW Token Added to Wrath Classic
- Wrath Classic Joyous Journeys 50% Experience Buff Is Back!
- Wrath Classic Patch 3.4.2 PTR Notes: May 18th
- Death Heat Map for Hardcore Characters and Their Killers
- BlizzCon 2023 in Coming on Nov 3-4
- Blizzard Announces Hardcore Classic
- Icy Veins is Getting a New Look