Mythic+ Healer Rankings: A Tier List for Dragonflight (Patch 10.2. / Season 3)

This tier list is NOT FINAL; it will change and will be updated as often as necessary prior and during Mythic+. There are often moments of tier set and class tuning, as well as talent changes and secondary stat scaling that will impact the placement of the specs.

I am Petko, a competitive Mythic+ player, known to be pushing the boundaries of High Mythic+ with several World first and Europe first rankings among past seasons on multiple classes. I have worked hard on preparing for Season 3 of Dragonflight, spending numerous hours per day examining each and every class and spec in a dungeon environment. This Tier list will continue to be updated as much as it requires over the course of Dragonflight and it will also focus on what the "meta" will look like as it stabilizes. Along the way, this Tier list will also be supported by various professional Mythic+ players with high credibility in the community, theorycrafters across all specializations, and my own empirical evidence.

To begin with, this Tier list will exclusively focus on the third Season of Mythic+ in Dragonflight. There will be no Warcraft Logs rankings added nor simulation data for the majority of the classes and specs. As a result, this Tier list will be solely based on empirical evidence of the current state of the classes' performance in Mythic+ from my own point of view and the point of view of the group of players testing those classes who are among the best representatives of the class in the community. Moreover, this Tier list will take into consideration every impactful class change and tier set tuning before and after the start of the season.

It is important to note that opinions might vary and that is completely okay, but remember to be respectful when providing feedback as the sole purpose of this tier-list is to help the WoW community with their choice of main or alt each season.

This tier list is entirely based on healer performance in Mythic+. The factors that are considered are HPS and DPS output, external cooldowns, utility, durability, and mobility.

It is important to understand that this Tier list is NOT permanent , and it will be due to change with upcoming changes and tunings over the course of the season. I have always advocated the "bring the player, not the class" motto, meaning: value the player's skill more than the class itself. This Tier list should NOT discourage you from playing whatever you enjoy the most if having fun is your main drive when you play Mythic+. The list will be updated as much as it requires before and after the start of each season.

This tier list is based on the assumption that you have your 4-piece tier-set present at all times. Places can vary drastically if this measure is not taken into consideration, as our main purpose is to showcase which specializations will become the best months before the season hits its peak.

Below, you can find the full rankings for Healers slots in Season 2 of Dragonflight Mythic+. We encourage you to further read and understand why some classes are placed lower or higher than expected, with several factors taken into consideration.

1. Discipline Priest (S-Tier)
2. Restoration Druid (S-Tier)
3. Holy Paladin (A+-Tier)
4. Preservation Evoker (A-Tier)
5. Mistweaver Monk (A-Tier)
6. Holy Priest (B-Tier)
7. Restoration Shaman (C-Tier)

Data-Driven (Season 3) Mythic+ Tier List

Get the latest data driven tier list for Patch 10.2

View Rankings

If you are interested in our other rankings for Mythic+ in Dragonflight, please click the links below.

Patch 10.2 update: Discipline Priest received massive changes going forward to Season 3, as well as a brand new tierset along with it. The 2-piece bonus increases the damage of Smite and Penance by 20%, and Smite extends the duration of an active Atonement by 2 sec. In addition, the 4-p effect enables Smite to cast an additional time during Shadow Covenant, dealing Shadow damage.

After the recent rework of the Discipline Priest specialization, their performance has improved significantly, particularly in Mythic+. With a higher damage output, it is unlikely that any other healer can deal more DPS than them if you include Power Infusion into the mix. Additionally, this specialization has a great utility toolkit for Mythic+, along with excellent HPS. As a result, going into Season 3, this specialization is one of the first "S-tier" specs, providing a great combination of damage and utility.

The biggest disadvantage of playing Discipline Priest is high mobility encounters might significantly impact your DPS/HPS profile. Having the dungeon knowledge can help you with the decision-making when and when not to greed cast Smites, but overall it is an issue that must be presented to the readers.

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Pain Suppression	External-defensive cooldown applied to a chosen target for 40% effectiveness.
Core	Power Word: Barrier	Summons a barrier reducing the damage taken by all allies within the area with 20%.
Core	Rapture	-
Core	Power Infusion	You must always have Twins of the Sun Priestess talented.
Core	Power Word: Fortitude	A raid-wide 5% Stamina buff.
Core	Psychic Scream	AoE disturb effect.
Core	Mind Soothe	It reduces the range at which the target/s will attack you. Incredibly useful for trash mob skips. It can be used on multiple enemies.
Core	Mass Dispel	Incredible useful where Mass Dispelling is needed.
Optional	Vampiric Embrace	Extra off-healing.
Optional	Leap of Faith	Helps with repositioning.
Optional	Dominate Mind	Mindcontrols an enemy allowing you to simultaneously execute your rotation while having full control over them and their abilities.
Optional	Shackle Undead	Crowd-controls a undead target for 50 sec.
Optional	Purify Disease	On top of Dispel Magic you will be able to further bolster it by allowing the spell to remove 1 Disease on a friendly target.

Patch 10.2 update: Restoration Druid received minor changes leading up to the season, as well as a brand new tierset along with it. The 2-piece bonus enables you and your Grove Guardians's Nourishes now heal 2 additional allies within 45 yds at 40% effectiveness. In addition, the 4-p effect triggers once consuming Clearcasting, causing your next Regrowth to also cast Nourish onto a nearby injured ally at 200% effectiveness, preferring those with your heal-over-time effects.

Restoration Druids are in a strong position with their impressive healing capabilities and competitive damage output. They have always been renowned for their exceptional utility and remarkable resilience, which will continue to be their strengths in the upcoming season 3. At last, with the most recent damage buffs, the spec damage profile has elevated, which will push them closer to the S-tier, given the fact that Discipline Priest's damage was recently nerfed. Overall, the S-tier is uncertain as there is no clear winner, but we are confident that Restoration Druid is looking for one of the strongest choices.

No significant disadvantages of the specialization are to be reported; the final stages of tunning will show the end-placing for Restoration Druid.

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Mark of the Wild	Increasing the Versatility of your raid/party by 3%.
Core	Entangling Roots	Single-target root effect.
Core	Ironbark	Short-external damage-reduction cooldown.
Optional	Nature's Vigil	Extra off-healing.
Optional	Innervate	Allowing 1 friendly healer to cast spells without spending mana for 8 sec.
Optional	Stampeding Roar	Increasing the movement speed to all raid members by 60% for 8 sec.
Optional	Remove Corruption	Removes all Curse and Poison effects from a friendly target.
Optional	Soothe	Dispelling all Enrage Effects from an enemy target.
Optional	Hibernate	Single-target crowd-control effects against beasts and dragonkins. It also works on Incorporeal.
Optional	Incapacitating Roar / Mighty Bash	You have the choice between AoE disturb effect or a single-target stun.
Optional	Typhoon	Aoe knockback.
Optional	Mass Entanglement / Ursol's Vortex	You have the choice between AoE root effect or AoE wind-of-vortex, pulling all the mobs to one location.

Patch 10.2 update: Holy Paladin received some changes going forward to Season 3, as well as a brand new tierset along with it. The 2-piece bonus will trigger when Glimmer of Light dissipates or is refreshed; it creates a Holy Reverberation on its target to heal an ally or damage an enemy over 8 sec. Multiple Holy Reverberations may overlap up to 3 times. In addition, the 4-p effect enables Daybreak to increase Haste by 25% for 6 sec and its cooldown reduced by 15 sec.

Holy Paladin is once again showing great promise for the upcoming Season 3. Although their utility has been slightly nerfed, it is arguably the best any healer can offer. Combined with their decent healing output and competitive damage profile, it makes them a potential meta class. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that Holy Paladin has one of the best mob controls from a healer perspective, the ability to combat-resurrect, and is the only healer with immunity.

The main downside of Holy Paladin is that their damage output is lackluster, which creates an opening for other healing specializations to be utilized. Boosting their damage capabilities would solidify their position as a top pick for Season 3.

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Devotion Aura	Permanent 3% group/raid-wide damage reduction aura.
Core	Retribution Aura	In case you already have Devotion Aura from another Paladin, you can choose the Retribution Aura to help your party/raid do more Damage and Healing.
Core	Hammer of Justice	A powerful single-target 6 sec stun effect.
Core	Lay on Hands	Heals a member of your party/raid to full health.
Core	Intercession	Combat-resurrection
Optional	Blessing of Sacrifice	Helps a single member of your raid in a critical situation. This can be further improved by talenting Sacrifice of the Just.
Optional	Blessing of Protection	Physical immunity, which can help you with some boss encounters.
Optional	Blessing of Freedom	Immunity to movement impairing effects.
Optional	Repentance / Blinding Light	You have the option between single-target crowd-control effect or a powerful mass AoE stop.
Optional	Cleanse Toxins	Removes all Poison and Disease effects from the target.
Optional	Turn Evil	Be able to fear any Undead, Aberration or Demon, which is an additional form of crowd control.

Patch 10.2 update: Preservation Evoker received some changes going forward to Season 3, as well as a brand new tierset along with it. The 2-piece bonus enables empower spells cast up to 3 Living Flames at enemies or allies struck at 40% effectiveness. In addition, the 4-p grants Living Flame to have a chance to apply Echo at 70% effectiveness on allies healed or nearby ally who doesn't already have Echo.

Preservation Evoker have one of the strongest 2-piece tier sets among all healing specializations, which will allow them to increase their healing per second (HPS) and damage per second (DPS) profiles. This will improve their damage output while maintaining the same overall utility package. In addition, the current melee meta is favorable to Preservation Evoker, as it is easier to manage their healing with a stacked group and limited yards of healing. Overall, they are a solid healer going forward and are one step away from entering the "overpowered" bracket.

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Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Blessing of the Bronze	-
Core	Tail Swipe	AoE disturb effect that knocks up enemies.
Core	Wing Buffet	AoE knockback effect.
Core	Expunge	Removing all Poison effects from an ally.
Core	Rewind	Rewinds 33% of damage taken in the last 5 sec by all allies.
Core	Time Dilation	It causes 50% of damage your ally takes to be instead dealt over 8 sec.
Optional	Sleep Walk	Single-target crowd-control effect that forces the enemy to move towards you.
Optional	Source of Magic	Can be further bolstered by Potent Mana
Optional	Oppressing Roar	Increasing the duration of all crowd-control effects on the affected enemies by 50%. You can further talent into Overawe, removing 1 Enrage effect from each enemy (AoE Enrage Removal).
Optional	Terror of the Skies	After using Breath of Eons, you will stun all enemies by 3 sec affected by your breath.
Optional	Zephyr	Area-of-effect damage reduction (party only).
Optional	Cauterizing Flame	Bleed removal
Optional	Rescue	You can further bolster it with Twin Guardian talent for extra durability.

Patch 10.2 update: Mistweaver Monk received massive changes leading up to the next season, as well as a brand new tierset along with it. The 2-piece bonus enables Renewing Mist to apply Chi Harmony to its initial target, increasing their healing taken from you by 50% for 8 sec. In addition, the 4-p effect enables 20% of all healing you do to targets with Chi Harmony is stored and then dispersed evenly among your allies with Renewing Mist when Chi Harmony fades or is refreshed.

Mistweaver Monk has been performing exceptionally well since the beginning of the 10.2 PTR testing and will continue to do so at the start of Season3, meaning that its likely the best version the spec has seen the whole expansion. Multiple rounds of buffs have helped to improve their overall performance across the board, making them more effective than ever before. What's more, they are the only healer capable of providing the ' Mystic Touch' debuff, which can significantly boost damage output if a melee-centric meta is being employed. As such, we are pleased with the current state of the Mistweaver Monk and how they are positioned for the start of Season 3.

Still, Mistweaver Monk is the only healer that does not have any external damage-reduction cooldown to help you support your team. In addition, adding a range to several of their core spells will be a great quality-of-life update.

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Mystic Touch	5% extra Physical damage for your raid.
Core	Life Cocoon	Apply a large absorb shield to a friendly target.
Core	Revival	Removes all Magical, Poison and Disease effects on the entire party.
Core	Generous Pour	Extra damage reduction against area-of-effect damage.
Core	Close to Heart	Increased healing from all sources for all allies within 10 yards.
Core	Leg Sweep	3 sec stun effect.
Optional	Tiger's Lust	Removes all roots and snares.
Optional	Ring of Peace	It can be used to help your tank kite and as a AoE disturb effect.
Optional	Detox	Removes all Poison and Disease effects from the target.
Optional	Paralysis	Single-target disturb effect.

Patch 10.2 update: Holy Priest received some changes leading up to the next season, as well as a brand new tierset along with it. The 2-piece bonus enables Holy Word: Serenity to apply 14 sec of Renew to its target. Holy Word: Sanctify applies 5 sec of Renew to allies it heals. In addition, the 4-p effect grants Renew's healing to have a chance to cause your next Holy Word: Sanctify or Holy Word: Serenity to not consume a charge when cast and cost 50% less Mana, accumulating up to 2 charges.

As we look forward to Season 3, the playstyle of Holy Priest has not undergone any significant changes, apart from some minor utility nerfs, buffs to spot-healing capabilities, and a slight nerf to some AoE healing abilities. This suggests we are unlikely to see any dramatic shift in Holy Priest's tier list placement unless they announce further changes. Overall, the specialization feels great and has the potential to be ranked much higher, but it all depends on future tuning.

The most recent rework of Discipline Priest makes its sibling spec much more appealing to the public. This will directly impact the people's perception of Holy Priest. Therefore it might not be as much of a popular choice among unorganized groups. However, I believe Holy Priest is a great option among all key levels and, given some further adjustments, will climb much higher.

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Guardian Spirit	Provides a "Cheat-Death" to a chosen player.
Core	Holy Word: Chastise	Single-targe disturb effect.
Core	Symbol of Hope	Replenishes Mana and helps restore defensive cooldowns.
Core	Power Infusion	You must always have Twins of the Sun Priestess talented.
Core	Power Word: Fortitude	A raid-wide 5% Stamina buff.
Core	Psychic Scream	AoE disturb effect.
Core	Mind Soothe	It reduces the range at which the target/s will attack you. Incredibly useful for trash mob skips. It can be used on multiple enemies.
Core	Mass Dispel	Incredible useful where Mass Dispelling is needed.
Optional	Vampiric Embrace	Extra off-healing.
Optional	Leap of Faith	Helps with repositioning.
Optional	Dominate Mind	Mindcontrols an enemy allowing you to simultaneously execute your rotation while having full control over them and their abilities.
Optional	Shackle Undead	Crowd-controls a undead target for 50 sec.
Optional	Purify Disease	On top of Dispel Magic you will be able to further bolster it by allowing the spell to remove 1 Disease on a friendly target.

Patch 10.2 update: Restoration Shaman received minor changes leading up to Season 3, as well as a brand new tierset along with it. The 2-piece bonus allows for Chain Heal, Healing Surge, and Healing Wave to mark their initial target with Tidal Reservoir, causing them to receive 15% of all Riptide healing you deal for 15 sec. In addition, their 4-p effect increases the Riptide's healing by 25%. If Riptide is active on the same target as Tidal Reservoir, its heal-over-time effect has a 6% chance to create a new Riptide on a nearby ally.

Restoration Shaman has been left behind in Season 3. Their tier-set is primarily focused on healing, making them more useful in Raiding than in Mythic+. While they have an excellent overall utility package, their DPS contribution is one of the lowest among all healing specializations.

Raw damage buffs must happen for Restoration Shaman to be placed higher on the tier list. This is by far the most important area of improvement.

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Bloodlust	-
Core	Earth Elemental	A powerful elemental summon that helps you survive.
Core	Spirit Link Totem	Reduces damage taken to your party/raid within 10 yards of the totem by 10% and every 1 their health is redistributed evenly.
Optional	Ancestral Vigor	Allows for some of your core abilities to temporary increase your health by 10% for 10 sec.
Optional	Earthen Wall Totem	Have a choice between a protective totem or a totem that allows you to reincarnate upon death and provides a temporary 10% increased health.
Optional	Mana Tide Totem	Increases Mana Regeneration to the whole party for a short period of time.
Optional	Wind Rush Totem / Earthgrab Totem	A choice between on-demand extra movement speed or AoE root effect similar to Mass Entanglement.
Optional	Ancestral Guidance	Provides extra off-healing to your party.
Optional	Capacitor Totem	3 sec AoE stun.
Optional	Hex	Single-target crowd-control ability.
Optional	Cleanse Spirit	Removes all Curse effects from a friendly target.
Optional	Purge	Removing 1 beneficial Magic effect from an enemy.
Optional	Thunderstorm	AoE disturb effect that can either knock away or knock up ( Thundershock).
Optional	Poison Cleansing Totem	Removes all poison effects on a nearby party member each 1.5 sec for 6 sec.
Optional	Stoneskin Totem	10% physical damage reduction