Mythic+ Healer Rankings: A Tier List for Dragonflight (Patch 10.0.5 / Season 1)

Last updated on Feb 14, 2023 at 00:00 by Petko 38 comments

From the weakest to the strongest specialization, each provide unique character distinction and add value toward shaping the seasonal "meta" of Mythic+. The Healer specialization rankings provided for Dragonflight's first season of Mythic+ are based on the pure healing strength and group-added-value such as utility, survivability, mobility, damage and self-sustain.

This list will be updated as new tuning and class changes come out over the course of leading up to the season's start and beyond.

1.

About the Tier List

This tier list is NOT FINAL; it will change and will be updated as often as necessary prior and during Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. 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 1 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 first 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.

1.1.

A Final Warning

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 to the "bring the player, not the class" motto, meaning: value the player skill more than the class itself. This Tier list should NOT discourage you to play 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.

2.

Important Note for Season 1 of Dragonflight

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.

3.

Healer Tier List for Season 1 of Mythic+ in Dragonflight

Below you can find the full rankings for Healers slots in 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. Restoration Druid (S-Tier)
  2. Preservation Evoker (S-Tier)
  3. Holy Paladin (A-Tier)
  4. Discipline Priest (A-Tier)
  5. Restoration Shaman (A-Tier)
  6. Mistweaver Monk (B-Tier)
  7. Holy Priest (B-Tier)
3.1.

DPS and Tank Class Rankings

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

4.

Full Healer Class Rankings

4.1.

S-tier

4.1.1.

Restoration Druid

February 14, Patch 10.0.5 update: Restoration Druid received a nerf leading to the Patch 10.0.5 minor patch. Their Verdancy Icon Verdancy healing was nerfed by 10% and Adaptive Swarm Icon Adaptive Swarm was nerfed by 10% + it will now increase the effectiveness of the periodic spells by 20% (previously 25%). Followed by a 3% overall nerf on every healing ability. However, the changes won't be enough to push the class off the S-tier, but now the battle for the best healer in Season 1 is close, with Preservation Evoker coming hot! Restoration Druids are looking amazing going into the season; with one of the best damage profiles (both AoE and single-target), spot-healing, and group-healing, they are a contender for the top spot. This will be a close battle for the top, but it will truly come down to how much value Restoration Druid can bring to the table, or in other words, is their utility suitable to be "meta' worthy? I cannot point out any flaws of this spec except that other healing specializations might have better party utility than them or if Mark of the Wild Icon Mark of the Wild is already present. Still, they are on par, if not ahead, in any other department.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Restoration Druid has one of the more unique playstyles in Mythic+ across all healers, with most of its focus based on heal-over-time effects like Rejuvenation Icon Rejuvenation, Regrowth Icon Regrowth, Wild Growth Icon Wild Growth, Lifebloom Icon Lifebloom, Swiftmend Icon Swiftmend, and much more. In addition, they have one of the shortest external-defensives in Mythic+ with Ironbark Icon Ironbark, which is a great source of single-target mitigation for anyone in danger. Their major healing cooldown is Tranquility Icon Tranquility with some minor cooldowns being Nature's Swiftness Icon Nature's Swiftness and Flourish Icon Flourish. On top of this, if they ever decide to contribute to the overall group damage, they can do it with Cat Form Icon Cat Form — "cat-weaving" is the most popular way to do DPS as a Restoration Druid — or in caster form DoTing all the targets with Moonfire Icon Moonfire and Sunfire Icon Sunfire. Historically, Restoration Druids have always performed well and I believe they will do amazing this expansion too.

Utility: Restoration Druids have a great utility toolkit for Mythic+, with their signature external defensive cooldown of Ironbark Icon Ironbark. Druids also have a raid-wide buff added in Dragonflight with Mark of the Wild Icon Mark of the Wild (available to all specs), which provides additional value to the already-strong utility toolkit. Some of their utilities include Hibernate Icon Hibernate, Stampeding Roar Icon Stampeding Roar, Remove Corruption Icon Remove Corruption, Soothe Icon Soothe, Mass Entanglement Icon Mass Entanglement or Ursol's Vortex Icon Ursol's Vortex (depending on the talent choice), Renewal Icon Renewal, Cyclone Icon Cyclone, Mighty Bash Icon Mighty Bash, or Incapacitating Roar Icon Incapacitating Roar (depending on talent choice), Typhoon Icon Typhoon, Innervate Icon Innervate, and much more. Going forward to Dragonflight, Restoration Druids will also have the option to talent Skull Bash Icon Skull Bash, which gives them an interrupt. This will make them even stronger in Mythic+, though keep in mind this is quite a "pricy" talent and you might not go down that route. Druids are also one of the few classes that have access to a stealth ability with Prowl Icon Prowl, allowing them to do any skips without using an Invisibility Potion. Moreover, they have access to Rebirth Icon Rebirth, a battle-resurrection that is limited to only a few specializations in the game.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Outside of their great utility, Restoration Druid has a quite strong defensive with Barkskin Icon Barkskin being only a 1-minute cooldown, followed by great passive mitigation from 25% on-demand Stamina with Bear Form Icon Bear Form and 6% permanent damage-reduction from Thick Hide Icon Thick Hide (if talented in the class tree).

Mobility: Restoration Druid's overall playstyle is quite mobile; since a healthy portion of their playstyle is with instant heal-over-time spells, they can freely swap positions without being punished. Druids of any spec also have a talent to increase their movement speed by 15% with Feline Swiftness Icon Feline Swiftness. In addition, they can choose to talent Tiger Dash Icon Tiger Dash or Wild Charge Icon Wild Charge to gain extra mobility if they are in combat and need to move as quickly as possible.

4.1.2.

Preservation Evoker

February 14, Patch 10.0.5 update: Preservation Evoker received several changes, both to some of their spells and talents, but are neither to be considered nerfs nor buffs. However, the follow-up second round of changes hit them with a 5% overall nerf on all of their healing spells. The changes are not going to diminish their power in Mythic+, so they are still likely to remain one of the best healer options in the first season of Mythic+. Preservation Evoker is in the commanding position to become one of the best healers in the current meta, with one of the best offensive profiles (both in single-target and in AoE) among all healers, competitive HPS, amazing utility, and top-notch mobility. On top of this, they can provide Fury of the Aspects Icon Fury of the Aspects to their team, which is incredibly valuable to have. There is nothing else to add except that they have earned a well-deserved S-tier.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Preservation Evoker is the first hybrid-Healer, having most of its healing spell having a 30-yard range (as opposed a fully-ranged healer having 40-yard ranged abilities most of the time). Its healing style is more about direct heals rather than heal-over-time effects (unlike Restoration Druid) with some of their signature abilities being Dream Breath Icon Dream Breath, Echo Icon Echo, Reversion Icon Reversion, and Spiritbloom Icon Spiritbloom. Their major healing cooldown is Dream Flight Icon Dream Flight and a small personal cooldown that restores Mana and health is Emerald Communion Icon Emerald Communion. They can remove all MagicMagic and PoisonPoison debuffs with Naturalize Icon Naturalize. They also have unique external defensives, the first being Time Dilation Icon Time Dilation which works similar to a Brewmaster Monk's Stagger Icon Stagger, and the second being Rewind Icon Rewind, a strong party-wide cooldown. If you enjoy high mobility healing specializations that have a healthy mixture of direct heals and heal-over-time effects with a hint of a great damage profile, this spec is for you.

Utility: The Evoker class comes quite strong out of the gates, with one of the best party-wide utilities in the game. They have access to a combined BleedBleed, PoisonPoison, CurseCurse, and DiseaseDisease dispel with Cauterizing Flame Icon Cauterizing Flame (this is an additional dispel outside of their regular one), a mass-root effect with Landslide Icon Landslide, a knockback racial ability Wing Buffet Icon Wing Buffet, a knock-up racial ability with Tail Swipe Icon Tail Swipe, party-wide area-of-effect damage reduction with Zephyr Icon Zephyr, and access to a mass stun effect in the form of the Terror of the Skies Icon Terror of the Skies talent. They also have an ability to fly with an ally, known as Rescue Icon Rescue (which is quite useful if your party member is out of position and you can save them a few seconds of relocating), access to a brand-new utility with Oppressing Roar Icon Oppressing Roar and an AoE EnrageEnrage Dispel with Overawe Icon Overawe, if talented. They also have Fury of the Aspects Icon Fury of the Aspects, which is another form of Bloodlust Icon Bloodlust, party-buff with Blessing of the Bronze Icon Blessing of the Bronze, and a talent choice to restore Mana to a 1 chosen ally with Source of Magic Icon Source of Magic. They also have access to a hybrid-ranged interrupt. Evoker further has the power to let you use your major movement ability without causing it to go on cooldown (and it will let you use it if it is already on cooldown) if talented into Time Spiral Icon Time Spiral, so this can help a lot of classes that have limited mobility.

Defensives: Evoker has a unique passive, Tempered Scales Icon Tempered Scales, which will make them mitigate more Physical damage, and access to Obsidian Scales Icon Obsidian Scales, a 1.5-minute cooldown that provides 30% reduced damage for 12 seconds, which you can further bolster if you talent into Obsidian Bulwark Icon Obsidian Bulwark.

Mobility: To top everything off, the majority of their playstyle will be based on instant spells with some exceptions, further complemented by Hover Icon Hover if needed. Speaking about being mobile, they have their own version of dash with Verdant Embrace Icon Verdant Embrace, which has a 30 yard range just in case they are required to quickly reposition.

4.2.

A-Tier

4.2.1.

Holy Paladin

January 25, Patch 10.0.5 update: Holy Paladin received several minor changes (mostly talent repositions), which might open up the possibility for different builds. Holy Paladin is in a great place in the game's current state, as their overall value for the team is quite high. With multiple defensive and offensive external cooldowns, an immunity, great mob control, and an amazing damage profile, you are looking at a solid contender across all healer specializations. The only minor drawback is the lack of a great HPS outside of their cooldowns, which in the current season is extremely important.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Holy Paladin's playstyle will consist of building Holy Power through abilities like Holy Shock Icon Holy Shock, Crusader Strike Icon Crusader Strike, or Hammer of Wrath Icon Hammer of Wrath and spending it on abilities like Word of Glory Icon Word of Glory or Light of Dawn Icon Light of Dawn. Meanwhile, their damage spells are a mix between Melee (Crusader Strike Icon Crusader Strike and Consecration Icon Consecration) and Ranged (Holy Shock Icon Holy Shock), so depending on the situation they can choose exactly how to approach it. They have one major offensive cooldown with Avenging Wrath Icon Avenging Wrath (though it can be used as a defensive too), with minor cooldowns like Divine Toll Icon Divine Toll/Seraphim Icon Seraphim depending on their talent choices. Holy Paladin has a lot more cooldowns than what is listed here; read the text down in the utility section for a full description.

Utility:> Holy Paladin has historically always been one of the strongest healers (performance-wise) in Mythic+. They have great party-wide offensive and defensive utility; one of them being Aura Mastery Icon Aura Mastery, which will change depending on what Aura they have and is most commonly used in combination with Devotion Aura Icon Devotion Aura to further enhance it and increase its damage-reduction value to 15% for 8 seconds. In Dragonflight, they will gain access to several brand-new utility spells, increasing their overall value to the roof! First, they will gain access to an interrupt with Rebuke Icon Rebuke and a new external-cooldown talent with Blessing of the Seasons Icon Blessing of the Seasons. Blessings work in a unique manner, as the ability has 4 options based on a cycle: Blessing of Summer Icon Blessing of Summer, Blessing of Autumn Icon Blessing of Autumn, Blessing of Winter Icon Blessing of Winter, and Blessing of Spring Icon Blessing of Spring. They will have an option to either use Beacon of Faith Icon Beacon of Faith or Beacon of Virtue Icon Beacon of Virtue, both extremely valuable depending on the dungeon. Having the Rule of Law Icon Rule of Law talent choice can make their healing spells have a 60-yard range (most of their healing spells have 40 yard range), even though they are considered a "melee healer". In addition, they can choose to have Turn Evil Icon Turn Evil if their team needs an additional crowd-control effect, and also the option to have Lay on Hands Icon Lay on Hands, a quite powerful single-target healing spell. Going into Dragonflight, all Paladin specs will even have access to a baseline combat-resurrection ability with Intercession Icon Intercession, making their utility even better. They also have the option to remove MagicMagic, DiseaseDisease, and PoisonPoison effects with Cleanse Icon Cleanse and access to Blessing of Protection Icon Blessing of Protection, which can be used both offensively to prevent someone from taking the tank's threat, or defensively by offering immunity to Physical damage, and Blessing of Sacrifice Icon Blessing of Sacrifice as incredibly useful party-wide utility available for all Paladin specs Blessing of Freedom Icon Blessing of Freedom is another utility spell that will improve their quality of life in Mythic+, and Tanks will love them for it. To top it off, let us not forget that they have great mob control for a healer, with an option between Blinding Light Icon Blinding Light (AoE disruption) or Repentance Icon Repentance (a strong crowd-control ability), depending on the talent choice. Having access to single-target stun with Hammer of Justice Icon Hammer of Justice can help them control any mobs considered dangerous, especially the casters in Mythic+. With all this in mind, Paladin is looking better than ever going into Dragonflight.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Holy Paladin has one of the shortest defensive cooldowns in the game with Divine Protection Icon Divine Protection, if Unbreakable Spirit Icon Unbreakable Spirit is talented. In addition, Paladin is the only healing specialization that has an immunity in Divine Shield Icon Divine Shield, which is highly valuable in Mythic+.

Mobility: One of the major concerns for Paladins has always been their limited mobility, being bound to Divine Steed Icon Divine Steed. Luckily that has been improved going forward to Dragonflight if you choose the Cavalier Icon Cavalier talent in the general Paladin tree.

4.2.2.

Discipline Priest

January 25, Patch 10.0.5 update: Discipline Priest received the most changes across all healing specializations for the past several weeks, improving their talent flexibility, healing output and damage contribution. Another major drawback is that they are one of the healing specializations without interruption, which holds immense value in Mythic+. There are not any significant flaws of the spec, outside of struggling to heal heavy HPS spots, but simply other healing specializations placed above them, are better in some of the departments, with some providing better utility, better HPS/DPS, or better survivability. Still, they are a solid contender for the top and get a well-deserved A-tier.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Discipline Priest has one of the more unique healing playstyles across all healing specializations thanks to Atonement Icon Atonement simply forcing them to do effective damage to contribute towards overall healing. Of course, in critical situations they also rely on direct healing with Power Word: Life Icon Power Word: Life and Power Word: Shield Icon Power Word: Shield covering the majority of the spot-healing, which means they still rarely cast Penance Icon Penance or Flash Heal Icon Flash Heal. The more knowledge you have in Mythic+, the better it will be once you get to play Discipline Priest, since you will know exactly where you will need more healing, meaning you can pre-mitigate some using their powerful shields. Discipline Priest is a highly skilled specialization that has a high skill ceiling; done correctly, they become unstoppable!

Utility: Discipline Priest is one of the few Healing specialization that has 3 forms of dispel: Dispel Magic Icon Dispel Magic, Purify Disease Icon Purify Disease, and Mass Dispel Icon Mass Dispel. They have 2 strong external-defensive cooldowns in Pain Suppression Icon Pain Suppression (single-target damage reduction) and Power Word: Barrier Icon Power Word: Barrier (AoE damage-reduction), in addition to their strong absorb cooldown Rapture Icon Rapture. Priest is the only class in the game that can provide a party-wide 5% Stamina buff with Power Word: Fortitude Icon Power Word: Fortitude, which makes them unique. All the Priest specializations have access to an incredibly strong external cooldown with Power Infusion Icon Power Infusion, which can be used offensively or defensively, depending on the situation. Since the introduction of the new talents in Dragonflight, Priests also have access to the Twins of the Sun Priestess Icon Twins of the Sun Priestess talent (previously a Shadowlands legendary effect), which increases the overall damage of the party. To add to Priest's utility, let us not forget their iconic Leap of Faith Icon Leap of Faith spell, helping their teammates escape dangerous situations or reposition without losing valuable uptime, and Shackle Undead Icon Shackle Undead, which has limited use depending on the mob type. Having Mind Soothe Icon Mind Soothe can help their team save an Invisibility Potion, if they are planning to skip a pack. Mind Control Icon Mind Control / Dominate Mind Icon Dominate Mind are spells that can be useful in Dragonflight dungeons; as we have previously seen, there is always something you can "cheese" with those abilities.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Discipline Priest's defensive toolkit will improve going forward to Dragonflight. Outside of their iconic defensive cooldown of Desperate Prayer Icon Desperate Prayer (which now can be improved if they talent Light's Inspiration Icon Light's Inspiration, the spec will have the option to talent choices like Protective Light Icon Protective Light, Angelic Bulwark Icon Angelic Bulwark, and Translucent Image Icon Translucent Image, having a 10% damage reduction every 20 seconds (if talenting into Improved Fade Icon Improved Fade); not to mention that it can also remove all snare effects on themselves if they have talented Phantasm Icon Phantasm, which makes Fade Icon Fade quite a strong short defensive cooldown.

Mobility: Priest's mobility is not the greatest, but having plenty of their spells as instant-casts allows them to reposition without sacrificing much of their performance. In addition, they can opt to talent Blaze of Light Icon Blaze of Light, which will bump their movement-speed when using Penance Icon Penance by 25%/50% and even stacks with Angelic Feather Icon Angelic Feather. Having Angelic Feather can also help not only themselves but their team as well, in addition to the Body and Soul Icon Body and Soul talent which fits their healing playstyle and adds extra movement speed.

4.2.3.

Restoration Shaman

February 14, Patch 10.0.5 update: Restoration Shaman massive buffs leading to the second half of Season 1. The spec endured several buffs that will impact their overall damage, healing, and spot-healing. Overall, they will have much better healing and damage profiles, closing the gap between the healers above them. Their damage profile feels much better than before, with significantly improved sustained damage (Thanks to Acid Rain Icon Acid Rain). The spec has great utility, decent defences, and a unique playstyle mixed between heal-over-time effects and direct heals. All those changes combined will push the spec from the bottom ranks of the tier list.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Restoration Shaman is not in a great spot compared to the rest of the healing specializations. The old "Kyrian" build from Shadowlands, which made Restoration so good in Mythic+, is no longer possible due to the removal of Vesper Totem Icon Vesper Totem. This took away both offensive and defensive powers of the spec. Yes, they received Stormkeeper Icon Stormkeeper as a talent choice, as well as Acid Rain Icon Acid Rain, which makes their damage better, but that alone will not be enough to put the spec to its previous glory. Its playstyle is a mixture of heal-over-time effects mainly coming from Riptide Icon Riptide, direct heals such as Healing Wave Icon Healing Wave, and a combination of their external-party cooldowns to keep their teammates alive.

Utility: Restoration Shaman's utility will vary depending on the choice of talents, but for most of the party, they will always want to go with Spirit Link Totem Icon Spirit Link Totem, which is their major cooldown as well; everything after that is optional and I will recommend checking our Restoration Guide on Icy Veins for more information. Their general utility is quite strong, having access to an AoE stun with Capacitor Totem Icon Capacitor Totem, which can be further enhanced via the Static Charge Icon Static Charge or Guardian's Cudgel Icon Guardian's Cudgel talents, followed by a CurseCurse dispel with Cleanse Spirit Icon Cleanse Spirit, a single-target crowd-control effect with Hex Icon Hex, and a Purge Icon Purge (or a Greater Purge Icon Greater Purge if needed). Of course, one of their oldest abilities is Tremor Totem Icon Tremor Totem (which also works on Charm effects), along with the options to choose between Earthgrab Totem Icon Earthgrab Totem and Wind Rush Totem Icon Wind Rush Totem alongside the usual Thunderstorm Icon Thunderstorm ability. Ancestral Guidance Icon Ancestral Guidance can help the group with off-heals if there is a high danger situation. They have access to Bloodlust Icon Bloodlust, an AoE slow with Earthbind Totem Icon Earthbind Totem, and Earth Elemental Icon Earth Elemental (which also serves as an extra defensive since it gives an extra 15% health). They will have the option to restore extra Mana to your party-members if needed with Mana Spring Totem Icon Mana Spring Totem, a small auto-heal effect with Nature's Guardian Icon Nature's Guardian, and the ability to self-resurrect with Reincarnation Icon Reincarnation. If that was not enough, they will gain access to even more utility in Dragonflight through Poison Cleansing Totem Icon Poison Cleansing Totem and Stoneskin Totem Icon Stoneskin Totem, a PoisonPoison cleanse and 10% party-wide Physical damage reduction. To top things off, they have the shortest cooldown interrupt in the game with Wind Shear Icon Wind Shear.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: We cannot go by without mentioning the defensive part of the spec; outside of their usual Astral Shift Icon Astral Shift, they will be able to bolster it, depending on talent choice, with Planes Traveler Icon Planes Traveler or Astral Bulwark Icon Astral Bulwark. They can opt to talent Earth Elemental Icon Earth Elemental, which also will increase their health by 15% and reinforce their party in case of danger. In addition, they can have the Spirit Wolf Icon Spirit Wolf aura if they use the talent; just remember that it results in gaining 1 stack each second.

Mobility: Restoration Shaman is one of the more mobile healers as their healing playstyle is a mixture between heal-over-time effects and direct healing, allowing them to move or change position without sacrificing much of their offensive and defensive capabilities. Their general mobility has improved, with the newly-returned talent of Gust of Wind Icon Gust of Wind. They can also use their Ghost Wolf Icon Ghost Wolf if mounts are not allowed in the dungeon to move from point A to point B much faster. Finally, let us not forget Spiritwalker's Grace Icon Spiritwalker's Grace, allowing them to cast spells while moving!

4.3.

B-Tier

4.3.1.

Mistweaver Monk

February 14, Patch 10.0.5 update: Mistweaver Monk received the most changes out of any class in the game, so it will be hard to summarize in one post. To reflect, they will receive talent readjustments, a buff to Revival Icon Revival, a flat 3% buff to all of their healing abilities and many more quality-of-life changes for Mythic+. Mistweaver Monks are entering Season 1 with a significant improvement based on their previous performance in the last season of Shadowlands. They gained access to new offensive and defensive abilities and more utility, pushing their placing higher. Still, their major weakness remains: they do not have a strong damage-reducing single-target or party-wide external cooldown in their toolkit, which is very punishing. Mana issues are another major red flag of the spec; possible adjustments in this department will greatly benefit Mistweaver Monks. Their HPS and damage are in great condition, as well as their mobility and durability, but that does not justify the lack of a strong damage-reducing CD. Their offensive profile is amazing, especially in mass AoE scenarios. Still, the whole package lacks in areas where other healers excel better than them.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Mistweaver Monk has always been a "hybrid" healer, as the majority of their healing toolkit — Renewing Mist Icon Renewing Mist, Essence Font Icon Essence Font, Vivify Icon Vivify, Enveloping Mist Icon Enveloping Mist, and more — is ranged-based, but if they want to contribute to their team's overall damage, most of their abilities are melee-based, like Blackout Kick Icon Blackout Kick, Rising Sun Kick Icon Rising Sun Kick, Spinning Crane Kick Icon Spinning Crane Kick, and Tiger Palm Icon Tiger Palm. Most of Mistweaver's abilities provide some benefit to healing now, so they do not really feel like they are switching gears when jumping back and forth from DPS to healing. They now also have access to more offensive options to push their damage even higher with Zen Pulse Icon Zen Pulse and Faeline Stomp Icon Faeline Stomp, in the Mistweaver-only talents. Their major cooldown is Revival Icon Revival, a useful cooldown that also works for Bursting Icon Bursting or any other party-wide MagicMagic, PoisonPoison, or DiseaseDisease debuffs. In addition, they have access to one more external cooldown with Life Cocoon Icon Life Cocoon, which can save their allies in critical situations.

Utility: Mistweaver Monk received an interrupt with Spear Hand Strike Icon Spear Hand Strike, which will strengthen their already-strong mob-control in Mythic+. We must also point out that this is the only class that can provide Mystic Touch Icon Mystic Touch (though any of the 3 Monk specs can do it), which can be extremely valuable if you are running a Physical damage-oriented composition. They have access to an AoE stun with Leg Sweep Icon Leg Sweep and the unique Ring of Peace Icon Ring of Peace ability, providing them with enough crowd-control to help their tank with kiting if needed. They can dispel PoisonPoison and DiseaseDisease effects with Detox Icon Detox and also have the ability to remove all roots and snares (sort of like Paladin's Blessing of Freedom Icon Blessing of Freedom but also giving 70% movement speed) with Tiger's Lust Icon Tiger's Lust. They have a single-target crowd-control ability in Paralysis Icon Paralysis, which can be used on any mob-type. They also provide a group-wide buff called Windwalking Icon Windwalking (if talented), which can help when mounts cannot be used. Speaking about group-wide buffs, they also have the talent options of Close to Heart Icon Close to Heart and Generous Pour Icon Generous Pour (available to all Monk specs) which are additional party-wide auras.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Mistweaver Monks have great defensive cooldowns, with several talent options under their belt such as Dampen Harm Icon Dampen Harm, Diffuse Magic Icon Diffuse Magic, Fortifying Brew Icon Fortifying Brew, and Bounce Back Icon Bounce Back.

Mobility: Monk has great baseline mobility; not only do they have Transcendence Icon Transcendence, but also access to Roll Icon Roll, making it easier to move from point A to point B.

4.3.2.

Holy Priest

January 25, Patch 10.0.5 update: Holy Priest received massive changes leading forward to the Patch 10.0.5 minor patch. Several quality-of-life talent changes will impact their offensive and defensive profile and a flat 3% increased healing on all of their abilities. Holy Priest remains a solid choice for the upcoming new season of Mythic+, with the primary focus being their incredible HPS profile. They have great raw damage, one of the best external offensive damage cooldowns in the game with Power Infusion Icon Power Infusion, and a strong single-target external defensive with Guardian Angel Icon Guardian Angel. One of the major disadvantages of having Holy Priest is that they do not offer any damage-reduction ability to their team, which is highly valuable in Mythic+. That being said, we are now placing the spec under B-tier rankings.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: The majority of the spec's playstyle relies on direct healing spells instead of heal-over-time effects. They might not have such strong external defensive cooldowns, but they have the ability to outheal any incoming damage. Depending on the situation, Holy Priest can use their Holy Words defensively with Holy Word: Serenity Icon Holy Word: Serenity and Holy Word: Sanctify Icon Holy Word: Sanctify spot-healing a single member or doing AoE Healing, respectively, or offensively with Holy Word: Chastise Icon Holy Word: Chastise. Some of their signature healing abilities are Prayer of Healing Icon Prayer of Healing, Heal Icon Heal, Flash Heal Icon Flash Heal, Divine Hymn Icon Divine Hymn, Renew Icon Renew, and Prayer of Mending Icon Prayer of Mending. It is important to note that any direct healing spell will also add a heal-over-time effect based on the value of their Mastery: Echo of Light Icon Mastery: Echo of Light. During healing downtime, they will be contributing to their team's overall damage with Smite Icon Smite, Holy Fire Icon Holy Fire, Shadow Word: Pain Icon Shadow Word: Pain, and Empyreal Blaze Icon Empyreal Blaze, if talented.

Utility: Holy Priest is one of the few Healing specialization that has 3 forms of dispel: Dispel Magic Icon Dispel Magic, Purify Disease Icon Purify Disease, and Mass Dispel Icon Mass Dispel. They also have 2 strong external defensive cooldowns with Guardian Spirit Icon Guardian Spirit (which can be enhanced by Guardian Angel Icon Guardian Angel/Guardians of the Light Icon Guardians of the Light), and Symbol of Hope Icon Symbol of Hope, in addition to a few minor cooldowns depending on talent choices, such as Divine Word Icon Divine Word and Apotheosis Icon Apotheosis. Holy Priest additionally has a unique passive called Spirit of Redemption Icon Spirit of Redemption that enables them to heal even if they die. They can also help with mob control in dungeons if they talent Holy Word: Chastise Icon Holy Word: Chastise. Priest is the only class in the game that can provide a party-wide 5% Stamina buff with Power Word: Fortitude Icon Power Word: Fortitude, which makes them unique. All the Priest specializations have access to an incredibly strong external cooldown with Power Infusion Icon Power Infusion, which can be used offensively or defensively, depending on the situation. Since the introduction of the new talents in Dragonflight, Priests also have access to the Twins of the Sun Priestess Icon Twins of the Sun Priestess talent (previously a Shadowlands legendary effect), which increases the overall damage of the party. Speaking about introducing new spells, they have gained access to the Void Shift Icon Void Shift talent, which can prevent any of their team members from dying. To add to Priest's utility, let us not forget their iconic Leap of Faith Icon Leap of Faith spell, helping their teammates escape dangerous situations or reposition without losing valuable uptime, and Shackle Undead Icon Shackle Undead, which has limited use depending on the mob type. Having Mind Soothe Icon Mind Soothe can help their team save an Invisibility Potion, if they are planning to skip a pack. Mind Control Icon Mind Control / Dominate Mind Icon Dominate Mind are spells that can be useful in Dragonflight dungeons; as we have previously seen, there is always something you can "cheese" with those abilities.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Holy Priest's defensive toolkit will improve going forward to Dragonflight. Outside of their iconic defensive cooldown of Desperate Prayer Icon Desperate Prayer which can now be improved if talenting Light's Inspiration Icon Light's Inspiration, the spec will have the option to talent choices like Protective Light Icon Protective Light, Angelic Bulwark Icon Angelic Bulwark, and Translucent Image Icon Translucent Image, gaining a 10% damage reduction every 20 seconds if Improved Fade Icon Improved Fade is talented; not to mention that it can also remove all snare effects on themselves if they have the talent Phantasm Icon Phantasm, which makes Fade Icon Fade quite a strong, short defensive cooldown.

Mobility: Holy Priest's mobility is not the greatest, but having some of their spells as instant-casts will "buy" them enough time to reposition without sacrificing much of their performance. Having Angelic Feather Icon Angelic Feather can also help not only themselves but their team as well, in addition to the Body and Soul Icon Body and Soul talent which fits their healing playstyle and adds extra movement speed.

5.

Changelog

  • 14 Feb. 2023: Further Adjustments based on the most recent Patch.
  • 25 Jan. 2023: Further Adjustments based on the upcoming 10.0.5 Patch.
  • 21 Dec. 2022: Further Adjustments based on the latest class changes.
  • 18 Nov. 2022: Updated with the initial iteration for Season 1 of Dragonflight.
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