Mythic+ Healer Rankings: A Tier List for Dragonflight (Patch 10.2.6. / 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 3 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. Mistweaver Monk (A+Tier)
4. Holy Paladin (A-Tier)
5. Holy Priest (A-Tier)
6. Preservation Evoker (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 10.2.6 update: Discipline Priest received no changes going forward to the second half of Season 3 and Patch 10.2.5 patch. After the recent rework of the Discipline Priest specialization, their performance has improved significantly, particularly in Mythic+. With a higher damage output, it becomes evident that most healing specializations struggle to compete in damage with Discipline Priest, especially when including Power Infusion into the mix. Additionally, this specialization has one of the best dungeon utility toolkits 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 decide 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 10.2.6 update: Restoration Druid received a flat buff to their Rejuvenation by 12% with the most recent class hotfix. 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 second half of Season 3. Overall, the S-tier is well deserved as they will remain one of the strongest choices for a Healer until the end of the Season.

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 10.2.6 update: Mistweaver Monk received a flat 6% healing nerf to all of their spells except Sheilun's Gift, Jadefire Stomp and Expel Harm. The nerf will not impact their current placement on the tierlist. Mistweaver Monk has been performing exceptionally well since the start of the season and will continue to do so during the second half of Season 3 (and yes, 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. Its exceptional reactive healing capabilities can heal through any dangerous encounter with no sweat, making it one of the safest and strongest picks for healers in uncoordinated groups. To add to that, they provide a great damage profile to speed up the keys!

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 10.2.6 update: Holy Paladin received a 30% buff to Shield of the Righteous and Consecration, making their damage profile much more competitive going forward to the second half of Season 3 and Patch 10.2.5 patch. Holy Paladin will still remain a great choice for a healing spot across all group composition, despite not being considered "meta" pick. Although their utility has been slightly nerfed, it is arguably the best any healer can offer. 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 healing output is lackluster, which creates an opening for other healing specializations to be utilized. Boosting their healing 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 10.2.6 update: Holy Priest received massive buffs to its damage and healing profiles, going forward to the second half of Season 3 and Patch 10.2.5 patch. As we continue to the second half of Season 3, the playstyle of Holy Priest has not undergone any significant changes of playstyle, just a raw numerical adjustments. Overall, the specialization feels great and has the potential regardless of the key level, but its popularity will likely not flourish due to how dominant its sibling spec is - Discipline Priest.

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 especially great against constant flow of damage (pug groups).

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 10.2.6 update: Preservation Evoker received some minor healing and durability buffs with the most recent class hotfix. However, their tier list placement will remain unchanged. 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, regardless of the group composition.

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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 10.2.6 update: Restoration Shaman received some changes to their single-target damage profile and a flat 5% increase on all of their healing, going forward to the second half of Season 3 and Patch 10.2.5 patch. Although the buffs the recent buffs to the Restoration Shaman help them improve their Mythic+ performance, they are miles behind the rest of the healing specs. 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 raw output is an area they need further adjustments to be placed anywhere higher on the tier list.

The most recent Restoration Shaman buffs will strengthen the specializations but will not be enough to put them on par with the rest of the Healing options.

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