Restoration Druid Healing Spell Summary — Shadowlands 9.2.5
On this page, we present you with all spells and procs that you need to understand as a Restoration Druid in World of Warcraft — Shadowlands 9.2.5.
If you were looking for TBC Classic content, please refer to our TBC Classic Restoration Druid spells.
Introduction
If you are new to Restoration, this is a great place to start to get an understanding of how the spec works. On this page we will discuss what abilities you have, what they are used for within the specialisation, how they interact with each other and also with important cooldowns. If you already have experience with Restoration and are comfortable with it in the current expansion, it is recommended you skip this section and move on to the rest of the guide.
If you are leveling a Restoration Druid, you will not have access to every single ability on this page, nor will they have all the effects. However, our leveling guide will offer you a way to learn the spec as you go.
Main Resource of Restoration Druids
Mana is your only resource as a Restoration Druid. All of your healing abilities cost Mana, so managing it so that you do not run out over the course of each encounter is crucial to being able to heal competitively.
Basic Abilities for Restoration Druids
Healing Spells
Rejuvenation is an instant-cast HoT which also provides a small
initial heal. This is your most frequently used spell.
Wild Growth places a HoT on up to 6 lowest health raid members
around the target you cast it on. The HoT heals for more damage initially, then
for less and less as it goes on. Wild Growth is very expensive, yet very Mana
efficient. You should be casting this spell any time 6 people need healing and
plan your Mana usage around it.
Swiftmend consumes a Regrowth, Wild Growth, or Rejuvenation effect
to heal the target for a moderate amount. It is instant cast, and it has a
15-second cooldown. It is an inefficient healing spell, mainly due to consuming
a HoT, but it enables
Soul of the Forest. Swiftmend follows a
simple priority list in which HoT it consumes: Regrowth, then Wild Growth,
then Rejuvenation. It does not matter which of them have lower duration or
any other factors.
Lifebloom is a HoT that can only be on one target at the same time.
You should always keep Lifebloom up on a target who is taking constant damage,
such as the tank. When Lifebloom expires, it Blooms — heals its target
for a large amount. This also happens if you refresh it with 4.5 seconds
remaining or less, which you should aim to do in order to not waste any
uptime.
Regrowth is an emergency heal. It heals for a moderate amount
instantly and a smaller amount over 12 seconds. Regrowth will also have 40%
increased critical chance when cast on a target with a Regrowth HoT. Despite
the tooltip, the HoT effect will also benefit from increased critical strike
chance.
Efflorescence creates a healing zone that lasts for 30 seconds,
healing up to 3 players standing in it every 2 seconds. Efflorescence is the
most efficient healing spell outside of
Tranquility. Unlike
Wild Growth, Efflorescence is not a fully smart heal, which means
it will pick a random injured player within its radius to heal.
Spring Blossoms makes your Efflorescence prioritise targets that do
not have Spring Blossoms HoT on them and ignore the injured player rule.
Nature's Swiftness makes your next
Regrowth,
Rebirth,
or
Entangling Roots instant, free, castable in all forms, and heal for
100% more. This is an incredible ability that will improve your spot healing.
Often you will be using this spell with Regrowth. However you can also use it
before
Convoke the Spirits to buff all Regrowths cast by it.
Utility for Restoration Druids
Barkskin reduces damage you take by 20% for 12 seconds and
prevents damage from delaying your casts. It is a very strong ability,
especially when coupled with
Bear Form. It has a 1-minute cooldown
and is usable in any form.
Soothe dispels all enrage effects from the target, and has a
10-second cooldown. It removes various strong buffs from enemies in dungeons,
as well as the
Raging buff.
Entangling Roots root the target in place for 30 seconds. Almost
any damage will quickly remove the effect. The ability is useful for various
skips in dungeons: usually each trash pack has a leading mob and all other mobs
will stop moving when it is rooted. Keep in mind that Entangling Roots have a
35-yard cast range, which is 5 less than the vast majority of your healing and
damage spells.
Hibernate puts enemy Beast or Dragonkin to sleep for up to 40
seconds. Any damage will awaken the target. Hibernate is limited to which
targets you can use it on, but it works in the same way as
Entangling Roots for stopping patrolling packs in dungeons without
pulling them. It can also be used to interrupt casts of NPCs without removing
DoTs from the target. Range of Hibernate is only 30 yards, so it might be
dangerous to cast in some places.
Cyclone makes your target invulnerable for 6 seconds. This is an
extremely powerful ability that you can use to lock enemies from doing anything
and prevent them from receiving healing or buffs, such as
Bolstering.
Rebirth resurrects a friendly player. Usable in combat. Cooldown
is shared between entire group in raids and Mythic+ dungeons. You will
accumulate one charge at the rate of 90/Group Size during raid encounters and
every 10 minutes in Mythic+ dungeons, shared between everyone in the group. In
any other content Rebirth has a personal 10 minute cooldown, not shared with anyone else.
Nature's Cure removes all Magic, Curse, and Poison effects from
friendly target, and has an 8-second cooldown.
Prowl activates
Cat Form and places you into Stealth.
Important to note that Prowl can be cast in your caster form and does not
require Cat Form. It is often used to evade certain packs in dungeons or to take
shortcuts. Can be coupled with Night Elf's racial
Shadowmeld to
escape combat in open world and dungeons.
Dash activates
Cat Form and increases movement speed by 60% while
in Cat Form for 10 seconds. A very useful tool to move quickly from one spot to
another.
Growl only usable in
Bear Form. Taunts the target to attack
you. A very useful tool specifically in Mythic+. You can use it to grab a mob or
even a boss for a few seconds so that your tank can drop Necrotic stacks. You can
taunt the boss across the room after tank death in raid to give your group a little
bit of extra time to finish it off.
Stampeding Roar activates
Bear Form (in case you were not in
either Bear Form or
Cat Form) and increases movement speed of all friendly
players within 15 yards by 60% for 8 seconds. It has a 2-minuite cooldown.
Extra Spells Available From Talents for Restoration Druids
Cenarion Ward extremely potent HoT on moderately short cooldown. The
only downside is that it requires the target to take damage before it starts
healing them. It is perfect for tank healing or dealing with any type of DoT.
Tiger Dash replaces
Dash with a 45-second cooldown,
200% movement speed sprint that decays over 5 seconds when activated.
Wild Charge is an active ability that is off the global cooldown
and which differs based on the shapeshift form you are in, as follows.
- No shapeshift form or
Incarnation: Tree of Life: you fly to an ally's location.
Travel Form: you leap forward.
Moonkin Form: you leap backwards.
Bear Form: you charge an enemy, immobilising them for 4 seconds.
Cat Form: you leap behind an enemy, dazing them for 3 seconds.
Aquatic Form: your swim speed is increased by 150% for 5 seconds.
It is an incredibly powerful tool to use in any scenario. Wild Charge has a very short cooldown and it is off global cooldown, making it very convenient to use both to avoid certain mechanics and to move to allies or enemies quickly.
Renewal is an active ability with a 90-second cooldown. It heals
you for 30% of your maximum health, it is usable in all shapeshift forms, and
it is off the global cooldown.
Frenzied Regeneration heals you for 24% maximum Health while you are
in
Bear Form. 36 second cooldown, reduced by Haste. This is a strong tool
to recover your Health for free, but unfortunately it is on global cooldown. Most
of the time you are better off casting
Regrowth on yourself instead.
Only available if you spec into
Guardian Affinity
Shred,
Rake,
Swipe,
Maim,
Rip,
Ferocious Bite
are DPS abilities you can use in
Cat Form. All of these except for Shred
and Ferocious Bite are only available if you spec into
Feral Affinity.
The full usage of these abilities together is rather complicated. It is explained in-depth
on a dedicated DPS page.
Mighty Bash is an active ability with a 50-second cooldown, which
stuns the target for 5 seconds. It is usable in all shapeshift forms.
Mass Entanglement is an active ability with a 30-second cooldown,
which roots the target and all enemies within 15 yards of them in place for 30
seconds. Damage done to rooted targets may break the effect. Mass Entanglement
is usable in all shapeshift forms.
Typhoon is an active ability with a 30-second cooldown. It knocks
back all targets within 15-yards in a cone in front of you, dazing them for 6
seconds. It is usable in all shapeshift forms. Requires
Balance Affinity.
Heart of the Wild is an active ability with 5-minute cooldown. It
increases the potency of your selected affinity substantially. Use it when you
plan to spend a long time in the form associated with it.
For a full overview of spells that Restoration Druids get from talents, make sure to check our talent page link below.
Important Procs for Restoration Druids
Each time your Lifebloom ticks, you have a 4% chance to get a
proc from
Omen of Clarity, making your next
Regrowth, cast within 15 seconds, cost no Mana.
Cooldowns for Restoration Druids
Innervate is a buff you can place on yourself or on an allied healer, which allows them to cast spells free of Mana cost for 10 seconds. If you cast Innervate on someone else, you also get 50% Mana cost reduction for 10 seconds.
Tranquility is a channeled spell that heals all raid members for a large amount of health over 8 seconds and leaves a stackable HoT.
Flourish increases the frequency of healing from your HoTs by 100% for 8 seconds and extends the duration of all currently active HoTs by 8 seconds.
Ironbark reduces all damage taken by the target by 20% and increases healing from your healing over time effects by 20% for 12 seconds.
Incarnation: Tree of Life is an active ability with a 3-minute cooldown. It lasts for 30 seconds and increases all healing done by 15% as well as increasing your armor by 120% and making you immune to Polymorph effects. Moreover, it improves some of your spells.
Wild Growth affects 2 additional targets.
Regrowth is instant cast.
Rejuvenation has its healing increased by 50%, and its Mana cost reduced by 30%.
Entangling Roots is instant cast.
Using cooldowns effectively is a core component to Restoration Druid's throughput in raid environment. Make sure you check Rotation and Cooldowns page to fully understand how you should use them.
Changelog
- 31 May 2022: Page reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 21 Feb. 2022: Page reviewed and approved for Patch 9.2.
- 01 Nov. 2021: Reviewed and approved for Patch 9.1.5.
- 28 Jun. 2021: Reviewed and approved for Patch 9.1.
- 09 Mar. 2021: Reviewed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 02 Dec. 2020: Added clarification on Nature's Swiftness usage.
- 23 Nov. 2020: Updated spells that receive leveling perks.
- 22 Nov. 2020: Page updated for Shadowlands patch 9.0.2.
- 12 Oct. 2020: Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
More Druid Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been reviewed and approved by Torty, one of the main Restoration Druid theorycrafters. He is an author of the Twig It spreadsheet and DPS action priority list. He currently raids in Pure.
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