Restoration Shaman Healing Gear and Best in Slot — Dragonflight 10.1

Last updated on May 01, 2023 at 21:40 by Seksixeny 40 comments
General Information

On this page, you will find the best gear and best in slot items for your Restoration Shaman in World of Warcraft Dragonflight 10.1.

If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Restoration Shaman gear and best in slot.

1.

Gearing a Restoration Shaman

Welcome to our Gearing Page for Restoration Shaman, where we will cover everything you need to know about equipping your character correctly.

If you have a new piece of gear that you need gems and enchants advice for, you can find everything you need on our dedicated page below.

2.

Gearing Up in Dragonflight

There are three main paths to gear your characters in Dragonflight:

  • World Content (crafting, reputations, quests, world bosses, world PvP);
  • Instanced PvE Content (dungeons and raids);
  • Instanced PvP Content (battlegrounds and arenas).

You are free to pursue any or all of these paths. The more content you do in the game, the faster your gearing up will be, but we recommend that you focus on the types of content you enjoy the most, letting gear come as a by-product of having fun!

3.

Restoration Shaman Gear Upgrades in Dragonflight Season 2

In Dragonflight Season 2, Valor is being replaced by the new Crest system, which works for all PvE gear, including crafted gear (through new Enchanting crafts, such as Enchanted Aspect's Shadowflame Crest Icon Enchanted Aspect's Shadowflame Crest) and loot from the new raid, Aberrus.

You will be able to loot Flightstones Icon Flightstones and Shadowflame Crests from practically all forms of content in the game. They can be used to upgrade gear up to Item Level 441, which is entry-level Mythic Raid Item Level. They can also upgrade Crafted Gear up to Item Level 447, which is late-Mythic Item Level.

For more information on the new Gear Upgrades system, check out our dedicated page for it below:

As with Valor, the cost to upgrade scales differs per slot but now also increases quickly as Item Levels go up. In order to create crafted gear in Season 2, you will need the new Spark of Shadowflame Icon Spark of Shadowflame, which you can obtain one of in the first week of patch 10.1, with extras coming every 2 weeks for the remainder of the season.

Gear obtained from PvP is upgradeable like before, with Conquest points earned from doing Rated PvP and other PvP activities.

Also, keep in mind that you should generally be using your highest item-level gear. If you have an Intellect two-hander that is of higher item level than your one-hand + shield combination, use the two-hander; otherwise, use the shield for an increase in survivability against physical damage.

4.

Best Items to Upgrade in Dragonflight Season 2

You will usually want to start with upgrading your weapon, followed by trinkets, and then any leech / avoidance pieces or items you won't be replacing for a long time. Looking at the new raid as an example, these would be great choices:

  1. Erethos, the Empty Promise Icon Erethos, the Empty Promise;
  2. Rashok's Molten Heart Icon Rashok's Molten Heart;
  3. Screaming Black Dragonscale Icon Screaming Black Dragonscale.
5.

Restoration Shaman Tier Set for Dragonflight Season 2

Restoration Shamans gain a new set from the Aberrus raid with the following bonuses:

Besides getting them from doing the raid, you can also turn any non-profession piece of gear into a Tier piece with the Inspiration Catalyst system, which opens in the week of June 13th and will steadily accumulate tier-transformation charges throughout the rest of Season 2.

6.

Gear Sockets in Dragonflight

In Dragonflight, only Helms, Necks, Bracers, Belts and Rings can have sockets. These are guaranteed for necks and rings crafted from Jewelcrafting, and you can add up to three sockets to any neck with the Jewelcrafting item Tiered Medallion Setting Icon Tiered Medallion Setting, while other sockets are randomly rolled on items when they drop.

Engineering items also come with a special Tinker Socket where instead of gems, you socket special Engineering perks such as Tinker: Breath of Neltharion Icon Tinker: Breath of Neltharion, Tinker: Arclight Vital Correctors Icon Tinker: Arclight Vital Correctors, or Tinker: Plane Displacer Icon Tinker: Plane Displacer.

7.

Onyx Annulet for Restoration Shamans in Dragonflight Season 2

The Onyx Annulet Icon Onyx Annulet is much stronger than equivalent 424 rings and still worth using for most of Season 2. You can obtain it in your first Zskera Vault run in the Forbidden Reach area.

For more details on how to customize your ring with Primordial Gemstones, please refer to our dedicated page:

For more information regarding the Onyx Annulet, the Primordial Gemstones, and how to obtain them, check out our dedicated guide for it below:

8.

Should Restoration Shamans Farm Onyx Annulet in Dragonflight Season 2?

As Onyx Annulet Icon Onyx Annulet is still very powerful in Season 2, it is a great item to farm, especially as it can be done very fast, even for low-gear players!

9.

Trinkets for Restoration Shamans

Take note that a trinket's worth might vary wildly between types of content. For example, in PvP a PvP trinket set should almost always be the best due to the powerful set bonus. A powerful damage trinket such as Darkmoon Deck Box: Dance Icon Darkmoon Deck Box: Dance from Inscription is great for Mythic+, while Raiding tends to favor stat-increasing trinkets.

The ranking system is as follows:

  1. S Tier: the strongest and most generally useful trinkets; these are always good choices;
  2. A Tier: these trinkets are slightly weaker than the S Tier traits, but are still solid choices;
  3. B Tier: a below-average trinket that should be picked only in the absence of an S or A Tier trinket.
9.1.

S Tier

9.2.

A Tier

9.3.

B Tier

10.

Crafted Gear and Embellishments for Restoration Shamans

10.1.

Sparks of Shadowflame

The Spark of Shadowflame Icon Spark of Shadowflame is a time-gated resource used in all high-end gear crafting, which you can find more about in our specialized guide below:

Be careful when deciding what you want to craft with these sparks, as there is no way to get them back once an item is crafted.

10.2.

Embellishments

Embellishments are special effects that are either found on crafted pieces by default or can be added to crafted pieces during the crafting process. A character can have two embellishments equipped at any time. The following are our recommended embellishments:

  • Magazine of Healing Darts Icon Magazine of Healing Darts is quite a strong option after its huge buff in Season 2, and you can easily get it from a one-hand weapon craft with your first spark, for example;
  • Undulating Sporecloak Icon Undulating Sporecloak is another great option which should help keep you alive, especially while you are at low Leech levels;
  • Venom-Steeped Stompers Icon Venom-Steeped Stompers has an excellent upside, as you will be gaining a huge amount of the stat you care about the most while losing what you care about the least;
  • Adaptive Dracothyst Armguards Icon Adaptive Dracothyst Armguards provide a good amount of stats with their effect, but unfortunately these stats are mostly Haste and Mastery, which are also our weakest stats;
  • Elemental Lariat Icon Elemental Lariat is a Jewelcrafting necklace with a powerful stat proc. This is a great embellishment, but only when you have at least 5 sockets on your gear due to the way the buff scales with socket amount. The stat you get from it on dual-stat gems is the lowest stat available on the gem;
  • Potion Absorption Inhibitor Icon Potion Absorption Inhibitor adds 50% extra duration to Potion uses. This amounts to a large stat increase with Elemental Potion of Ultimate Power Icon Elemental Potion of Ultimate Power or extra Mana with Potion of Frozen Focus Icon Potion of Frozen Focus or Potion of Chilled Clarity Icon Potion of Chilled Clarity;
  • Blue Silken Lining Icon Blue Silken Lining grants a lot of Mastery but does require you to be healthy, which is usually not the case when you need to heal the most because everyone in the raid just took a very large hit;
  • The Horizon Strider's Garments set would be potentially interesting with higher tuning, but unfortunately, it currently takes two embellishment slots while having a very low proc rate, on top of providing Haste which we value the least.

Season 2 also includes multiple embellishments that do not count towards your maximum limit, and thus count as free power, such as Medical Wrap Kit Icon Medical Wrap Kit and Reserve Parachute Icon Reserve Parachute, as well as Season 1's Alchemical Flavor Pocket Icon Alchemical Flavor Pocket which is sure to continue being a great pick for Mythic+!

10.3.

Crafting Strategy

While your Spark of Ingenuity Icon Spark of Ingenuitys are limited at the beginning of the tier, we recommend being very careful how you spend them. Our current recommendation is to use your first Spark to craft a one-hand weapon with Magazine of Healing Darts Icon Magazine of Healing Darts, such as the Primal Molten Spellblade Icon Primal Molten Spellblade from Blacksmithing.

After that, you should get the Undulating Sporecloak Icon Undulating Sporecloak, or one of the other embellishment options, such as Venom-Steeped Stompers Icon Venom-Steeped Stompers or another Magazine of Healing Darts Icon Magazine of Healing Darts.

11.

Gear Simulations for Restoration Shaman

Simulating your damage is mostly a thing that DPS players do, as Healers need to interweave their healing with damage, which means their damage potential is always contingent on how much healing is needed.

For the most part, all you need to think about for damage is avoiding the Mastery stat, which has no DPS value. Learn more about how to optimize your damage rotation below.

For Healing, we recommend analyzing your performance in past encounters instead. Tools such as Warcraft Logs, WoW Analyzer, and QE Live are capable of giving you an accurate stat weight and tips on how to improve based on your logs.

You can find more details on how to make the most out of these tools in the specialized page below.

12.

Mythic+ Best in Slot List for Restoration Shamans

In Season 2 of Dragonflight, not every dungeon will be available. Instead of having 8 entirely new dungeons, there will be 4 dungeons from Dragonflight expansion and 4 dungeons from previous expansions.

The 4 Dragonflight dungeons of Season 2 are: Halls of Infusion, Brackenhide Hollow, Neltharus, and Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr.

The 4 returning dungeons in Season 2 are: Underrot, The Vortex Pinnacle, Freehold, and Neltharion's Lair.

Although it is not directly linked in the list below, you should get the new Tier set 4-piece bonus when possible, upgrading any eligible gear you loot with the Catalyst. The best off-piece available is the chest Fatebound Chainmail Icon Fatebound Chainmail.

Slot Item Source
Helm Helm of Hardened Gold Icon Helm of Hardened Gold Neltharus
Neck Tuskarr Bone Necklace Icon Tuskarr Bone Necklace Brackenhide Hollow
Shoulders Rooted Shoulders of Putrefaction Icon Rooted Shoulders of Putrefaction Brackenhide Hollow
Cloak Mammoth-Trainer's Drape Icon Mammoth-Trainer's Drape Neltharus
Chest Fatebound Chainmail Icon Fatebound Chainmail Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
Wrists Obsidian-Hardened Wraps Icon Obsidian-Hardened Wraps Neltharus
Gloves Rock Shovelers Icon Rock Shovelers Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
Belt Gatekeeper's Girdle Icon Gatekeeper's Girdle Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
Legs Tassets of Densified Ooze Icon Tassets of Densified Ooze Brackenhide Hollow
Boots Swoglet Stompers Icon Swoglet Stompers Halls of Infusion
Ring #1 Eternal Sentry's Ring Icon Eternal Sentry's Ring Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
Ring #2 Circle of Ascended Frost Icon Circle of Ascended Frost Halls of Infusion
Weapon Decatriarch's Bone Pestle Icon Decatriarch's Bone Pestle Brackenhide Hollow
Shield Stout Shield Icon Stout Shield Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
13.

Raid Best in Slot List for Restoration Shamans

Below is a sample list of recommended Aberrus items. As usual, prioritize Leech / Avoidance pieces and the highest item-level equipment you have regardless of its secondary stat distribution.

Also, although it is not directly linked in the list below, you should get the new Tier set 4-piece bonus as quickly as possible, upgrading the suggested pieces if needed in the Catalyst. The best off-piece available are the legs Scalecommander's Ebon Schynbalds Icon Scalecommander's Ebon Schynbalds.

Also, feel free to mix and match this gear with the Mythic+ best-in slot gear and fill in any gaps with powered-up crafting gear.

Slot Item Source
Helm Gatecrasher Giant's Coif Icon Gatecrasher Giant's Coif Assault of the Zaqali
Neck Magmorax's Fourth Collar Icon Magmorax's Fourth Collar Magmorax
Shoulders Kazzara's Grafted Companion Icon Kazzara's Grafted Companion Kazzara
Cloak Voice of the Silent Star Icon Voice of the Silent Star Scalecommander Sarkareth
Chest Cuirass of Meticulous Mixture Icon Cuirass of Meticulous Mixture The Amalgamation Chamber
Wrists Shackles of the Shadowed Bastille Icon Shackles of the Shadowed Bastille Rashok
Gloves Grasps of Welded Anguish Icon Grasps of Welded Anguish Kazzara
Belt Hydratooth Girdle Icon Hydratooth Girdle Magmorax
Legs Scalecommander's Ebon Schynbalds Icon Scalecommander's Ebon Schynbalds Scalecommander Sarkareth
Boots Crechebound Soldier's Boots Icon Crechebound Soldier's Boots Scalecommander Sarkareth
Ring #1 Tormentor's Siphoning Signet Icon Tormentor's Siphoning Signet Rashok
Ring #2 Onyx Impostor's Birthright Icon Onyx Impostor's Birthright Echo of Neltharion
2h Weapon Erethos, the Empty Promise Icon Erethos, the Empty Promise Scalecommander Sarkareth
1h Weapon Zskarn's Autopsy Scalpel Icon Zskarn's Autopsy Scalpel Zskarn
Shield Calamity's Herald Icon Calamity's Herald Echo of Neltharion
14.

Changelog

  • 01 May 2023: Season 2 upgrade system recap, updated Embellishment recommendation, and added some trinkets.
  • 23 Mar. 2023: Updated post multiple gem buffs for the Onyx Annulet making it worth using.
  • 20 Mar. 2023: Added information on the new Onyx Annulet ring.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 21 Dec. 2022: Revamped trinket recommendations and raid best in slot suggestions.
  • 13 Dec. 2022: Added Embellishment recommendations and Primal Ritual Shell.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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