Restoration Shaman PvP Guide (Shadowlands 9.2.5)
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to play in a PvP environment. The guide will cover everything from talent choices, PvP talents, gameplay and rotation, and useful racial bonuses. It is most applicable to Arena content, but most talents and racial bonuses will work in Rated Battlegrounds and skirmishes.
If you were looking for TBC Classic content, please refer to our TBC Shaman PvP guide.
Restoration Shaman in the Current Meta
Restoration Shamans are the most versatile healers in the game. With roots, slows, decent healing output, big damage, some mobility, and even a ranged interrupt, they always have a place on an Arena team.
Changes in Patch 9.2
Patch 9.2 has not brought almost any changes to Restoration Shaman. Namely, the only changes to the specialization will be within the double Legendary choice, as well as the tier set bonuses.
- The root effect from
Earthgrab Totem now properly counts absorbed damage when determining if enough damage has been taken to break the root effect.
Fleshcraft's absorb has been reduced to 25% of max HP.
- You may now equip a 2nd Legendary
in the form of
Unity, which allows you to use your Covenant-specific Legendary alongside another Legendary.
- Tier set bonuses have returned with more healing
throughput for Restoration Shamans through the 2-set and 4-set, specifically
Restoration Shaman 2-Piece and
Restoration Shaman 4-Piece for Restoration Shaman.
- The 2-set bonus for wearing 2 PvP trinkets has been reworked to instead grant 175 Intellect and 350 stamina.
- Five new PvP trinkets have been added:
Restoration Shaman Strengths
Spirit Link Totem will save a teammate from dying.
- Very strong team healing through
Healing Tide Totem with the PvP talent
Living Tide selected.
- A
Mortal Strike effect and damage reduction through
Unleash Shield
- Multiple utility spells
Purge is crucial in matchups
Wind Shear and
Grounding Totem are critical stopping crowd-control.
- Passive healing through
Healing Stream Totem and
Earth Shield.
- Strong damage through
Deeptremor Stone,
Flame Shock, and
Lava Burst.
- Several spells that heal when you are in crowd control or interrupted.
Restoration Shaman Weaknesses
- Heavily dependent on rotating cooldowns for keeping teammates alive.
- Lacking large damage reduction cooldowns, or burst healing.
- Healing throughput is moderate, not strong.
- No immunities or damage reduction healing cooldowns.
Content of the Guide
This guide ended up being very long, so we decided to split it in different pages.
- On the Restoration Shaman PvP Talents page, you will find an analysis of each PvE talent row to help you decide which talent to pick on each row, as well as an overview of the PvP talents, which advice on which ones to take and under which conditions.
- On the Restoration Shaman PvP Rotation and Playstyle page, you will learn how to use your spells, depending on the situation (healing, surviving, controlling enemy players, etc.), and what is generally expected of your class and spec in PvP.
- On the Restoration Shaman PvP Covenants and Legendary Powers page, you will find advice on choosing the best Covenant, Soulbind, and Conduits as well as the best PvP Legendary Powers.
- On the Restoration Shaman PvP Stat Priority and Gear page, you will find the stat priority to follow in PvP, as well as advice for choosing your gear, particularly trinkets.
- On the Restoration Shaman PvP Best Races page, you will find lists of the Alliance and Horde races, ranked by how good they are for Restoration Shamans in PvP, as well as explanations regarding why and how their racials benefit you.
- On the Restoration Shaman PvP Useful Macros page, you will find a collection of useful macros for PvP for Restoration Shamans.
- On the Restoration Shaman Arena Composition page, you will find the list of the most powerful Arena compositions featuring Restoration Shamans, in both 2v2 and 3v3 modes.
Changelog
- 31 May 2022: Reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 27 Feb. 2022: Updated for Patch 9.2 of Shadowlands
- 17 Nov. 2021: Updated for Patch 9.1.5 of Shadowlands.
- 04 Jul. 2021: Updated for Patch 9.1 of Shadowlands.
- 19 Mar. 2021: Updated based on Patch 9.0.5 for Shadowlands.
- 02 Dec. 2020: Revisions to update for Shadowlands.
- 29 Nov. 2020: Added Covenant page and removed Azerite/Essence mentions. More updates to come.
- 18 Oct. 2020: Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
Other PvP Guides
This guide has been written by Tiqqle, a PvP enthusiast who has repeatedly achieved 2400 rating. You can watch his stream on Twitch, and you can also check out his YouTube channel.
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