
Restoration Druid Spells and Abilities
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago for patch 9.0 by Preston.
Below are details on how each Restoration Druid spell functions and what its best use conditions are. Druids excel at using and buffing heal over time effects and as a result are one of the more mobile healers. While they have no problem single-target healing, they really shine in group-healing situations where multiple players are taking damage at one time.
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Usage Overview
Below you'll find a quick reference for each spell's usage situation. Click on any of the spell names to be taken to that spell's section for more details.
Main spell
Your main spell should be the one you're using most often during most situations.
Group-healing
Group-healing spells should be used when most of the group is taking sustained damage, you should supplement these spells with your main spell.
Efflorescence,
Flourish (talent),
Wild Growth
Single-target healing
Single-target healing spells will be used when you're healing one player taking damage, again, they should be supplemented by your main spell.
Lifebloom,
Ironbark,
Cenarion Ward (talent),
Nourish (talent)
Emergencies
Emergencies occur when a player is taking critical damage and at risk of dying if you try to heal them with any of your other spells. These spells are generally used less often than all others.
Regrowth,
Nature's Swiftness,
Swiftmend,
Overgrowth (talent)
Major Cooldowns
Major cooldowns can be used to make it through particularly tough situations, but only if your other spells aren't enough on their own.
Tranquility,
Incarnation: Tree of Life (talent)
Utility
Utility spells won't see usage in every situation, but knowing the situations they're useful in is very important.
Innervate,
Nature's Cure,
Soothe,
Rebirth,
Heart of the Wild (talent),
Revitalize
Crowd Control
Crowd Control spells are used to keep enemies where you want them to be or to keep them from hitting players.
Entangling Roots,
Hibernate,
Cyclone,
Ursol's Vortex,
Mass Entanglement (talent),
Mighty Bash (talent),
Incapacitating Roar (affinity talent),
Typhoon (affinity talent),
Maim (affinity talent)
Passive Effects
As the name suggests, Passive Effects are always present and generally don't require any input to work.
Omen of Clarity,
Mastery: Harmony,
Ysera's Gift
Mobility
Mobility spells let you move around more quickly in order to avoid harmful spells or to get in range of other players to heal them.
Dash,
Stampeding Roar,
Tiger's Dash (talent),
Wild Charge (talent)
Survivability
Survivability spells help you survive when things go wrong or when facing a particularly harmful enemy ability.
Barkskin,
Bear Form,
Renewal (talent)
Main Spell
Your main spell should be the one you're using most often during most situations.
Rejuvenation
- use often to top off light to moderate damage
- preemptively cast on players in preparation for group damage
- keep active on the current tank
- forget about your other spells when the proper situation arises
This should be the spell you're using the most. For its mana cost, it's safe to cast on any player missing at least 10% of their health. If you know heavy group-wide damage is coming in <10-seconds, you should prepare by casting this on as many players as possible, even if they're at full health. This should also be kept active on the current tank as you can expect the tank be taking persistent damage. Take a look at the healing tips and tricks page for more information on healing group-wide damage.
Group-healing Spells
Group-healing spells should be used when most of the group is taking sustained damage, you should supplement these spells with your main spell.
Efflorescence
- place under groups of players
- place under tanks if players are too spread
- forget to move it when the group moves
Place this under the largest group of players you can find, ideally at least three. In most cases, it's safe to keep this active even if there's no damage happening, but you should always have it active in preparation of group-wide damage. If players are spread out to the point you can only place it under one or two, you can instead place it under the current tanks to ensure it's healing is at least being used consistently.
Flourish (talent)
- use just as heavy group-wide damage begins
- use to refresh heal over time effects when not necessary
Use this just as heavy group-wide damage begins, after you've cast Wild Growth and ideally after casting as many
Rejuvenations as possible prior to the damage starting. To be even more optimal, you should also have
Lifebloom and
Cenarion Ward (if talented) active, but you shouldn't delay usage if players will die in the mean time or if
Wild Growth will expire.
You should also try to have Flourish available after using
Tranquility to refresh the heal over time effect it applies on all players.
Wild Growth
- use when >6 players have taken damage
- use when group-wide damage isn't critical
- use before heavy damage has begun; use just after damage begins instead
This should be used after six or more players have taken damage. Try not to use it before the damage has happen because the healing over time starts out quickly and you don't want it to go to waste.
Single-target Healing Spells
Single-target healing spells will be used when you're healing one player taking damage, again, they should be supplemented by your main spell.
Lifebloom
This should be kept on the current tank at all times unless you're using Photosynthesis, in which case it's acceptable to place it on yourself when group-wide damage is happening. It not only provides
Omen of Clarity the opportunity to proc
Clearcasting but also counts as a heal over time effect for
Mastery: Harmony. Additionally, if
Lifebloom is refreshed with <30% of its duration remaining, the bloom effect is triggered just like if it expired. This can be used to supply a burst of healing to the tank in some cases.
Ironbark
- use on a player taking sustained damage or about to take a heavy damage
This is our external defensive cooldown spell and its usage depends a lot on the situation. If you're in a raid setting where the tanks or certain players need external cooldowns at specific times, its best to save it for those times. Otherwise, I personally try to use it as often as possible at times that make sense. This is usually to save players that get caught where they shouldn't be, get a debuff they shouldn't have, or are low on health before taking unavoidable damage.
Cenarion Ward (talent)
- use on the current tank
- use on players taking sustained, heavy damage
- use where a faster acting spell is needed to save the player
Generally speaking, Cenarion Ward can be thought of as a second
Lifebloom and should often be put on the current tank whenever it's off cooldown. In some cases, you can hold it to put on a player you know is going to be taking significant damage with in the next 30 seconds. Either way, you want it up as much as possible.
Nourish (talent)
- use to heal moderate damage on players with at least one heal over time effect active
- use on players with no heal over time effects
Nourish is a very efficient heal when healing a player that has one or more heal over time effects active on them already. It should be used to heal moderate or heavy damage that isn't critical, as long as at least one heal over time effect is active. If no heal over time effects are active, it's best to lead with
Rejuvenation or
Regrowth depending on if the situation is critical or not.
Emergencies
Emergencies occur when a player is taking critical damage and at risk of dying if you try to heal them with any other spell, these spells are generally used less often than all others.
Regrowth
- use to keep a player alive when other emergency heals aren't enough or are on cooldown
- use when
Omen of Clarity is active to heal an injured player
- use it to top players off when the damage isn't critical
As our only remaining "direct heal" that isn't on a cooldown or a talent, this should be used to rapidly heal players when other heal over time effects aren't enough. Don't be afraid to cast it multiple times on the same player if the damage they're taking warrants it. Try to avoid overusing it though, as it's mana cost is quite high compared to other spells. It should always be used when your Clearcasting buff is active, either on a player that's missing health or on the current tank if everyone is at full health.
Nature's Swiftness
- use when a casted heal will suffice
This is our main emergency healing spell and will be our first choice when used with Regrowth for a player that needs emergency healing. It not only makes
Regrowth instant cast, but also makes it heal for 100% more.
You can also use this with Rebirth for an instant cast battle resurrection, or with
Entangling Roots for instant crowd control. Although those scenarios are less common than using it for healing.
Swiftmend
- use on players with active heal over time effects that need emergency healing
- use as-needed when coupled with
Soul of the Forest
- use when damage isn't critical
This consumes a heal over time effect on the targeted player and should be used to keep a player alive when an instant burst of healing is needed.
If you've taken the Soul of the Forest talent, you'll be using
Swiftmend much more often to gain the buff. In this case, it's acceptable to use it outside of emergency situations.
Overgrowth (talent)
- use to rapidly heal a player over time
- use when an immediate large heal is necessary
This spell applies all of our heal over time effects to the targeted player, leading to rapid healing over time. This healing should be enough to survive even heavy damage but could fall short for particularly large bursts of damage. You can follow up with Swiftmend if a burst of healing is required. The downside to this spell is it moves our
Lifebloom to the targeted player, which may not always be ideal.
Major Cooldowns
Major cooldowns can be used to make it through particularly tough situations, but only if your other spells aren't enough on their own.
Tranquility
- use during periods of critical group-wide damage
- coordinate usage with the other healers or raid leader
- use to top off low to moderate damage, unless the majority of group members risk death otherwise
This is our large group-healing cooldown. In most raid situations, it will be coordinated with other large cooldowns for use during critical points in the fight. If it hasn't been coordinated, use your best judgement and try to avoid using it at the same time as other healers' cooldowns. When in a dungeon, this will do twice as much healing, making it incredibly useful for emergency situations there, too.
Each time this heals a player they gain a healing over time stack, which can and should be extended with Flourish if you've taken the talent.
Incarnation: Tree of Life (talent)
- use just before heavy group-wide damage
- cast
Wild Growth three times while active
- make frequent use of
Rejuvenation while active
This is best used at the beginning of heavy group-wide damage. You should try to cast Wild Growth three times while it's active and cast as many
Rejuvenations as possible in between. If a player needs critical healing, you can also make use of instant-cast
Regrowth, but don't use it too often because it will quickly drain your mana.
Utility
Utility spells won't see usage in every situation, but knowing the situations they're useful in is very important.
Innervate
- use before preparing for group-wide damage
- cast as many spells as possible while active
You'll probably use this before preparing for group-wide damage, as detailed on the healing tips page. Ideally, you'll cast Efflorescence,
Wild Growth,
Cenarion Ward (if talent taken), and
Lifebloom while it's active, in addition to as many
Rejuvenations as you can. This will give you the maximum mana savings, but really any mana savings is important.
Nature's Cure
- dispel incapacitating or high damage debuffs quickly
- coordinate usage with other dispellers
- dispel “explosive” or harmful-when-dispelled debuffs until the player is ready
In most cases, it's safe to dispel any Magic, Curse, or Poison effect immediately. However, because of the eight second cooldown you may need to prioritize what you dispel first if there are multiple debuffs present. Usually, you want to dispel things that incapacitate the player first, followed by debuffs that cause high amounts of damage. Be on the look out for debuffs that “explode” or otherwise cause harm to the player or nearby players when dispelled. Coordinate positioning ahead of time or be ready to use an extra cooldown (like Ironbark) to keep them alive.
Soothe
- use to remove Enrage effects on higher health enemies
- use on enemies that are close to dying
Druids are one of the few classes that are able to remove Enrage effects on enemies, making this an important utility spell in most group content. With a 10-second cooldown, it will be almost impossible to dispel every Enrage effect. The best way to handle it will usually be to dispel the highest health enemy first, except in cases where an Enrage effect is more potent on a lower health enemy. The idea behind this is the lower health enemies have a higher chance of dying partway through their Enrage buff, so you help limit the total uptime of Enrage effects by dispelling the one that's likely to last the longest.
Rebirth
- use immediately to resurrect a tank or healer in most raid situations
- always immediately use on a DPS unless the group is small
Resurrecting someone in combat is very powerful. My rule for using it in raids is to resurrect tanks immediately, healers immediately if it's a heavy healing fight, and to leave DPS down unless the chances of a tank or healer dying are low. When in a five-man group, it's usually safe to resurrect anyone immediately. This is something you can coordinate with your group leader when needed.
Heart of the Wild (talent)
- use to increase damage dealt or survivability
This spell increases the potency of your chosen Affinity talent, increasing your damage dealt or survivability. With Feral Affinity and
Balance Affinity your associated spells and abilities will deal more damage. With
Guardian Affinity you'll gain more survivability while in Bear Form. If you know you'll need to help DPS during an encounter, you'll want to pair this with Feral or Balance. For general use, the extra survivability with Guardian is a decent choice.
Revitalize
Use this to resurrect dead group members when out of combat. Classes with healing specializations are the only ones with a mass resurrection, so be sure to use it!
Crowd Control
Crowd Control spells are used to keep enemies where you want them to be or to keep them from hitting players.
Entangling Roots
- use to hold a melee enemy in place
- use on enemies taking damage
- use on caster/ranged enemies
This spell is primarily used for controlling melee enemies. It doesn't fully incapacitate the affected enemy so it's less useful for ranged or caster enemies. It will also break quickly if the affected enemy takes damage. If a player is standing near a melee enemy when it's rooted, that player will be hit even if they don't currently have aggro.
Hibernate
- use to incapacitate a Beast or Dragonkin
- use on enemies taking damage
Unlike Entangling Roots, this will fully incapacitate a Beast or Dragonkin enemy, making it useful not only on melee enemies but also ranged and casters. Any damage on the affected enemy will break the effect, so it will be best to use this before enemies have been engaged whenever possible.
Cyclone
- use to keep enemies completely controlled for a short duration
- use on enemies that are being actively targeted by DPS
This is a powerful, short duration crowd control effect that makes the affected enemy completely immune to beneficial and harmful spells. In almost all cases it should only be used on an enemy that's not going to be the target of DPS for its duration, and unless coordinated with the group shouldn't be used on current DPS targets.
Ursol's Vortex
- use to keep enemies under control
This won't be useful on all boss fights, but in any situation that has lesser enemies that need to be controlled it's one of the more powerful spells. It can keep enemies grouped up to be killed or to keep them from harming players.
Mass Entanglement (talent)
- use to hold enemies in place
- use on enemies taking damage
This can be a tricky spell to make use of in a group environment without careful planning. It's very good at holding enemies in place, but only if they're not taking damage. Its use should be well coordinated with the rest of the group if possible, otherwise Typhoon is probably a better choice.
Mighty Bash (talent)
- use to keep an enemy incapacitated
- use to interrupt enemies susceptible to stun effects
This is a strong, short-duration crowd control effect that's perfect to use while an enemy is already in combat. It's also nice for interrupting spell casts, especially on enemies that are immune to spell interrupt effects but still susceptible to stun effects.
Incapacitating Roar (affinity talent)
- use to control enemies for a short duration
- use to help interrupt enemies susceptible to disorient effects
This can be used to control enemies for a short duration, whether that be to follow up with more powerful crowd control, or just to slow incoming damage for a moment. It's also a great for interrupting spell casts from enemies that are susceptible to disorient effects
*Obtained as part of the Guardian Affinity talent.
Typhoon (affinity talent)
- use to keep adds under control
- use to help interrupt enemies susceptible to knock back effects*
This can be used to help keep lesser enemies where they need to be and can even be used to interrupt spell casts on enemies that can be knocked back. However, because of the knock back effect, you likely only want to use it in emergencies as knocking enemies away from DPS is usually not a good thing.
*Obtained as part of the Balance Affinity talent.
Maim (affinity talent)
- use to keep an enemy incapacitated
- use to interrupt enemies susceptible to stun effects
This can be thought of like another Mighty Bash, with the downside of needing combo points to use. If you have the time to generate the combo points, this is a powerful incapacitating effect that can be used for general crowd control while the enemy is in combat, or even as an interrupt on enemies that are susceptible to stuns.
*Obtained as part of the Feral Affinity talent.
Passive Effects
As the name suggests, Passive Effects are always present and generally don't require any input to work.
Mastery: Harmony
Our mastery rewards having multiple heal over time effects on a player, something that's not hard to do with our spell toolkit. Even a single heal over time will benefit from this, but the more the better!
Ysera's Gift
This is small little bonus heal to yourself or a nearby player. It's not substantial on its own, but you don't need to think about it and it will rarely ever overheal.
Mobility
Mobility spells let you move around more quickly in order to avoid harmful spells or to get in range of other players to heal them.
Dash
This is the baseline movement speed ability for Restoration Druids. It requires you to stay in Cat Form to take advantage of the speed increase. However, you can freely shift in and out of
Cat Form for the duration of the buff. You should use this ability if you won't make it out of something without the speed increase. If you can make it out safely without using
Dash, you should always continue healing while moving.
Stampeding Roar
Similar to Dash, this will not only increase your movement speed but also the movement speed of nearby players. When used, it shifts you into
Bear Form but you don't have to remain in
Bear Form to take advantage of the movement speed buff. You should use this anytime you or nearby players need to make it out of a dangerous spot quickly.
Tiger's Dash (talent)
Wild Charge (talent)
This is a versatile spell that you can customize by changing forms. The downside is it's a little clunkier than the other options because you need to change forms and then use it. However, it offers possibilities the other options don't and may see niche use on some encounters.
Survivability
Survivability spells help you survive when things go wrong or when facing a particularly harmful enemy ability.
Barkskin
- use when low on health and taking damage
- use before taking a large hit of damage
This is our baseline personal cooldown and should be used anytime you're at risk of dying or before you're going to take a large hit of damage.
Bear Form
This isn't like a traditional survival cooldown, but considering it increases your health and armor, it can still help keep you alive. If you've taken the Guardian Affinity talent, it will also give you access to
Frenzied Regeneration. The down side is you won't be able to cast healing spells while in the form, but you shouldn't need to stay in it for too long.
Renewal (talent)
- use when missing >30% of your health
This should be used when missing at least 30% of your total health and in most cases can be thought of like a second healing potion.
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