Restoration Druid?

What exactly is a Restoration Druid? Well we are healers of course =) although we are very different in some ways, and very similar to other healing classes in World of Warcraft. We are now similar to priests and shaman, in that we can cover many targets with our AoE spell Wild Growth, and spot heal more effectively than before Wrath of the Lich King with Nourish.  Even though the concept behind those spells are very similar to Priests and Shaman, we are also very different. Restoration Druids rely on Hots, or periodical healing over time spells. Nearly 90% of our arsenal of spells we use are or based off of hots, where a priest or shaman are based around other aspects respective to their classes. The other 10% being casted heals such as Healing Touch, and instant use spells such as Nature’s Swiftness and Swiftmend. 

Restoration Druids can potentially be very powerful classes in their own right because the nature of instant spells, but they do have particular limitations that keep them in line with other healing classes. One limitation is simply the mana pool available to them. Restoration druids have the smallest mana pool of all the other healing classes, within respect of similar level of gearing. The smaller mana pool makes spamming casted spells difficult. In that respect, druids cannot be played like a Paladin. The handicap makes Main Tank healing very difficult for Restoration Druids, not because our Heal Per Second (HPS) doesn’t match a paladin, it’s more that we can’t keep up. Many can argue differently to this statement, although I can attest, if a raid leader was given a choice between a Restoration Druid, and a Paladin for Main Tank healing, they would choose the Paladin.  Other limitations can be based on raid composition. In a raid healer heavier raid, healing over time spells risk being healed over. A druid may heal another raid member faster than a priest, but a priest can easily heal over the hot. To avoid that situation, make sure to communicate with your healing party or raid leader and work healing assignments appropriately. A druid’s capabilities also depend on the nature of the fight. On fights where healing must be controlled at a precise percentage, healing over time spells are not very useful. Instances where the overall damage is “bursty”, or intense damage in a small amount of time, Restoration Druids also struggle. The ideal situation for a druid is where the damage can be predictable and steady.

Advantages Restoration Druids outweigh their disadvantages. Instants healing over time spells still have the limitation of the Global Cool Down, which varies based on the Haste. Higher haste rating, the lower the Global Cool Down between the casts is. Although, keep in mind there are “caps” to haste rating, where too much would be a waste. Currently Restoration Druids can cover most of the raid with hots, and also aid on the tank, making them very versatile healers. Also, even with a smaller mana pool, Restoration Druids make very good use of mana regen. Mana regen coupled with Innervate, Restoration Druids nearly never run out of mana. Another advantage is the ability to shape shift. Simply shape shifting into Tree Form grants added healing for the druid and increases healing received to rest of the raid by 6%. Increased Armor for the Restoration Druid is also a nice advantage over other healers.

***Restoration Druids can be played by both, Night Elves and Tauren. Worgen and Troll classes will be available in the expansion Cataclysm. ***