#0 - Aug. 24, 2006, 9:51 p.m.
Stats are the same as they used to be, with the exception of spirit gaining a huge buff for druids speccing resto. Spirit is now my second favored stat under +healing, before MP/5 and way ahead of int. I’m sure you can find breakdowns and math elsewhere, suffice it to say that our spirit regen formula was buffed, and we’ve now got a talent increasing our spirit value, and a new form which relies heavily on spirit to buff the healing of an entire raid.
Eventually I'll make changes to the stat and technique portions, particularly addressing tree of life, but for now I'm just posting the items. I'll also come back and format this for readability, but not now; I've already been typing for about 4 hours and I really need a break.
No matter what your spec you will be called upon to heal. Maybe not all of the time, but you still want to be properly geared. This isn't nearly as difficult as you might think. This guide will give you an idea of what things to look for for each slot, where to get them, and why they're so good.
A word on stats:
Until you hit 60 all you need for a healing set is int, but after 60 this becomes one of the least valuable stats. Why? Because the only time that your int value matters is when your mana bar is full. The focus shifts to other stats, which increase the efficiency of your mana and the rate at which you gain mana while in combat, because while one person may come into a fight with 7000 mana, if they have low spirit and mp/5 they'll run out of mana quickly compared to somebody who has 4000 mana, decent spirit, some mp/5 and some +healing. What are the stats you should be looking for and in what order? Read on.
+healing: By far the most important stat for a healing druid (and really, any healing class) is +healing. This is because once you begin to get it in large quantities you can begin to use lower ranked heals, giving you much more health per mana, and much more staying power in the longer fights. For example: once you get around 400 +healing your rank 4 Healing Touch will be hitting for around 900, almost twice what it healed for originally, but at the same mana cost. Far and away the thing to look for and stack.
mp/5: X mana per 5 seconds. A very important stat. Druids don't get as much regen from spirit as mages and priests do, so we make up for it by stacking mp/5 items, which have the added benefit of continuing to regenerate mana even within the five second rule, while spirit is relegated to only outside the five second rule (with the exception of the 15% bonuses each from Reflection and 3/8 Stormrage). Over the course of a fight this regen really adds up. I have about 40 mp/5, this means that in a 5 minute fight I will regen 2400 mana from my mp/5 alone.
Int: You know what it does. Bigger mana pool, more frequent crits (though crits when healing aren't always a good thing). Slightly more useful for ferals because of the HotW bonus, which can give them a gargantuan mana pool, it makes a tradeoff for a bit of int vs a bit of +healing not as much of a one sided decision.
Spirit: It makes your mana come back, although the mechanics involved are a bit more complicated than mp/5. It's not something you should be stacking, but it does have its use and having a decent amount of spirit is always a good thing.
Raid healing vs. Healing in 5 mans:
While leveling healing was easy. Cast rejuv, use your highest rank of healing touch (maybe you downranked a bit because you heard people talking about it, but you probably didn't know why), maybe a regrowth if things get hairy, never running out of mana because of your huge mana pool but always having to stop and drink after a fight. You hit 60 and thingschange. You aren't learning new skills anymore, your highest rank of healing touch will become less and less useful, but still burn through your mana bar quite quickly. What do you do to mitigate this? You become more efficient and more powerful by focusing on +healing. You gain endurance by collecting mp/5 and spirit. As you collect +healing your big heals become more powerful, but you rely on them less, focusing on the lower ranks, say 4-7. Your "bread and butter" healing touch rank should be hitting for a solid 900-1100, whatever rank fits in that target zone should be the one you use when healing the tank. You should always have at least 3 or 4 ranks of HT bound to your hotbar, I use 3, 4, 6 and 11 and cast them situationally. Trash pull? I'll chain cast rank 3 on the tank, and use 6 if I need to spot a rogue who pulls aggro. Tank in a boss fight? Chain rank 3 and 4 as needed, if he drops too low toss an 11 out there to pull him back up. But that's me. Your numbers will be different, your style may be different. It's something you'll have to learn for yourself, but these pointers should set you down the right path.
On to the items. I’m not listing anything from heroic instances, rep grinds or raids. These are all quest rewards, craftables or normal dungeon drops. Maybe later I’ll add more sections.
On sets:
Moonglade is decent. Yes, the druid dungeon 3 is actually alright for healing this time around, but the budget is somewhat squandered on some strength and agility. In general the pieces are solid for healing and mediocre for other purposes. Pick it up if you can, but you’ll usually find something quite a bit better for that slot.
Hallowed Raiment is amazing. If there’s no priest in your group, take it. It’s often the best or second best option for each slot. If there IS a priest in your group, don’t you dare roll against them. If you even think about it you’re a horrible person.
Normal, non-heroic loot:
Helm:
http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=29505&locale=enUS;source=live
Hood of Primal Life (37 int, 31 spi, 34 stam, 68 healing) – CRAFTED. Guess what this thing takes a lot of? Expensive, but farmable, and incredibly good. I’m working towards one of these myself, but I need to find somebody who can make it…
http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=27410&locale=enUS;source=live
Collar of Command (22 stam, 23 int, 29 spi, 66 healing) – CLOTH; Shirrak the Dead Watcher, Auchenai Crypts. Nice helm if you don’t mind cloth. Easy to get, a whole lot of spirit, a nice helping of healing, what’s not to like? Oh, right, the graphic. It’s a stupid “priest collar” sticking up behind your head. I went from the DGC to this… good thing I like my characters hair.
http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?source=live;witem=28348
Moonglade Cowl (24 str, 8 agi, 18 stam, 25 int, 13 spi, 53 healing; blue, meta 4 spi) – Warp Splinter, final boss of Botanica. Decent, like the rest of the set. Best option outside of the crafted hood, if you’re sticking to leather.
http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?source=live;witem=30297
Circlet of the Starcaller (17 spi, 18 int, 27 stam, 47 damage/healing, 18 spellcrit) – Dimensius the All Devouring, quest in Netherstorm. It’s alright, but not nearly as good as the Moonglade piece. Not a bad piece of damage gear though.
Shoulder:
Slim slim pickings here. Good thing they’re good ones.
http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?source=live;witem=28340
Mantle of Autumn (24 stam, 31 int, 27 spi, 68 healing) – Laj, fourth boss in Botanica. Wow. These are amazing. Plus they’re very leafy, which excites me as a druid. I hear they’re getting nerfed pretty severely, but they’ll still be the only real shoulder option in leather; we’ll see how bad it is.
http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?witem=28250&locale=enUS;source=live
Vestias Pauldrons of Inner Grace (24 stam, 25 int, 48 healing, 8 mp/5) – CLOTH; Cache of the Legion, chest in Mechanar. Get the key fragments from the two gate-watcher minibosses and combine them to open it. A good choice, not as good as the Mantle of Autumn in its current form, we’ll see about after the nerf.
Chest:
http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?source=live;witem=29781
Lifewarden’s Breastplate (25 int, 27 stam, 28 spi, 64 healing) – Destroy Naberius, quest chain in Netherstorm. Very solid chest, definitely the best option to start raiding with. The only downside is that it makes you look something like a ninja turtle with nipple rings… Something easily remedied with a tabard. The quest chain for it is somewhat long, but definitely worth the trouble (plus it nets a ton of XP and/or gold). It starts in the village of Kirin Var in the southern part of Netherstorm, talk to the NPC ghosts by the tower there.
http://wow.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?source=live;witem=28202
Moonglade Robe (25 str, 16 sta, 17 int, 14 spi, 55 healing, 17 crit; red, yellow, blue, 4 crit) – Pathaleon the Calculator, final boss of Mechanar. Eh, it’s decent, but pales in comparison to the Lifewarden’s Breastplate. Looks a lot nicer though.
