Cataclysm Classic Restoration Shaman Guide

Restoration has a ton of utility and is a flexible healer which feels most at ease when raid healing stacked groups of players with Chain Heal and Healing Rain. It also brings a lot of unique utility, including ally health increases with Ancestral Healing and a unique damage reduction cooldown in Spirit Link Totem.

Originally, Restoration Shaman was one of the worst healers in Cataclysm until the final Dragon Soul raid phase. This time, however, Spirit Link Totem and the unique maximum health increase given by Ancestral Healing will be available immediately from the pre-patch onwards, making Restoration much more powerful than it is remembered as!

Strengths

• Totems and support spells for every type of situation, from buffs to CC removal;
• Spirit Link Totem and Ancestral Healing are very powerful unique skills;
• Shared gear with Elemental allows for easy swapping between healing and damage between encounters;
• Great area healing with Chain Heal and Healing Rain whenever raid can be stacked.

Weaknesses

• Very weak at spread area healing and tank healing is Mana inefficient;
• Jack of all trades of healing, but master of none means raid spot is contested;
• Low survivability and no defensive cooldowns outside Glyph of Stoneclaw Totem;
• Forced to pick between mobility with Ancestral Swiftness and Mana sustain with Elemental Precision;

Without going too deep into detail, the new Goblin race is a perfect fit for new Horde Restoration Shamans, as it grants burst mobility that is lacking from the class baseline with Rocket Jump, some gold discounts and 1% extra cast and attack speed permanently. Going Orc for PvP Hardiness and extra burst with Blood Fury is also a great option, especially if you off-spec DPS often as the other racials are also of great use in that case.

Alliance Shamans will now be able to be Dwarf and while Stoneform can help get rid of debuffs Shamans can no longer dispel, Draenei should generally be superior due to their free Hit from Heroic Presence and some free healing from Gift of the Naaru.

All professions are viable for healers, but if you want to go the extra mile, we recommend taking the best DPS professions for when you need to off-spec Elemental or Enhancement: Engineering and Tailoring.

Addons and Macros can greatly improve your quality of life during Cataclysm. Listed below are some of our recommendations on Addons and Macros to help get the most out of your time playing the game.