RestorationShaman, like most
Cataclysm specs, is heavily restricted to its namesake specialization tree, Restoration.
You will always want to put points into this tree first and foremost, with the few
leftover points after you hit the capstone talent, Riptide, being dedicated
to passive healing increases in the Elemental and Enhancement trees.
1.1.
25-man Restoration Shaman Talents
While the build below is an example of a 25-man talent build, keep in
mind there are many talent swaps and adaptations possible for 10-man or trade offs
between mobility and Mana sustain, as explained below.
Elemental
3
Enhancement
7
Restoration
31
Prime Glyphs
Glyph of Earthliving Weapon
Glyph of Riptide
Glyph of Earth Shield
Major Glyphs
Glyph of Chain Heal
Glyph of Healing Stream Totem
Glyph of Stoneclaw Totem
Minor Glyphs
Glyph of Water Walking
Glyph of Renewed Life
Glyph of Astral Recall
Select PrimeMajorMinor Glyph
Glyph of Earth ShieldIncreases the amount healed by your Earth Shield by 20%.Lv. 25
Glyph of Flame ShockIncreases the duration of your Flame Shock spell by 50%.Lv. 25
Glyph of Flametongue WeaponIncreases your spell critical strike chance by 2% on each of your weapons with Flametongue Weapon active.Lv. 25
Glyph of Lava LashIncreases the damage dealt by your Lava Lash ability by 20%.Lv. 25
Glyph of Lightning BoltIncreases the damage dealt by Lightning Bolt by 4%.Lv. 25
Glyph of ShockingReduces your global cooldown when casting your shock spells by 0.001 seconds.Lv. 25
Glyph of Unleashed LightningAllows Lightning Bolt to be cast while moving.Lv. 25
Glyph of Water ShieldIncreases the passive mana regeneration of your Water Shield spell by 50%.Lv. 25
Glyph of StormstrikeIncreases the Nature damage bonus from your Stormstrike ability by an additional 10%.Lv. 29
Glyph of Windfury WeaponIncreases the chance per swing for Windfury Weapon to trigger by 2%.Lv. 32
Glyph of Lava BurstYour Lava Burst spell deals 10% more damage.Lv. 34
Glyph of Earthliving WeaponIncreases the effectiveness of your Earthliving weapon's periodic healing by 20%.Lv. 54
Glyph of Fire Elemental TotemReduces the cooldown of your Fire Elemental Totem by 5 minutes.Lv. 66
Glyph of Feral SpiritYour spirit wolves gain an additional 30% of your attack power.Lv. 69
Glyph of RiptideIncreases the duration of Riptide by 40%.Lv. 69
Glyph of Frost ShockIncreases the duration of your Frost Shock by 2 seconds.Lv. 25
Glyph of Ghost WolfYour Ghost Wolf form grants an additional 5% movement speed.Lv. 25
Glyph of Healing Stream TotemYour Healing Stream Totem also increases the Fire, Frost, and Nature resistance of party and raid members within 30 yards by ${$cond($lte($PL,70),$PL,$cond($lte($PL,80),$PL+($PL-70)*5,$PL+($PL-70)*5+($PL-80)*7))}.Lv. 25
Glyph of Healing WaveYour Healing Wave also heals you for 20% of the healing effect when you heal someone else.Lv. 25
Glyph of Lightning ShieldYour Lightning Shield can no longer drop below 3 charges from dealing damage to attackers.Lv. 25
Glyph of ThunderReduces the cooldown on Thunderstorm by 10 seconds.Lv. 25
Glyph of Chain LightningYour Chain Lightning spell now strikes 2 additional targets, but deals 10% less initial damage.Lv. 28
Glyph of Fire NovaIncreases the radius of your Fire Nova spell by 5 yards.Lv. 28
Glyph of Totemic RecallCauses your Totemic Recall ability to return an additional 50% of the mana cost of any recalled totems.Lv. 30
Glyph of Grounding TotemInstead of absorbing a spell, your Grounding Totem reflects the next harmful spell back at its caster, but the cooldown of your Grounding Totem is increased by 35 seconds.Lv. 38
Glyph of Chain HealIncreases healing done by your Chain Heal spell to targets beyond the first by 15%, but decreases the amount received by the initial target by 10%.Lv. 40
Glyph of Elemental MasteryWhile your Elemental Mastery ability is active, you take 20% less damage from all sources.Lv. 49
Glyph of Shamanistic RageActivating your Shamanistic Rage ability also cleanses you of all dispellable Magic debuffs.Lv. 49
Glyph of Stoneclaw TotemYour Stoneclaw Totem also places a damage absorb shield on you, equal to 4 times the strength of the shield it places on your totems.Lv. 58
Glyph of HexReduces the cooldown of your Hex spell by 10 seconds.Lv. 80
Glyph of the Arctic WolfAlters the appearance of your Ghost Wolf transformation, causing it to resemble an arctic wolf.Lv. 25
Glyph of ThunderstormIncreases the mana you receive from your Thunderstorm spell by 2%, but it no longer knocks enemies back.Lv. 25
Glyph of Water WalkingYour Water Walking spell no longer requires a reagent.Lv. 25
Glyph of Astral RecallCooldown of your Astral Recall spell reduced by 7.5 minutes.Lv. 30
Glyph of Renewed LifeYour Reincarnation spell no longer requires a reagent.Lv. 30
Glyph of Water BreathingYour Water Breathing spell no longer requires a reagent.Lv. 46
Restoration has a lot of optional talents:
Ancestral Awakening is very strong whenever you mostly cast single
target spells such as Greater Healing Wave, making it great in 10 man.
Blessing of the Eternals has the opposite dynamic, and is much
stronger when you mostly cast area spells such as Chain Heal, making it
stronger in 25 man.
Ancestral Swiftness is a great mobility talent and a must-pick
on any fight you are expected to move around often.
Elemental Precision is better on fights where you can stand and
cast, especially if the boss has an increased damage taken phase which will allow
you to fully restore your Mana regularly with Telluric Currents. You
get most of the benefit of this talent with 2 points due to our preference for Spirit,
and if taking it, Concussion is preferable to Convection.
1.2.
10-man Restoration Shaman Talents
Taking the above lessons in mind, here is a sample 10-man talent build,
also using the alternative Spell Hit tech for Telluric Currents's
benefit:
Elemental
7
Enhancement
2
Restoration
32
Prime Glyphs
Glyph of Earthliving Weapon
Glyph of Riptide
Glyph of Earth Shield
Major Glyphs
Glyph of Chain Heal
Glyph of Healing Stream Totem
Glyph of Stoneclaw Totem
Minor Glyphs
Glyph of Water Walking
Glyph of Renewed Life
Glyph of Astral Recall
Select PrimeMajorMinor Glyph
Glyph of Earth ShieldIncreases the amount healed by your Earth Shield by 20%.Lv. 25
Glyph of Flame ShockIncreases the duration of your Flame Shock spell by 50%.Lv. 25
Glyph of Flametongue WeaponIncreases your spell critical strike chance by 2% on each of your weapons with Flametongue Weapon active.Lv. 25
Glyph of Lava LashIncreases the damage dealt by your Lava Lash ability by 20%.Lv. 25
Glyph of Lightning BoltIncreases the damage dealt by Lightning Bolt by 4%.Lv. 25
Glyph of ShockingReduces your global cooldown when casting your shock spells by 0.001 seconds.Lv. 25
Glyph of Unleashed LightningAllows Lightning Bolt to be cast while moving.Lv. 25
Glyph of Water ShieldIncreases the passive mana regeneration of your Water Shield spell by 50%.Lv. 25
Glyph of StormstrikeIncreases the Nature damage bonus from your Stormstrike ability by an additional 10%.Lv. 29
Glyph of Windfury WeaponIncreases the chance per swing for Windfury Weapon to trigger by 2%.Lv. 32
Glyph of Lava BurstYour Lava Burst spell deals 10% more damage.Lv. 34
Glyph of Earthliving WeaponIncreases the effectiveness of your Earthliving weapon's periodic healing by 20%.Lv. 54
Glyph of Fire Elemental TotemReduces the cooldown of your Fire Elemental Totem by 5 minutes.Lv. 66
Glyph of Feral SpiritYour spirit wolves gain an additional 30% of your attack power.Lv. 69
Glyph of RiptideIncreases the duration of Riptide by 40%.Lv. 69
Glyph of Frost ShockIncreases the duration of your Frost Shock by 2 seconds.Lv. 25
Glyph of Ghost WolfYour Ghost Wolf form grants an additional 5% movement speed.Lv. 25
Glyph of Healing Stream TotemYour Healing Stream Totem also increases the Fire, Frost, and Nature resistance of party and raid members within 30 yards by ${$cond($lte($PL,70),$PL,$cond($lte($PL,80),$PL+($PL-70)*5,$PL+($PL-70)*5+($PL-80)*7))}.Lv. 25
Glyph of Healing WaveYour Healing Wave also heals you for 20% of the healing effect when you heal someone else.Lv. 25
Glyph of Lightning ShieldYour Lightning Shield can no longer drop below 3 charges from dealing damage to attackers.Lv. 25
Glyph of ThunderReduces the cooldown on Thunderstorm by 10 seconds.Lv. 25
Glyph of Chain LightningYour Chain Lightning spell now strikes 2 additional targets, but deals 10% less initial damage.Lv. 28
Glyph of Fire NovaIncreases the radius of your Fire Nova spell by 5 yards.Lv. 28
Glyph of Totemic RecallCauses your Totemic Recall ability to return an additional 50% of the mana cost of any recalled totems.Lv. 30
Glyph of Grounding TotemInstead of absorbing a spell, your Grounding Totem reflects the next harmful spell back at its caster, but the cooldown of your Grounding Totem is increased by 35 seconds.Lv. 38
Glyph of Chain HealIncreases healing done by your Chain Heal spell to targets beyond the first by 15%, but decreases the amount received by the initial target by 10%.Lv. 40
Glyph of Elemental MasteryWhile your Elemental Mastery ability is active, you take 20% less damage from all sources.Lv. 49
Glyph of Shamanistic RageActivating your Shamanistic Rage ability also cleanses you of all dispellable Magic debuffs.Lv. 49
Glyph of Stoneclaw TotemYour Stoneclaw Totem also places a damage absorb shield on you, equal to 4 times the strength of the shield it places on your totems.Lv. 58
Glyph of HexReduces the cooldown of your Hex spell by 10 seconds.Lv. 80
Glyph of the Arctic WolfAlters the appearance of your Ghost Wolf transformation, causing it to resemble an arctic wolf.Lv. 25
Glyph of ThunderstormIncreases the mana you receive from your Thunderstorm spell by 2%, but it no longer knocks enemies back.Lv. 25
Glyph of Water WalkingYour Water Walking spell no longer requires a reagent.Lv. 25
Glyph of Astral RecallCooldown of your Astral Recall spell reduced by 7.5 minutes.Lv. 30
Glyph of Renewed LifeYour Reincarnation spell no longer requires a reagent.Lv. 30
Glyph of Water BreathingYour Water Breathing spell no longer requires a reagent.Lv. 46
2.
Notable Talents
In this section we will go over some of the key talents you will use when you
are playing a RestorationShaman.
Be sure to understand your most important talents as they are vital to play the
build to its top strength.
Ancestral Resolve — reduces damage taken while casting
by 10%. Since you will be looking to constantly be casting, even if it is Lightning Bolt
for Telluric Currents, or while moving with Spiritwalker's Grace,
this talent grants a huge amount of damage reduction!
Resurgence — causes your spell crits to restore Mana. This
is a very powerful effect that directly scales with your critical strike chance,
making it a much stronger stat, overall.
Focused Insight — allows your shocks to reduce the Mana
cost and increase the healing done by your next spell, essentially making them
mostly free to cast and increasing your DPS. It combos particularly well with
Healing Rain since you are limited by its cooldown and thus the extra
healing is quite valuable.
Nature's Swiftness — causes your next spell to be instant
cast. This will typically be used on Greater Healing Wave for emergency
healing, but can also be used with Healing Rain or Chain Heal
to speed up your rotation or enable casting while moving.
Ancestral Healing — reduces physical damage taken by 10%
on the target of one of your critical heals, increasing the value of critical strike,
and also increases the health of anyone healed by you by up to 10% of their maximum
health, making them much less likely to die from raid damage mechanics.
Improved Cleanse Spirit — converts your Cleanse Spirit
into a magic dispel, allowing you to do encounters that involve dispelling such
effects.
Spirit Link Totem — creates an area around the totem for 6 seconds
where the health of allies is equalized every second. This makes it especially powerful
against mechanics that hit targets inside a clump of players for deadly damage,
as it will spread that damage across the whole clump evenly, making it easy to
heal with area heals.
Mana Tide Totem — provides extra Spirit to your raid equivalent
to 200% of your own Spirit for 12 seconds. This is a great Mana regeneration talent
which benefits your whole raid and scales heavily with your Spirit, making it one
of the top reasons to stack Spirit in the first place.
Ancestral Awakening — is fantastic whenever you are casting
a lot of single target spells, and also scales well with your critical strike chance,
making it a great 10-man and small group content talent.
Tidal Waves — reduces the cast time of Greater Healing Wave
and Healing Wave by 30% and increases the critical strike chance of Healing Surge
by 30%. You will gain two charges of this buff whenever you cast Riptide
or Chain Heal, allowing you to have permanent uptime of this massive single
target healing bonus.
Riptide — is a heal over time with a strong direct heal component
which is often used to save allies close to dying, especially considering our Deep Healing
Mastery. You will typically use it with Glyph of Riptide, which increases
the heal over time component massively.
3.
Prime Glyphs
Prime glyphs are new to Cataclysm, giving you a third "row" of glyphs you can
use on your character. While there are a couple of different options to choose from,
there are some very clear front runners for each specialization.
Glyph of Earthliving Weapon — a nice passive boost to your Earthliving Weapon
imbue healing.
Glyph of Riptide — huge increase to Riptide healing
and also drastically increases the amount of time you have to use Chain Heal
on it for extra healing.
Glyph of Earth Shield — another passive boost, this time to your
Earth Shield healing.
4.
Major Glyphs
Major glyphs typically offer utility-based options and can be highly situational.
While there are many different options for Restoration, we will list
below the ones we find more useful.
Glyph of Chain Heal — increases the smart healing done by Chain Heal
while slightly reducing healing to the first target, which is often overhealing anyway.
Glyph of Healing Stream Totem — removes the need for using Elemental Resistance Totem
by baking its power into Healing Stream Totem.
Glyph of Stoneclaw Totem — converts your Stoneclaw Totem
into a strong personal cooldown.
5.
Minor Glyphs
Minor glyphs typically provide very minor benefits. Your choices will typically
depend on what quality of life increase is the most meaningful for you. We give
a few suggestions below.
Glyph of Water Walking — allows you to cast Water Walking
without a reagent, saving gold in the process.
Glyph of Renewed Life — removes the reagent requirement from
Reincarnation, saving some gold over time.
Glyph of Astral Recall — lowering the cooldown of your Astral Recall
allows you to move around more frequently, especially if you have your Hearthstone
at your faction's central hub and all its portals.
This guide has been written by Seksi, original vanilla player and
multi-class player, currently playing on Gehennas Horde. You can find him
on the Classic Warrior,
Mage and
Shaman Discords, as well as the
Icy Veins Discord.