Worth it to level a resto druid?

[skullytor 4]

Hey guys, im a moderately hardcore raider and have pushed several classes very far in terms of top end performance. i recently decided i really wanted to give healing a shot, for a different perspective on fights. when i level a new toon, i tend to go all out. i research everything i can find and try to literally master it by the time i hit 90. heres my question: is a resto druid worth gearing for heroic tot content? im hearing allot of mixed feedback from other healers, interestingly mostly negative regarding tree healers. lack of utility, no top end to push, doesnt take allot of skill etc. are any of these things true, in your opinions? id love to hear back from some resto druids that are in hardmodes to see what they think about their class and how it stacks up against other healers. i really like the concept tree heals and i think i would like the class but i also dont want to invest tons of time into a healing class that is just "okay"

thoughts?

Edited June 14, 2013 by skullytor

[Horcored 17]

Well, thats not completly true. Druids are pushing top on alot of fights and are actually quite nice in terms of raw healing. I am playing a resto druid myself and i'm allways topping the meters on healing. True that we might not have all the raid utility as some of the other healers have, but if u can get the required utility from the other healers and a few dps, druids will be a good way to go, as we can do almost full healing while on the movement, which is nice on alot of ToT fights. Druid healers are more desired on 25m, but can work just fine on 10m too. It all comes down to ur raid setup and how well the druid works along the other healer(s).

We do bring a raidwide movement CD, Tranq, Bloom mushrooms, great movement healing and with the hopefully upcoming changes in 5.4 alot of new stuffs(A rewamp of some talents, etc.....). And as it seems now, druids will like monks and disc have a way of healing with dmg done to boss and adds, which is awsome =D As of PTR, we'll also be getting a whole new spell learned at 88 if i am not wrong, Increases the duration and effect of the exsiting Rejuvenation by 400%, which seems quite interesting.

This is what i can tell u on the run, if u wounder about anything spesific, dont hasitate to ask.

- Horcored

[Krazyito 521]

Also depends on the content you're doing. Resto druids shine a lot more in 10 man where you're more likely to be spread apart more than in a 25 man.

[Tarazet 144]

Well, thats not completly true. Druids are pushing top on alot of fights and are actually quite nice in terms of raw healing. I am playing a resto druid myself and i'm allways topping the meters on healing. True that we might not have all the raid utility as some of the other healers have, but if u can get the required utility from the other healers and a few dps, druids will be a good way to go, as we can do almost full healing while on the movement, which is nice on alot of ToT fights. Druid healers are more desired on 25m, but can work just fine on 10m too. It all comes down to ur raid setup and how well the druid works along the other healer(s).

We do bring a raidwide movement CD, Tranq, Bloom mushrooms, great movement healing and with the hopefully upcoming changes in 5.4 alot of new stuffs(A rewamp of some talents, etc.....). And as it seems now, druids will like monks and disc have a way of healing with dmg done to boss and adds, which is awsome =D As of PTR, we'll also be getting a whole new spell learned at 88 if i am not wrong, Increases the duration and effect of the exsiting Rejuvenation by 400%, which seems quite interesting.

This is what i can tell u on the run, if u wounder about anything spesific, dont hasitate to ask.

- Horcored

The new level 88 spell, as it stands, makes all your current Rejuv effects tick and expire 400% faster. So it works like Uplift, triggering off of currently existing HoTs. That should make Druids comparatively more powerful in 10 mans.

[skullytor 4]

very interesting. during a discussion with a disc priest, he was complaining that resto druids "only have to heal". when i inquired what he meant by that he indicated that with no smites/fistweaving/etc and with the "utility" that druids lack, that theyre only good at 1 thing: to keep people alive. this struck me as odd because, frankly, as a raid lead, all i WANT my healers doing is to heal. dps from a healer is nice, not going to argue that point, but it actually struck me as horrific that pallies/priest/monks spend so much time trying to dps the boss and implement available utility and "taking their eye off the ball" to throw a little baseball in there. i find this as a huge perk for druids, from the small information ive collected. if im going to be a healing class, dps is not my problem. that what the f'ing dps is there for. i dunno, maybe i think in too compartmentalized of a manner....

[Tarazet 144]

very interesting. during a discussion with a disc priest, he was complaining that resto druids "only have to heal". when i inquired what he meant by that he indicated that with no smites/fistweaving/etc and with the "utility" that druids lack, that theyre only good at 1 thing: to keep people alive. this struck me as odd because, frankly, as a raid lead, all i WANT my healers doing is to heal. dps from a healer is nice, not going to argue that point, but it actually struck me as horrific that pallies/priest/monks spend so much time trying to dps the boss and implement available utility and "taking their eye off the ball" to throw a little baseball in there. i find this as a huge perk for druids, from the small information ive collected. if im going to be a healing class, dps is not my problem. that what the f'ing dps is there for. i dunno, maybe i think in too compartmentalized of a manner....

If Resto Druids want to bring in DPS they have just as many options as anyone else. Heart of the Wild nuking hits hard, the new Dream of Cenarius atonement nuke, or just throw in a Hurricane if the mob is big enough. Nature's Vigil does pretty good damage too while boosting your healing.

[Nemo 27]

While it is true that you can dish out some valuable burst dps through HotW, damage is really low for restos most of the time. If that's a pro or a con is really up to every induvidual raidgroup.

Unsurprisingly, me playing a resto druid, I'd say they are certainly worth lvling for endgame contend.

Right now their only problem is burst AoE healing on a spread-out group, since shrooms wont help much there. Also fights become a lot easier for a resto druid once you know where people will be located when they take a big hit, allowing the druid to use those shrooms effectivly.

However it seems these problem are going to be somewhat aliviated with thw next patch.

Resto druids are not really lacking utillity, having a number of great cooldowns. However it obviously does not match the (absurd) utility-level of a holy paladin. Neither do they match disc priests with their attonement madness (which I frankly feel is a design flaw).

However, when it comes to healing, I'd say a good resto druid can be extremely valuable to any raid.

Also, they are great fun to play!

[ClaytonMcKown 4]

yes it so worth playing a resto druid. most of the time it really easy to play healer. and with the new spell and the buff druid are getting in patch 5.4 it make it worth leveling a druid

[finnmaccool 5]

druids are fun - they shine more in 10 man where movement healing becomes more relevant/stronger.

it is easy to say that HPally can outheal, and out utility Rdruids. and the shields that Priests can do BEFORE damage comes can be make or break , and that is something that Rdruids just can't do.

Nice thing about a druid, you can always change specs for different raids in the future.

And as mentioned, with HoTW a tree can REALLY burst out some serious dps, but unlike monk/priests - not a constant dps during the fight.

Druids also work better with different healers in 10 man. druids work well with Hpally and Dpriests, but much less so with shammans/monks - so it might depend what the other healers are.

[Tarazet 144]

druids are fun - they shine more in 10 man where movement healing becomes more relevant/stronger.

it is easy to say that HPally can outheal, and out utility Rdruids. and the shields that Priests can do BEFORE damage comes can be make or break , and that is something that Rdruids just can't do.

Nice thing about a druid, you can always change specs for different raids in the future.

And as mentioned, with HoTW a tree can REALLY burst out some serious dps, but unlike monk/priests - not a constant dps during the fight.

Druids also work better with different healers in 10 man. druids work well with Hpally and Dpriests, but much less so with shammans/monks - so it might depend what the other healers are.

Personally, I prefer the burst cooldown type DPS over the constant tiny hits. There's always some or another phase that you need to shorten, and where extra damage will win out over extra healing every time.