Restoration Druid Healing Castle Nathria Raid Guide — Dragonflight 10.2.5

On this page we will provide information on how to heal in the Castle Nathria as a Restoration Druid. This is not a page where you can find strategies for each boss, but rather more in-depth tips on how to play Restoration Druid, where to use cooldowns, and occasionally how you can abuse certain encounter mechanics to your advantage.

During the Dragonflight Pre-Patch, Castle Nathria, Sanctum of Domination, and Sepulcher of the First Ones will be simultaneously featured as Fated Raids. During this time encounters within each specific raid will include an additional mechanic and items will drop at increased item levels. If you would like to learn more general information about the Fated Raids system as a whole, please see our overview below. Otherwise, continue to use this page for specialization-specific tips.

We will provide the most commonly used talent build for all bosses. There are some small changes you can make for certain bosses to grab utility spells, for example swapping Wild Charge for Tiger Dash, but your core healing talents should always remain the same. The same goes for your healing talents in the class tree, with very few exceptions and those only touching defensive, movement or damage talents.

You can easily import the talent tree below into the game with the following string:

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We advise you to use the following Legendary against Shriekwing: Vision of Unending Growth.

You should look to use your cooldowns on Wave of Blood. During the first phase of the encounter there will be 4 Waves of Blood. After this, the boss will enter Phase Two. In general, there are about 2 minutes between each Phase One, so you might want to spec Inner Peace and use Tranquility each cycle. Spring Blossoms is the more popular choice, but both are extremely competitive. Try to save more Mana towards the end of the fight, since the bigger part of the room will be covered in blood, people in your raid will stand in it more and inevitably take more damage.

If you are using custom raid frames, make sure you are tracking the following debuffs.

• Echolocation — Spell ID 342074. Players with this debuff will have to move away and will take a large hit after 6 seconds. It is advised to land either Regrowth or Swiftmend on them as they are hit.
• Exsanguinated — Spell ID 328897. Tanks with this debuff will start at 10 stacks, each stack reducing healing taken by 10%, and dropping off at a rate of 1 per 1.5 seconds. Make sure you do not heal this early, since they will start with taking no healing and then take very little for a while.
• Bloodlight — Spell ID 341489. This is another stacking debuff, but it only exists on Mythic difficulty. Make sure you track it to know which players are taking exceeding amount of damage.

We advise you to use the following Legendary against Huntsman Altimor: Vision of Unending Growth.

First and second add will do close to zero AoE damage if the fight is executed properly. Healing the tanks and debuffs will be most of your healing until the third add spawns. Use your healing cooldowns so that they are ready for the end of the fight, otherwise just pop them as a Mana conservation tool.

On Mythic difficulty, you should focus most of your efforts into having cooldowns and Mana for Phase 3. It will do by far the most damage and require consistent healing. Due to this, you can use a full round of cooldowns in Phase 1, then use Flourish at some point in Phase 2. Fortunately, Phase 2 has basically no AoE damage unless your raid makes huge mistakes.

Make sure you heal all friendly NPCs as fast as possible. Small ones can be topped with Wild Growth into 1-2 Regrowths, the big tank NPC will require more attention which will vary depending on the tank you are using. Do not try to AoE heal when it spawns, focus on healing it as soon as possible.

If you are using custom raid frames, make sure you are tracking the following debuffs.

• Sinseeker — Spell ID 335114. Sinseeker will do heavy damage after the arrow hits. Players need to be topped off before it happens and continue to get healed as the debuff stays on them.
• Vicious Lunge — Spell ID 334939. Players will be marked with this debuff and they will either split damage with a few others or use an immunity. Make sure you do not waste Mana if they will not take any damage.
• Vicious Wound — Spell ID 334960. If players do not immune Vicious Lunge, then the damage from it will have to be spread and this action will leave a pretty nasty DoT. Put at least a Rejuvenation on these players and potentially spot heal them with Regrowth.
• Petrifying Howl — Spell ID 334852. This debuff will deal moderate damage to players, and by itself it is not dangerous. However, it can overlap with other mechanics to create a rather dangerous situation. Put at least a Rejuvenation on people with Petrifying Howl, potentially spot heal them with Regrowth. Keep in mind that these players might run out very far away, so HoT them up as soon as possible.
• Rip Soul — Spell ID 334797. Tanks with this debuff have to be on as high Health as possible when it runs out. Ideally, you want them to be full, otherwise an add that deals heavy raid damage will spawn at higher Health and deal more damage. Spam heal and use Ironbark here.

We advise you to use the following Legendary against Hungering Destroyer: Vision of Unending Growth.

The most dangerous damage will come from Expunge, Desolate, and Consume damage combos. These abilities come in 1:30 minute cycles. Desolate and Expunge are paired with a 13 second timer between them, this pairing happens every 35 seconds. After every second of these pairs going through, Consume happens. You should always ramp to heal right after Desolate to have everyone as high Health as possible for the Expunge cast, since the splash radius depends on Health — the less Health the bigger the radius, increasing potential damage taken. Do not bother healing too much after the first Expunge in each cycle since there will not be much dangerous damage, just ticking from Gluttonous Miasma and spot healing players with Volatile Ejection.

If you are using custom raid frames, make sure you are tracking the following debuffs.

• Gluttonous Miasma — Spell ID 329298. Players with this debuff are immune to all healing. Emphasise this debuff and never heal people with it.
• Volatile Ejection — Spell ID 334266. Players with this debuff will take a large hit after a while. Top them off before the debuff runs out.

We advise you to use the following Legendary against Artificer Xy'Mox: Vision of Unending Growth.

Almost all raid damage on this fight happens when Glyph of Destruction expires on a tank. It happens roughly every 30 seconds, which is pretty good for your Flourish, Convoke the Spirits, and Tranquility timings. Save Mana for the end of the fight, all of the damage events from earlier phases will still happen, but you will also have Aura of Dread ticking on the entire raid.

On Mythic difficulty, you will have to focus your attention on players carrying seeds. Since these people are usually pre-assigned, you will know if one of them is about to go out of range with Withering Touch. Use Ironbark and call for them to use some sort of personal mitigation. Outside of it, players with Withering Touch will be in danger when Glyph of Destruction explodes. Make sure they are full Health when it happens and time your Regrowth to land as it happens.

If you are using custom raid frames, make sure you are tracking the following debuffs.

• Withering Touch — Spell ID 340860. 21-second duration heavy hitting debuff. Heal the players with it and do not let them die. Consider using Lifebloom on players with this debuff instead of keeping it on tanks.
• Dimensional Tear — Spell ID 328437. Moderate damage debuff that explodes. Do not prioritise it too much, but make sure these players do not die.
• Glyph of Destruction — Spell ID 325361. This is a very hard hitting tank debuff. Make sure they have full HoTs before they get it as you should be preparing for raid damage as it ends.

We advise you to use the following Legendary against Sun King's Salvation: Verdant Infusion.

The most important part of the encounter is healing Kael'thas Sunstrider. Make sure you HoT him up fully before casting Regrowths. You can drop Efflorescence close under his platform for an extra HoT from Spring Blossoms.

Note that the Legendary recommendation is different for this fight. Verdant Infusion will give you more healing on Kael'Thas. Timing a Convoke the Spirits cast right before a Guardian Spirit application can give you a very high amount of burst healing on the boss.

It is strongly recommended to craft the Verdant Infusion Legendary for this encounter. Even a lower item level version will provide a significant healing increase. There is also an optimal opening rotation for the start of the fight which you should follow:

1. Use Swiftmend 12 seconds before the pull to proc Soul of the Forest.
2. Place Efflorescence near the boss right before the pull.
3. Cast the following spells on Kael'thas: Lifebloom, Rejuvenation, Regrowth, Wild Growth, one tick of Tranquility (only if you are using Verdant Infusion).
4. Make a macro to cast Flourish and Ironbark on Kael'thas, use a trinket, and cast Nature's Swiftness.
5. Cast Convoke the Spirits, preferably from the corner of the room.
6. Cast Swiftmend on the boss and immediately follow it with Regrowth. Make sure you do it in this order, since you should still have the Nature's Swiftness buff.
7. Use Innervate and spam either Regrowth or Nourish if you have more than 12% Mastery.

In Phase 2, every once a while, players will be hit by Ember Blast. Make sure you are prepared with the healing on players who are soaking it. In general, damage in this phase will be very low and on Mythic difficulty you will have to break two damage shields as well. For this mechanic you should have all DoTs running on the boss and then actively help with damage.

If you are using custom raid frames, make sure you are tracking the following debuffs.

• Crimson Flurry — Spell ID 341473. This debuff deals heavy damage to players hit by it and leaves a nasty DoT.
• Drained Soul — Spell ID 339251. This is an ever increasing DoT on players that use Soul Pedestals. HoT all of them but do not focus too much on that.

We advise you to use the following Legendary against Lady Inerva Darkvein: Vision of Unending Growth.

Basically all raid damage during this encounter is passively ticking via Loose Anima. There is always going to be one container being drained, but the damage from that will be low. You should wait for two containers to be drained at the same time before committing any cooldowns. Your raid will usually want to start draining a container as the boss transitions, which happens every 25% of Inerva's health. Plan your cooldowns around that point, since it is the most likely point where 2 containers will be drained at the same time.

On Mythic difficulty, you will either not drain any containers or drain one at a time for very brief periods of time. As such, ticking raid damage will be pretty low. The dangerous parts of the encounter happen when Inerva uses Shared Suffering, since at least one healer will always be linked. That might leave only 2 healers in range of tanks and most of the raid depending on your strategy. If you are a linked healer, focus on keeping two other linked players alive.

This boss is a very tight DPS check on every difficulty. Make sure you use Heart of the Wild and Convoke the Spirits for damage on pull. Try to weave in damage whenever possible during downtime. The faster you transition through phases, the less mechanics on the fight will get empowered.

If you are using custom raid frames, make sure you are tracking the following debuffs.

• Warped Desires — Spell ID 325382. Stacking debuff on tanks. Fully HoT the tank if they have multiple stacks of it.
• Shared Cognition — Spell ID 325908. These players will take moderate damage and will need constant healing while the debuff is present.
• Shared Suffering — Spell ID 325004. Players with this debuff will have to run out and form a triangle. Make sure they never die, because it will most likely mean a wipe.

We advise you to use the following Legendary against The Council of Blood: Vision of Unending Growth.

Most damage on this encounter comes from Oppressive Atmosphere. It ramps up over time, then resets at 50% Health of each boss and once they die, so make sure you save cooldowns as boss Health gets closer to 50% and 0%. Do not be afraid to use more Mana than you usually do, because you will have a lot of time to regenerate it passively.

On Normal and Heroic, the most dangerous points of the fight happen at higher Oppressive Atmosphere stacks when Dark Recital is cast. It is a good idea to use your cooldowns around Dark Recital, making sure everyone is full Health as it goes out and other healers have an easier time topping off paired players.

On Mythic difficulty, the only dangerous parts of the encounter will come from Dancing Fever. The first time it happens is straight on pull, then 1:30 minutes later, and then roughly every minute. You can use Convoke the Spirits on every Dancing Fever. Alternate Flourish on every other Fever, use Tranquility to fill the gaps.

If you are using custom raid frames, make sure you are tracking the following debuffs.

• Drain Essence — Spell ID 327773. Players with this debuff will take very heavy damage over short period of time. Make sure to cast Regrowths on players with this debuff.
• Dark Recital — Spell IDs 331637 and 331636. This debuff pairs players together and makes them run close to each other. They will sometimes run through blood and take extra damage. If you are not using any cooldowns during this point, spot heal them with Regrowths.

We advise you to use the following Legendary against Sludgefist: Vision of Unending Growth.

Hateful Gaze is the main ability you should focus healing around. It occurs about every 70 seconds. Sludgefist will cast Colossal Roar right before and after each Hateful Gaze. Furthermore, the raid will take increasing damage after each pillar is destroyed, since each of them will add a stack of Crumbling Foundation. Your goal should be to focus on using cooldowns for the second Colossal Rage in each cycle, right before Hateful Gaze, to ensure that the raid is topped. Do not waste Mana to burst heal after Hateful Gaze, passive healing will generally take care of that. Save Mana for third pillar and onwards as damage ramps up heavily and bursts become more dangerous.

The timings on this fight are very straightforward and always come in the same pattern. Make sure you plan cooldown usage with other healers in the guild.

On Mythic difficulty, Chain Slam will also apply Chain Bleed (Spell ID 339189). You will usually use 4 players to soak this and they will be taking heavy ticking damage after getting hit by an already dangerous Chain Slam. Make sure you pay extra attention to these players.

We advise you to use the following Legendary against Stone Legion Generals: Vision of Unending Growth.

Pulverizing Meteor is a heavy raid damage mechanic that you should play around. It happens every 60 seconds, which allows you to fully prepare for it with Tranquility, and Flourish plus Convoke the Spirits combo.

Almost the entire fight heavily revolves around properly handling various debuffs. If you are using custom raid frames, make sure you are tracking the following debuffs.

• Wicked Laceration — Spell ID 333913. Serrated Tear — Spell ID 343881. These two bleeds do moderate damage and will require your attention. HoT players with these debuffs and spot heal when they stand in Crystalline Burst.
• Heart Rend — Spell ID 334765. Magic debuff that you need to dispel.
• Heart Hemorrhage — Spell ID 334771. A debuff that is left behind after you dispel Heart Rend. It deals very heavy damage over short period of time and will require your full attention.

We advise you to use the following Legendary against Sire Denathrius: Vision of Unending Growth.

In Phase One, there are various damage events that come in a cycle: Cleansing Pain, Night Hunter, Blood Price, Cleansing Pain, Night Hunter, Ravage. Each cycle will repeat a maximum of 3 times or until you get Sire Denathrius to 70% Health. After each Cleansing Pain soak, Denathrius will spawn adds that inflict heavy raid damage. Night Hunter line soak can be potentially dangerous, but in general they will not require any serious healing. Your main concern should be planning cooldowns in a way that does not have you crowd controlled in the middle of them by Blood Price. Due do this, it is better to use them after Blood Price rather than before. Do a heavy ramp for Cleansing Pain soak, then follow up with spot healing during heavy Painful Memories raid damage so that everyone is topped for Night Hunter soak. Do not be afraid to use quite a lot of Mana during this phase, since you will have plenty of opportunities to regenerate it.

Intermission — You will be thrown out and slowed according to your Burden of Sin stacks. Keep in mind that you will not be able to shapeshift and shifting out of a form will not remove the movement speed reduction.

In Phase Two, there are no big raid damage events, but instead continuous raid damage from Crimson Chorus. Just rotate healing cooldowns as a way to save Mana. Spot heal players with Impale before they take the hit. Heal the Carnage debuff that Impale leaves, it also deals heavy damage.

Phase Three starts rather slowly but ramps up in damage quickly as it progresses. Make sure you have saved your cooldowns and Mana for the later stages. Your main goal will be to cooldown through a rapid series of multiple Shattering Pains and two Hand of Destructions combo while players are soaking orbs. This event will occur between 1:30 and 2:00 from the start of Phase Three, so plan accordingly. Spread all cooldowns over a bit in this 30-second window to ensure nobody dies.

Mythic difficulty is not much different mechanically from Heroic. Your raid will go through 5-6 Cleansing Pain soaks, which means you can use both Convoke the Spirits and Flourish multiple times in Phase One if you use them before first Command: Ravage. Phase Three is also not very demanding healing-wise. You can use Convoke once in the start of Phase Three for damage and then for healing if you choose to. This will obviously reduce your overall healing by a lot, but at the same time might give you just enough damage to kill the boss.