Be a Better Healer
Figuring out which trinket is the best can be confusing. Especially considering that there are several types of trinkets: Static, RPPM, ICD, On Use, etc. How do you compare them to each other easily? Our spreadsheet makes it easy for anyone to compare the approximate stats of each trinket.
With raid preparation quickly creeping up, it’s time again for gear spreadsheets and theorycraft! We’ve made an easy to use trinket spreadsheet that you can use to compare the stat gains from all of the pre-raid trinkets. Hit the jump to learn more!
Our previous restoration druid set-bonus theorycraft post has received a lot of positive feedback, due to this we are going to be doing analysis for every heroic encounter this tier. We will break down the spell mixes, gains/losses from bonuses, and stat differences for all 14 heroic encounters. Hopefully this will help your raid team figure out when, or if, you want to give your restoration druid any tier gear. Additionally, if the druid has access to both T15 and T16 four piece, they can choose which fights to run which set bonus. This week we have analyzed the Heroic Galakras, Sha of Pride, and Iron Juggernaut encounters. We will hopefully be posting approximately three new encounter analysis articles a week, so feedback or comments on the format, content, or accuracy of these articles are welcomed! Feel free to comment below or shoot us a quick tweet. Finally, we recommend you read the aforementioned post before reading this one, as it is largely a continuation of the analysis.
Restoration Druid has been subject to a lot of number crunching and debate this tier. There are advocates for keeping the Throne of Thunder 4 set bonus, despite the stat loss, and there are advocates to the contrary. Below I have some statistics and data to show the quantifiable effects of the different set bonuses, stat gains/losses, and a general analysis of restoration druid gearing in Siege of Orgrimmar.
With some significant changes coming for Restoration Druids in 5.3, something is still missing: A Mushroom Rework. Not just a simple buff to healing done, an actual rework to make them feel less clunky. Let’s take a look at how they currently work, what is wrong with them and some suggestions on how to fix it.
An In-Depth Look at Haste Breakpoints
There are a lot of choices when it comes to our secondary stats, and many different ways to approach shaman healing. One of the most important is which haste breakpoint you want to sit at, and which of the tier 60 talents you choose. How much spirit to roll with, and how to balance your crit VS mastery are separate issues, and depend on many different factors. For haste however there definitely seem to be a few sweet spots in the haste breakpoint chart. These can drastically change your performance and testing out different setups is one of the best ways to improve as a healer in Heroic Throne of Thunder and beyond.
The first tier of druid talents is typically ignored by most PvE folk as a cookie cutter choice. Its obviously Feline Swiftness, right? Well, we think that is not always the case. To many more casual raiders, once they pick their talents, they more or less just keep them like that for the entire tier, not analyzing them on a fight by fight basis. Although you can get by with that strategy for normal modes, and some heroic encounters, you are just making it harder on yourself. Every fight you should look at your talents and glyphs, and take a few minutes to think if another talent or glyph would be strong on that particular fight due to mechanics present. The first tier of Druid talents is unfortunately one of the most overlooked tiers, in terms of changing based on the fight.
